6 ms·

Really enjoying IF and it's had enormous benefits for me. The doc basically said my latest bloods are outstanding, way, way down from the serious telling-off I

Really enjoying IF and it's had enormous benefits for me. The doc basically said my latest bloods are outstanding, way, way down from the serious telling-off I got 6 months ago. I'm not using someone else's schedule, just listening to my body and pushing boundaries as hard as my fitness will allow. But there are mental "downsides" to reckon with. It's not grumpiness, but rather a "predatory" state. Not quite aggression - a little more of the warrior mode circuits seems switched on. Plus general heightened emotion and general willingness to speak the truth, fight/defend others, take risks.... Working out how to deal with that and integrate it positively is my present challenge. Anyone else getting that?

AnthonBerg 4y ago
Seen it in people. It's a quite beautiful side.
- AnthonBerg 4y ago
  Due to a downvote I wish to reaffirm my position: I do see a somewhat warrior-mode-like side of people who are fasting. And I do find it to be beautiful. It’s not bad company.
cassianoleal 4y ago
Been doing IF on-and-off for maybe 5 or 6 years. I get the same way. Since you already called this "warrior mode", I'd recommend reading the warrior literature for tools and techniques to help deal with this in a positive way. If you're new to it, The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman is a great introduction and there should be enough references on it to start digging deeper. There is a movie for the book as well but I don't recommend it.
- nonrandomstring 4y ago
  This looks like a perfect antidote to my not-peaceful warrior experiences [1]. Thank you. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2255.Way_of_the_Peaceful_Warrior https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2255.Way_of_the_Peaceful...
tetris11 4y ago
I know this feeling well. This is a false sense of sharpness caused by undereating. You dont feel hungry or tired, just energized, light and strong. I say false sense of sharpness, because you're actually not that alert. Yes, you can push yourself more, but your brain is in flight/fright mode and not thinking rationally.
- nonrandomstring 4y ago
  > but your brain is in flight/fright mode and not thinking rationally. Good cautious advice. Thank you.
- darkerside 4y ago
  It seems likely to me that your type 1 brain is more active and sharp, while your type 2 brain is overshadowed.
- guywhocodes 4y ago
  I always significant increase in weight lifting exercises immediately upon starting fasting. Feels like an adrenaline response tbh.
- kuratkull 4y ago
  [Citation required]
  - tetris11 4y ago
    [anecdote implied]
- cmurf 4y ago
  Irrational thinking seems unlikely. When glucose deficit, the brain functions fine on ketones. It might be you're experiencing your brain running on ketones.
- AnthonBerg 4y ago
  Are you sure that that is all there is? May I point to one paper of many that show proinflammatory cytokines to be reduced due to intermittent fasting? “Under controlled conditions, [diurnal intermittent fasting] led to significantly decreased plasma levels of cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8), particularly IL-1β and IL-6 across 24 h.” – The effects of diurnal intermittent fasting on proinflammatory cytokine levels while controlling for sleep/wake pattern, meal composition and energy expenditure, 2019: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0226034 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal... There are a bunch more. “intermittent fasting il-6” is a decent search to start with: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=7%2C39&q=intermittent+fasting+il-6 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=7%2C39&q=int...
pgt 4y ago
Your body goes into hunting mode. The problem is your environment - body yearns to be in nature, hunting or braaiing.
ansc 4y ago
It's a beautiful thing that we can rebrand "hangry" as "warrior mode". I also noticed this and just came to the conclusion that having breakfast and being in a good mood ("off edge"/"relaxed"/"opposite of warrior mode") was more worth it.
- rubyfan 4y ago
  I’m going to tell my wife I’m in “warrior mode” the next time I’m being a hangry jerk. I wonder how that will go.
  - hombre_fatal 4y ago
    Next time I skip a meal I’m going to say it’s my tribal warrior response when I feel like raiding the fridge.
losvedir 4y ago
Huh, I've been intermittent fasting (eating only between 11am - 7pm for me) for most of this year, and haven't noticed any emotional changes like that. But the physical ones definitely! I feel way healthier and my bloodwork just came back much improved as well. For me, though, I don't think it has anything at all to do with the time restriction so much as the inadvertent calorie restriction. I've lost 30 lbs since I started, mostly because intermittent fasting has caused me to cut out my late night snacking and my greasy breakfasts.
