Fasting for non-religious causes – and whether or not it’s good or dangerous for you – has turn out to be a scorching matter within the well being and health house. Everybody has an opinion they usually appear to be getting increasingly keen about it by the day.
Soar into the feedback part of an Instagram put up of fasting and also you’ll see what I imply.
Personally, I get up HUNGRY.
My sister can’t take a look at meals earlier than midday.
I really feel like crap if I don’t eat earlier than figuring out.
My pal Jules seems like crap if she does eat earlier than figuring out.
Way back to 2019, “intermittent fasting” was some of the searched diet-related phrases on Google and the subject solely appears to have heated up since then.
With all of the hype round fasting, particularly for girls, it’s straightforward to get caught up within the development. However right here’s the factor: fasting for girls isn’t so simple as it could appear.
After diving into the analysis, my greatest takeaway is that this: Regardless of your opinion on fasting, you’ll doubtless discover analysis to assist your perspective. However relating to fasting for girls, we have to contemplate some essential components, from the analysis gaps to how fasting impacts energetic girls’s wants for vitality, muscle restoration, and hormonal stability. Right here’s what it’s best to know.
What Is Fasting, Actually?
Fasting merely means taking a break from consuming (and typically ingesting) for a set time frame.
Technically, all of us quick in a single day whereas we sleep—and that fasting window is definitely essential! It provides our our bodies time to relaxation, restore, and faucet into saved vitality as an alternative of regularly processing new meals. And breakfast is actually the meal once we break the in a single day quick.
This pure “pause” requires that our our bodies dissipate glucose and fatty acids circulating in our blood and faucet into vitality shops. It trains our our bodies to get higher at processing vitality.
However What About Longer Fasts?
Some individuals deliberately stretch that in a single day quick into an extended break, a apply often known as intermittent fasting (IF). Probably the most fashionable variations known as time-restricted consuming (TRE), the place you restrict your consuming to a particular window – usually round 8 hours (or much less) – and quick the opposite 16 hours of the day.
For instance, you may eat dinner at 6 p.m. after which not have any extra energy till 10 a.m. the subsequent day—so that you simply’re fasting in periods of low or lowered exercise.
There’s a Lack of Analysis on Fasting for Ladies
Many of the analysis on fasting has been achieved on males and plenty of have solely been achieved on animals. Individuals who assist fasting usually make the leap that findings of these research apply to girls as nicely, however that’s a reasonably large leap as a result of girls’s our bodies reply in another way than males’s (or mice)—particularly relating to lowered calorie consumption, our hormonal cycles, and train.
The huge majority of research on fasting for girls deal with sedentary girls and people contemplateed chubby or overweight. However with small pattern sizes it’s onerous to generalize the findings to energetic girls and those that aren’t thought of chubby or overweight.
We do see that for many who are inactive or sedentary, research have proven fasting is usually a useful stressor on the system that helps enhance insulin sensitivity, glucose metabolism, amongst different issues.
However if you’re an exerciser or an energetic girls or in perimenopause, there’s a main hole within the analysis that makes it even tougher to use the present fasting analysis to your life—particularly relating to understanding how fasting impacts train efficiency and restoration.
Fasting for Weight Loss
The analysis on fasting and weight reduction is sort of clear: on the finish of the day, relating to weight reduction, fasting is basically only a methodology of calorie restriction. Whereas proponents declare fasting has particular metabolic advantages, there’s no stable proof exhibiting that it’s any simpler than different types of calorie management, like portion management, monitoring your meals consumption, or balanced consuming.
Fasting is only a methodology of lowering your calorie consumption by utilizing the clock to restrict your consumption. And when calorie consumption is managed for, fasting isn’t higher than different “diets” for reaching long-term weight reduction or well being enhancements.
Fasting and Train
Combining fasting and train is the place it will get tough—particularly for girls. Primarily, it’s because fasting and train do related issues—they each lower your blood glucose and different essential molecules circulating in your blood.
So while you mix them and train whereas fasted, you may find yourself with some points.
First, for each women and men, exercising fasted might make your blood sugar ranges go too low and depart you attempting to actually run on an empty tank. No gasoline makes it actually onerous to work out or work out onerous sufficient to get the outcomes you’re after. It might additionally make you dizzy and go out.
Second, fasted train is related to decreased efficiency, elevated fatigue, lowered ability, impaired focus, and an elevated notion of effort (so train feels tougher than it ought to). This makes it much less doubtless that you simply’ll have good coaching classes and even wish to work out.
Moreover, muscle preservation is important for total well being and metabolism, and fasting alone could not do the job in addition to different consuming methods that prioritize protein and carbohydrates for muscle restoration and development.
For girls who do select to quick or exercise fasted, it’s essential that they proceed to deal with consuming sufficient meals – particularly protein and carbs – all through the day throughout their feeding window to reduce the chance of low vitality availability and forestall muscle breakdown and loss.
