First off, you may have no idea what intermittent fasting even is, so let me explain. The process of intermittent fasting involves restricting the eating period to an 8-10 hour window, so that you are going between 12 and 16 hours or more with absolutely no food in your system. Water, herbal tea, and black coffee are fine, however.
While this may sound really difficult to achieve, especially if you are someone who likes to eat at night, consider this: If you normally have dinner at 7pm and don’t eat anything until 10am the next day, you are already doing it, because you are going 15 hours without food. Basically cutting out that late night snack might be all you need to make intermittent fasting a part of your routine.
Chances are if you are health and fitness savvy, you’ve heard of intermittent fasting and its benefits for fat loss and overall health.
But did you know that, if you’re a woman, fasting could lead to hormonal imbalance and could lead to fertility issues? Here, we’ll discuss the best ways for women to enjoy the positive aspects of intermittent fasting without putting their health at risk.
An intermittent fast is a brief fast where, for 12–16 hours or more, you don’t eat anything except water (a few exceptions apply). And while that may sound incredibly difficult to achieve, you might already be fasting without knowing it if you eat dinner at, say, 7 p.m. and break your fast in the morning between 7—10 a.m. — and if you only have water and black coffee or tea between.
- Increases energy
- Improves cognition, memory and clear-thinking (1)
- Makes us less insulin resistant, staving off fat and insulin related disease by reducing levels of circulating IGF-1 and increasing insulin sensitivity without lowering the resting metabolic rate (2)
- May improve immunity, lower diabetes risk, and improve heart health (3)
intermittent fasting can cause hormonal imbalance in women if it’s not done correctly. (5) Women are extremely sensitive to signals of starvation, and if the body senses that it is being starved, it will ramp up production of the hunger hormones leptin and ghrelin.
So when women experience insatiable hunger after under-eating, they are actually experiencing the increased production of these hormones. It’s the female body’s way of protecting a potential fetus — even when a woman is not pregnant.
Of course, though, many women ignore these hunger cues causing the signals to get even louder. Or, worse, we try to ignore them, then fail and binge later, then follow that up with under-eating and starvation again. And guess what? That vicious cycle can throw your hormones out of whack and even halt ovulation.
In animal studies, after two weeks of intermittent fasting, female rats stopped having menstrual cycles and their ovaries shrunk while experiencing more insomnia than their male counterparts (though the male rats did experience lower testosterone production). (6) Unfortunately, there are very few human studies looking at the differences between intermittent fasting for men and women, but the animal studies confirm our suspicion: Intermittent fasting can sometimes throw off a woman’s hormonal balance, cause fertility problems and exacerbate eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder.
Regarding one strategy that’s currently trending, intermittent fasting, I’ve seen very mixed results. Many men, particularly those who struggle with excess weight and conditions like diabetes or metabolic syndrome, have reported positive results with this semi-fasting approach. But for many women , any type of fasting—whether it be overnight for 16 hours every night, or capping calories at 500 two days a week—has seriously backfired. If you’re thinking of giving it a try, here are four potential unwanted effects to consider.
Rebound overeating
Limiting food intake to just eight hours each day or severely restricting calories a few days a week are two popular fasting approaches. I’ve seen both lead to intense cravings, preoccupation with food, and rebound binge eating, particularly for women.
Some who attempted to cut off eating after 4 p.m. (with the intention of eating again at 8 a.m.) have told me that after hours of lingering thoughts about food, or watching other family members eat, they just couldn’t take it anymore, and wound up raiding the kitchen and eating far more than they would have on a typical night. Others, who attempt to eat no more than 500 calories a day two non-consecutive days each week, often begin daydreaming on fasting days about what they can eat on non-fasting days, and end up eating decadent goodies more often, like baked goods, pizza, chips and ice cream.
The lesson: even if this tactic has worked miracles for a friend, co-worker, or family member, if it leaves you in a food frenzy, it’s not the best approach for you.
Poor sleep
I’ve tried intermittent fasting myself, and like clients and others I’ve talked to, it interfered with my ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. This effect can not only wreak havoc with daytime energy, but a plethora of studies have shown that sleep length and quality are strongly associated with weight control.
Too little sleep has been shown to increase hunger, up cravings for sweet and fatty foods, reduce the desire to eat healthy foods like veggies, and trigger excessive eating overall and weight gain.
For these reasons, I don’t believe that fasting is an optimal strategy for many people. In fact, some clients have told me they got out of bed at 3 a.m. after waking up, and you guessed it, wound up either eating, drinking alcohol, or both, in order to fall asleep—not a good recipe for weight loss or wellness.
Fewer nutrients
As a nutritionist, one of my biggest pet peeves with fasting is that I’ve seen it compromise overall nutrition by limiting the intake of veggies, fruit, even lean protein and healthy fats, which are strongly tied to keeping metabolism revved, boosting satiety, and reducing inflammation—all critical for weight control. I think this is especially the case when people become focused on calorie counts rather than food quality.
If you do decide to try intermittent fasting, or even a modified version, make every morsel count by sticking with naturally nutrient rich whole and fresh foods rather than processed “diet” products.
Muscle loss
Unfortunately, fasting doesn’t trigger your body to break down only your fat reserves. While that would make weight loss so much easier, metabolism is a bit more complex. Your body burns a combination of fat and carbohydrate and after about six hours or so, when carbohydrates aren’t being consumed and your body’s “back up” stores in your liver have been depleted, you begin to convert some lean tissue into carbohydrate. The ratio of how much fat to muscle you lose may vary depending on your body composition, protein intake, and activity level, but again, this is where I’ve seen women and men experience different results.
Research shows that in postmenopausal women, a higher protein intake is needed in order to lose less muscle mass (not offset the effect completely), but many women tell me that when they fast they crave carbs, which may lead to a loss of muscle while maintaining body fat—the opposite of their intended goal. Bottom line: again, think through what feels good and in sync with your body’s needs, and remember, sustainability is key! http://www.mercola.com/infographics/intermittent-fasting.htm
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Intermittent fasting is not a form of starvation but a way for you to time your meals to maximize your body's ability to burn fat. Embed this infographic on your site to serve as a guide for you to create a healthy eating plan, and reap the many benefits of fasting done the right way. Use the embed code to share it on your website or visit our infographic page for the high-res version.
<img src="http://media.mercola.com/assets/images/infographic/intermittent-fasting.jpg" alt="Intermittent Fasting" border="0" style="max-width:100%; min-width:300px; margin: 0 auto 20px auto; display:block;"><p style="max-width:800px; min-width:300px; margin:0 auto; text-align:center;">"<a href="http://www.mercola.com/infographics/intermittent-fasting.htm">Intermittent fasting</a>" is not a form of starvation but a way for you to time your meals to maximize your body's ability to burn fat. Embed this infographic on your site to serve as a guide for you to create a healthy eating plan, and reap the many benefits of fasting done the right way. Visit our infographic page for the high-res version.</p>
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