Female fasting success stories?

#1

I started keto early July and now I’m trying IF! So excited and I would love to hear other women’s success stories and what works for you! I’ve heard that women’s fasting can be affected by hormones etc.
I can’t wait to see and feel the results, I want to heal my body after having three kids (all c-sections) in less than 3 years. And lose the baby weight too! Yesterday a lady asked me if I was pregnant again :frowning:
Thanks in advance!

#2

I don’t have a tremendous amount of experience with fasting (I’ll leave that to the real experts) but I can comment on your effort and foray into eating/living keto. Good job and congrats, Mama! Three kids is no joke! As a woman too, I’m always learning and am always on the look out for how our bodies interact differently. Looking forward to seeing you around the forum and reading the replies.

(Kirsten) #3

hi! I’ve been keto for close to two years and have been doing intermittent fasting for the past five months or so…I had reached a bodyweight that my body seemed to be REALLY fighting me to keep. I started out with 16:8 where I skipped breakfast, ate a good fatty lunch and a large dinner, stopping eating around 7 or 8pm. I lost another 5 or 6 pounds doing that over the course of about a month, but then the weight loss leveled off. I might add that I am a powerlifter and lift heavy in the gym 3-4 times a week, so a lot of the time I wake up HUNGRY and have a hard time fasting until noon to begin with, so when I stopped losing weight, I really couldn’t motivate myself to stick to the 16:8 anymore. I went back to eating whenever (still keto) and gained a pound or two back.

THEN I heard on the podcast that Carl only lost weight with IF when he moved his eating window to earlier in the day, with his last meal ending early to mid afternoon, and I figured it couldn’t hurt to try it his way. I’ve been cooking the weeks’ dinners at home over the weekend and bringing them to work along with my lunch and sneaking off to eat my dinner around 4:30 pm every day now. I try to get 60-70% of my calories in during the morning and early afternoon hours, and the rest for dinner.

The results have been just crazy…my body composition has gotten much better in a matter of weeks, I can see some of the muscle I’ve worked so hard for, and I’ve dropped another 3 pounds. I have a suspicion that somebody who doesn’t do resistance training would still see their body “firm up” a bit, as I’ve heard from both the dudes and Dr Rhonda Patrick that research is showing that just fasting itself can cause the body to put on new muscle.

Anyway, being able to stop eating at 4 or 4:30 every day takes quite a bit of extra planning and explanation to random coworkers, family and friends but I’ve stop cringing when I see recent photos of myself, so I’d say its worth all that. Hope we can get some others to chime in if they’ve tried this and compare results. I plan to stay eating/not eating this way for at least another month or two!

#4

Wow, that’s so interesting! When do you have your first meal in the morning? Do you consume two meals in your eating window?
I wake up hungry too, but I’m not working out so it’s probably just because I’m on day three in my fast, it’ll hopefully pass.

#5

Thanks!

#6

I listened to the 2 keto dudes podcast with Dr Fung and he said women are fine to fast and have done so for millions of years so that is comforting! I’ve read so many different opinions about women fasting!

(Kirsten) #7

I’ve been eating once I get to work, around 9 am, and I think I squeeze three meals into that 9am-4ish window, with the largest amount being eaten around noon.

(Trace) #8

I have done a few 5 day fat fasts, but when aunt flo is due im always ravenous! I go with what my body is asking me, without pigging out too much and then start fasting again the next week.

(Nicole Sawchuk) #9

I fast a lot and I have no issues. Some months, it is harder for me to fast the week prior to my period. That’s when I am hungriest! But during my cycle, I have no issues typically.

@reinainblood I really wish I could switch my schedule to eat earlier in the day just to change things up but between the weird work hours I have and the fact I like to eat supper with my kids, it is so hard. But its wonderful to hear that it does work! There will be a time when my schedule will allow for this so I am going to keep that in my back pocket as something to try later!

(Maria) #10

Can you tell me please when i making fasting if i can go to the gym for training in weights or it is dangerous?

#11

If you’re fat adapted (and have enough fat) it shouldn’t be dangerous, your body uses your fat for fuel.

