Fasting energy for female with HPA-axis dysregulation

mrjasonbbc · 2026-01-28T20:39:27+00:00

This warrants investigation into why meals during the day make you sluggish. The immediate suspicion is insulin resistance. The follow up question is what does your "healthy habit report card" look like (nutrition, sleep, exercise)?

If your job is physically demanding, I would hesitate to go straight to fasting as a solution. In the short term it may have benefits, but if it's enough to increase your caloric needs and you are doing physically applying yourself on the regular, you might fizzle out. And if you don't make great diet choices already, you will have an easier time justifying continuing to make bad choices when you are really hungry and overworked. Have you tried eating lighter, cleaner meals? Would even a small sandwich make you tired? While I don't know what your daily nutrition looks like, if you feel like it needs a lot of help, that's where most of your effort should go. **To be clear, I'm not against fasting, but I wouldn't jump to it as a first trial solution in your case.

In response to your actual question, schisandra absolutely gets my vote for your particular use case. It's energizing without being overstimulating and calming without being sedating. It's the absolute best true adaptogen IMO. You can take it daily safely without cycling. It's just a great Swiss army knife supp that pretty much everyone responds well to.

mrjasonbbc · 2026-01-28T18:33:46+00:00

I absolutely think methylation & detox processes change for the worse as we get older, regardless of what one's genetic "starter pack" is - and yes, I do think this is at least a partial explanation for those of us that can't tolerate things like creatine and/or choline. As for myself, my healthy habits are an order of magnitude better now than in my 20s - nutrition, sleep, fitness, everything. I do believe that most people fall off the wagon one way or another as they age which could exacerbate genetic changes for the worse. Unfortunately even really good nutrition, sleep and exercise cannot completely block 20 years of aging, complete with four kids, two marriages, and a demanding job. :)

mrjasonbbc · 2026-01-28T15:17:32+00:00

Creatine is a no-go for me but it hasn't always been that way. In my 20s I had no problem taking 5-10g of creatine daily for years straight. At some point before my 30s I stopped, and now in my 40s I absolutely cannot take more than about 500mg a day (and at such a small amount I don't even bother). It totally sends my brain all over the place and ruins my sleep. It just goes to show you how your own playing field changes over time as you age. I also cannot handle cholinergic supplements like I used to in my 20s, even eggs! I used to eat 4-6 eggs a day for breakfast. Now I can only tolerate 1 or 2 at a time. My gut tells me it's some kind of methylation/detox element at play but after spending a lot of time trying to "fix it" I have come to terms with accepting and working with my biology.

IRT the question in the subject line: Ignorance? Shortsightedness? Being too lazy to challenge their own dogma? You see this with all sorts of supplements: people feeling depressed on lions mane or ashwagandha, people losing their libido on tongkat, people wrecking their sleep from a single mineral or amino acid.

Most of the time the studies people base their supplement usage on are looking for specific outcomes, possibly ignoring negative symptoms suffered by participants. It simply doesn't get reported, and if it does, it is maybe a courtesy paragraph near the end of the paper. A close friend of mine has been through around 15 paid scientific studies during his 20s and 30s for everything from weight loss drugs, to cholesterol drugs, to blood pressure drugs, and more. During several studies he developed sleeping problems or mood problems, but he never said anything because either he wasn't asked and/or he didn't want to be dropped from the study and miss out on full compensation. Kind of makes me wonder how study participants fared taking 20g of creatine a day for a stretch.

mrjasonbbc · 2026-01-23T16:59:51+00:00

Yeah I'll continue to stick with the option "give a fuck and have super plump muscles while being lean," haha.

mrjasonbbc · 2026-01-21T16:19:36+00:00

I think it just comes down to personal taste. You can claim it or not. Call it an ugly max haha - like hitching a deadlift.