- landemva 4y ago
  In my experience, this is a good description of what happens. Eat less; lose weight; feel better. Now let's find a way to put this in a pill so manufacturer reps will provide literature to doctors to prescribe it and insurance companies will pay the drug makers so everyone can go to pill maker conferences in Hawaii for education.
dominotw 4y ago
> The doc basically said my latest bloods are outstanding What was the change in blood reports? I am surprised somone can simply reverse their 'serious' metabolic disease state in mere 6 months. Then what would be the point of living a healthy lifestyle everyday if you can simply 'get healthy' in a matter of months when you need it. I've wondered about this for a while. My friends don't give a shit about health and barely do any physical activity. They can get to 'outstanding' equivalent level in 6 months at the time of their choosing? That doesn't seem fair,lol.
- landemva 4y ago
  Like sex, do you want to have the benefits along the way or wait until the last days of life?
  - dominotw 4y ago
    Yes but my question is doesn't poor diet and lifestyle have lasting damage or can it be simply reversed in few months like OP.
- nonrandomstring 4y ago
  Hey I'm really worried about sending out the wrong signal here, so let me tell you it was not a picnic. NOT a picnic! But it was a walk on the park, so to speak. And I definitely wouldn't let myself go out of shape like that again thinking it would be an easy ride home. Basically I stomped my A1C almost in half, from 50 (knocking on the door of diabetic) down to 30 (complete remission to decent health) - so totally mullahed it. Doc says that's at the limits of medical science, so I was pretty chuffed. Need to maintain now with IF and regular workout. What it cost me was: IF, 12 or 18 hour sessions once (occasionally twice) per week. Diet change to 80% plant based, more raw veg, nuts, fish Setting a reminder to drink water Walking 20 miles twice a week with a full pack (that's where most people will wobble a bit). Cold water sea swimming (you get used to it) I added two tricks. One is to walk on sand. Other is replace lost weight by stuffing a modular armour jacket with little sand bags in the plate pockets. When I dropped from 95kg to 90kg I just added 5 kilos of sand and so on. This happens gradually. When you carry around the weight you lost it keeps the calorie burn the same per mile and really motivates you because you can literally feel how much lighter you are when you take the vest off. Also you can just drop weight if you get exhausted on a long yomp. Yes I am lucky too. I live in a place with opportunity for outdoor activity. Probably good metabolic genetics. Made time to do the health work by dropping some contracts (I consider it an investment in myself like college etc) Also I took the diagnosis seriously and researched an action plan.
notesinthefield 4y ago
I find macro timing/restriction to be better in combating "hangryness", meals before 10am and after 4pm are protein and carb heavy and anything in between is higher protien and low or near zero carb. I used to 16:8 and 18:6 IF but Id just be too moody.
tempe1h1 4y ago
yes, I think it happens so you (we) can go hunting or harvesting or something, I can usually refocus that into cooking
v7engine 4y ago
What's the IF protocol do you use? And do you take any Coffee during fasting? Any sugar or milk?
strikelaserclaw 4y ago
your body is in survival mode, so that is to be expected.
tpoacher 4y ago
Has this been accompanied by a rise in testosterone by any chance?
- nonrandomstring 4y ago
  How do you get that measured? Don't think it's in the standard NHS bloodwork men my age get as routine in UK. Does it show up in urine for any OTC tests?
ASalazarMX 4y ago
Feeding is such an important and complex function, I believe there's also a strong psychological component in fasting. In my case, I'm losing about a pound per week doing light exercise and 15 hours of fasting daily. Sometimes I've gone to sleep a bit hungry, and I've had dramatic dreams of being weak and emaciated. When I woke up I felt anxious, but just needed to go to the mirror, talk to my subconscious as if it was a child, and show him that we still have a long road to go, but in a few hours there will be a generous breakfast. We're not dying of hunger anytime soon. The anxiety simply vanishes. These days there's no feeding anxiety anymore, but the subconscious is a very interesting companion. Another night I dreamed that somehow I was at my intended goal, and I didn't know how that happened so fast, and then felt an overwhelming happiness because now I could eat at any hour again! I woke up, and said "Nice try, subconscious", and happily resumed my sleep. The brain in survival mode acts in funny ways.
kennedywm 4y ago
Somewhat. I feel focused and active, but it’s more of a calm balanced feeling.

