When the low-carb craze swept the nation, my husband and I jumped on board and each lost about 20 pounds. We kept it off for about a year, and then it came right back. Interestingly, going back on a low carb diet seemed to have little impact.

I thought.

One of the impacts that following a low carb diet had was that even when I quit dieting, I still cut back pretty significantly on the carbs, unfortunately replacing them with fat. When I started Sparkpeople and began following their meal plan, the carbs were a bit overwhelming. It felt weird to eat so much bread, to eat potatoes, and to eat cereal. Frankly, I felt kind of bleh for about two weeks.

But I also noticed another change. I was much more productive in my work. As a college professor, much of my work involves using your brain. I probably spend at least half of my time writing. All of a sudden, I was writing like crazy. I could write an entire book chapter (30-40 pages) in four days.

I didn't realize the connection between increasing the carbohydrates and my increased cerebral activity until I read on Sparkpeople that carbs are the only fuel your brain can use. Well my brain is using them like crazy, and it's terrific. Hooray for carbs!