Advice re fasting/ keto/ atkins/ mood?

(icky) #1

Hi all,

I’ve struggled with blood sugar related mood stuff (anxiety/ depression) for a long time.

I fast 3 to 4 times per year (and go keto during fasting) and it’s the ONLY time of the year I feel happy/ healthy/ energised/ normal.

I’ve tried going on a low-carb diet (more or less atkins) after fasting, but for some reason, that had the OPPOSITE effect.

During fasting I am happy, feel great, have tons of energy.

During the low-carb diet, I felt miserable, depressed, cranky, awful, anxious, etc.

How can I get the positive effects from fasting to translate to a healthy diet…??? I am REALLY confused about this. I don’t understand what I was doing “wrong” with the low carb diet or why it would have the OPPOSITE effect of keto during fasting?

Thank you so much for any “beginners” advice you might have! (i.e. info that doesn’t totally confuse me even more, haha)

Thanks!
Sophy

(icky) #2

Oh, if there’s any parts of the forum I should check out regarding this question, please let me know! I think it’s going to take me a while to navigate the forum and work out what information is where… Thanks : )

(Karen) #3

You might get a similar energy boost from ZC. Some like it.

K

(icky) #4

Hi Karen : )
What is ZC?

(Karen) #5

Zero carb. Fatty meat, pretty much. . Some gals mostly men.

K

(icky) #6

Ohhhh : )

Um, it doesn’t really sound like my thing, but I’d be happy with whatever works.

I’m confused why I have such good results from fasting, but negative effects from the (one) time I tried Low Carb so far.

Maybe I just did something wrong re Low Carb and I’m not aware of it. I am going to try it again.
I’ve just been fasting for 2 weeks and broke my fast this morning.

(Lorinda Mutsaers) #7

Hello,
are you checking that your protein isn’t too high when doing LCHF? That could be the difference. Just a thought. :slight_smile:

(Liz ) #8

Not sure, but these are my first thoughts: It’s possible you weren’t low carb enough for long enough. Keto takes time to kick in, weeks & months. Or maybe you didn’t eat enough calories, low calories can affect mood. Possibly you need supplements that support the liver like milk thistle. Another thing, I found I was releasing a lot of estrogen stored in fat & my hormones got wacky but it evened out over time. Maybe you have a food sensitivity. Also check electrolyte balance. Good luck!

(icky) #9

Hahaha : )

I have no idea. I’m confused. LOL

When I tried LC, I had fasted for 3 weeks before hand and had loved it, like usual. I broke the fast and tried LC and it was awful. I was moody, crying, emotional, irritable all those typical “Atkins” symptoms some people get, but which I NEVER get when fasting.

I guess I’m just going to try a Keto diet this time and hope for better results : )

(icky) #10

I just tried an online Keto Calculator and it’s told me this:

“Based on your inputs, we suggest you eat: 1766 calories. From those, 151g fats, 20g net carbs, and 81g protein”

See how I go… : )

(icky) #11

If I was having all the benefits of Keto during fasting (clear skin, tons of energy, lower inflammation, improved mood, etc) do you think I was in ketosis or not?

(Todd Allen) #12

My guess would be you have some degree of hyperinsulinemia which is both common and can produce blood sugar swings that correlate with anxiety/depression, etc.

Fasting is the most potent thing one can do to lower their insulin level and when insulin drops low enough lipolysis kicks in and you have access to the energy of your body fat, a stable supply of mood elevating energy. But when you are eating your insulin isn’t coming low enough quickly enough for you to get sufficient access to your body fat and you still experience the swings of blood sugar. When you go Atkins you have less blood sugar and you feel crappy.

This is all common and is part of the fat adaptation process which can take weeks and even months for some. You might be able to accelerate the process by pushing up the amount of fat and being very strict with carbs and protein. Easy burning fats like coconut oil and MCTs might help. If that is too hard, say it puts you in a state that impacts your work or family life, you might instead try to wean yourself off the carbs by eliminating processed foods, grains, added sugars, fruit juice, etc. and getting carbs from less concentrated slower digesting sources such as veggies and fruits we think of as veggies such as cucumbers, peppers, squash, etc.

(icky) #13

Cool - thank you for your reply! : )

Yeah, it just seems so odd to me that I would do so well in fasting 3-4 x per year and start with 3 weeks of fasting and then go LC… I would have assumed I was already in ketosis at that point from the fasting… but I guess fat adaption is a separate issue.

I can only assume I wasn’t doing the LC right… It’s a few years ago now, so I’ve forgotten all the details except for how absolutely awful I felt : )

I guess I just need to start from scratch and make sure I get it right this time and stay in ketosis and aim for the fat adaption…

I am so good at fasting - I’ve done it for nearly 10 years now and I know it inside and out - I know from experience and intuition how to compensate whatever issues I’m having and it works perfectly. I guess I feel pretty “dumb” for not having a clue about LC and feeling like it’s a bit mysterious riddle… sigh

I will get there! : )

Thanks for your thoughts and help!

(icky) #14

So lipolysis = fat adaption? Or not…?

#15

I can’t comment from personal experience, but I have been interested in the work being done by Dr. Georgina Ede. She is a psychiatrist who has been develing into nutritional impacts on mental health. Here is a link to her blog that might help you out.

(Todd Allen) #16

Lipoysis is the burning of fat. Fat adaptation is the process by which your body more readily gets into the fat burning state with lowered basal insulin and reduced insulin response to foods being a prime factor.

Fasting forces the body into a fat burning state. If you aren’t fat adapted it takes more effort/willpower or no access to food for a couple days to get into the fasted fat burning state. Once you are fat adapted it gets much easier, merely keeping the carbs sufficiently low is enough to enable easy burning of body fat and transitioning in and out of fasting often becomes nearly effortless.

#17

And another - just hot off the presses!
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/mental-health

(icky) #18

Ooh thank you : )

I really look forward to getting the hang of the Keto diet!

I want the benefits of fasting all year round!

(icky) #19

So this is day 1 after a 2 week fast - the fasting was great.
I’m already starting to feel “meh” on being LC. sigh

Maybe I’m not watching out enough for hidden carbs and not spotting them.

Why do I find fasting soooooooo easy and this so hard? Grrrrr

(Sorry!)
(I shouldn’t be complaining)
(I just really want to make this work and am grrrrrr that LC is putting me in a bad mood, while fasting totally lifts my mood.)

(Chris W) #20

Yes,
ketosis starts based on the level of glucose in your blood and insulin’s reaction to it, typically it start within 8 hours for most people. The process is not a light switch but more of a slow boiling pot heating up. There are other processes in action as well, gluconeogenisis for instance if you have enough protien in your system that is available will also kick in and could for a while keep ketogensis sub par. They work at the same time on the Keto WOE but the ketogenosis is the desirable one to be running full swing. There are levels of “keto”, but the actual process was running without question if you were not in taking any carbs and limited to no protein.