Hi All! I have been keto since 1.2.18 and am definitely fat adapted. I have started to implement some extended fasting. My husband and I lead a large Celebrate Recovery ministry on Tuesday nights. I am the person that definitely gets nervous speaking on stage. It is also very stressful making sure everything goes on without issue and of course dealing with people that are healing from hurts, habits and hang-ups can be difficult. I start my fasts on Monday and do just fine until it is time for doing the ministry. I feel almost hypoglycemic, which I don’t understand because I am fat-adapted for sure. My head gets fuzzy, I sweat and my heart pounds and I almost feel like I could pass out. Perhaps adrenaline is my enemy here? I’m sure it has everything to do with stress and nerves. Once we are home, I feel good again and woke up this morning Day 3 fasting and am feeling awesome. Anyone have any insight? Thank you in advance!
Fasting and stress! Help!
stress can cause a spike in cortisol and that can lead to insulin spikes. you also may still need to add more salt daily.
I was consuming plenty of electrolytes. I always zero in on them (especially salt) when ibam fasting.
Unfortunately, I have no answers…but I just wanted to give you big smiling kudos on leading CR. It was, quite literally, a god sent for me. Celebrated nine (9) years last month. 
Can you adjust the timing of your fast so that you have a meal before speaking? That way, even if your cortisol spikes, you will have enough resources not to go through the floor with your serum glucose.
I’m thinking I am probably going to have to break the fast. That wouldn’t be so bad- a 42 hour fast and then a 72 hour in 5 days.
What you are describing sounds like you are running low on fat that is mobilized, is your body fat level high enough to support EF? As I have gotten to lower BF levels I cannot support long fasts with high output(and stress), I plane old run out of energy. It is particularly bad when there is stress so my cortisol levels must spike, which drives up insulin and of course we all know that is bad.
Usually takes 6 months to be fully fat adapted/ketoadapted. You could be partially?
”…You can be fat-adapted without being in ketosis. I know for a fact people can be fat-adapted but not in ketosis because I have personally experienced this many times. In fact, I would say this is my default state most of the time: fat-adapted, but not in ketosis. I follow a low-carb diet, but I’m not always at ketogenic levels of carbohydrate intake, and some days I probably consume enough protein that I wouldn’t see a noticeable change on the ketostix. My carbohydrate intake and resultant insulin levels are low enough to allow my body to be fueled primarily by fat, but my carbohydrate intake is not so low as to have excess acetoacetate perpetually registering in my urine. - Amy Berger …”
Here’s how I gauge my fat-adaptation:
•I can comfortably go several hours without eating and feel no hypoglycemic effects whatsoever
•I have good, steady physical energy levels
•My mind is sharp and my thinking clear
•When I do finally start feeling some hunger pangs, I am just that—hungry, rather than hangry. I will seek a protein- and fat-rich meal, and have no desire to jump head-first into a half-gallon of ice cream or consume a cheese danish. (One of my former favorites, waaaay back in the pre-low-carb days.) I have no interest in sweets or starch. I genuinely want something high in fat and protein—something like a burger, a fatty pork chop, sausages, etc. But if I were to pee on a ketostick, there would be no indication of ketones. …” - Amy Berger …More
HI @Julie_Shepard - I will concur with @PaulL – speaking is stressful, fasting may be stressful. I would start your fast after speaking. No need to make your speaking any more stressful than it needs to be.
yes, I agree - don’t fast during stressful times. I can fast just fine for 3 days when things are calm and quiet, but give me a high-stress week, and I quickly feel awful while fasting. That’s my signal to eat. I have been fat adapted since January, fasting since March (I vary how long and often I fast - from intermittent, 18/6 to one, two and three day fasts, usually at least one day/week). When I began, I told myself I would not allow myself to make fasting a “requirement” that I could “fail” at. I fast when it works well, and I don’t when it doesn’t.
I am on Keto for life and will do some level of fasting for life since I believe it is how we stay healthiest. My entire focus is about increasing my health and well-being, so I don’t want to make any of this lifestyle heavy with some kind of moral judgement (I’m not suggesting you are - this is just how I arrive at my perspective on fasting and my way of eating) that if I don’t follow a strict regimen regarding what I eat or how often/long I fast, then I’ve “failed,” and I’m somehow a bad person. This is all about self-nurturing and that means I need to be kind to myself. So I commit to fasting, yet trust myself if I need to change course due to how I’m feeling.
I have issues with anxiety for which I am prescribed 3 medications to control. I have found that stress and anxiety go up significantly after the 1st 24hrs of a fast but then go away almost entirely after day 3. By day 4 I’m able to stop taking anti anxiety meds until I break my fast. It’s like my body panics when it doesn’t get food but after 3 days it realizes it’ll be ok and the anxiety melts away. During the days of high anxiety at the beginning of the fast I have similar symptoms to what you described. If I were giving a speech that I was nervous about I would either not fast before it or I would make sure I fasted for at least 4 days prior to the speech so that I didn’t have to deal with the extra anxiety during a state of already heightened anxiety.
It should probably be noted that I’ve only been ketosis for around 5 or 6 weeks and am not fully fat adapted. I have, however, been practicing occasional extended fasting as part of my religion for about 30 years.