Is Intermittent Fasting OK for Women?
FitCowgirl8
Posts: 175 Member
I have been doing a lot of reading on intermittent fasting lately online and in past forum posts and I am thinking that I want to try the 16:8 schedule since I feel that it will fit my lifestyle better and stop my binge eating at night since I can eat more for supper this way. I am getting really confused though because some sites say that it is a good program for both men and women and others say that it is great for men but could be detrimental to women. Does anyone have some good advice or personal experiences that could help me? Also any resources that would be helpful to me to read up on this?
**Please don't suggest I use the search function to find my answers because I have done that already and am looking for further information**
Thanks in advance for any help on this!
**Please don't suggest I use the search function to find my answers because I have done that already and am looking for further information**
Thanks in advance for any help on this!
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Replies
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I am not certain about gender differences in IF.
IF gives me control over my constant 'grazing' after dinner in the evenings.
After losing 50 pounds, I want my body to be burning up energy from my stored fat.
When I was beginning Intermittent Fasting, I eased into it
by following a 12/12 pattern for a few weeks, then 13/11, 14/8, and now 15/9.
Feeling starved is not a good way to begin a lengthy path to a new body and fitness level.
It's difficult to calm the growling stomach in the morning until 11 AM,
but I drink a few cups of green tea and Earl Grey tea, and that helps.
I often rush to complete my food intake at the end of the 9 hours,
because, by eating paleo/primitive style, I'm just not hungry for 3(4,5) hours.
I'll drink a fruity herbal tea for calming my sweet tooth while I wait to go to bed.
Best wishes!0 -
It is ok for men and women, unless there has been a history of eating disorders.0
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Thank you guys for your replies that helps me not feel so nervous about starting it. I did do it yesterday and now again today and I think I like it a lot better than eating the multiple small meals all day long. This way even though I am a little hungry in the morning its not unbearable and I get to eat in the evenings when I am really hungry which usually led to me going over my calorie goal previously. I also think I like it because now I can have my smaller meal for lunch and skip breakfast and be able to eat a normal sit down meal with my family.0
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There is a bit of controversy with IF and women, mostly because of a blog post done on a paleo blog a while back, that got people's attention. However, there's nothing concrete out there that shows either way, and IF is still a relatively new area that's being studied, so for now it's kind of up in the air. Having said that though, I had tremendous success with several versions of IF (I've done JUDDD, 5:2 and more recently 18:6). I loved doing IF and had no problems while doing it. Why not give it a try and see how it goes?0
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Thanks Twixlepennie! Is there one style that you preferred more than others since you have tried several versions or were they all fairly similar? I think I am going to give it a go for awhile and see how i do
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I have videos about all 6 types including the one I created on my channel. Just click my face lol. But to answer your question most women I know find the 5:2 method to be a bit more ideal for them. This method means you fast for 24-36 hours twice a week, however in that fasted period you can eat but low amounts of food. You dont want to go over about 10-15g of protein in your fasted stated cause this may turn off autophagy (your bodies self cleaning ability). Carbs can also turn off autophagy so be a bit careful with that as well. You can read up more on it if you are more interested I am just skimming the surface here. If you want to know more info just hit me up
Cheers,
Tof0 -
What I've read is that there needs to be more research regarding women and IF BUT...It appears that overweight & obese women reap benefits from IF but those women at a healthy weight may not and, in fact, may do harm if they practice IF regularly.
I have not been able to find info comparing different methods of IF that state which ones result in the most/best health benefits or if all bring the same benefits.0 -
I did a ton of research before I started and also found the info to be confusing and conflicting. I looked at forum posts, blog posts, magazine articles, and the couple scientific journal articles that are out there and wound up even more confused than I started. Most of the (valid) arguments against women and IF revolved around the potential negative impact on hormone levels that can cause a slowed metabolism and weight gain. This however was only referenced as a 'possibility' so I decided to go for it.
Pre-holiday I was doing IF but eating whatever gravy- or chocolate- coated goodies came across my path. I found that IF was SO MUCH EASIER than eating 3-6 smaller meals a day, both psychologically (I too am prone to evening food-binging!) and practically (I prep all of my meals on the weekends... IF = less cooking!!!). I haven't been prone to hunger in the morning but I do work out before work which can suppress appetite. Best of all... I didn't gain a pound.
Post-holiday I've decided to stick with IF but revert to healthier food choices and giving a crap about what my calorie limit it. It's too early to tell if I'll have success at losing weight but I plan to monitor my progress and switch strategies if necessary. If I start feeling sluggish, can't get through my workouts, or can't lose weight... I'll go back to doing it the hard way.
