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Fasting feels impossible lately. Is it age, hormones, Adderall, something else?

I (46F) used to be able to fast intermittently, extended, and everything else in between. I enjoyed it. This was when I was maybe 39, 40, early 40s. Got away from the habit and gained a bit of weight so I wanted to start again.

Every. Single. Time. I try to start fasting over the last year, I fail miserably. I can’t even get thru the first day of an extended fast. Also having a terrible time obeying the end of my feeding window on intermittent fasts. I just keep eating once I’ve started - sugar is the hardest to stay away from.

I’m wondering if other women in my age bracket have experienced this before? What did you do to get back in the fasting groove?

Is it possibly the adderall I’m taking? I definitely struggle to not binge eat when the meds wear off toward the end of the day. I have never struggled with binge eating or other eating disorders but since being on adderall, it’s been so very difficult to stop eating once I start. I’ve always struggled with a sweet tooth and eating too many sugary, chocolate treats.

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Answer

Why do you even have the snacks in the house to begin with? Start with why you’re buying them in the first place and go from there.

People also change over time so the fact that it was easy before doesn’t mean it’ll be easy again. Maybe you need to ease into it more? Do shorter fasts so you can adapt back into it.

I’m in my 30s but my fasting has changed in the 3 years I’ve been doing it. I used to be wrecked if I didn’t east breakfast within a couple hours, like mood swings, dizziness, etc. So I always ate early. Well now 3 years later I eat at 3pm. It fits better with my lifestyle and I’m actually surprised the complications have gone away. IDK what happened, life just happens.

Adderall from my understanding makes you go full force until it wears off. Great for focus, shit on your body. You may want that sugar in response to how hard you’re going. Maybe you need to look into your dosage or taking mindful breaks or something so you aren’t burning yourself out and end up with no willpower at the end of the day too.

Good luck and just take your time with it, it’s not a race, find what works for you, don’t be afraid to experiment!

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I’m 49 for a few more days 😅. I’ve gone through phases like you describe, where I’ve fallen out of IF and EF and have the best of intentions but just can’t make myself jump back on.

I recently returned to fasting and it was a DietBet deadline that finally pushed me back into EF. I joined a kickstarter, which requires you to lose 4% of your body weight in a month to win. I started kind of, occasionally, sort of watching what I was eating and skipping breakfast. The last several days I knew I needed to lose a few more pounds to win the weigh in, and from prior experience I knew that a fast would clinch it.

The external deadline was the big push that helped me return to fasting in a way that I hadn’t been able to accomplish for awhile. I’m not suggesting you join DB if that doesn’t appeal, but maybe there’s another deadline that will help?

The adderall hungries sound like a formidable challenge. Perhaps you can IF with their timing in mind. One of the things that I’ve found that really helps me with my fasting now is to have really filling food ready when I break the fast. I’m currently doing rolling fasts interrupted by a ~4 hour window where I eat two meals. The first meal is usually super veggie heavy - like a whole bagged salad kit minus the croutons or wontons, plus an apple and leftover protein like a sausage or a chicken thigh. It leaves me comfortably full, and then I join my family for a regular dinner 2-4 hours later. I find that I eat a reasonable amount of what they’re eating and I’m done with dinner, full, rarely want dessert, and I’m ready to fast again. I still get cravings over the fasting period, but I know that I’ve got great nutrition taken care of during my eating window and that I can work cravings into the eating windows because I’m full enough that I can incorporate chips, candy, etc without being tempted to eat them to excess.

In your case, if your schedule allows, I’d consider having a significant veg and protein heavy snack an hour before your adderall wears off and your cravings usually hit. I’ve found r/volumeeating and the Instagram account of Ilana Ruhlstein, (RD,) helpful for ideas of foods that are low-med on calories and high on satiety. I don’t use a lot of the creative recipes that work in artificial sweeteners or complicated ingredients, but I do serve taco toppings over a big salad and sub roasted broccoli or cauliflower for potatoes or rice, which help me feel full faster.

