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Why do some people lose their temper, and get cranky and anxious when they don’t eat at one meal? Many people who have just started low-carb or fasting should have had an experience at one time or another where they felt particularly emotional.

In today’s post, let’s talk about why you get so emotional when you start fasting.

Why Does Fasting Make You Irritable?

This is a common question that happens to a lot of people, so let’s start by understanding a few of the possible factors that make fasting make you irritable:

→ Changes in blood sugar levels

Fasting can lead to a drop in blood sugar levels, which are the main source of energy for the brain and body. When blood sugar levels are too low, brain function may be affected, leading to mood swings and irritability.

→ Hunger Hormones

When you are hungry, your body secretes hormones such as ghrelin, which stimulates your appetite and may also trigger mood swings. On the other hand, hunger may also lower your level of serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with mood regulation.

→ Lack of energy

During the initial period of fasting, the body lacks sufficient energy to maintain normal physiological and psychological functions. This feeling of lack of energy after fasting can lead to fatigue, anxiety and emotional instability.

→ Psychological factors

Fasting may trigger psychological anxiety or stress. Especially when fasting conflicts with one’s living habits, work pressure, or emotional state, feelings of irritability and anxiety may be more pronounced.

→ Energy Supply Mode Shift

You need to realize that the body relies on three main types of fuel, sugar, ketones, and fatty acids.

When you start fasting, the body shifts from using sugar as its primary fuel to using ketones and fatty acids. Initially, you will only be able to use about 40% ketones and almost 60% fatty acids.

The switch can be inefficient at first, especially if you also have a history of insulin resistance, and it takes a while for the body to adapt to this new fuel source. During this adaptation process, you may then become irritable.

→ Effects of insulin resistance

When you fast, you may feel angry, agitated, and unfriendly, which may be a sign that your body has a lower tolerance for stress: poor metabolic flexibility and inability to naturally alter fuel supply.

Metabolic flexibility is assessed by the ability to switch from fat oxidation to sugar oxidation, and this “metabolic inflexibility” is mainly due to impaired cellular glucose uptake. This is related to your years of insulin resistance, which means that insulin resistance makes it difficult for your cells to take up and properly utilize glucose.

When you start a low-carb, low-sugar diet, there will be less glucose in your body and you will have to learn to rely on ketones and fatty acids for energy. But since the brain only relies on glucose or ketone bodies (it won’t use fatty acids directly), when you haven’t fully adapted to using ketones as fuel, your body doesn’t produce enough ketones and your brain gets hungry, which can lead to experiencing a range of mood swings, irritability, and anger.

→ Dehydration

If you don’t get enough fluid intake during a fast, it can lead to dehydration, which itself can trigger headaches and mood swings. Maintaining adequate fluid intake while fasting and trying to choose a fasting method that suits your physical condition can help alleviate these discomforts.

How to Improve Fasting Mood Swings?

People who are used to fasting will feel emotionally stable and enjoy the fasting. Improving the irritability associated with fasting can be done in several ways, including adjusting your dietary methods, optimizing your lifestyle habits, and managing your mental state:

→ Choosing the right type of fasting

For example, intermittent fasting (e.g. the 16/8 rule) may be more suitable for some people, which allows you to be able to eat within a certain window of time each day, reducing the impact on your daily life.

Make a feasible fasting plan, don’t force yourself to over-fast, understand how your body reacts, and adjust accordingly.

→ Give it some patience and slowly over-adapt

If you are trying fasting for the first time, it is recommended that you should gradually increase the duration of your fast rather than engaging in a prolonged fast at the beginning.

Over time, your body will begin to use ketones more efficiently, and your mood will improve greatly once your brain begins to get used to ketones for energy.

→ Supplement with exogenous ketones

You can ingest coconut oil, MCT oil, etc. to produce ketone bodies and give yourself replacement energy. This can help your brain adapt to ketone energy supply faster and improve moodiness like irritability and anxiety. Give yourself a little more patience, this irritability phase is only temporary. As your body begins to adapt to this pattern, your mood will instead become more stable and calm.

→ Hydration to ease irritability and restlessness

Hydration is crucial in the early stages of the transition to ketosis, as dehydration often exacerbates feelings of irritability and restlessness. However, in addition to drinking water, adding electrolyte-rich beverages such as coconut water, electrolyte water, or low-sugar sports drinks can prevent the loss of essential minerals due to increased urination, which is common among those starting a ketogenic or fasting diet.

→ Get good sleep and regulate your mood

Adequate sleep plays an integral role in mood management while adapting to ketones. Lack of sleep can exacerbate irritability and prolong the transition. It is recommended to develop good sleep habits, reduce noise decibels before bedtime, and reduce exposure to blue light devices at night.

→ Learn stress management

Anxious and depressing moods tend to exacerbate the irritability brought on by fasting and the like. Therefore, during this period, it is recommended that relaxation techniques such as meditation, deep breathing, or yoga be utilized, which can help to alleviate feelings of stress and anxiety and improve moodiness.

→ Moderate exercise and sunlight

Regular exercise can boost your mood and energy levels, helping you to better cope with the physical and emotional changes during fasting. Outdoor exercise, in particular, is better if you get some sunlight, which synthesizes vitamin D, which then synthesizes serotonin and melatonin.

→ Ensure adequate nutrition

Ensuring that you consume nutrient-rich foods during the eating window can help to calm your mood. Choosing your food wisely and consuming enough high-quality protein and healthy fats can help stabilize blood sugar levels and increase satiety, which can be effective in reducing mood swings during fasting.