Brain usage, calorie intake and exhaustion.

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My therapist told me a while ago that the brain is the body part that uses the most energy. Roughly 20% of your total calorie intake is use by your brain on average. When in situation of stress or anxiety your brain is functionning full blast, therefore you burning alot of your energy. Have you ever felt like your brain hurt from overthinking? I do sometimes, it's not a fun feeling, when this happen I become so tired at the end of a day that I'm careless and dangerous. I can't think straight or talk. All this is a result of trying to function as a normal person.

I'm not too sure where I wanted to go with this story but I felt the need to post it for some reason.

Actually, my questions to you all is this: How is your brain doing?

Can you relate to my story?

I can relate. I used to come out of a morning at church so ravenous that I was almost like Jekyl and Hyde until I got something to eat. It was as if I had just spent three hours doing hard labor. And actually I had. It was a social minefield and it took everything I had to navigate it.

I wonder if we are talking about ego depletion?

Ah, - the new fat burning method: Do hard brainwork(out) most of the day, eat sparse and relax, play and sleep the rest of the time, - and bodyfat will vanish into thin air!

That was an interesting read, I was not aware of this and can defenitely relate to it. From my experience, when I have a decision to take it's where I become the most tired I would say. Something about have too many options and overthinking the concequences of my choice is too overwhelming.

It's also funny how they talk about glucose as an energy for self-control and my obsession with eating sour candies and drinking lemonade.



It's working for me for sure, I'm very skinny.

People did used to ask me how I can eat so much and stay so thin, I used to tell them:- "I think a lot".

I never could, - eat and stay slim, - and it is not for lack of brainwork.
Genetics, I´m afraid.

I never could, - eat and stay slim, - and it is not for lack of brainwork.
Genetics, I´m afraid.

Personally, I have now had my dietary requirements from my nutritionist upped to 8400 calories, 100 grams of fat, 500 mg cholesterol, 4000 mg sodium, 50 g fiber, 120 g protein.

I also have low blood pressure, low blood sodium and cholesterol, and a constant history of difficulties keeping weight on.
I am probably an isolated case, though; An extreme outlier.

Although I do little that does not involve using my brain heavily. I usually have several trains of thought going at any given time. I often wake up in the middle of the night with my mind racing about facts, statistics, equations, and numbers I had been looking up during the day and facts that I had previously learned (often from years or decades before).

I also have epilepsy, which may be a contributing factor.

I can sort of maintain my weight at 1550-1600 cal.

8400 calories that's probably just as much as a professional athlete as to eat daily.

It actually makes perfect sense. When I get a partial shutdown where I could also go into a shutdown, my body goes limp and I end up on the floor (Depends with a partial shutdown how far I have shut down).
Sometimes this works and sometimes it does nothing. I can sometimes eat or drink my way out of a partial shutdown if I can get an energy fush from what I'm eating. It only works sometimes. Other times no matter what I do, only by lieing down and relaxing can I recover.... But... I havesince found stimming works far better then eating. I have to remember to stim though as it does not come naturally for two reasons. One is I have had a lifetime of being told off when subtle stims become apparent.... So violent stimming is something which is very visible so I feel a bit embarissed if I need to do it.... And the second reason is when I am in a partial shutdown, I feel the opposite of energetic, so I am not even thinking about stimming as stimming is energetic. So to me, I can't fathom how stimming works so effectively. Eating works now and then. But stimming is about 5 to 10 times more effective. It is only since being on this site that I have found out how effective stimming is.
Now subtle stimming I have done since a child. However, I have been trained out of it by my Dad, my schooling and then some of the places I have worked in. (In retail stimming is a definate no as one has to learn body language techniques).
Now to train oneself not to stim is very mentally exhausting for a few weeks/months until one finally can convert ones body to stop stimming... But I never knew why I needed to stim. I would just automatically do it. Now I know and it makes perfect sense. In stressful situations I would be stimming using various subtle methods. Without stimming I started having more times where I partly shut down or fully shut down.
I never understood any if this because doctors had said the shutdowns were some sort of allergy.
While I knew I was masking in more then one way, and actually quite heavily masking too, it never occured to me that masking the way I did was an issue. I mean... Whilst I did not know anyone who masked quite like I did (Though now I could pick a few out. In those days I didn't know), I just never thought why I did it. I just did it. I had been doingmit for years and developing my masking as I went along. It was a way of life. A way to survive!
It have never occurred any of my behaviours and mannerisms could be autistic traits. I don't know if I am on the spectrum though.

But going back to the brain using 20% of ones bodies energy. Yes. That makes a lot of sense!