#12

How does it go?
“Breakfast like a king. Lunch like a lord. Dinner like a pauper.”

#13

@xmaria I continue my normal exercise when fasting, and have even had some of my best ever hot yoga classes in the 3rd and 4th days of a fast (but I do find that if I push past a certain point I need longer to recover if I’m fasting than if not).

Personally I find exercise so important that I’d rather keep it up and end a fast early if I’m not feeling great than skipping it entirely.

@SofieFoodie asked about your fat adaptation, and this is important! if you’re not yet fat adapted, you can keep exercising but don’t push too hard and don’t expect much at first.

#14

I’ve been doing IF for 2 years now; however, I only started keto on May 1st. Keto and IF combinations feels a lot easier, especially since I exercise in the mornings…no ravenous hunger, no drop in energy later on the early afternoon, etc.
I do have to do some more adjusting and figuring out what my body’s actually doing. Since starting keto, my periods have been very different, either 10 days early or barely there. I am on birth control and my gyn suggested we wait a bit longer before switching pill types. I am usually 18/6 or 20/4 TMAD, so I could maybe be eating too little, maybe my IF window is too long, maybe my body needs more time to adjust…
I eat between 2 and 8pm, since I never ate breakfast and that way feels best for me :slight_smile:

(Kathryn ) #15

Hi! I delayed trying IF or extending fasting for a long time because I read that women can’t beneft IF as well. I’m happy to say that, at least for me, it’s crap. :slight_smile:
I just ended a 6 day fast and lost 10 lbs. I expect to gain back 2 or 3 lbs of it in water, perhaps. Felt great the whole time. Had tons of energy, even though I would pop wide awake after 6 hrs of sleep each night and had to go ahead and get up (I was just that much more productive!). I went for light jogs 3 of the days and felt great. I took keytones right before the fast to ease my way in, BCAA supplements to prevent muscle wasting, drank a liter of electrolyte water each day, and had a couple of cups of bone broth the last two days when I was getting some hunger pains. I was testing my blood glucose and keytones each day with a blood monitor. I am so happy with my results and plan to do it again in about 5 weeks; in the meantime I’ll be doing 18:6 IF with a 36 hour fast each week. Go for it!!

#16

@Katatatat wow, that’s great! It’s awesome when you find what works for you!
I did a two day fast earlier this week and now I eat between 3-6 pm after that, feels good! Down ~4 lbs. I’ve cut out all the sweetness the and processed keto snacks because they seem to mess with my weight loss and hunger feelings.

#17

My body responds best when I keep it constantly guessing, so I switch it up a lot! Often I will eat one meal a day M-F and then eat a ton of calories over at least 2 meals a day on the weekends.

I completed a 48-hour fast once a week in the last two weeks and I felt INCREDIBLE. Like, on top of the world. I was hungrier than usual for several days after the first one because I didn’t take the feasting part seriously, so definitely feast and listen to your body!

I’m on day 2 of a 3-day fast right now - actually came here to post about it, lol - and again I feel incredible. I made sure to really feast before starting, with three bulletproof coffees over the course of the day, two meals instead of one, with a ton of fat. I occasionally feel mildly hungry, but I drink some water, focus on work, and it goes away quick.

I started at 215lb on July 15. This morning I hit 185.5 and my mind is blown. I can’t believe that I feel this fantastic and lost weight so quickly at the same time.

#18

@Rachelg sounds like you’re doing great! what do you have while fasting? Only water?

(Anjum) #19

I have been Keto since March 2018. I have had huge non scale victories and nominal weight loss. I began IF last week - aiming for 16/8 but really was 18/6. I did this 5 days. This week is a whole different story. I have been waking up hungry. First day I tried to ignore it, this was unsuccessful. I have felt more hungry this week and not been able to get do IF at all. I checked ketone level and I am at a 2.1. I felt great while IF - not hungry and worked out for an hour each day. Should I just try again next week? Am i just a weakling?

#20

I do ketoade (water, lite salt, and crystal light) 2x a day for electrolytes. I was having a bulletproof coffee each morning but this time I’m trying to go without it.