Intermittent Fasting for Women 40+: A Midlife Guide

What Are the Types of Intermittent Fasting? Types There are a number of ways to approach intermittent fasting. One note: Each setup has its own specifications for how to fast, but certain liquids are always allowed — and even encouraged — during fasting hours when little to no food is consumed. These liquids include black coffee , teas (especially herbal tea), and water.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976299ed213bc-b637-4ce5-b81f-0147ad0daa34 Here are some of the ways to practice intermittent fasting. Alternate day fasting or modified alternate day fasting involves picking one to three nonconsecutive days during the week to eat minimally, if at all.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976299ed213bc-b637-4ce5-b81f-0147ad0daa34 Fasting mimicking diet means severely restricting calories for five days in a month.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762930db98f7-f08b-4f3f-a279-b2a5a794abca 5:2 fasting is when you eat normally for five days of the week and then drastically limit calories — down to around 500 a day for women (600 for men) — for two nonsequential days.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976296855d01a-bf32-4728-85c2-98daf33b4664 Time restricted eating (TRE) is a process when you eat normally during any 8- to 12-hour window of the day and fast for the remaining hours.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976299ed213bc-b637-4ce5-b81f-0147ad0daa34 16:8 fasting is a type of TRE plan that prohibits food during a 16-hour window and then leans heavily on healthy fats during the eight hours of eating. The Galveston diet recommends this method for midlife women.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976291e740af8-0efa-4783-b5cb-42381ef87274
Women around the time of menopause may find that hot flashes are their biggest challenge, but many also struggle with another, less-discussed concern: stubborn pounds that gather around the waist and won’t disappear.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976298635989d-e2b2-4ccb-9207-fc9c4546982a Some women lose this extra weight when they start cutting calories or turn to a healthier way of eating, like the widely recommended Mediterranean diet .e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976298635989d-e2b2-4ccb-9207-fc9c4546982a But other women say traditional diet plans aren’t sufficient to dislodge these excess pounds in midlife — a phenomenon some term the “menopot .”e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762980d50fd4-25a2-475b-860d-b5248f4464e4 That’s why many are turning to a popular eating method known as intermittent fasting (IF) . Intermittent fasting refers to a variety of dietary schedules, all of which involve eating for a certain number of hours in a day and restricting calories during others.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762957820059-9953-4cda-af84-09caf416e60a The approach forms the cornerstone of a weight loss diet geared toward menopausal women known as the Galveston diet.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762903881960-bf62-492f-a0b0-b66207ddba06 But several factors determine whether IF is appropriate for women over 40.
Is Intermittent Fasting Safe for Midlife Women? Safety Even in studies that did not find IF was effective for weight loss, there were little to no adverse effects, meaning it’s considered generally safe for most healthy adults.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976296a790c71-ede5-4014-80bc-298d84c6e666 One question about the use of IF by women has been whether it might alter their hormones. But a small study that tested hormone levels in two dozen postmenopausal and premenopausal women found that after two months of a strict IF window, eating either 4 or 6 hours daily, there were no changes in sex hormones, such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone .e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629ed141d1e-5477-4d49-9495-a36cfb3c5a10 Still, not every midlife woman should try this eating plan, including those with a history of disordered eating, a body mass index (BMI) below 18.5, or people who need to take medication with food at regimented times.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762940a8d9d5-568b-4353-955d-28cc213596c9 And doctors may advise people with diabetes to refrain from IF , especially when blood sugar isn’t well controlled.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629b44e2e60-b965-41f9-9e1c-7ed02c49f52c
What Are the Weight Loss and Health Claims of Intermittent Fasting? Health Claims The Galveston diet touts IF as a whole-health panacea in addition to a weight loss tool. According to its website, IF prevents obesity , lowers heart risks, improves insulin resistance , decreases chronic inflammation, and boosts memory, mood, and energy.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629f2063dac-f9a9-4589-ac3d-78f91345b24a Its website claims that many of these proposed benefits come because IF brings about a process known as “metabolic switching,” when the body stops consuming glucose for fuel and burns fat from storage instead.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629f2063dac-f9a9-4589-ac3d-78f91345b24a Over the years, research has examined other potential benefits of IF, including everything from cholesterol and blood pressure reductions to taming Alzheimer’s disease and boosting longevity . But research is mixed and more studies are needed to better understand these purported perks.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629769af1d1-365c-404e-a6d4-db5addde6f22
The Takeaway Intermittent fasting involves eating for a certain number of hours in a day and restricting calories in others or picking one to three nonsequential days during the week when they eat minimally, if at all. Some research suggests intermittent fasting may help with weight loss around menopause, but evidence is mixed and shows benefits are similar to traditional calorie-cutting diets. Intermittent fasting is not for everyone and isn’t recommended for people with a history of disordered eating, a BMI below 18.5, or people who need to take medication with food. Talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before trying intermittent fasting to better understand if it’s right for you and learn how to incorporate it into your lifestyle in a healthy way.
