My brother and I have the opposite problem: While I’m in a race to gain back some of the weight cancer stole from me; he is looking for ways to lose a few pounds.
His latest idea: Cut out all carbs and sugar. That means no bread, no sandwiches, no pizza or garlic Indian naan; no brownies, no cake, no trips to that new ice cream place with the sourdough and olive oil combination that he reported, before beginning this diet, was otherworldly.
The unexpected side effect to his restrictive new eating habits has been a decrease in dopamine. The body produces dopamine when it’s engaged in something pleasurable. Going out to eat releases dopamine, which, in turn, increases joy, happiness, and satisfaction.
Lack of dopamine
I realized that I’ve been suffering from a lack of dopamine in my life as well. Not from eating – I’m scarfing down all the ice cream smoothie shakes that my wife, Jody, can make to fatten me up. But many of the other activities that used to give me pleasure have been off the table for the past several months.
We don’t go out to restaurants; we haven’t gone to concerts or events or museums in ages; we mainly meet friends at home (if we see them at all) rather than participate in some fun shared activity. And we haven’t hiked since long before I was released from the hospital. (My Apple Watch recently sent me an alert that my walking “steadiness” was low, and I was in danger of falling.)
That’s what prompted me to propose to our family that we get out of the house for a short hike one Friday morning. I picked a path near the Bar BaHar restaurant in the Bar Giora area of the Jerusalem Hills, where the relatively new Schuster Trail is paved and mostly flat, which would be good for me and for our young grandkids.
The plan
The plan was to walk for a short time – no more than 20 to 30 minutes – before returning to Bar BaHar for brunch. Bar BaHar is a dairy restaurant where you eat your pastas, pizzas, and calzones on picnic benches overlooking the stunning view of Nahal Katlav.
The hike started well enough, and I kept up a pace slightly slower than three-and-a-half-year-old Ilai. Aviv, our youngest son, stayed with me most of the time, which was comforting. We started as early as we could in the day – it was forecast to reach 37°C (98°F) that day – but the heat was already withering.
At about 15 minutes in, there’s a shady rest area where we stopped to let the kids play and eat snacks.
Maybe it was the steadily rising heat that got to me. Maybe I’d just exerted myself too much. But I was kaput when we got to that playground, and I lay down across one of the picnic benches, using my backpack as a pillow. The effort of returning vertical and walking back to the restaurant was now beyond me.
Greek pastry reward
Fortunately, the playground was close to the road that goes from Bar BaHar to Ness Harim and on to the Stalactite caves. My son-in-law Gabe walked back to get his car and pick me up. The vehicular transit time was a mere 30 seconds. I rewarded myself with the restaurant’s dopamine-heavy Greek pastry, stuffed with mozzarella and feta cheese, tomatoes, olives, and oregano aioli.
When we got home, I crashed for three hours in bed.
Afterward, my wife and our oldest son, Amir, praised me for setting up the day, getting us all out as a family together, and picking the location, as opposed to my usual staying at home and doing, well, nothing.
I wasn’t so sure. While I had set out to increase my dopamine by returning to something I loved, was it too soon? When is it appropriate to push yourself beyond your comfort zone, and when should you be more concerned with taking care of yourself by resting in a time of need?
The American Society of Clinical Oncology notes that fatigue is not always a signal to “do nothing. In fact, light to moderate activity can help rebuild stamina and emotional well-being.” The National Cancer Institute adds that exercise after treatment can reduce fatigue by 35%.
Fallback plan
Consider adopting the Energy Envelope model, suggests the Workwell Foundation. The model encourages you to stay within your available energy “budget” to avoid crashes. So, if a short, gentle walk in nature fits within your energy envelope for the day and won’t wipe you out for two to three days afterward, go for it.
Another option: Do a modified version of the hike, where you start with everyone but then find a bench on which to rest while the family continues and then returns along the same path. That can give you a connection (to nature, to family) without risking depletion.
Always have a fallback plan in case you feel unwell midway or it’s harder than you anticipated.
While pushing yourself too hard can delay healing, completely avoiding movement or life experiences will sap your emotional strength.
The bottom line, my therapist said as we reviewed the experience, is that “This isn’t just about hiking or resting. It’s about reconnecting with vitality. You might not hike the whole trail, but you can take part in the ritual of being with your people in the trees, even for 10 minutes.”
In the end, I’m glad I pushed myself. I didn’t crash for days, so it seems the balance was right. However, next time I need an intense dopamine hit on a 37°C day, it might be better to find an ice cream parlor with sourdough and drizzled olive oil sugar cones.
The writer’s book Totaled: The Billion-Dollar Crash of the Startup that Took on Big Auto, Big Oil and the World was published earlier this year as an audiobook. It is available on Amazon and other online booksellers in print, eBook, and Audible formats. brianblum.com