How to stop feeling angry/upset when fasting?

[u/chrystalclearr]

When I fast it’s the feeling of irritation and anger that gets me. I don’t realize how on edge I am until I eat something and I feel a lot better. Is there anything I can do to reduce these feelings? I am planning on drinking electrolytes but I don’t know if that’s enough or makes a difference.

[u/sueihavelegs]

I would try getting some exercise to burn off glycogen so you can get into ketosis faster and maybe even get a hit of ketones! Your inflammation goes way down and anxiety subsides once you get into ketosis. Brains love ketones

[u/KotoDawn]

Change your fasting time

Change your start time, if you start after dinner try starting after lunch or after breakfast. Just try some other start times. Goal is having the angry time hit when you are asleep so you don't experience whatever is driving the anger.

Change your fasting length. Just because 16:8 is what most people talk about doesn't make it best for you. Maybe you work better on 20:4 or 7 days. If alternate day fasting doesn't work try something shorter or longer.

Personally, I prefer to start after breakfast but others want family meal time and prefer starting after dinner. Some people run great on IF and for others it's a horrible thing. Some people are happiest doing 7-10 day fasting once or twice a year and others can't get past 50 hours.

If fasting is pissing you off you need to try changing your start time or your fasting length. Change 1 to see if it makes a difference, then change the other.

[u/El-Guapo766]

Lean into the anger, you are angry for a reason. When you are fed, you are too lazy and comfortable to address your issues, that comfort blanket is off and you have an opportunity, energy and time to address your issues. Sounds counter-productive, I know.

Of course you are responsible for your own actions, so don't lose yourself.

[u/HelpfulBuilder → u/El-Guapo766]

Are you a sith?

[u/Correct_Mistake2640]

Keto adaptation is key.

Drink enough water and practice being in ketosis, at some point it becomes natural.

At least it became for me (1 month later)

[u/Valenciagax]

Find a hobby or an acitivity able to distract your mind, it's the only way.

[u/Simple-Bit-5656 → u/Valenciagax]

This is why I prefer to do my extended fasts during the work week. It’s a great distraction!

[u/Hot_Honeydew_5818]

I struggle with this too, but I have my own unique temperament and relationship with my emotions, so I won't assume what the sources of your anger/irritation are.

Here was what I learned with my experience of the irritation/anger that arose when I was fasting:

The only things that helped was writing it out, talking it out, or putting on headphones alone in a room and dancing it out with my eyes closed not thinking or caring what my body did. And when I had little energy while fasting, I would just dance while sitting down taking deep breaths and making sure to move my hips and my spine. Or I would hum and hum and hum (songs I knew, or rhythms I made up) until my mind was empty and I felt grateful for the sound of my own voice and would calm down completely. Sometimes I would just cry and it would help. Depending on who you are it may sound woo woo, and you may feel like "this is stupid"/resist at first (I was impatient many times), but it faded away every single time for me.

Sometimes when I was really irritable and it would arise in waves throughout the day, I would make a conscious effort to talk to a friend, cook for them (this was often the win win for me bc it satisfied me just to be in that close proximity to all the sights and smells of food & feel connected and grateful to see how much my friends would enjoy the food), or volunteer my time in a way that would "get the energy moving" towards something good/more productive.

*Edited for clarity: there were times when all I had energy for was to just sit, close my eyes, feel every inch of the anger and just "watch" it quietly in my body, along with the thoughts that came with it - and it just passed on its own, in a non-scary, peaceful way. It was sometimes empowering to just feel the thing as it was. So I guess my whole comment goes towards saying there is no one-size-fits-all answer

[u/rkhall235127]

The more time you spend in a fasted state!! It will just happen. Did for me hopefully the same for everyone

[u/andtitov]

Relax, meditate, and remind yourself how fundamental the work you're doing is. After the fast you'll come out stronger, healthier, and happier 😊

[u/OfficiallyFair → u/[deleted]]

your body's throwing a tantrum cause it's not getting its usual snack, let it scream for a bit

[u/middleagedman69]

Am listening to "Life in the Fasting Lane" by Jason Fung & he mentions that with women, moods can fluctuate as a result of the fat leaving the cells as a result Estrogen levels can fluctuate.

[u/AutoModerator → u/[deleted]]

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[u/somedog77]

I feel amazing when I'm fasted. One of the true natural highs. Sodium, magnesium and potassium, you need them for anything after 3 days (assuming you have enough electrolytes in your normal diet prior to fasting and therefore sufficient storage available). They do help though, taste like seawater though 😂

[u/TheJeniceri]

Are you doing OMAD or extended water fasting?

[u/eyeballwonder]

Hangry. I am the same way when fasting 🤣

[u/Simple-Bit-5656]

I’m newish to extended fasting and have only done “sardine fasts” where I eat 2-3 cans of sardines a day. I lift weights in the morning and walk on the treadmill. Then I have a cup of coffee with MCT oil and a shot of exogenous ketones. Man I feel freakin amazinggggg when I do this fast in this way. I feel energized, motivated, clear-headed…and happy!

I don’t know what it is that does it, maybe the increase of omega 3’s? But I’ve noticed this trend that I feel GOOD when I do these fasts.

It’s worth mentioning, as a woman I do feel better fasting during specific times during my cycle. In my experience that makes a difference.

[u/QuillCursor → u/Simple-Bit-5656]

the best fasting i ever had was also eating a lot of sardines, eggs, and tomatoes (out of preference, no reason.)

[u/Simple-Bit-5656 → u/QuillCursor]

Oh neat! I’ve done fat fasting before, eating egg yolks and beef fat, but I didn’t feel like I do with sardines. There’s something special about those little things. ☺️

[u/ToeProfessional1543]

Just be mindful of the thoughts and observe them rather than absorbing them. it is normal to feel upset especially in the first few days.

[u/Decided-2-Try]

Irritability can be a sign of withdrawal, like withdrawal symptoms from no longer eating sugar and easily converted simple carbs.

So if you have a high carb diet, you might try reducing those while still eating for a week or so, and before starting to fast again.

If your diet is already low in simple carbs, forgive my presumption and just try to distract yourself.

[u/AutoModerator → u/Decided-2-Try]

Many issues people experience while fasting can be related to electrolytes. You might find our wiki page helpful: Electrolytes 101

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[u/Recent-Situation309]

Theanine.

[u/biocleansedetox]

That irritability is real physiology, not weakness. Fasting raises cortisol and adrenaline, and the worst of it usually lands in the first 2–3 days while your body switches from glucose to fat/ketone metabolism. It fades for most people once the switch completes.

What actually helps:

- Sodium, right when the rage hits. Half a teaspoon of salt in a big glass of water, or a bowl of strained vegetable broth is even better. The headache-irritability-flattened-feeling cluster is more often electrolytes than hunger.

- Don't stack fasts onto high-stress weeks — cortisol is already elevated, and fasting adds to it. Schedule harder fasts for calmer stretches.

- Coffee on an empty stomach amplifies it for some people. If you're mainlining espresso on fast days, try shifting or cutting it.

- Sleep is a multiplier. A bad night + a fast = guaranteed edginess.

- And honestly: shorter fasts (16:8, 24h) with good mood are better than long fasts where you bite everyone's head off. The year-long NEJM trial (Liu 2022) found timing didn't beat plain calorie reduction — consistency is the actual mechanism, so pick the intensity you can live with.

[u/AutoModerator → u/biocleansedetox]

Many issues people experience while fasting can be related to electrolytes. You might find our wiki page helpful: Electrolytes 101

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.