Self-Consciousness: The Key to Making Good Fueling Decisions
Whether or not you’re fasting or following one other consuming plan, self-awareness is important. Everybody’s physique is totally different, and meaning tuning into your private wants and the way your weight-reduction plan (and train) impacts your vitality, temper, and efficiency.
And context issues—so keep in mind that it’s not nearly skipping that one meal, it’s about the way you’re balancing your wants throughout the day as nicely. So what works for one individual, could not give you the results you want. And what used to give you the results you want, could sooner or later not be applicable or efficient.
Some girls thrive on fasting, however many others discover that under-eating or fasting interferes with their exercises and restoration.
Everybody’s physique has distinctive wants, and there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy.
After I introduced up the subject of fasting to my colleague, Jules Mitchell, writer of Yoga Biomechanics: Stretching Redefined, she shared how difficult it may be for individuals who weren’t athletes rising as much as acknowledge their physique’s alerts.
“The older I get, the extra privileged I really feel for having performed sports activities as a child and spent my childhood operating races. At eight years outdated, I realized {that a} half banana earlier than a 10k would make me sick. I’ve been listening to my physique’s alerts my entire life. However if you happen to’re simply now in perimenopause and moving into train, all of the blended messaging should be so complicated.”
Her expertise reminds us that self-awareness isn’t nearly noticing what we really feel at this time—it’s about understanding how our our bodies reply over time, via totally different phases of life and exercise.
For those who’re always feeling drained, weak, or sluggish throughout your exercises, it is perhaps an indication that you simply’re not fueling your physique correctly.
Self-awareness is about listening to your physique and making changes based mostly on how you are feeling, not simply following the newest development.
Many Lively Ladies Are Usually Underneath-fueled
One of many key factors that always will get ignored relating to fasting for girls is the difficulty of under-fueling.
Many energetic girls underestimate their complete every day vitality expenditure (due to all these foolish 1200-1500 calorie weight-reduction plan suggestions that we grew up with) and find yourself consuming too little to fulfill their vitality calls for. That is very true for girls who do common power coaching, high-intensity exercises, or endurance coaching.
A 2016 examine carried out on 109 feminine leisure exercisers discovered that 45% have been in danger for low vitality availability – that’s practically half of the ladies recruited from native gyms and health facilities have been in danger attributable to under-fueling.
So under-fueling and low vitality availability aren’t only a concern for “high-level” athletes, any exercising lady could be in danger.
Underneath-fueling can result in poor restoration, decreased efficiency, and even hormonal imbalances. Ladies who prepare onerous want to make sure they’re consuming sufficient carbohydrates and protein to gas their exercises and get well successfully. With out the right vitamins, your physique can’t rebuild muscle, and you might expertise fatigue, temper swings, and hormonal disruptions.
In my work as a private coach serving to girls with osteoporosis construct and preserve bone mass, most of my discussions with purchasers encompass consuming extra, not much less.
Dietary Therapist Michaela Smith agrees. She shared her ideas with me:
“The overwhelming majority of girls I work with are under-fueling already, even those that wish to drop pounds! Underneath-eating is a big stressor that may manifest into hormonal imbalance, weight adjustments, and even cognitive adjustments.”
In her apply, she typically doesn’t advocate intermittent fasting for girls. Right here’s why:
- Many ladies are already under-eating, which may contribute to nervousness, mind fog, overwhelm, and hormonal imbalances.
- Fasting can negatively have an effect on blood sugar, resulting in:
- Drops in blood glucose
- Launch of stress hormones
- A rebound spike in blood sugar
- A “blood sugar curler coaster” that leaves girls feeling off stability by way of vitality and meals cravings
- There may be restricted analysis on the results of fasting on girls, making lengthy fasts a questionable technique.
As an alternative, Michaela recommends the next strategy to assist regular vitality and hormonal well being:
- Eat a balanced breakfast inside 30–60 minutes of waking.
- Gasoline persistently all through the day with common meals and snacks.
- End dinner early sufficient to permit time to digest and profit from a mild in a single day quick.
- Goal for a 12-hour window between dinner and breakfast—this helps vitality metabolism and intestine well being with out over stressing the physique.
“The long-term outcomes I see with the ladies I work with are extra even vitality, fewer jittery emotions, improved blood sugar response, and extra steady weight. All wins in my e-book!”
When You Eat Issues, However So Does What You Eat
Whereas timing your meals or solely consuming inside a particular window might sound fashionable, it’s extra essential to deal with what you eat and whether or not it meets your physique’s wants. Whether or not you’re consuming earlier than or after your exercise, be sure to’re getting sufficient carbohydrates to gas your train and protein to get well.