It’s a tough mental game, but you’ve got this. I wish you the best of luck with whatever approach you use!

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I have the same issue. I think it is a matter of getting sick of it. When I first was fasting before I was highly motivated to see if I could do it. But I know I can now and it is boring and a slog.

It could be the drugs. I have a speed like drug - Phentermine – and when that wears off I am soo hungry.

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Try a bone broth fast first. Or doing low carb for a few days prior to the fast and then easing into it. Make it as easy as possible on yourself.

Here’s an example of a really slow transition in:

Day 1 - low carb - 3 meals, (no snacks for remainder of this period)

Day 2 - low carb - 2 meals- 1 cup bone broth at meal time in lieu of 3rd meal

Day 3 - low carb one meal, 2 cups bone broth at other “meal times”

Day 4 - bone broth, one cup per meal time

Day 5 - 24 hr fast, just water

Day 6 - bone broth to break fast, then one low carb meal, then some more bone broth

Hope this helps!

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I feel aggressive when adderral started to wear off- I noticed this when I was drinking I would drink like 2-3 drinks really quickly and not feel anything from it. If it’s not alcohol it was food. I had to stop taking it and the feeling went away

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I’m 39f and currently on day 5 of an extended fast. I also take Adderall. And like you, I have fasting experience and found it easy a few years ago but couldn’t get back into it for the longest time. What happened with me is I found something that gave me a push to get started. Whatever that may be for you. Now that I have momentum I just want to keep going! I have a loooong way to go but it doesn’t seem insurmountable now.

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I find crunching on flake salt or any salt really helps when the cravings or hunger comes. Also, sips of pickle juice curb my hunger and want of sweets. Crave sweet? Give it sodium! Also, zero calorie water enhancers that are sweetened with just stevia, like Stur or Sweetleaf, will not break a fast for weight loss, gut rest or autophagy so you can have those. I have a Soda Stream I make seltzer with and flavor with them. Don’t forget about herbal teas! Tazo Glazed Lemon Loaf tea with a dash of vanilla Sweetleaf is such a great flavor treat. Tons of flavors out there. I find Zevia colas help while fasting as well. Some people say they crave more with sugar substitutes, but it’s not nearly as likely with stevia. Stevia also doesn’t cause an insulin response,which is great, but some people hate the aftertaste. My final tip is for extended fasts. I like to drink a cup of 5cal <1g protein bone broth at my “lunch” and “dinner” times. It helps fake out the brain. As an avid pot user, I deal with the munchies daily and these tips get me through. Hope that helps!

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Some fasting proponents on YouTube address changes in fasting around perimenopause.

Those who come to mind aren’t mentioned here, IIRC because of misrepresentation of credentials. A search should turn them up for you. Thomas DeLauer (fitness model) has interviewed a few.

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We can’t provide advice but we can share out experiences. Find what works for your body.

Some fasts are hard some are easy. Consistency is the key and listening to your body.

One thing I might suggest is to research fat fasting and fat fast until you can get off the sugar. Fat is satiating. Healthy fats like avocado, bacon, eggs, olives, high fat fish. Fat fast until you think ‘I cannot eat this stuff anymore’ then you are ready to fast.

The fat fasting will drop you into ketosis. Once you handle the physical part of fasting the mental is easier.

The body burns fat or carbs. Switching to fat burning via ketosis handles alot of issues that looks like will power but is actually hormonal issues that have to do with switching from burning carbs to burning fat. You can power thru it but fat fasting is easier.

Try fat fasting if that doesn’t work then you can do the will power thing and power thru.

This lifestyle is an experiment in fi ding out what works for your body at any given time in your life. It’s a process not an end game.

Eg I just found out I have gut issues and need some prebiotic added back to my routine. Haven’t had to take those in months. Changes as time goes by.

You got this! Let us know how it goes

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