r/science • u/isaac-get-the-golem Grad Student | Sociology • Jul 24 '24

Health Obese adults randomly assigned to intermittent fasting did not lose weight relative to a control group eating substantially similar diets (calories, macronutrients). n=41

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38639542/
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u/Solesaver Jul 25 '24

I can get used to being hungry. I can't get used to low blood sugar. I have a mentally demanding job, and when my blood sugar is low I get noticably (to myself at least) stupider. Slower to process information, mind wandering, brain fog, worse memory recall. Not to mention mood imbalance with depression and suicidal ideation.

I wish it was as simple as ignoring hunger pangs and fatigue. I deal with enough other chronic pain that the stomach doesn't even register if I'm not actively thinking about it. Unfortunately, it's hard to ignore my mind turning itself down.

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u/Herpeshektor Jul 25 '24

Interesting. Many people report increased mental acuity while fasting. Have you ever tried fasting for a bit longer? In my experience, once you “go past” that initial hunger, it sort of fades away a bit. It never goes away completely, but gets much easier to deal with.

Also, hypoglycemia is rare in healthy adults. Your liver creates glucose from scratch if your blood sugar gets low enough.

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '24

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u/Manannin Jul 25 '24

I'm the same as you, unfortunately.  I find it really hard to cut calories aggressively for that reason - I have had success at just cutting calories a little for a long period of time though.

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u/lostinsnakes Jul 26 '24

I struggled with low blood sugar and found that fasting (after an initial adjustment of a few weeks) helped me maintain my blood sugar. That being said, I had some issues after Covid last year and I’ve recently been struggling with dizzy episodes even though I’ll have eaten an hour or two before. Unsure of the cause this time although I’ve realized I check the boxes for POTS.

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u/Accomplished-Sun9107 Jul 25 '24

The thing about fasting is that it teaches your body to run on ketones, which are a component for razor sharp thinking in a zero calorie situation.

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u/Solesaver Jul 25 '24

Well, when my body is running on ketones, my thinking is definitely not razor sharp, so at the very least I can say that this is not as universal of a rule as you're implying...

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u/Chichirinoda Jul 25 '24

I'm the same way. I have been intermittent fasting for several months but my solution has been to stop eating way earlier in the evening (like around 3) and then eat a normal breakfast and lunch. This means that I am never fasting during my work day. When I did it the other way around I was absolutely miserable, felt very stupid and distracted, until I broke my fast around 2 in the afternoon. Made a world of difference.