Carbohydrates are your physique’s most important supply of gas for train, and it is advisable replenish glycogen shops after exercises. The amino acids in protein are the constructing blocks for all tissue and helps rebuild muscle, preserve bone, and assist restoration.
For energetic girls, this stability is vital—regardless of while you eat. It’s all about giving your physique the vitamins it must get well and carry out at its greatest.
For those who’re not used to consuming earlier than you’re employed out, however you wish to strive it, begin small with simply 100 energy of easily-digestible, low-fiber carbs or a sports activities drink to keep away from GI misery. Then, over time steadily improve the energy to coach your system to tolerate meals at the moment of day.
Fasting and Hormonal Well being: A Advanced Relationship
For girls with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), intermittent fasting has proven some promising advantages in bettering insulin sensitivity, regulating blood sugar ranges, and selling hormonal stability. A number of research have urged that fasting can scale back insulin spikes, a key challenge in PCOS, and will assist alleviate signs like irregular menstrual cycles, weight acquire, and zits.
Nonetheless, it’s essential to notice that almost all of the analysis on fasting for PCOS has been carried out on chubby or overweight premenopausal girls and the findings are nonetheless rising. Whereas the outcomes are encouraging, extra analysis is required to know how intermittent fasting impacts girls with totally different physique sorts and at numerous levels of life, together with those that are energetic and in perimenopause or past.
For energetic girls, particularly these in perimenopause, fasting can influence hormonal stability in ways in which will not be instantly obvious. Low vitality consumption, particularly when mixed with numerous train, can result in low vitality availability and/or finally Relative Vitality Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), a situation that impacts reproductive, metabolic, and bone well being. Indicators of RED-S can embrace menstrual irregularities, fatigue, decreased bone density, and poor restoration.
And right here’s the kicker: throughout perimenopause, distinguishing between anticipated hormonal adjustments and the indicators of RED-S could be troublesome.
For those who’re experiencing fatigue, poor restoration, or irregular durations (which many ladies received’t even be capable of inform in the event that they’re utilizing contraception that alters their interval), it could possibly be an indication that you simply’re not fueling sufficient to assist your exercises and total well being.
Enough fueling, particularly with carbohydrates, is particularly essential in midlife to assist each coaching and hormonal well being.
Conclusion: Fasting for Ladies—A Personalised Method
Fasting may fit for some girls, however it’s essential to keep in mind that, relating to weight reduction, it’s only one methodology of calorie restriction and it hasn’t been confirmed to be simpler than different dietary methods.
For energetic girls, self-awareness and listening to how you are feeling throughout exercises and restoration are essential. Earlier than contemplating a fasting routine, be certain that your physique is well-fueled.
A balanced consumption of carbohydrates and protein is important—particularly to assist your exercises, restoration, and total well-being. Underneath-eating could make fasting counterproductive—growing stress on the physique fairly than supporting well being.
And if you happen to’re very energetic or an athlete with targets—working towards a PR in your lifts or coaching for a contest or race—you might wish to depart fasting within the mud as it may lower your efficiency and inhibit your restoration.
There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy. The perfect technique is well-thought-out and helps your vitality, efficiency, and long-term well being—not one which leaves you depleted.
And remember that there’s a rising variety of “docs” and consultants on the market who’re talking about fasting (and making the most of it) although it is rather a lot out of their very own scope of apply. So earlier than diving in head first, ensure you examine what sort of physician they’re and confirm that you simply solely take recommendation from certified vitamin consultants.
For those who’re not sure the place to begin, contemplate getting assist from a registered dietitian or nutritionist who concentrate on working with girls in your particular inhabitants (energetic, endurance athletes, and/or perimenopausal girls) to assist tailor a plan that works for you. —Karin
References
- Vitality Professional. (2019). “Intermittent Fasting: A Search Development.” Vitality Professional Diet Statistics. Hyperlink
- Cienfuegos, S., et al. (2022). “Intermittent Fasting and Reproductive Well being: The Potential Results.” Vitamins.
- Correia, M., et al. (2020). “Intermittent Fasting and Cardio Efficiency.” Journal of Sports activities Sciences.
- Batitucci, G., et al. (2022). “The Impression of Fasting on Muscle Mass and Physique Composition.” Frontiers in Diet.
- Zouhal, H., et al. (2020). “Results of Fasting on Train Efficiency: A Overview.” Sports activities Drugs.
- Mellin, A. (2025). “Carbohydrate Availability and Menstrual Well being in Lively Ladies.” Journal of Sport Diet and Train Metabolism.
- Aird, L., et al. (2018). “Fasted vs Fed Train: The Impression on Fats Metabolism and Efficiency.” Worldwide Journal of Sports activities Physiology and Efficiency.
- Slater, J., et al. (2016). “Feminine Leisure Exercisers at Danger for Low Vitality Availability.” Worldwide Journal of Sport Diet and Train Metabolism.