The Write Diet

I wonder whether there might be a diet suited to writing.

I have pursued a regime of exercise and weight loss for the last 8 months, and my key approach to both activities has revolved around eating the right food. If I want to exercise with maximum energy levels, I eat the right sort of thing – like nuts or something whole-wheat. To lose weight, I keep off the refined sugars and fatty foods, keeping to those that allow me to feel full and thrive without massive calorific intake. I have carefully watched the calories, though never with such an eagle eye as to make the process uncomfortable or oppressive. I consciously decided that losing weight and improving my health should feel like a chore. I wanted to feel like everything I did changed for a good reason. Eating well meant feeling better about me and having the energy to do more.

Having achieved the target of losing 4 stone, I want to target something else now for improvement, something I can both develop and enjoy. Writing seems to fit the bill, as I know I can improve and the actual act of writing does fulfil me. Now, I have gone through the process of losing weight and realised the value of supporting the process through life changes, so I have the same perspective on writing. Can I improve my writing, or my approach to improving my writing, by living better? Does eating a certain type of food make a difference? Can I get better results if I write in the morning or evening? Does it matter if I write directly after I get up or at the end of a day when I’ve turned my brain into goo?

Diet-wise, I feel that something has to help. I wonder whether the same high energy approach taken with exercise might make a difference if I’m engaging in a fixed period of writing. If I want to exercise, I have a handful of nuts or peanut butter on whole-wheat toast a short while before I get down on the mat to burn some calories. If I do the same before I write, will I benefit from that extra reservoir of energy? Or, does writing need a different fuel? Do I need to drive up alertness with a dose of caffeine or a solid night of uninterrupted sleep? Can I eat something that will excite and energize the creative right side of my brain and make the process of writing so much more productive?

I’m prepared to read around the subject and, perhaps, experiment. I created a diet and exercise regime based on my own research before the fact, so I can certainly do the same here. I’m loath to indulge in techniques with trademarks, just as I avoid the same thing with diets. I understand the principle of support when you need to exert some willpower, but I’m not keen on the idea of spending money on anything unnecessarily. If I can do this through my own effort alone, all the better.

However, if anyone has suggestions or thoughts on the right diet for good writing, by all means comment!