Fasting Grouch?

fasting
(Heather Meyer) #1

So i have a wee problem…more like my spouse has a wee problem with me. Whenever i fast for longer than 20 hours, he claims I become grouchy! As in, i become intolerent of little things, appear annoyed and my mood seems impatient.
He calls it being “Hangry” but in reality… i am not hangry cause i dont feel hungry. Inless you can be hangry without feeling physically hungry???

So how do you deal with it? Or stop it? Cause i dont even notice the change in how i am feeling or acting?? Does everyone who fasts get hangry? What causes it?

(JM) #2

I can relate, I solved this by increasing my electrolytes during fasting and most importantly increasing my salt intake to almost every 4 hours. That seemed to solved my irritability and has since become a standard for me when fasting.

(Marianne) #3

Hmmm. If you are not hungry or irritable when you are fasting and feel like you are in a good place mood-wise, I wouldn’t sweat it. Maybe the fact that you aren’t eating meals or otherwise engaging with him as you normally would strikes a subconscious nerve with him - even though he may not be aware of it.

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #4

If you feel he is incorrect, and you feel fine, I think it is his problem.

You could always just do some activity that makes you happy, if you are feeling irritable at that time. Listen to music that you love, play a video that makes you happy, that sort of thing.

Good luck sorting it out.

(George) #5

Same here. I guess I turn into a bit of a grouch but I don’t notice it either. What I do notice is that I get very quiet, don’t really engage in conversations, and would rather just keep to myself.

I guess my wife sees this as grouchy LOL.

(Heather Meyer) #6

hmm interesting…i get the same way…

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #7

I can’t say I experience this
I feel elated when I fast and I am in a great mood

(Susan) #8

What makes me more grouchy when I am fasting is my family nagging at me to eat, calling me anorexic and them bashing Keto… if they didn’t all do that, I would be a lot less grouchy!

(Wendy) #9

Yes! Hangry is a great word for it. Although my husband uses other choice words…:grimacing:

(John) #10

Yes, I tend to get more impatient when I have been fasting a while.

More specifically, more irritated with the actions of other people. Bad drivers, people not watching where they are walking, etc. When normally I just ignore or tolerate it.

Kind of edgy, fidgety, like maybe I need to be doing something, and things that delay me or get in my way trigger more annoyance.

I don’t know what it is, exactly, but I do see it sometimes during a longer fast, say once I get past 24 hours.

(Robert C) #11

If you view fasting as part of a slightly larger protocol - adding mindfulness and some meditation - any irritability (real on imagined) might just go away.

From a physical perspective - move carbs down to as near zero as possible for a few days before a fast and don’t begin the fast after some big “last meal” (which will probably spike insulin and mess with blood glucose almost regardless of macros if it is big enough - leading to a crash - leading to mood issues).

(Who says ya can't do this long term?) #12

Ditto here. Actually it is more like a BIG problem !!

My wife is very anti keto & fasting ! Even though I’ve dropped 30 lbs in 3 months and my blood sugar #s are down without taking any insulin ( since 2 weeks in).

She says things like:
It’s unhealthy
You’re diabetic ( I’m doing this to reverse the DT2)
You’re too old ( I’m 60 )
You need to eat fruit, one little apple won’t kill you
You eat too much fat and meat, you’re going to clog your arteries
It’s all about portion size, eat less and exercise more
You’re mood has changed you’re too irritable ( before, that was the excuse for getting a cpap, talking to a councilor etc. It couldn’t possibly be due to her bitchiness right ?)
I’m not trying trying to sabotage your diet ( No just trying to change everything about how it’s worked so successfully so far)
I am very proud of you I tell everyone how good you’re doing. But you’re doing it wrong and unhealthily ( I try to get in veggies and keep macros right )
You know I’m right I’ve been telling you this for 10 years
I know all about fasting, always do it for lent, I’ve done it for 2-3 days before to fit into a little black dress to go out with. ( She thinks fasting is all about the calorie reduction and weight loss not insulin/hormone control)
How about you only fast 3 days a week, you need your fruit, you got to eat breakfast etc etc etc all over
When are you going to stop

Of course she won’t research or watch videos ( Thank you DRs Fung, Ekberg, Gilespy, Zyrowsky and others ) because she knows it all and you can find just as much anti information on the internet as well

She does support not eating (and has kinda stopped) pasta, rice, potatoes and asks can you have this or that but then its back to the same old portion size arguement.

We decided to return to our previous Doctor cuz the one we’ve been seeing isn’t as personable & seems to want to push different meds when I said I wanted off the insulin even tho she was fairly supportive of keto ( just be careful you don’t drop too low blood sugar )

New/old Dr said same about sugar when I mentioned my fasting, great ! but then he came up with this gem when I talked about keto - " Ketones kill diabetics"
That statement ruined all credibility I had for him but of course reinforced all the negative thoughts my wife has.

So my question for you all is How do you deal with a very unsupportive spouse ?

(John) #13

Probably a better topic for a different thread.

I don’t know the answer to this - I have a supportive spouse. My first thought is that you need to have a firm discussion with her, that this is your choice and you are going to do it your way.

She is trying to sabotage you, but perhaps thinks of it as an “intervention.” Could also be a control thing. I don’t know, I am not a qualified marriage counselor.

Somewhere along the line you have to make a stand. If you have never done so before, then expect some conflict.

(Who says ya can't do this long term?) #14

Thanks John

Yes I figured it should be elsewhere and re-posted after seeing what my original post morphed into.

Definitely her way of intervention and control as well.
I have talked about being my choice and how I’m going to do it - deaf ears so far.
Yes I am making a stand and am just preparing for the conflict that is to come.

(Heather Meyer) #15

Its hard to stand one’s ground. Back a few years ago before my husband entered counselling…he would sabatoge my diet efforts in a huge way. He was not supportive in my attempts and one day i had to sit down with him and say

“hunny… i love you but im going to be dead soon because this weight is going to kill me. I am doing all i can to work on changing my health so we can be happier and live longer together but i feel like you are sabatoging my attempts. I love you but i need you to be on board because i need your support. What is preventing you from being supportive of me?”.

I learned that he had been with large women his whole life and being with a large women made him feel more secure about him being a thin man. He felt insecure if he was with a thin women because he felt like another man might steal the women away. alikewise he was worried i would get in shape…become even more beautiful than he thought possible and then i would leave hom for a better looking man.
It was his own insecurity…not mine… So it can be a thing where our spouse needs the heart healing from insecurity and the extra reassurance. Im not suggesting thats the issue with your spouse but it could be somthing like it. Having an honest conversation…coming from the offence side and asking “whats going on for you”, may open up the conversation enough to find out whats really going on.

(Who says ya can't do this long term?) #16

Thanks Heather
Insecurity may be slightly involved but mainly it is stubborness. She’s like a dog with a bone when she thinks she’s right. And she truely believes this WOE is unhealthy for me so I just have to KCKO and show her how good it works.

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #17

Good point Heather, it is not always about us, sometimes it is something within the other person.

Congrats on helping him in his personal development. And a big congrats on your weight loss successes, I viewed your profile, you are doing very well.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #18

Hmmm. Yesterday, I felt grouchy… But I knew better than to start any cr@p with my GF, because I didn’t have the energy to fight back :slight_smile: lol My GF is 110 lbs of potential fire ! :slight_smile: lol But I love the chit out of her ! :slight_smile:

(Heather Meyer) #19

Always good form to not fight when grouchy!

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #20

Hey BTW, I asked my GF tonight if I sounded grouchy yesterday… And she said, hmmm, not really…
So I told her, I should have won an award for that performance then, because I was totally cranky inside :smiley: lol