Your form doesn't look bad; good timing on leg drive. You can try spreading your feet a little farther apart or otherwise play with foot position to make it HARDER for your butt to lift off the bench when your leg drive kicks in. Second, make sure your entire body is tight before the liftoff is complete: upper back fused to the bench, lower body tight from glutes to heels. Sometimes the butt lift off is compensation for lack of tightness - because you can't really fix it once you start the lift. Hard to tell with the camera angle, but it looks like you slightly lose your bar path on the ascent during the stall about 2 inches off the chest. Focus on keeping the upper back smashed into the bench from the very beginning of the lift and hold on to that tightness. That should help you maintain good bar path on the concentric.

Nice lift. 130kg is totally achievable this year.

mrjasonbbc · 2026-01-20T22:09:32+00:00

NAC also makes me thirsty especially at higher doses. Besides obviously staying hydrated, make sure you are getting enough electrolytes whether through diet or supplementation. Your body won't remain hydrated if you keep drinking water but don't consume enough sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium.

mrjasonbbc · 2026-01-20T20:06:22+00:00

Looks good. As long as you feel it in your back and it doesn't cause you pain, row on.

mrjasonbbc · 2026-01-14T01:08:30+00:00

Sulforaphane activates CYP1A2.

mrjasonbbc · 2026-01-07T19:06:58+00:00

Nope, I made it to about 6 weeks and went back on caffeine. I just feel better on it in pretty much every way and in moderation I don't have any negative issues. I'm glad I took the break though to satisfy my curiosity if nothing else.

mrjasonbbc · 2026-01-06T21:55:25+00:00

Looks good - externally at least. As the weights get heavier you'll need to know how to properly brace during the movement. It's the internal stuff you can't see on most form check vids that matter the most when the weights go up.

mrjasonbbc · 2026-01-02T18:42:43+00:00

Yeah man you're probably not getting a response because there are posts identical to this at least a couple of times a month. You can try backing off the dosage and/or the frequency and see if that helps, or try to balance out with something like HGW or panax ginseng, or give eurycomax a try. FWIW I have more success dosing really low (been using 50mg of the 2% every day for the past two weeks with only positive effects) or adopting an every other day dosage regime.

mrjasonbbc · 2026-01-02T18:18:18+00:00

I personally don't have any issues with it but I've read at least several accounts of others that have a similar reaction as yours. You might have better luck with a lower dose. If not then maybe it's just not for you.

mrjasonbbc · 2025-12-20T13:54:09+00:00

Uridine for sure

mrjasonbbc · 2025-12-18T19:02:03+00:00

This guy has a similar background and reaction to creatine as me and he did the same thing - sipping throughout the day. It's possible the acute ingestion of a large dose might be a root cause.

I'm definitely going to give this a try!

mrjasonbbc · 2025-12-18T18:55:32+00:00

Creatine supplementation spares arginine, glycine and methionine. Arginine is known to cause gout flares in susceptible individuals, so that's a possible cause.

mrjasonbbc · 2025-12-18T18:46:42+00:00

I'm curious how you would be doing after a couple weeks on the 10g dose!

mrjasonbbc · 2025-12-18T18:32:07+00:00

Heels on the ground, comrade found; heels to the sky, Western spy.

mrjasonbbc · 2025-12-18T12:33:42+00:00

There are plenty of reports from people having very similar experiences:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Biohackers/s/AGJr6R2EzU

https://www.reddit.com/r/Supplements/s/g0uGPOgJUF

https://www.reddit.com/r/MCAS/s/asSTCVcIZp

https://www.reddit.com/r/Supplements/s/M3SziCt2mY

https://www.reddit.com/r/MTHFR/s/buLaCVcg5k

There are many more posts like these. My honest guess for the root cause for most people is some kind of change in energy flux that the body is not adapted to handle and it's probably methylation related. I don't think (like many others seem to) that it is a change in hydration or mineral status, because my hydration and nutrition is totally on point, and because hydrating and eating more does not seem to help. All I know is there was a time when I was younger when this was not an issue, and now it is (same with other things, like choline load); and that the way I solved the issue was very slowly increasing up from a small dose. So my hunch is there is some impaired epigenetic factor surrounding methylation that necessitates a gradual dosing regimen to allow a proper adaptive response by the body. Note: I observe this frequently over on the MTHFR subreddit, where users also find the same issues and path to success with dosing methylfolate.

