Health and Fitness
Here’s How to Reduce Side-Effects of Fasting with Seven Proven Tips.
The side effects of fasting are real and can be challenging for beginners. However, there are viable solutions to address the side effects.
The Side Effects of Fasting are Real, Must be Understood and Addressed.
Time-restricted eating, aka intermittent fasting, has been one of the most powerful tools in my transformation of health and well-being. It both contributed to my physical and mental health.
In addition, fasting changed my perceptions helping me connect with others meaningfully.
Like all beginners, I also experienced several side effects when I started time-restricted eating. My body needed to adapt to this new regime.
In hindsight, all those symptoms indicated the remarkable biochemical changes in my body. I was only feeling the emotions created by the metabolic changes. They looked uncomfortable but were paradoxically setting the ground for future comfort.
After reading valuable comments from my loyal readers who try to gain perspectives on their health and well-being journey, I am inspired to pen this piece.
Some readers mentioned that they intend to fast, but they feel awful. I understand this situation as I experienced those terrible symptoms decades ago when I started fasting.
This article aims to introduce a few practical tips that helped me address the side effects of fasting and successfully eliminate symptoms.
I acknowledge that these terrible symptoms were not fun and initially concerned me greatly.
However, I am glad my mentors provided me with valuable insights and encouraged me to continue in the beginning. Their support made me transform my health to an optimal state.
Millions of people have fasted regularly for centuries for various reasons. Fasting is not a new experience for humanity.
However, in some Western societies, it only started becoming popular after the introduction of intermittent fasting by fitness enthusiasts and communities and recent scientific studies depicting the remarkable benefits of fasting for physical and mental health.
I shared my perspectives and experience of fasting in several articles, which I link to the end of this story as a reference for interested readers.
Here are the essential lessons I learned to overcome the side effects of fasting and turn unpleasant feelings into pleasant ones. These approaches are natural and do not require any investment.
However, some symptoms might require medical intervention, so it is always wise to obtain assistance from qualified healthcare professionals.
1 — Turning off Hunger Switch
Hunger is a primitive emotion. Thus, it is one of the essential factors to consider when practicing a time-restricted eating regime. Hunger comes and goes with fluctuating hormones such as ghrelin and leptin.
There are numerous metabolic hormones, but these two are the key ones we need to know. I introduce the role of hormones in our health in a story titled Hormonal Intelligence: Sharpen It to Achieve Optimal Health.
Ghrelin and leptin are two chemical messengers running the metabolic show in our bodies. I see them like yin-yang. While ghrelin increases hunger, leptin lowers it.
Ghrelin is straightforward. It is designed to make us hungry to feed our body to get vital energy and other building blocks like protein to nurture our organs.
Leptin acts on cell receptors as a regulator of energy. It mainly consists of adipose cells, but it aims to diminish fatty tissues regulating fat stores.
When we eat enough fat, we may have a better leptin balance. Leptin senses our fat stores, whether they are full or empty, serving like a thermostat. If full, it sends satiety signals to the brain.
We need to be careful of leptin resistance. This condition can cause excessive and unnecessary hunger. When our body is leptin resistant, the brain does not get the satiety signal.
Consequently, we feel hungry constantly. Therefore, a good diet with essential nutrients like healthy fats is important to keep our leptin sensitive.
2 — Fat-Adaptation
Fat adaption is a medical term referring to the body using its fat as a primary energy source. When we are in a fat-adapted state, the body can easily switch from glucose to using fatty acids and their by-product, ketones, as an alternative energy source.
The body and brain use two significant energy sources, glucose, and ketones. This conversion happens through the process of gluconeogenesis. It means that the liver turns amino acids and fat into glucose. Therefore, even if we don’t consume any carbs, our bloodstream always gets sufficient glucose via this natural process.
Fat adaptation indicated that my body created sufficient ketones to give me energy while not consuming food. Symptoms of low blood glucose levels disappeared. I felt energetic and clear-minded.
When my body produces ketones, my brain feels happier and calmer. Of course, our brain still uses glucose like several other organs, such as the liver, through the process of gluconeogenesis in the fasted state.
In addition to overcoming the side effects of fasting, we can experience a considerable amount of fat loss all over the body when we get fully fat-adapted. Weight loss should not be just water.
3 — Essential Minerals and Electrolytes
I still remember my first week on a ketogenic diet which helped me gain insights into the fasting process. More precisely, I had initial minor issues with that diet called the keto-flu.
The reason for me to feel keto-flu was insufficient salt in my body. I used to fear salt. But when I was in ketosis on high-fat diets and in a fast state, my body released salt much faster than when consuming excessive carbs.
Salt is an essential mineral for our health. Sodium is critical for the heart to function well. When I increased my salt intake, the symptoms disappeared. I never felt keto-flu again. Other minerals and electrolytes are important too.
