I have been off caffeine for a few years now. I stopped because it ended up just causing anxiety for me, headaches, and poorer sleep. I have been wanting to get into intermittent fasting and have tried it a few times. I haven’t felt the amazing mood that I hear about, in fact I usually end up more short with people during the fasting time.
I did keto for 8 months or so a couple of years ago and I felt mentally amazing on that, but strayed away from it in order to regain explosive energy for martial arts. I was hoping that intermittent fasting might be key to maintaining both the explosiveness and clear headedness. However, I can’t seem to get past the orneriness and wonder if it has to do with me not drinking caffeine? I commonly read about people praising coffee because they feel it’s the only way they can survive IF, but I just don’t want to go back to that life. Any tips or tricks to controlling the moodiness aside from caffeine?
I don’t drink any thing but water and I only eat once a day. I find smoking pot in the evenings helps me cope with the world and all of its bullshit, so I tend to be in a very good mood most of the time and I’m rarely hungry. It just takes a little practice.
My mood becomes dark without caffeine, but IF is completely unrelated to it.
As you had already been off caffeine previously, your moodiness on IF is unrelated to caffeine in and of itself.
Since caffeine originally had the opposite effect on you as to me (it elevates my mood, but you say it made you anxious), it doesn’t follow that caffeine will help you now.
I’m guessing your moodiness on IF is just the result of your brain missing those endorphins you get from eating. So your brain during the fasting interval is a bit like a junkie right now, going through withdrawal. Get through the withdrawal phase, and the moodiness while IF’ing will pass.