intermittent fasting for women, safe?
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lma0423
Posts: 78 Member
Today I tried IF for the first time and I really like it. I see it as something I could maintain for a long time. I fasted from 8pm to 12pm (drank one cup of coffee at 9am) then ate 2 nice meals; one at 12:30pm and another at 7:30pm, totaling about 1300 cals.
I'm kind of scared to continue on it bc I've read some scary stuff about hormone imbalances, cortisol, permanent damage to metabolism and weight gain.
Any thoughts? Especially ones that will put my mind at ease.
Thanks
I'm kind of scared to continue on it bc I've read some scary stuff about hormone imbalances, cortisol, permanent damage to metabolism and weight gain.
Any thoughts? Especially ones that will put my mind at ease.
Thanks
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Replies
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i heard that 14:10 fasting was best for women, with regards to hormones etc, not sure how true that is.
the only thing that causes weight gain is eating too many calories.0 -
I've heard that too, but 14:10 just kinda seems like a normal eating window to me
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The one thing you do need to remember is if your fasting is overnight and continues through the morning hours, you are essentially skipping breakfast. If you do this regularly, your body will decrease your metabolism to compensate. It is better to eat smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day than to skip meals. As long as you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. Skipping meals will change how your body metabolizes your food and may even push you into starvation mode, where it stores more when you do eat.0
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The one thing you do need to remember is if your fasting is overnight and continues through the morning hours, you are essentially skipping breakfast. If you do this regularly, your body will decrease your metabolism to compensate. It is better to eat smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day than to skip meals. As long as you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. Skipping meals will change how your body metabolizes your food and may even push you into starvation mode, where it stores more when you do eat.
no, IF has not been proved to slow metabolism.0 -
The one thing you do need to remember is if your fasting is overnight and continues through the morning hours, you are essentially skipping breakfast. If you do this regularly, your body will decrease your metabolism to compensate. It is better to eat smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day than to skip meals. As long as you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. Skipping meals will change how your body metabolizes your food and may even push you into starvation mode, where it stores more when you do eat.
I have yet to read through a reputable study proving that skipping meals alters metabolism and or starvation mode.
As far as IF for women, I hear that it can be dangerous for some, but generally safe for most. I don't concern myself with the hormone damage mumbo jumbo many people speak about. So long as you eat your micro/macro minimums, this shouldn't be an issue unless there is already an underlying issue.0 -
The one thing you do need to remember is if your fasting is overnight and continues through the morning hours, you are essentially skipping breakfast. If you do this regularly, your body will decrease your metabolism to compensate. It is better to eat smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day than to skip meals. As long as you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. Skipping meals will change how your body metabolizes your food and may even push you into starvation mode, where it stores more when you do eat.
I'll break down your post by sentence.
1. Yes.
2. Not in the manner in which you're implying.
3. Proof?
4. Yes.
5.*dons flame suit* Since we're clearly discussing myths here, I can avoid starvation mode by breaking my fast on unicorn meat. Hell, that's even paleo-sparkles and all.0 -
Regarding eating smaller meals more frequent meals throughout the day. I already posted this in a previous thread and I don't feel like linking it or copying and pasting it. Just google EFSA (European Food Safety Administration) 2012 Discussion on TDEE. They breakdown how meal timings/composition affect caloric expenditure.0
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The one thing you do need to remember is if your fasting is overnight and continues through the morning hours, you are essentially skipping breakfast. If you do this regularly, your body will decrease your metabolism to compensate. It is better to eat smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day than to skip meals. As long as you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. Skipping meals will change how your body metabolizes your food and may even push you into starvation mode, where it stores more when you do eat.
No. Just, no.
OP-I did alternate day IF (JUDDD) for the majority of my weight loss. After going into maintenance I experimented with 8:16 IF and really enjoyed that format, but I kept losing weight on it and recently had to stop, due to the continued weight loss (I'm now at the very low end of a healthy bmi and really can't lose more weight).
I had no issues with IF and would love to go back to it someday 0 -
Thank you! This really seems like something I can stick to.
