Originally Posted by
Ratchet_V2
Sup brodie,
I'll keep it short. I personally don't do well IF fasting either. A lot of people don't. I think you nailed it on the head with thyroid, and I'll circle back to that. I don't think the benefits of IF are attributable to whatever biochemical, physiological processes occur due to the actual act of the IF fast itself; I think its from the removal of all the shit that most people who IF would have typically overate in the first place. If you're an overweight, metabolically unhealthy person, not eating is probably better for you than eating a bunch of carbs immediately upon waking up, essentially just jacking up your glucose regulation. Go look at the people on the IF subreddit who are claiming that IF is making them feel better. They're generally overweight, and they generally eat like shit the rest of their day. But I know you're not one of those people. I know what you bench.
Anyways, I've always had a shitty thyroid. My mom's on synthroid. My aunt is on synthroid. My dude cousin is on synthroid. It runs in the family. I have experienced the same degree of brain fog as you, lowered body temp, fatigued, generally shit, whenever I fasted, IF or extended. I had labs done during the period I tried IF fasting, and shortly after a few extended fasts. All three bloods looked the same. Low sex hormones, low Free T3 & T4, TSH ~2.5. I decided to go back to the habits I maintained pre-PFS when I always felt at my best, which was never skipping breakfast, always including a protein with a carb, and eating at least three square meals a day. It usually took about a week to get my engine churning again, a month to pur, but once it was on, it was on. I haven't gone back. Try looking up the RTN method on instagram. They're dopey, but I have implemented a lot of what they preach and everything has improved my situation tremendously. A few of their principles include: try and eat within 45 minutes of waking up; always include a protein with a carb; in terms of carbs, a balance of starches and fructose; eat before coffee; the list goes on. Now, my sex hormones are up, my Free T3 and T4 is where it should be, my TSH is 1, I generally feel way better, I don't have brain fog (by far the worst symptom I personally experienced, unrelenting, and I think it was on your level). Obviously the protocol contributes to this, but tending to my thyroid and throwing wood in the fire significantly helped me, and whenever I go without eating for a period of time, I can begin to feel the fog and shittiness creep back in.
But bro? If you can't go without eating for like a day and not feel like shit, are you even recovered? Fuck off.
Woah, did I just throw the hard r word out there?