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Well, I already had low sugar intake and fairly healthy nutrition (almost no processed food) but still had to lose weight. So I tried intermittent fasting becau

Well, I already had low sugar intake and fairly healthy nutrition (almost no processed food) but still had to lose weight. So I tried intermittent fasting because it got so much hype. All I can say is that it didn't work for me at all, it was essentially impossible to work or concentrate on anything, and I even gained weight! Lack of sugar has the most severe impact on me, it really makes me dumb. I now do some "moderate" calorie counting, rough estimates over the day, conscious decisions what I eat and occasional exceptions allowed. So far it looks promising. But I sometimes absolutely need sugar in order to be able focus on work, and if its just in the form of some grapes or a banana. As long as I have to use my brain, I don't think a no sugar diet could work for me. (Even worse are artificial sweeteners, but I suppose their negative impact on the brain is not very controversial anyway.) This is only anecdotal evidence, of course. From what I've learned from the net on diets is (i) what works for someone may not work for someone else, and (ii) information on the net about dieting ranges from unreliable to contradictory.

dominotw 5y ago
> Reducing sugar intake has clear health benefits, including reduced calorie intake, which can help with weight loss, and improved dental health. Its not 'no sugar' diet. More of what you seem to be doing.
seer 5y ago
What really opened me up to all of the complex biochem when processing different foods was the “what I’ve learned” youtube channel [1]. What you describe was actually tested by the US government with the starvation experiment around ww2 and is consistent with your symptoms. Apparently when people are kept on a carb diet, but not given enough carbs, their live would suck quite a bit, they would loose muscle (but gain fat), not be able to think straight, etc. Its all fascinating stuff. I would suggest trying a full water fast for at least 2 days to see how it goes. For me its much less stressful, and after I get rid of all the carbs (24-48 hours, depending on what I was eating before) I would blissfully operate without any problems, including heavy fitness and programming tasks. And when I get to a point of too little glucose in my brain, because I had to fix a tricky bug, instead of searching for that chocolate treat, I’ll just sit for a but for 5-10 minutes, and let my body break down some of my fat to make more brain juice to operate normally. You are right though that people are different and this is a fricking complex stuff, and might not work for you, just wanted to mention that there might be more you can try. [1] https://youtu.be/APZCfmgzoS0 https://youtu.be/APZCfmgzoS0

dominotw 5y ago

> Reducing sugar intake has clear health benefits, including reduced calorie intake, which can help with weight loss, and improved dental health. Its not 'no sugar' diet. More of what you seem to be doing.

seer 5y ago

What really opened me up to all of the complex biochem when processing different foods was the “what I’ve learned” youtube channel [1]. What you describe was actually tested by the US government with the starvation experiment around ww2 and is consistent with your symptoms. Apparently when people are kept on a carb diet, but not given enough carbs, their live would suck quite a bit, they would loose muscle (but gain fat), not be able to think straight, etc. Its all fascinating stuff. I would suggest trying a full water fast for at least 2 days to see how it goes. For me its much less stressful, and after I get rid of all the carbs (24-48 hours, depending on what I was eating before) I would blissfully operate without any problems, including heavy fitness and programming tasks. And when I get to a point of too little glucose in my brain, because I had to fix a tricky bug, instead of searching for that chocolate treat, I’ll just sit for a but for 5-10 minutes, and let my body break down some of my fat to make more brain juice to operate normally. You are right though that people are different and this is a fricking complex stuff, and might not work for you, just wanted to mention that there might be more you can try. [1] https://youtu.be/APZCfmgzoS0 https://youtu.be/APZCfmgzoS0