During my summer vacation from college in 2011 I lost 30 lbs with MFP (1500 cals). I know counting cals works for me but I've tried to do it again many times and failed. I think it's because my lifestyle has changed. Now I work full time in an office and I'm awake for more hours of the day so naturally my eating was more spread out. 16:8 IF seems like it can mimic my lifestyle of that summer. Also, when I think back to high school (my lowest weight) I basically ate 16:8 without realizing it. I never gave myself time for breakfast bc I liked to sleep in and snacks during class weren't allowed and my family always ate a late dinner (7)
I guess I'll stick with it and hope I get to keep my period hehe0 -
Fasting is damaging to brain chemistry, as well as hormonal balance. It can cause insomnia, and blood sugar drops and spikes that cause food cravings. I work in the medical field, and have done extensive research in this area. It's not realistic to just say someone is wrong based on what you believe, rather than fact. Just because it might have worked for you as a weight loss program, does not mean that it was a healthy way to do so. There are long-term effects on the body, similar to yo-yo dieting. It's much healthier to eat regularly and exercise regularly as a way of life than to force the body into patterns it wasn't made to follow.0
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Fasting is damaging to brain chemistry, as well as hormonal balance. It can cause insomnia, and blood sugar drops and spikes that cause food cravings. I work in the medical field, and have done extensive research in this area. It's not realistic to just say someone is wrong based on what you believe, rather than fact. Just because it might have worked for you as a weight loss program, does not mean that it was a healthy way to do so. There are long-term effects on the body, similar to yo-yo dieting. It's much healthier to eat regularly and exercise regularly as a way of life than to force the body into patterns it wasn't made to follow.
what does your research say regarding Muslims fasting in Ramadan? Because I think there's more than a billion Muslims in the world, and they've been doing their fasts since about 600AD or thereabouts, so if it was dangerous for them, well shouldn't someone warn them about it?
Maybe context is important here. Like the question, for how long are you fasting? IF isn't *that* different from Islamic fasting, as you fast part of the day and eat part of the day. For the Muslims, they fast during daylight hours and eat at night. For IFers there's more flexibility about the schedule but they eat during certain hours and fast during certain hours, and still eat the same number of calories as is recommended for healthy weight loss, just they restrict it to specific timings during the day (hence intermittent fasting, not full time fasting). I'm not aware of any IFers that are advising fasting more than 24hrs at a time, which is the same length of time as Jews fast for one of their holidays (and have been for a lot longer than Islam's even been around).
Personally, I don't do IFing. It doesn't work for me at all. I'm an eat several small meals a day person, that's what works for me. But I don't think it's correct to say that intermittent fasting is dangerous, except maybe for some people due to certain medical issues.0 -
Fasting is damaging to brain chemistry, as well as hormonal balance. It can cause insomnia, and blood sugar drops and spikes that cause food cravings. I work in the medical field, and have done extensive research in this area. It's not realistic to just say someone is wrong based on what you believe, rather than fact. Just because it might have worked for you as a weight loss program, does not mean that it was a healthy way to do so. There are long-term effects on the body, similar to yo-yo dieting. It's much healthier to eat regularly and exercise regularly as a way of life than to force the body into patterns it wasn't made to follow.
what does your research say regarding Muslims fasting in Ramadan? Because I think there's more than a billion Muslims in the world, and they've been doing their fasts since about 600AD or thereabouts, so if it was dangerous for them, well shouldn't someone warn them about it?
Maybe context is important here. Like the question, for how long are you fasting? IF isn't *that* different from Islamic fasting, as you fast part of the day and eat part of the day. For the Muslims, they fast during daylight hours and eat at night. For IFers there's more flexibility about the schedule but they eat during certain hours and fast during certain hours, and still eat the same number of calories as is recommended for healthy weight loss, just they restrict it to specific timings during the day (hence intermittent fasting, not full time fasting). I'm not aware of any IFers that are advising fasting more than 24hrs at a time, which is the same length of time as Jews fast for one of their holidays (and have been for a lot longer than Islam's even been around).
Personally, I don't do IFing. It doesn't work for me at all. I'm an eat several small meals a day person, that's what works for me. But I don't think it's correct to say that intermittent fasting is dangerous, except maybe for some people due to certain medical issues.
