Hello everyone,
I am 27(F) years old and diagnosed with PCOS. After doing some research I decided to give it a try IF. I choose the 18:6 fasting window. It has been a week and my skin break down. I lot of acne flared up around my chin and cheek. Does anyone have the same problem? Is it a way for my body to clear toxins from my body? Any advice?
Sex hormones are stored in fat. If you’re losing weight then there will be a temporary period of hormonal fluctuations. It’s not toxins, it does even out. You may also temporarily experience menstrual irregularities for the same reason even if you are on hormones to control that.
The same thing happened to me when I first started. Broke out like crazy but it cleared up eventually (I used Cetave from time to time and I think that helped). I tend to pick at my skin so it wasn’t fun that I had a couple scars left over.
Keto can help with acne and PCOS. I have a friend with PCOS who uses it to reduce symptoms (works well for her), and it made my acne disappear. Eventually I decided I’d rather be ugly and have a cookie now and then, so oh well.
Your skin tends to reflect your gut health. One thing that happens when you fast is that your gut lining can become more sensitive. It might be that you are eating inflammatory foods when you break your fast that you have lowered your tolerance toward. For example, I’m sensitive to gluten and certain legumes so if I eat a lot of wheat when I break a fast, I can get a rash.
Yeah my skin was starting to look pretty rough. Lots of little bumps that weren’t there previously. I bought some niacinamide from The Ordinary on Amazon and started using it (along with the Hyaluronic Acid, moisturizer, and squalene oil I was already using) and after just a few days my skin has improved a lot.