Intermittent Fasting for Women

I do 14/10 and I love it. This is my second time trying it out though. The first time, I did it for a month and lost my period. I had a bunch of stuff going on then, ended up being lactose intolerant, so I'm hoping that the IF wasn't what messed with my girly bits.

I've been doing it again for about a month and I'm feeling great, but it hasn't been long enough for me to tell if it's messing with my hormones again.

On his site, MB recommends 14/10 for women, and I've read stuff like http://www.bulletproofexec.com/a-bad-combination-for-women-intermittent-fasting-and-paleo/ that suggests it's somewhat common for women to have hormonal disruptions, so I think the longer feeding window might decrease the likelihood?

If she didn't like it, but for some reason is set on trying it, she could start moving breakfast back an hour a day and find a spot that she likes. I sometimes go longer fast if I'm not hungry and shorter fast if I am... so I recommend she pay close attention to what her body wants.

I like the 20/4 on top of two 24's a week. I make it work but this is just my second week. This week isn't going well scale wise, but still giving it a chance.

I did an 18/6 for about 3 months when I was first getting into lifting weights. I have no idea what it did for me, even now. I can't honestly say it helped or hindered a thing. Some days I struggled with my workouts (fasted), other days I soared. I don't try to IF anymore, not because I don't like it and not because I don't believe there aren't benefits to fasting (there seem to be longevity benefits), but mainly because I'm not sure it helped anything at all. I eat now when I feel like it, plain and simple... and that's good enough for me. I do find myself spontaneously fasting some days.

Good luck to her with fasting. Read up on all the benefits. Google PubMed articles on fasting, longevity and specifically females responses to it. There are hormonal issues that are much different for females... and I do think some of my mood and irritability issues with it were to do with hormones and/or blood sugar.

ETA: The nazis who plan to attack me for saying that I had blood sugar issues, that I didn't do it right, etc... you can keep it to yourselves. I'm very well read, and did this long enough to know I had some hormonal issues going on. Keep your closed minds to yourself. Thanks.

Try 12 or 14 hour fasts at first and work your way up to 16 hours

I have been on the weight loss journey since January. I have heard alot about intermittent fasting, but I haven't really researched it. So how it works is you fast for such and such hours and then you eat all your daily calories in just a couple of meals? And during the fast time do you drink water or nothing at all .. I am trying to understand how cramming all the calories in a couple of meals works to help lose weight. Can someone explain it better .. Thanks!

I did a cheat's version of 5:2 for 7 weeks, but am taking a break now, while on holiday with extended family.

I cheated by eating back exercise calories to net around 500-700 per day on fast days. I would have struggled if I didn't eat back around 500-600 exercise calories (either not sharing a meal with OH in the evening, or being hungry at work). Had no problems with doing a big cardio workout on an empty stomach. The workout also seemed to stem my hunger. There was another weird effect of working out semi-fasted: I would often go to the gym with a starchy carb craving, and exit the gym less hungry, but which eventually turned into a meaty protein craving. Don't know why this was happening.

I did like the program, as it allowed me to build up a good calorie deficit during two weekdays, allowing me to splurge a bit on the weekend. My cheating means I probably didn't get the other health benefits associated with IF, such as lower triglycerides and better insulin sensitivity.

I plan to go back to this when I am at home again. Maybe see if I can manage it without the cheat of eating back exercise.

I'm currently doing 21/3. Until about 2 weeks ago I did 18/6. There are some who suggest that women should do 14/10, but as far as I'm concerned, 10 hours is pretty much a whole waking day. So I don't see the point in that one.

Really, I think it just depends on the person and his/her schedule and life. It works for me. It's harder on my days off and sometimes I break my fast early on those days, but work days I find it pretty easy. For me, it's long term. I just find it easier to stick to my calories when I don't eat all day. And I'm less hungry because I get to eat big meals instead of a bunch of tiny meals. And I REALLY like that I don't have to constantly think about food. When I tried t eat lots of small meals, not only was I always hungry, but I was always thinking about my next meal.

14/10 does leave a pretty large eating window, but I like it, and I seem to be prone to hormonal problems. So I think everyone should find what feels comfortable and natural for them!

I agree. If it works for you, keep at it. For me, I would have trouble staying in my calorie goal and still feeling full. But I personally haven't had any hormonal issues to deal with either.

There are minor differences between men and women when it comes to fasting. Keep a minimum 14 hour fast to start getting the benefits. 36-48 hour fasts is were the benefits start to roll off. I enjoy Alternate Day fasting were I go 36-40 hours fasted. I basically eat one day, then fast that night, the next day, and that night. Then I eat a normally the next day and start my fast that night.

I've tried several methods. Lean Gains style 18/16, Warrior Diet 20/4, Eat stop eat (random weekly 24 hour fasting). They are all effective. I suggest trying any of them and see how it goes!

bump

been doing 14-16 hour fasts for a few months. I was never really into breakfast and I can stick to my calories better with just 2 meals a day.