I’ve read such conflicting research on women and IF. Some articles say it can worsen hormonal imbalance and increase insulin resistance while others claim numerous health benefits for women. So are there any women here who’ve seen good results and felt well while doing IF?
37yr F, staring weight 257lb. I’ve been doing it for about 3 weeks… alternating 24 hr fasts with eating normally the next day. I’ve also cut out most sugar and bread and eat mostly low carb whole foods…
I’ve dieted on and off for 30yrs, usually successfully when I was younger. In the past 8 yes I’ve had hypothyroidism and COULD NOT get the scale to budge downwards more than four pounds at a time… and that’s after trying for a month or so. (I’ve also had four kids btw.) I’ve had brain fog, no energy, and been watching my weight creep up. Thought for sure my meds needed adjusting, but my blood work is fine.
Then I read the Obesity Code and started following it. In 3 weeks I have lost 14 POUNDS!! I feel soooo much better! Almost like I’m aging in reverse!
Idk how it works for everyone… and it has been half (aren’t all diets though?) But this has WORKED for me! And I’m definitely someone on the more difficult end of the hormone spectrum after being overweight my whole life, being almost 40 and having had 4 kids!
TLDR: it’s working great so far for me!!
Unfortunately, there is so much contradicting misinformation when it comes to women and fasting, or women and anything related to the medical field.
I suggest you listen to The Fasting Method Podcast, led by 2 women, an M.D and a medical researcher. They answer all questions related to women and fasting and just how life changing fasting can be for women.
Doing it now for 4.5 months, mostly 16:8 sometimes stretching to 18:6. I sometimes have a day or 2 I don’t fast (social stuff mainly).
I notice my cycle is not 28 days anymore, but may take a day longer (29 days). Copper spiral actually made my cycle shorter (~26 days), but I have that implemented since last year. So yes, I do think it influences your hormonal cycle, but I’m not sure if this is noteworthy to mention as there are more factors in play.
Other hormones that did change positively: I’m less hungry all the time and can better sense when I’m satisfied.
Other positive things: less acid reflux, lost excessive weight (-8kg), more confidence due to lost weight, and clothes fit better.
Negative thing: more money lost on new clothing as my pants and some dresses didn’t fit anymore (but I take that as a win)
Long fasts (24-36+ hours) are not recommended for women as they have been shown to cause hormonal issues but 18:6 or 16:8 is essentially the same as just not eating breakfast (which LOTS of people do naturally). So long as you’re meeting your caloric and macronutrient needs you shouldn’t have any issues.
I’ve done several bouts of IF because I lack discipline, lol.It has succesfully allowed me to lose weight and makes my body feel better because it also makes me eat better.
I also think it caused hormonal imbalance for me. I am 24, and use implanon/nexplanon as my contraceptive method for the last 3 years. This causes me to only have bleedings every once in a while, very inconsistent.
However, every time I do IF, about a week in, I get a “period”, including cramping and bleeding.I don’t think this is a coincidence. It’s happened about 5/6 time over that period. (I would do IF for a couple weeks, have a bunch of weeks/months off, and start again) Always 16:8 to 18:6 fasting, never longer.
I noticed fasting for too long would bring back some binge eating episodes, so I limit my fast to around 13 to 15 hours (until I get hungry) and eat every 3 to 4 hours. Stop eating around 2 hours before bed time. Keeps me regular and no more binge eating (stay in my calorie limits). Good luck 🍀
Genuine question, what are some other things you would notice an hormonal balance from, apart from your period? I’ve been doing it since late 2019 and there were some irregular bleedings at the beginning but otherwise my period continued normally.
For the past three years, I (44F) have been seeing a medical doctor while also doing some form of IF. (Medical focus on optimizing hormones, thyroid, and meeting nutritional needs)The entire time, I tried to take a more scientific approach with myself. This meant being a curious but non-judgmental observer to things that caused the scale to go up or down. I would record what worked/didn’t work in a log. But I didn’t beat myself up over mistakes! I just wrote it down and focused on what WAS working, not on what wasn’t.Because of this, I was also able to concentrate on what got results AND made me feel good. My IF journey started by breaking my sugar/refined carb addiction and has led to a total weight loss of over 80 pounds. (Spread out over three years)I have learned the following things about myself: (unique to me and my body chemistry)
Also mentally, by knowing what foods make me feel good/bad, I can still eat them, but just limit them to only occasionally. This makes a difference!
Figuring these things out has been a game changer for me. It has allowed me to weigh my desire for certain foods against the results I want and how I want to feel, and to make food choices based on how I want to feel, not temporary cravings or to satisfy out of control hunger. Good luck!!