Good luck! I'd love to know how it works out for you!0 -
I have videos about all 6 types including the one I created on my channel. Just click my face lol. But to answer your question most women I know find the 5:2 method to be a bit more ideal for them. This method means you fast for 24-36 hours twice a week, however in that fasted period you can eat but low amounts of food. You dont want to go over about 10-15g of protein in your fasted stated cause this may turn off autophagy (your bodies self cleaning ability). Carbs can also turn off autophagy so be a bit careful with that as well. You can read up more on it if you are more interested I am just skimming the surface here. If you want to know more info just hit me up
Cheers,
Tof
Thanks! I'll check out your site. I find that 5:2 appeals to me more than than the other methods I read about so far. I've been trying a version of 5:2 out for a couple weeks & enjoy it. Yesterday was my first day with lower protein but I was a bit high at 18g.
Wonderful results, BTW! You obviously work hard at it!0 -
wait, hasn't this thread already happened? didn't it end in a flame war? I have deja vu....
anyway
1. gender doesn't change whether intermittent fasting is a good idea or not because men and women are not that different to each other (although I probably wouldn't be inclined to recommend it during pregnancy, but I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about for healthy, non-pregnant women)
2. so long as you're getting a suitable amount of calories in your feeding window (i.e. the same amount of calories as are recommended for your exercise goals if you were eating regular meals) then it's safe
3. some medical conditions may make intermittent fasting a bad idea, if that may apply to you check with your doctor0 -
Thanks Twixlepennie! Is there one style that you preferred more than others since you have tried several versions or were they all fairly similar? I think I am going to give it a go for awhile and see how i do
I did JUDDD (alternate day IF), while losing weight. I loved it because I felt like I was only dieting every other day. Then, as I got close to my original goal weight 5:2 was getting a lot of media buzz so I decided to try that as a bridge between actively losing weight and beginning maintenance. Very similar to JUDDD, except you only do two 'fasting'/low calorie days a week instead of the every other day rotation. Still continued to lose weight really well with that.
Then I hit my original goal weight and decided to keep losing, but I wanted to try 18:6 since I had seen it mentioned quite a bit here and over on MDA. At that time I was burned out from counting calories (which you still do with JUDDD and 5:2), so I decided to try 18:6 and not count calories, and see how that went. I really loved this format and had an eating window of 11-7. I also continued to lose weight, even though I was no longer counting calories. Hit my second goal weight, and then couldn't get my weight to stabilize/kept losing past where I wanted to. So a couple months ago I stopped doing IF and focused on IIFYM/TDEE instead, to try and get my weight to stabilize. But, I really enjoyed doing IF and it definitely worked well for me 0 -
wait, hasn't this thread already happened?
As I said earlier I am sure this has been posted multiple times just like everything else but I am looking for further information than what I found on the search also since it ended badly chances are it was deleted and I could not find it but thank you for the rest of the information.0 -
Thank you all for posting. I am getting a lot of good advice and it is helping to clear up my questions!0
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wait, hasn't this thread already happened?
As I said earlier I am sure this has been posted multiple times just like everything else but I am looking for further information than what I found on the search also since it ended badly chances are it was deleted and I could not find it but thank you for the rest of the information.
it wasn't a criticism or a suggestion you shouldn't have posted the thread... I was just reminiscing because some of the flame wars on here are quite amusing. Can't remember if that was an amusing one or a head desk one though, I seem to remember it was hijacked by someone who thought that going for 16 hours without food was horribly bad for the health.... hope this thread turns out a lot better :flowerforyou:0 -
http://www.paleoforwomen.com/shattering-the-myth-of-fasting-for-women-a-review-of-female-specific-responses-to-fasting-in-the-literature/
Yes, I posted this in the other thread too...feel free to ignore the paleo part. This is the best review of sex-specific responses to fasting I have seen.
I think men and women are different enough hormonally that there may be something to this. Ideally, it would be nice to think that if you feel fine, you probably are fine.0 -
wait, hasn't this thread already happened?
As I said earlier I am sure this has been posted multiple times just like everything else but I am looking for further information than what I found on the search also since it ended badly chances are it was deleted and I could not find it but thank you for the rest of the information.
it wasn't a criticism or a suggestion you shouldn't have posted the thread... I was just reminiscing because some of the flame wars on here are quite amusing. Can't remember if that was an amusing one or a head desk one though, I seem to remember it was hijacked by someone who thought that going for 16 hours without food was horribly bad for the health.... hope this thread turns out a lot better :flowerforyou:
sorry I misunderstood :flowerforyou: Thanks!0 -
http://www.paleoforwomen.com/shattering-the-myth-of-fasting-for-women-a-review-of-female-specific-responses-to-fasting-in-the-literature/
Yes, I posted this in the other thread too...feel free to ignore the paleo part. This is the best review of sex-specific responses to fasting I have seen.
