I’m curious to hear the personal experiences of women who have undergone prolonged fasts (2-14 days) and the effect it’s had on your menstrual cycle & hormonal symptoms. I’m also interested in hearing insight from medical professionals or references to studies on fasting in females.
Most notably, I’m curious if anyone has experimented with fasting during different periods of your cycle, ie. Fasting 1 week before your period, vs. 1 week after.
the 3-week water fast i did had no effect on my cycle when i was 32. i started the fast mid-period. no mood issues.
when i was 35, i did 30 days. period started on day 14. was extremely irritable during the fast. cycle was extended from 27-28 days to 40 - 50 days, period itself 10 days, but i kept doing rolling 48s afterword. it returned to normal once the fasting stopped.
Thanks for the responses! A lot of my curiosity comes from the way the hormonal cycle effects metabolism, energy levels & strength gains. I’m interested in adapting the type of workouts I do to the stage of my cycle, and incorporating a 2-3 fast into certain periods. I’ll likely document my experiences and share them here!