AnthonBerg 4y ago

Seen it in people. It's a quite beautiful side.

AnthonBerg 4y ago
Due to a downvote I wish to reaffirm my position: I do see a somewhat warrior-mode-like side of people who are fasting. And I do find it to be beautiful. It’s not bad company.

cassianoleal 4y ago

Been doing IF on-and-off for maybe 5 or 6 years. I get the same way. Since you already called this "warrior mode", I'd recommend reading the warrior literature for tools and techniques to help deal with this in a positive way. If you're new to it, The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman is a great introduction and there should be enough references on it to start digging deeper. There is a movie for the book as well but I don't recommend it.

nonrandomstring 4y ago
This looks like a perfect antidote to my not-peaceful warrior experiences [1]. Thank you. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2255.Way_of_the_Peaceful_Warrior https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2255.Way_of_the_Peaceful...

tetris11 4y ago

I know this feeling well. This is a false sense of sharpness caused by undereating. You dont feel hungry or tired, just energized, light and strong. I say false sense of sharpness, because you're actually not that alert. Yes, you can push yourself more, but your brain is in flight/fright mode and not thinking rationally.

nonrandomstring 4y ago
> but your brain is in flight/fright mode and not thinking rationally. Good cautious advice. Thank you.
darkerside 4y ago
It seems likely to me that your type 1 brain is more active and sharp, while your type 2 brain is overshadowed.
guywhocodes 4y ago
I always significant increase in weight lifting exercises immediately upon starting fasting. Feels like an adrenaline response tbh.
kuratkull 4y ago
[Citation required]
- tetris11 4y ago
  [anecdote implied]
cmurf 4y ago
Irrational thinking seems unlikely. When glucose deficit, the brain functions fine on ketones. It might be you're experiencing your brain running on ketones.
AnthonBerg 4y ago
Are you sure that that is all there is? May I point to one paper of many that show proinflammatory cytokines to be reduced due to intermittent fasting? “Under controlled conditions, [diurnal intermittent fasting] led to significantly decreased plasma levels of cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8), particularly IL-1β and IL-6 across 24 h.” – The effects of diurnal intermittent fasting on proinflammatory cytokine levels while controlling for sleep/wake pattern, meal composition and energy expenditure, 2019: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0226034 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal... There are a bunch more. “intermittent fasting il-6” is a decent search to start with: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=7%2C39&q=intermittent+fasting+il-6 https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=7%2C39&q=int...

pgt 4y ago

Your body goes into hunting mode. The problem is your environment - body yearns to be in nature, hunting or braaiing.

ansc 4y ago

It's a beautiful thing that we can rebrand "hangry" as "warrior mode". I also noticed this and just came to the conclusion that having breakfast and being in a good mood ("off edge"/"relaxed"/"opposite of warrior mode") was more worth it.

rubyfan 4y ago
I’m going to tell my wife I’m in “warrior mode” the next time I’m being a hangry jerk. I wonder how that will go.
- hombre_fatal 4y ago
  Next time I skip a meal I’m going to say it’s my tribal warrior response when I feel like raiding the fridge.

losvedir 4y ago

Huh, I've been intermittent fasting (eating only between 11am - 7pm for me) for most of this year, and haven't noticed any emotional changes like that. But the physical ones definitely! I feel way healthier and my bloodwork just came back much improved as well. For me, though, I don't think it has anything at all to do with the time restriction so much as the inadvertent calorie restriction. I've lost 30 lbs since I started, mostly because intermittent fasting has caused me to cut out my late night snacking and my greasy breakfasts.

landemva 4y ago
In my experience, this is a good description of what happens. Eat less; lose weight; feel better. Now let's find a way to put this in a pill so manufacturer reps will provide literature to doctors to prescribe it and insurance companies will pay the drug makers so everyone can go to pill maker conferences in Hawaii for education.

