I’m a soon to be 50 yr old peri-menopausal female. I combined IF with low-carb in October 18:6 (some times 20:4) and had a modicum of success, maybe 12lbs in 3wks, but most of that was purely diet change and water loss in week 1. I stopped in November and have been eating every feeling I have concerning a death and illness in my family.
I have read, listened, watched and followed a lot of different resources to have come away with conflicting advice. Some say women >45should only practice IF every other day to not doing it at all.
My post is seeking out advice for us older women. I love seeing everyone’s success regardless of age but I don’t see a lot of middle-aged women and hope to hear from some of you or anyone who has solid knowledge that may help me.
Again, seeing everyone’s posts is inspirational and I find this the most positive and helpful subreddit I follow. Thanks in advance for any advice
F59 soon to be 60. Started one week before thanksgiving 2021. I did 18/6 for a few weeks then started OMAD with occasional 48 hours and two 70 hours. SW 171 CW 146. First goal is 145. ( hopefully get there this week). Second goal 135. Height 5’2. I try to drink lots of water in addition to one cup of black coffee and a cup of tea at night. Yesterday I drank 166 oz of liquid. I try to walk a few times a week. I also use 8-12 pound weights for arm toning. Squats too. I’m pretty satisfied with my weight loss. My body is shrinking and my clothes I haven’t been able to wear for a long time I can fit into again. If I can do it so can you. Everyday I make a conscious decision to drink water I think it helps a lot.
There is very little research on females and fasting. 90-95% of research on fasting is done on males. There have literally been so few studies on females, especially middle-age females that there’s not any real authority to follow in the matter. So in cases like this I treat myself as an experiment. Do what feels good. IF feels good to my body and is helping me achieve the weight loss my body so badly needs. Extended fasting feels good up to a point then it doesn’t any more. 10+ day fasts are not for me at this time.
12 lbs in 3 weeks is huge! I’m loosing weight at a slower pace, and that’s how I expected it and intended to be.
I’m the same age as you 😊. What is the concern with IF? I have read quite a bit and never heard it’s not for us.
I’m sorry for your loss.
F51 here, started I.F. first time this yr. Weekdays are 8:16, weekends 10:14. I drink lots of herbal teas and still track my foods in a journal (trying to stay between 1200-1500 daily). Have lost almost 10 pounds this month! This seems to be working for me.
F40, i’m doing 16/8 and this is the best balance in pros/cons for me. I’ve done years of longer fasts, OMAD, extended 10 days fasting more than once, ADF… and i’ve settled on 16/8. From what i understand, women (in general) are more sensitive to stress than men, and this is certainly true for me.
Fasting is a stress. There’s no denying this. Too much fasting, means too much cortisol, that means not enough sleep, and visceral fat.
But… eating “all the time” is also stressful for the body. Constantly elevated insulin means chronic inflammation, weight gain, etc. From trial and error, i found that 16/8 is the least stressful way of eating for my body. I sleep much much better since i’m doing early time restriced feeding (front loading calories) as well.
Also : i’m eating enough carbs to keep my cortisol down. Sugar, even ! I’m not a “bro”, i can’t survive on steaks and fresh water like a “bro”.
Pffttt. I’m nearing 48 (OMG am I really almost 50? Where did the time go? LOL) and I do IF every day. Sometimes my window is 2 hrs, sometimes 4. My kid’s sick and I’m coming down with something so yesterday it was 12 and looking similar today.
I’ve lost 30lbs on IF+ low carb since October, only 5 since Thanksgiving, bc of stress, pain (autoimmune) and various issues. But no problem for me. I used to do ADF and maintained with that for many years, but find that too challenging nowadays. (1 year on prednisone left me with 50 extra lbs I am still trying to lose, and pain etc gave me another 10-15 over where I like to be. I’m carving into that now, and if I can just stick with it, I expect to be in a good place by summer.)
I am 100% sedentary btw, pain/fatigue/etc.
I’m sorry for your loss, though. I eat my pain/distress too. Emotional or physical, it sends me to the kitchen.
Look up Eat Like a Bear. I was introduced to it by a comment in r/loseit a couple of years ago—It’s basically a group that does IF + keto and the main audience is women in their mid 40s and up. It’s a supportive community. Most people in it do OMAD but if that doesn’t work for you, that’s ok.
I’m a F(61) and have been doing a mellow 16:8 routine since October. I’ve lost 21 lbs. IF just makes so much sense to me. We’re animals, and we didn’t evolve to require a carefully stocked refrigerator by our side. Our ancestors dealt with short fasts all the time, and we can too. I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be a good idea for us based on gender and age.
I’m 48, peri menopausal. I started IF at the end of January 2021. 18/6 or 20/4 every day. In addition to IF I made dietary changes and cut back on alcohol and sugar. I hit a couple plateaus throughout the year, but by the end of 2021 I went from 177 lbs to 133 lbs.
I also would do an extended fast of 40-48 hours twice a month. That was less about weight loss and more about autophagy. I also found extended fasts helpful after holiday weekends (and lots of heavy foods) to break the cravings for more carb heavy/sugary foods.
Yes, I absolutely believe IF works for us. The first step is starting slow and figuring out which IF schedule works for you. And, it’s important not to cut too many calories. I averaged 1300 a day. I also practice yoga every day and run 3x a week.
Now, IF is just my lifestyle. My diet is primarily protein & healthy fats, and I keep carbs to about 30% of my diet. I don’t feel deprived, and I have a drink or two with dinner on occasion.
I am in my early 40s. I did it for a while, and lost a decent amount of weight pretty easily. I stopped because I was getting heart palpitations after breaking my fast, which scared me. I’m thinking about trying it out again but just really paying attention this time to see if there is a link between what I eat or electrolyte level, etc.