A billion people fasting for a religious ceremony doesn't count as a healthy lifestyle, now does it. I believe Christians used to scourge themselves with whips as well, and some of them died from infections. Just because a lot of people do something doesn't make it the healthy thing to do.0 -
I've followed an 18:6 window for the past 6 months, and it works perfectly for my schedule and hasn't slowed my weight loss at all. It's the way I prefer to eat so it's something I can do for the rest of my life. Which is what makes it a good plan for me.
As for the poster that said it will put you in starvation mode please go do some more research.0 -
I don't really get this, and is this really considered "fasting"? Just waiting til noon to eat, to me, is just eating a late breakfast not fasting. If I'm not hungry right away in the morning, I wait until 10 or 11 to eat, which I don't see as fasting, but just eating later.0
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Fasting is damaging to brain chemistry, as well as hormonal balance. It can cause insomnia, and blood sugar drops and spikes that cause food cravings. I work in the medical field, and have done extensive research in this area. It's not realistic to just say someone is wrong based on what you believe, rather than fact. Just because it might have worked for you as a weight loss program, does not mean that it was a healthy way to do so. There are long-term effects on the body, similar to yo-yo dieting. It's much healthier to eat regularly and exercise regularly as a way of life than to force the body into patterns it wasn't made to follow.
what does your research say regarding Muslims fasting in Ramadan? Because I think there's more than a billion Muslims in the world, and they've been doing their fasts since about 600AD or thereabouts, so if it was dangerous for them, well shouldn't someone warn them about it?
Maybe context is important here. Like the question, for how long are you fasting? IF isn't *that* different from Islamic fasting, as you fast part of the day and eat part of the day. For the Muslims, they fast during daylight hours and eat at night. For IFers there's more flexibility about the schedule but they eat during certain hours and fast during certain hours, and still eat the same number of calories as is recommended for healthy weight loss, just they restrict it to specific timings during the day (hence intermittent fasting, not full time fasting). I'm not aware of any IFers that are advising fasting more than 24hrs at a time, which is the same length of time as Jews fast for one of their holidays (and have been for a lot longer than Islam's even been around).
Personally, I don't do IFing. It doesn't work for me at all. I'm an eat several small meals a day person, that's what works for me. But I don't think it's correct to say that intermittent fasting is dangerous, except maybe for some people due to certain medical issues.
A billion people fasting for a religious ceremony doesn't count as a healthy lifestyle, now does it. I believe Christians used to scourge themselves with whips as well, and some of them died from infections. Just because a lot of people do something doesn't make it the healthy thing to do.
I'm in.0 -
Fasting is damaging to brain chemistry, as well as hormonal balance. It can cause insomnia, and blood sugar drops and spikes that cause food cravings. I work in the medical field, and have done extensive research in this area. It's not realistic to just say someone is wrong based on what you believe, rather than fact. Just because it might have worked for you as a weight loss program, does not mean that it was a healthy way to do so. There are long-term effects on the body, similar to yo-yo dieting. It's much healthier to eat regularly and exercise regularly as a way of life than to force the body into patterns it wasn't made to follow.
what does your research say regarding Muslims fasting in Ramadan? Because I think there's more than a billion Muslims in the world, and they've been doing their fasts since about 600AD or thereabouts, so if it was dangerous for them, well shouldn't someone warn them about it?
Maybe context is important here. Like the question, for how long are you fasting? IF isn't *that* different from Islamic fasting, as you fast part of the day and eat part of the day. For the Muslims, they fast during daylight hours and eat at night. For IFers there's more flexibility about the schedule but they eat during certain hours and fast during certain hours, and still eat the same number of calories as is recommended for healthy weight loss, just they restrict it to specific timings during the day (hence intermittent fasting, not full time fasting). I'm not aware of any IFers that are advising fasting more than 24hrs at a time, which is the same length of time as Jews fast for one of their holidays (and have been for a lot longer than Islam's even been around).
Personally, I don't do IFing. It doesn't work for me at all. I'm an eat several small meals a day person, that's what works for me. But I don't think it's correct to say that intermittent fasting is dangerous, except maybe for some people due to certain medical issues.
A billion people fasting for a religious ceremony doesn't count as a healthy lifestyle, now does it. I believe Christians used to scourge themselves with whips as well, and some of them died from infections. Just because a lot of people do something doesn't make it the healthy thing to do.