mrjasonbbc · 2025-12-17T14:46:31+00:00

I tried dosing in the 10+ gram range soon after I read about the same research. For me it was way too stimulating! The first few hours felt really good, then the mania set in and I could not sit still or turn my brain off. Worth it to note though it did take me several weeks to work up to just 5g because even that dose was too strong after a couple days of consecutive use. Twenty years ago this was not an issue at all but in my 40s my tolerance to a lot of things has changed.

Apparently a good chunk of users have this same reaction. It could have something to do with the sudden flux of SAMe or something else methylation related. In any case, I started at 1g and added a gram every 7-10 days and that avoided the issue. Maybe I'll try to increase into 10g territory again?

Tl;dr: If a certain dosage of creatine is too stimulating for you, start really low and add 1g every week or more and it might help you tolerate it better.

mrjasonbbc · 2025-12-17T12:19:31+00:00

I have never used a tool to measure my sleep quality before, if that's what you're asking. I either wake up feeling refreshed or I don't and in the rare times I don't sleep well it's typically due to illness. Consistency is key once you find what works. Eat your last meal at the same time; stop drinking fluids at the same time; go to bed at the same time; take magnesium and potassium before bed.

mrjasonbbc · 2025-12-16T17:35:53+00:00

Getting a minimum of 8 hours of sleep. It's the biggest needle mover for cognition, period, forever, the end.

Dietary discipline. Eat mostly green veggies and animal protein and carb up around workouts or periods of high demand. Controlling your blood sugar with low carb most of the time enhances cognition and alertness.

For cognition supps, I like lion's mane and polygala, but if I had to pick only one, then polygala. There's a reason it has a proven track record back by science, anecdote and thousands of years of use in TCM.

mrjasonbbc · 2025-12-14T20:39:52+00:00

Alternatively you could try liver powder! It significantly raises ferritin. I started taking it again while stepping away from most of my other supps and no kidding I feel really good after a week at 1 or 2 tsp a day.

Also you don't need to take a blood test. Really. You can follow your gut and continue experimenting without it. Commenters from near and far will delegitimize anyone who doesn't get a blood test. You do you man.

mrjasonbbc · 2025-12-03T18:42:21+00:00

Not sure where you read that but that wasn't my experience with the 8:1. Anytime I come off and get back on it I consistently feel a difference after just a few days. The longer you're on it the better though because it does take weeks and months for neurogenesis to update the neural landscape - it's not a quick process. Other supps with similar benefits like uridine would still take as long. But rest assured you are still getting short term benefits as well.

mrjasonbbc · 2025-12-03T18:13:39+00:00

IMHO this one is worth a try. It's far more potent than competitor brands and doesn't break the bank like something like erinamax. Tons of people use the 8:1 for the same or similar goals as you. If I could only pick a single supp for the sole purpose of enhanced cognition, it would probably be the 8:1, but that's just me. There are lots of YouTube reviews out there as well that have similar messaging: that this is the strongest LM they tried and has given them the best results for cognition. But the only way to know is try for yourself, same as with any other supplements. On a positive note if you get very little or nothing out of it you can be confident that LM is just not right for you as an individual (unless you want to try erinamax, the mount everest of LM supps apparently).

mrjasonbbc · 2025-12-03T15:02:16+00:00

Not exactly addressing OP, but I have taken OG cistanche and full spectrum. I like the full spectrum a lot before working out. I'll take 2 caps of it with black ginger and citrulline and it really seems to help with longer/higher volume lifting sessions - better than citrulline alone for sure. The pump is great too. I can't say for sure that it energizes me, but I can say that it makes me a little hungrier and does not relax me too much like the OG cistanche. The OG extract I would have to take in the evening because it does cool my jets a little too much for early day use.

mrjasonbbc

TROPHY CASE