I can only speak for myself, but in the period where I am keto-adapting, I feel irritable and have low self control... but once I'm keto-adapted (ie. in ketosis), I have MUCH better self-control than normal.
I'm curious about that - I'm no expert in keto-diet.
How do you assess self-control? I mean, could it be just reversion to the mean, you swing into very low then bounce back and feel like it's better than it was before?
I am in the same situation as Mattrix. Keto and fasting improve self control tremendously.
And to answer your question . . . the difference is not subtle, so it's really obvious. For example, I was fasting last Sunday and did 6 hours of housework on a day I would normally play video games. I am fasting right now, and am destroying my work, doing chores on breaks, and cooking food for dinner. I can smell delicious food in the crock pot that I can't have for another four hours, and I do want it . . . but the desire is bothering me approximately as much as unwanted birdsong. Which is to say I barely even notice.
It's a heck of a thing. Everyone should try it at least once.
I've done 24 hour fasts several times and they basically just make me lose two days of productivity. One during the fast day because I'm completely worn down and another the next day as I'm still drained and takes a day of normal eating to get back to normal.
Try keto adaptation followed by fasting, at least once in your life. I mean, there are people who can't for health reasons, and I don't know if there are others for whom it won't "work" . . . but if it works it's a heck of a thing.
Fasting doesn't work for me except when I'm on keto, where it's no problem... though I should note I'm not talking about full day fasting, just "Intermittent Fasting". I will wake up, have a coffee+butter (~100 calories), and then not eat anything else until 2pm. Oh and I often run a 10-15km run before lunch and feel great during it, I think keto helps there too.
I had similar experiences: When I'm on keto, I'm feeling hungry much less, and much less intensely. Sometimes I skipped lunch because I was focused on something and wasn't feeling like interrupting whatever I was doing. More importantly, I didn't feel super hungry a couple of hours after. I guess I was constantly in fat burning mode so my body didn't need to be switching gears.
I stopped keto after a few months reaching my target weight, and was irritable and unfocused for 2-3 days.
A couple months ago I read an article about how the immune system "reboots" after 3 days of fasting. I'm not read yet, but I've been considering making it a quarterly event.
"Reboot".sounds very woo-y so I'll explain the science behind it as I understand it. Fasting, after your glycogen reserves are depleted, lowers white blood cells. This in turns triggers the immune system to generate new cells. This seems to be helpful in patients undergoing chemotherapy.
It takes about 48 hours to deplete your glycogen, that's where "3 days" comes from - 2 to deplete glycogen then a third for immune system regeneration.
I say, give it a shot for sure. It's a lot easier to do once you've done it before. I practice fasting regularly.
Can confirm the 2-3 day transition and the clarity on the other side. But, you need to be well prepared for the transition and afterwards to ensure a worthwhile journey. Do lots of reading ahead of time to make sure you have everything you need to sustain after the transition.
I think you're confusing fasting (simply abstaining from food) with some sort of religious or spiritual practice.
My first fast was 4 days when I was a teenager and it started as a joke "let's fast for the whole week then go to a buffet to see how much we can eat." That lead me to fast Monday-Thursday and we went to the buffet on Friday. Guess how much "clarity" that brought me? None.
As a person with ADHD I've had to learn to be aware of my current mental state at any given time. At certain times I have an extremely hard time concentrating, but those times are WAY more rare when I'm on keto.
The other thing I've noticed is that I have much more patience with my kids (4 and 7) when I'm on keto. I can take them grocery shopping with me and they don't drive me insane, etc.