You sort of made her point. Scourging with whips used to happen, but stopped because people died. Fasting during Ramadan is still going on because when they fast...nothing. No one dies, no one gets sick. If IF were causing the damage you say, the practice would have died out by now. Not to mention that we all do a version of IF (just based on my schedule, I don't eat for 14 hours due to sleep and work schedule, and I'm not atypical). If you want to claim it's dangerous, provide citations that back up your claim.0 -
Fasting is damaging to brain chemistry, as well as hormonal balance. It can cause insomnia, and blood sugar drops and spikes that cause food cravings. I work in the medical field, and have done extensive research in this area. It's not realistic to just say someone is wrong based on what you believe, rather than fact. Just because it might have worked for you as a weight loss program, does not mean that it was a healthy way to do so. There are long-term effects on the body, similar to yo-yo dieting. It's much healthier to eat regularly and exercise regularly as a way of life than to force the body into patterns it wasn't made to follow.
what does your research say regarding Muslims fasting in Ramadan? Because I think there's more than a billion Muslims in the world, and they've been doing their fasts since about 600AD or thereabouts, so if it was dangerous for them, well shouldn't someone warn them about it?
Maybe context is important here. Like the question, for how long are you fasting? IF isn't *that* different from Islamic fasting, as you fast part of the day and eat part of the day. For the Muslims, they fast during daylight hours and eat at night. For IFers there's more flexibility about the schedule but they eat during certain hours and fast during certain hours, and still eat the same number of calories as is recommended for healthy weight loss, just they restrict it to specific timings during the day (hence intermittent fasting, not full time fasting). I'm not aware of any IFers that are advising fasting more than 24hrs at a time, which is the same length of time as Jews fast for one of their holidays (and have been for a lot longer than Islam's even been around).
Personally, I don't do IFing. It doesn't work for me at all. I'm an eat several small meals a day person, that's what works for me. But I don't think it's correct to say that intermittent fasting is dangerous, except maybe for some people due to certain medical issues.
A billion people fasting for a religious ceremony doesn't count as a healthy lifestyle, now does it. I believe Christians used to scourge themselves with whips as well, and some of them died from infections. Just because a lot of people do something doesn't make it the healthy thing to do.
You sort of made her point. Scourging with whips used to happen, but stopped because people died. Fasting during Ramadan is still going on because when they fast...nothing. No one dies, no one gets sick. If IF were causing the damage you say, the practice would have died out by now. Not to mention that we all do a version of IF (just based on my schedule, I don't eat for 14 hours due to sleep and work schedule, and I'm not atypical). If you want to claim it's dangerous, provide citations that back up your claim.
http://chriskresser.com/intermittent-fasting-cortisol-and-blood-sugar
There you go, sweetheart.0 -
Fasting is damaging to brain chemistry, as well as hormonal balance. It can cause insomnia, and blood sugar drops and spikes that cause food cravings. I work in the medical field, and have done extensive research in this area. It's not realistic to just say someone is wrong based on what you believe, rather than fact. Just because it might have worked for you as a weight loss program, does not mean that it was a healthy way to do so. There are long-term effects on the body, similar to yo-yo dieting. It's much healthier to eat regularly and exercise regularly as a way of life than to force the body into patterns it wasn't made to follow.
what does your research say regarding Muslims fasting in Ramadan? Because I think there's more than a billion Muslims in the world, and they've been doing their fasts since about 600AD or thereabouts, so if it was dangerous for them, well shouldn't someone warn them about it?
Maybe context is important here. Like the question, for how long are you fasting? IF isn't *that* different from Islamic fasting, as you fast part of the day and eat part of the day. For the Muslims, they fast during daylight hours and eat at night. For IFers there's more flexibility about the schedule but they eat during certain hours and fast during certain hours, and still eat the same number of calories as is recommended for healthy weight loss, just they restrict it to specific timings during the day (hence intermittent fasting, not full time fasting). I'm not aware of any IFers that are advising fasting more than 24hrs at a time, which is the same length of time as Jews fast for one of their holidays (and have been for a lot longer than Islam's even been around).
Personally, I don't do IFing. It doesn't work for me at all. I'm an eat several small meals a day person, that's what works for me. But I don't think it's correct to say that intermittent fasting is dangerous, except maybe for some people due to certain medical issues.