dominotw 4y ago

> The doc basically said my latest bloods are outstanding What was the change in blood reports? I am surprised somone can simply reverse their 'serious' metabolic disease state in mere 6 months. Then what would be the point of living a healthy lifestyle everyday if you can simply 'get healthy' in a matter of months when you need it. I've wondered about this for a while. My friends don't give a shit about health and barely do any physical activity. They can get to 'outstanding' equivalent level in 6 months at the time of their choosing? That doesn't seem fair,lol.

landemva 4y ago
Like sex, do you want to have the benefits along the way or wait until the last days of life?
- dominotw 4y ago
  Yes but my question is doesn't poor diet and lifestyle have lasting damage or can it be simply reversed in few months like OP.
nonrandomstring 4y ago
Hey I'm really worried about sending out the wrong signal here, so let me tell you it was not a picnic. NOT a picnic! But it was a walk on the park, so to speak. And I definitely wouldn't let myself go out of shape like that again thinking it would be an easy ride home. Basically I stomped my A1C almost in half, from 50 (knocking on the door of diabetic) down to 30 (complete remission to decent health) - so totally mullahed it. Doc says that's at the limits of medical science, so I was pretty chuffed. Need to maintain now with IF and regular workout. What it cost me was: IF, 12 or 18 hour sessions once (occasionally twice) per week. Diet change to 80% plant based, more raw veg, nuts, fish Setting a reminder to drink water Walking 20 miles twice a week with a full pack (that's where most people will wobble a bit). Cold water sea swimming (you get used to it) I added two tricks. One is to walk on sand. Other is replace lost weight by stuffing a modular armour jacket with little sand bags in the plate pockets. When I dropped from 95kg to 90kg I just added 5 kilos of sand and so on. This happens gradually. When you carry around the weight you lost it keeps the calorie burn the same per mile and really motivates you because you can literally feel how much lighter you are when you take the vest off. Also you can just drop weight if you get exhausted on a long yomp. Yes I am lucky too. I live in a place with opportunity for outdoor activity. Probably good metabolic genetics. Made time to do the health work by dropping some contracts (I consider it an investment in myself like college etc) Also I took the diagnosis seriously and researched an action plan.

notesinthefield 4y ago

I find macro timing/restriction to be better in combating "hangryness", meals before 10am and after 4pm are protein and carb heavy and anything in between is higher protien and low or near zero carb. I used to 16:8 and 18:6 IF but Id just be too moody.

tempe1h1 4y ago

yes, I think it happens so you (we) can go hunting or harvesting or something, I can usually refocus that into cooking

v7engine 4y ago

What's the IF protocol do you use? And do you take any Coffee during fasting? Any sugar or milk?

strikelaserclaw 4y ago

your body is in survival mode, so that is to be expected.

tpoacher 4y ago

Has this been accompanied by a rise in testosterone by any chance?

nonrandomstring 4y ago
How do you get that measured? Don't think it's in the standard NHS bloodwork men my age get as routine in UK. Does it show up in urine for any OTC tests?

ASalazarMX 4y ago

Feeding is such an important and complex function, I believe there's also a strong psychological component in fasting. In my case, I'm losing about a pound per week doing light exercise and 15 hours of fasting daily. Sometimes I've gone to sleep a bit hungry, and I've had dramatic dreams of being weak and emaciated. When I woke up I felt anxious, but just needed to go to the mirror, talk to my subconscious as if it was a child, and show him that we still have a long road to go, but in a few hours there will be a generous breakfast. We're not dying of hunger anytime soon. The anxiety simply vanishes. These days there's no feeding anxiety anymore, but the subconscious is a very interesting companion. Another night I dreamed that somehow I was at my intended goal, and I didn't know how that happened so fast, and then felt an overwhelming happiness because now I could eat at any hour again! I woke up, and said "Nice try, subconscious", and happily resumed my sleep. The brain in survival mode acts in funny ways.

kennedywm 4y ago

Somewhat. I feel focused and active, but it’s more of a calm balanced feeling.