For example, I raised my magnesium intake because my food source did not provide the optimal magnesium amount for my body’s requirements. I take magnesium through my skin and take 400 mg tablets before bed. In addition, I learned to watch my electrolytes during the fat-adaption period.
Salt is a controversial topic, but it is essential for our survival. In a nutshell, the key point is consuming adequate sodium based on our needs. Some of us may need fewer, and some more. For example, salt consumption in high-carb and low carb diets varies. In low-carb diets, the body releases sodium quicker.
4 — Hydration
Too little and too much water can be a problem. We need enough water to hydrate our cells. A large chunk of our body is made up of water. Water is a critical part of homeostasis. Health is all about homeostasis. Therefore, we need it to regulate body temperature.
All organs need water to get nutrients via the bloodstream. We also need it to keep our muscles and joints to stay functional.
We can notice dehydration from thirst, dry mouth, fatigue, and dark-colored urine. When dehydrated, we feel irritated, confused, dizzy, low mood, and have a headache. Health conditions such as diarrhea, fever, and infections can cause dehydration quickly.
In addition to exercise, also environmental factors such as hot weather can cause dehydration.
Most of the discomfort during fasting is caused by dehydration. When in a fasted state, hydration is extra essential to remove toxins from fat metabolism. When we consume sufficient water, we can feel great relief. I sip water every ten minutes while working in a fasted state. It became a healthy habit for me.
Drinking lots of water causes me to urinate a lot, but seeing the clear color in my urine informs me that I am hydrated. I always add a pinch of Himalayan pink salt to keep the balance of trace minerals.
5 — Rest and Quality Sleep
A fasted state requires slowing down intentionally. Excessive workouts make fasting difficult as the body is already under stress.
However, we don’t need much exercise when fasting as some benefits of workouts, such as autophagy, can be achieved by fasting.
Sleep is critical in both fasted and fed states. But when fasting, it is extra vital. We feel agitated and hungry when we don’t get enough quality sleep, especially REM and deep sleep.
One of the leading causes of excessive hunger is the body producing excessive cortisol from sleep deprivation. And cortisol increases blood sugar and causes insulin spikes. So fluctuating blood sugar is one of the reasons we feel hungry.
Quality sleep hygiene requires a few basic steps, such as a cool and darkroom, refraining from blue lights before going to bed, and not eating and exercising intensely at least two hours before bedtime.
6 — Mindful State and Meditation
When fasting, mindfulness practices can reduce side effects significantly. By being aware of now and accepting our current situation, we live in the moment.
The high-quality focus on each specific moment determines outcomes and thus contributes to our future success.
When we are in a mindful state, we experience less stress. A mindful state can also decrease our anxiety and fear as we don’t have to deal with regret and guilt about past or future concerns.
Living in the moment is a valuable present that we can give ourselves. In addition, a 20-to-30-minute meditation can reduce stress and side effects of fasting, like irritation, discomfort, and anxiety.
Observing the hunger fluctuations, accepting the emotion, and interpreting it as improvement signals for our health can improve our mood and patience for fasting.
By making mindfulness a usual practice, I quickly manage to go into a flow state at work. When I get into a flow state, I don’t feel hungry or don’t experience other unpleasant emotions.
7 — Journaling and Self-Talk
Writing our feelings, thoughts, and actions gives valuable data and can be therapeutic too. Journaling is easy and fun.
We can simply jot down our thoughts, emotions, ideas, and plans. It also keeps us organized.
When we write about our thoughts and emotions, we create mental space. It reduces stress in the body; hence it makes fasting easier. When we verbalize our feelings, the emotional load from the limbic system can reduce. We feel relief.
When journaling or self-talk, we shouldn’t worry about language structures like grammar, punctuation, or pronunciation. Just expressing our thoughts and emotions as they come to our awareness can be helpful and fun.
I also use these tools for problem-solving in both fasted and fed states. Interestingly, my writing and problem-solving are much more efficient on an empty stomach. Therefore, I aim to stay 22 hours fast and two hours fed daily.
Takeaways
The side effects of fasting are real and can be challenging for beginners. However, there are viable solutions to address the side effects. Here are the seven actions you can consider.
Learn to turn off the hunger switch by listening to the signals of the body.
Aim to get fat adapted state gradually.
Consume adequate minerals and electrolytes.
Remain hydrated by keeping a water bottle next to you.
Take a rest and restorative sleep each day.
Practice a mindful state and meditate for 20 to 30 minutes daily.
Keep a diary of your thoughts and emotions regularly.
Thank you for reading my perspectives.
I hope my experience, observations, and reviews can inspire you to tackle the insulin resistance problem. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
In addition to fasting, I also shared my experience with the potential side effects of ketogenic diets focusing on sleep issues.
Here’s What Happened to Me After Performing Infrequent 7-Day Fasting.
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Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
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Disclaimer: My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experience, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.
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Sample Humorous Stories
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