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Comment by leblancfg | Hacker News Reader

Tried IMF for two weeks recently, and my mood was so bad in the mornings I had to stop it; my wife thanked me afterwards. I'm a little disappointed I didn't get "over the hump" which reportedly lasts 3-4 weeks, and then mood is supposed to stabilize.

Anything relatable in this sentence, and any tips to help "get over the hump" you might have?

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Some things that help for me are (1) a cup or two of green tea on mornings I don't exercise (can get me "over the hump" of the end of a fast), or preferably (2) exercising as early as possible in the morning. It took me about 30 days to get into a good rhythm.

I got into long distance running during this morning-not-eating period. Totally distracting to any hunger thoughts. Also, you start to find it's actually a huge benefit not to have a stomach full of food while you're trying to run a long distance.

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.

I found a little sea salt in the coffee helped -- "admiral style" or something.

Electrolytes (salt et al) are a commonly recommended aid for the intermittent fasting folks.

Here is my recommendation. Start by eliminating any liquid sugars (soda, juice etc) from your diet for two weeks. Then fast completely drinking only water for 24 or 36 hours. This will “reset” your hunger/cravings. Then proceed with regular imf.

IMF = Intermittent fasting

I had exactly the same issue, I just had to power through. Tried to view it as a way to exercise my willpower muscle... multiple failures later my bad moods just went away.

Coffee helped. Also, planning my meals.

Thanks! Good to put things in perspective.

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!

Yes, eat a huge dinner the day before, try lots of potatoes with cream/cheese and a huge salad. That helped the next day for me :)

http://quikorder.pizzahut.com/QOcontent2/Files/PDF/Nutrition...

You don’t need many pizza slices to hit 1500

I've had similar results, and for me it had to do with sugars. By avoiding sugars and eating more fats my mood improved.

I'm curious: did you try eating in the mornings and fasting in the evenings? Maybe that would be easier for you.

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