What’s the Bottom Line for Midlife Women and Intermittent Fasting? Bottom Line Liskov says that for those who want to try IF, she favors a time-restricted eating plan known as 12:12, where food is eaten for half the day, generally between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. “This pattern of eating has helped many people lower their energy intakes, lose weight, and reduce the amount of unhealthy nutrients eaten,” she says, based on her clinical experience. A key reason, she said, is that many people eat healthy foods during the day but then devolve to snacks of sweets and chips before bedtime. It’s important to be sure you’re eating healthy foods during the eating window, rather than filling up on nutritionally empty calories, says Carol Roberts, MD , a functional medicine physician in Sarasota, Florida, who recommends IF to some of her patients. “If you’re on a junk food diet, it’s not going to be good for you to eat for fewer hours. Better food selection is also important,” she says. To work long-term, an IF eating plan has to mesh with your lifestyle, experts say. If you regularly go out socially for breakfast or eat dinner late at night, for example, trying to fast during these times is not sustainable. While some people may benefit from an IF eating plan, you may want to choose an alternative option depending on your goals. “If you’re looking for a diet that’s more balanced and less restrictive, I’d choose a Mediterranean type of diet instead,” says Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN , the author of Read It Before You Eat It: Taking You From Label to Table .
If You Try Intermittent Fasting, Ease In Ease In Mary Claire Haver, MD , the obstetrician-gynecologist who created the Galveston diet, suggests women who want to try IF ease into it, such as by pushing the morning mealtime back every few days until it’s finally close to noon. Dr. Roberts says IF dieters aiming for a 16:8 schedule can have a beverage in the morning. “A cup of black coffee goes a long way toward keeping people happy in the morning,” she says, adding that for most individuals on this plan, the hardest part is not to snack at night. It’s important to check with your physician before beginning any IF diet, especially if you have a medical condition. And if you’re unsure about how to implement it in a healthy way, arrange for a consultation with a dietitian.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629be76c4ab-acb9-4677-8302-43fdb208e3f0
Does the Evidence Show Intermittent Fasting Helps Midlife Women Lose Weight? Weight Loss IF eating plans are not the magic bullets some influencers tout them to be online. Still, research on intermittent fasting in adults (both men and women) has shown that they may facilitate moderate weight loss, although evidence is mixed. In a research review of 11 meta-analyses, which cumulatively analyzed 130 randomized controlled trials, researchers found many of the IF eaters did indeed lose weight.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976297ab7bc4d-0437-4c98-9b31-75cef737f736 Digging deeper into the analysis, the authors concluded it was only the 5:2 or a similar modified alternate-day fast that was associated with statistically significant weight loss, or more than 5 percent from baseline weight, in adults with overweight or obesity . They did not find that time-restricted eating, like the kind used in the Galveston diet, yielded similar results.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976297ab7bc4d-0437-4c98-9b31-75cef737f736 Additionally, IF seemed to be most successful during the first one to six months, after which people often experienced a weight plateau .e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976297ab7bc4d-0437-4c98-9b31-75cef737f736 But another research review focused specifically on time-restricted eating found that this method led to weight loss of 1 to 13 percent when followed short-term for 2 to 26 weeks.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762988e9d3d9-17bc-41f8-9340-847811b338a8 On the other hand, another review of 22 studies concluded that intermittent fasting was no better for weight loss than regular dietary advice (to reduce calories and eat healthier foods) and was only marginally more beneficial than doing nothing at all.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762994057609-3aac-4cd9-be92-dca40856777c A major reason for these discrepancies in findings is that most of the current research on intermittent fasting evaluated only a small number of people and didn’t follow them for long, says Ellen Liskov, RDN, a nutrition specialist at Yale New Haven Hospital Center for Nutrition and Wellness in Connecticut. “These studies are not conclusive enough to say that intermittent fasting is a dietary plan that all people should employ,” she says.
Might Intermittent Fasting Help Women’s Heart Health? Heart Health Heart health is an important concern for midlife women, since heart disease risk rises during this time.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629e07f2308-463e-44a5-87fc-9dd4b58962d2 Several studies have found that adults on IF diets improved their low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides , blood sugar , fasting insulin, insulin resistance , and blood pressure. Many of these benefits occurred in people who were overweight or obese.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629fb461a13-14c2-41cf-9454-43112a999dac But other research has found no significant differences in these cardiometabolic measures in people on IF eating plans compared with those who ate more traditional calorie-restricting diets.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762950bb25b4-bf11-4437-bcea-d7719a67032d Similar to weight loss, more research is needed to determine the true effects of IF on heart health.