I think men and women are different enough hormonally that there may be something to this. Ideally, it would be nice to think that if you feel fine, you probably are fine.
Thank you I will take a look at that0 -
I purposefully tried to stay away from the studies and just gave you a quick definition on the method that some women prefer. The reason is most studies on intermittent fasting was done on rats and can be easily be discredited because of that. But if I was to take that into account, the issue arises when you fast for extended periods of time. It has a slightly different affect on women than it does on men. For both sexes it is basically stress. However physical stress is not necessarily a bad thing in men but in women it can cause undesired results hormonal in the like thats why you hear that conclusion drawn. However what I suggested isn't my personal fasting method but a 5:2 split which allows you to eat during your fasting state. See you cannot look at food in a daily kind of thing if you restrict your caloric intake for a week and you eat 5-6 small meals, that is no different than fasting in terms of food cause the end result if you do the math can actually be the same. But, the time spent not eating is the real benefit and that is why fasting is so popular. I hope this clears the air a bit, I didn't want to get too technical but skimming over some of the responses I felt I should say something
Cheers all and yell if you have questions,
Tof0 -
Thanks for the blog post Wild_Wild ! I think the end sums it up the best: ...the literature is so sparse in this area that we cannot make any real statements or predictions about the effects of fasting, other than that we just don’t know, and that we should continue to emphasize the centrality of awareness, caution, and loving nourishment in moving forward.0
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I do 16:8 or 15:9 most days because it helps me control my calorie intake and eat decent meals without feeling deprived. I don't think that it has any special benefits though. I still need to stay within my calorie limit.
There's an IF group if you are interested.
Best of luck with it. 0 -
I wouldn't call it special but autophagocytosis occurs naturally in your body. It is just triggered through fasting. It can also be triggered through working out as well
Nice fasting regimen
I would love to know how it works out for you
Keep us posted,
Tof0 -
wait, hasn't this thread already happened? didn't it end in a flame war? I have deja vu....
anyway
1. gender doesn't change whether intermittent fasting is a good idea or not because men and women are not that different to each other (although I probably wouldn't be inclined to recommend it during pregnancy, but I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about for healthy, non-pregnant women)
2. so long as you're getting a suitable amount of calories in your feeding window (i.e. the same amount of calories as are recommended for your exercise goals if you were eating regular meals) then it's safe
3. some medical conditions may make intermittent fasting a bad idea, if that may apply to you check with your doctor
Saying that gender doesn't matter may not be correct. Some studies have shown that men and women may respond differently, which is not unexpected if you think about it. Some stuff I came across suggested that 5:2 may not be ideal for young women, especially those at or close to goal. But I really couldn't find much. It is something to consider, though.0 -
Just to add from my own personal experience... One week on IF (18:6 schedule) resulted in a small intestinal bacterial overgrowth that took me 2 months to correct. It actually worked great...I lost a pound in 1 week after only 2 pounds in the previous year. However, I could definitely feel that it was messing with my hormones (night sweats) and think it raised my cortisol levels enough to hinder my immune system. I ate the same diet (whole, organic foods) as before my fast and was also taking probiotics, so my intestinal issues were not likely a result of diet. Anyway, I can only suggest that if you decide to give it a try, pay very close attention to your body's signals 0
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thank you all this is giving me a lot of things to think about that I hadn't considered previously0
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I agree with the above poster….if you give it a try, just pay close attention to your body.
I decided to try 16/8 last year because it worked well with my natural hunger (usually not hungry in the am). I really enjoyed it, but after about 6 months I started not sleeping well, feeling really tired all the time, and a bit anxious. BTW, I was eating at maintenance or a very slight deficit- not trying to lose. By 9 months I had lost my period and was a hormonal wreck- gaining weight on what was previously maintenance calories, symptoms of overtraining with the same amount of exercise, generally feeling run down. I feel like it took me months to get back to 'normal.' Not sure if it's relevant but I already had low BF when I started (about 18%), so that may have had an impact, too.
I know it works really well for lots of people, but for me, despite fitting my preferences nicely, it was disastrous. So just be aware and be willing to change things up if it's not best for you.
Best of luck to you!!0
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