Edit:
Also, the benefit to cognition that you mention is sort of like a secret because I never seen anyone mention it. When I first started on a "keto" type of diet I woke up one day with a feeling which was like being wired on coffee but without the jittery side effects. Except, it didn't go away. I would have thought I broke something if it wasn't such a positive. It's amazing to think that's how we should be feeling and that nearly everyone is working below this level.
Personally, I got distracted, had a bunch of changes at home and failed out of it. I'll be climbing back on after the holidays.
I still like to drink coffee in this state, though I limited my intake to one cup every couple of days. Nicotine seemed to be neither a negative or a positive. It didn't cause more or less problems for me. I could also drink beer with no problems.
Now that I read these comments and looked up some info, I feel like I found a mistery and that things got clearer, just like sorting out the "secret" as you say.
Already got the benefits of excercising regularily and last week jumped into the IF wagon (still having mood issues, hope it subsides soon), will for sure try out reducing processed carbs and hope to get feeling even better everyday.
Thank you both!
How did keto work for you if you had interrupted sleep?
Again, everything went out the window with some major life changes at home. And I'll be looking at getting back on after the holidays. But when I was sleeping well during this same period I was amazed at how I was able to settle into a route of being dead tired and jumping out of bed at the same during at night and in the morning respectively. This is probably another normal life thing which I had never discovered because I had never thought to set a normal sleep schedule. Everyone looks at sleep as something to be managed and scheduled rather than listening to the body.
It's interesting that you mention your kids are your alarm clock. Kids generally need more sleep than adults. And of course adults look forward to putting the kids to bed to get some quiet time. Maybe try timing your sleep so that you sleep right after the kids and wake up on your own before they wake up? Hopefully that would be a viable experiment in your household. ;)
Normal scheduled sleep has its benefits for sure; Newborns through those plans out the window though.
There seems to be a debate on beer containing carbs. I haven't found a definitive answer, though I haven't looked hard. One side says there are carbs because of what goes into the beer. The other side says that all of that goes away during the process of making the beer and there's very little carbs.
To be honest, I followed a keto diet but I never did the keto testing. However, the changes I experienced were real and powerful. The mental clarity couldn't have been placebo because I didn't know that it would be a side effect. It was shocking, unexpected.
For years I started getting this fluid buildup in my ears. At best, I felt occasionally dizzy. At worst, it felt like my brain was in constant "I feel like I have a cold and I'm so slow to think".
Short story: I've drastically reduced carb intake (letting myself cheat a little on Sat.) and definitely no alcohol. The effect has been amazing. I feel 10-15 years younger. My brain is back. Fluid's gone. So many other body things have improved: no joint pain, no weird rashes. I used to get these awful colds, but if I've had a cold this year, I can't even remember, it must have have been tiny.
It's wild how many folks now who I talk to who have similar symptoms and never try to simply cut out the damn carbs and watch as they eat tons of sugar and alcohol. It's really worth a try giving those up for a week and see how you feel.
I've written about this before on HN so won't rehash everything (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21053034).
I still drink occasionally but it has to be a pretty special occasion for me to have a second cocktail. I still love junk food but I've cut way, way back on it because the sugar hangover isn't worth it.
Other than pretty much constant tinnitus and occasional bouts of cedar fever (I'm in Central Texas), I feel pretty good most of the time. I know I need to get more exercise and I'm working on that by doing bodyweight exercises and rowing. I'm not really getting any stronger, but I feel like I'm at least maintaining where I'm at.
Anything relatable in this sentence, and any tips to help "get over the hump" you might have?
Also, my wife had success starting with putting Coconut/MCT oil in her coffee. The Bullet Proof coffee folks swear by this and I think most would say they're still "fasting" and getting the same benefits but now they have a TBSP of oil in their stomach helping. Might be a step to going full "nothing but coffee" for 16 hours or whatever you're trying.
Electrolytes (salt et al) are a commonly recommended aid for the intermittent fasting folks.
Coffee helped. Also, planning my meals.
I had little problem recruiting the willpower to fast, but willing myself to a good mood was something I wasn't really able to act on. Something to keep in mind for next time!
You don’t need many pizza slices to hit 1500
If my body didn't get a chance to notice the pattern, that's what made it behave different. Same goes for exercise, if I do regularly one type of exercise - body quickly gets used to it and it's harder to achieve gains by doing the same movement.
What I do is irregular fasting. Sometimes I won't eat for 30 hours. Sometimes I'll eat 6x a day. Sometimes it'll be eating at 11:00 and next meal is 12 hours after. These are not guidelines, just examples of irregular intervals.
I noticed results, it could have been placebo, who knows, I have no means to measure except subjective feeling. If you're capable of enduring hunger, you could try it. It might be dangerous so don't listen to random advice from a nobody online :) anyone reading this and trying what I wrote out: it's not my fault if something happens to you, I'm not a medical doctor.