Intermittent Fasting - Part 1
What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent Fasting is a practice of changing the times that you eat instead of focusing on the amount you eat.
Sometimes, this means tightening the times in the day that you eat food (reducing it to 4 – 12 hours a day), or it involves specific short-term fasting days that either food-free or 600cal or less.
The purpose and theory around fasting is this - by going a long period of time without eating, your insulin levels lower and this triggers your body to use the energy stored in your fat cells.
In theory, this is a biological function that developed thousands of years ago, when humans were hunter/gatherers and there were times of starvation. This is more than likely true…but, it’s also a stress on the body, and we’ll see how this affects men and women differently.
Many of the health benefits of fasting are tied to this evolutionary idea. You’ll see that some of these health benefits are being proven in the research and some are still a hypothesis.
The full list of IF health benefits are listed in the IF for Men section because the research is pointing to the fact that these are ONLY benefits for men.
When I was researching IF I got trapped into the “OMG! This looks amazing! I’ve got to try it!” mentality because the benefits can be so great. But…once I became aware of the medical bias in research (it’s mostly done on men) and read many anecdotal accounts of IF in cycling women I decided that it would be much more ethical to put those health benefits in the right section.
Some important Intermittent Fasting facts:
This is all pretty darn new
There are no long-term human studies to confirm anything about IF (yet)
Most studies that show benefits are on rats in a lab…and we’re not rats and we live in the world with stress, jobs, families, etc.
There is a HUGE difference between how IF affects men vs. women
Frustratingly, all of the “IF is the BEST!” info is based on how it affects men
If you’re a menstruating woman, please read “IF for Women” before trying any form of IF.
Don’t try Intermittent Fasting if:
you’re pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or your partner is trying to get pregnant (it might affect sperm count)
you have a history of disordered eating
you’re chronically stressed
you don’t sleep well
you’re new to diet and exercise (it’s better to focus on healthy habits than worry about IF)
My honest opinion about Intermittent Fasting –
Truthfully, I’m still on the fence. I’ve seen it work really well for post-menopausal women and men, but I’m worried about how it’ll affect cycling women. Overall, I think this can be a tool to use if you want to get a bit leaner AND your overall diet is pretty darn balanced. Like, if you’re eating well, feeling good, sleeping well…but you’re still holding onto some extra pounds you’d like to release. It’s something to use for a period of time while enjoying your healthy, balanced diet.
If your diet is lacking balance or your body is tired/burned out…it’s better to bring some kindness and balance to your body instead of trying to force it to fast. Fasting will bring unnecessary stress, not balance.
And please, take this all with a grain of salt. IF isn’t the perfect solution for everyone that it’s promoted to be. But, if your body is happy with it, then it could be a nice addition to your balanced life <3.
And, please please please don’t combine this with a very low carb diet, unless there’s a very good reason for it AND it’s been recommended to you (personally) by your healthcare professional. Please <3
What if fasting isn’t for you?
Here are some alternative masterclasses that may be kinder to your body:
Post-Menopausal Women
Now that your hormones are stable and balanced all month, your body may have a similar reaction to IF as men. Be sure to read both the men’s and the women’s sections and start off very gently to watch how your body reacts.
If you have any questions, jump to our private Facebook Group or the Ask Lisa page :)