Jeremy C Kester

One of the characteristics that I hear a lot from groups such as the paleo movement and others that kick out the carbs is the concept of having more energy.

More energy huh?

That seems too good to be true, but hey, why not try?

There are more reasons other than energy that I chose to drop my carb intake by a significant amount. Having more energy was the lowest benefit I expected to gain. In fact, I doubted that there would be any gained energy. But is that the case?

So first off, I dropped over 20 lbs. I am hovering in the mid 190’s right now and I had started at just over 220 lbs. That was the biggest benefit I expected to see. I should be around 175 to 180, so I have a ways to go, but that initial drop was huge.

But onto that pesky energy.

What people expect to see is that they are bounding with energy. I mean that is what a lot of those going through these massive transformations say isn’t it? I will say now, I am not seeing a bountiful supply of energy. I just am not. Here’s what I am finding:

• I am still having trouble getting up in the morning.
  Yep, not any change there. However, there is a difference here I’ve noticed:
• My sleep quality has gotten a little better.
  Normally, my sleep pattern is for shit. I do not sleep well. I have apnea and I am currently not being treated for it. Given that sleep is so terrible to start, any improvement is good. And in this case, I am sleeping a little better. Just a little.
• I am still hungry… but my willpower is stronger.
  For me, this is is a big misnomer that maybe is true for many, but it wasn’t for me. “You feel fuller, longer!” I don’t. I can keep eating. That much hasn’t changed. I will keep going with just about anything that I like. This goes even right after eating dinner… a nice filling dinner, I will be willing to eat a full cake. Eating better hasn’t meant that I automatically felt fuller, etc. I am no hungrier, but I am not fuller.
  What it has given me is some willpower. I am better able to resist the temptations of eating extra food. Or I have willpower to resist foods that are unhealthy or high in carbs that I could eat, want to eat, feel like I should eat, but I am instead able to resist those urges and move on.
• I am not sick. Nor do I have allergies.
  For me, this has been the BIG one. My wife and son have both been sick a few times. My officemate has been sick a few times. I also normally suffer badly from allergies. So far in 2017? Barely a whimper of a cold for a day. Occasionally a running nose. Nothing else. Even as Spring has come up, I haven’t had any of the normal miserable suffering I have normally been accustomed to. Part of that could be the regimen of probiotics I am also taking, but that is the big change. No allergies or getting sick? Count me in!

Now there was two little parts that could have dealt with energy. But overall, they were a little vague. And one would think: if my sleep is better, even marginally, then my energy level should also be higher throughout the day, right?

Here’s what I’ve experienced: I am not any more energetic than I was before. I am not ready to go climb mountains or run marathons than before. I haven’t gotten into super gym routines because of it. Go to the gym: yes. That’s always been the case. But give me a bed or a couch and I want to lie down. Where in hell is all of this energy I am supposed to get?!

OK, here’s what I’ve been getting.

Lying down on the couch, I have not fallen asleep. Before it was almost the instance I laid down. Now, I can lay down, then get up as needed without dragging as much as before. Given that, the rest of my days have been how I would describe as even-keel. In other words, I don’t have bounds of energy right now. I also down suffer from any point of me dragging. My energy doesn’t plummet as it often had. I don’t feel as though I have to take an IV of coffee to get through my day. In fact, it’s helped me to start cutting back. (Mind you, this was the same case before I chose to cut back. I wasn’t blessed with a wealth of energy that gave me the option of cutting back.)

THAT is a big thing to understand. People often make changes thinking that the energy is just going to come pouring in. Maybe it should be described more that energy isn’t bleeding out.

And that’s not bad. Not bad at all. I’d say that makes it worthwhile.