A billion people fasting for a religious ceremony doesn't count as a healthy lifestyle, now does it. I believe Christians used to scourge themselves with whips as well, and some of them died from infections. Just because a lot of people do something doesn't make it the healthy thing to do.
so you're actually saying that it's unhealthy to fast for *part* of the day even though you're eating enough food to sustain your body overall? i.e. eating at TDEE (in the case of Muslims)
I made that point (comparison with Muslims) because I thought you had misunderstood the concept of IFing, i.e. that they were promoting fasting for long periods or eating radically under their TDEE
Okay, go on tell me why fasting for part of a 24 hr period while consuming your TDEE, or at a deficit that's no bigger than any other sensible dieter (e.g. 10-20% under TDEE) is so harmful. And if so, then how did our Homo erectus ancestors survive because I'm pretty sure they didn't eat 3 meals a day every day. And what health problems are endemic in the Muslim population as a result of fasting?
Again, I don't actually do intermittent fasting, but I can't see any reason why it wouldn't be healthy if you're eating at TDEE or at a sensible deficit.0 -
The one thing you do need to remember is if your fasting is overnight and continues through the morning hours, you are essentially skipping breakfast. If you do this regularly, your body will decrease your metabolism to compensate. It is better to eat smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day than to skip meals. As long as you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. Skipping meals will change how your body metabolizes your food and may even push you into starvation mode, where it stores more when you do eat.
there is just so much no in here it isn't funny.
Just no.
IF works for men.
IF work for women.
IF WORKS for people who like that system and stick with it.0 -
Fasting is damaging to brain chemistry, as well as hormonal balance. It can cause insomnia, and blood sugar drops and spikes that cause food cravings. I work in the medical field, and have done extensive research in this area. It's not realistic to just say someone is wrong based on what you believe, rather than fact. Just because it might have worked for you as a weight loss program, does not mean that it was a healthy way to do so. There are long-term effects on the body, similar to yo-yo dieting. It's much healthier to eat regularly and exercise regularly as a way of life than to force the body into patterns it wasn't made to follow.
what does your research say regarding Muslims fasting in Ramadan? Because I think there's more than a billion Muslims in the world, and they've been doing their fasts since about 600AD or thereabouts, so if it was dangerous for them, well shouldn't someone warn them about it?
Maybe context is important here. Like the question, for how long are you fasting? IF isn't *that* different from Islamic fasting, as you fast part of the day and eat part of the day. For the Muslims, they fast during daylight hours and eat at night. For IFers there's more flexibility about the schedule but they eat during certain hours and fast during certain hours, and still eat the same number of calories as is recommended for healthy weight loss, just they restrict it to specific timings during the day (hence intermittent fasting, not full time fasting). I'm not aware of any IFers that are advising fasting more than 24hrs at a time, which is the same length of time as Jews fast for one of their holidays (and have been for a lot longer than Islam's even been around).
Personally, I don't do IFing. It doesn't work for me at all. I'm an eat several small meals a day person, that's what works for me. But I don't think it's correct to say that intermittent fasting is dangerous, except maybe for some people due to certain medical issues.
A billion people fasting for a religious ceremony doesn't count as a healthy lifestyle, now does it. I believe Christians used to scourge themselves with whips as well, and some of them died from infections. Just because a lot of people do something doesn't make it the healthy thing to do.
You sort of made her point. Scourging with whips used to happen, but stopped because people died. Fasting during Ramadan is still going on because when they fast...nothing. No one dies, no one gets sick. If IF were causing the damage you say, the practice would have died out by now. Not to mention that we all do a version of IF (just based on my schedule, I don't eat for 14 hours due to sleep and work schedule, and I'm not atypical). If you want to claim it's dangerous, provide citations that back up your claim.
http://chriskresser.com/intermittent-fasting-cortisol-and-blood-sugar
There you go, sweetheart.
that's not a peer reviewed journal article, that's a blog. (sweetheart) he doesn't even reference any peer reviewed research, just anecdotal evidence.
and what health problems are endemic in the Muslim community as a result of fasting during Ramadan? I've lived in Muslim countries for 6 years and haven't seen any evidence of it.0
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