Should Women FAST? page 10

[zoebird]

THe main reason women have so much trouble in childbirth is because of obstetrics. But that's another topic. LOL

I discovered that my calories just go that way. Right now, I'm 1500/day menses to ovulation, and 1700/day ovulation to menses.

if i have grains, sugar, etc in that second half, then I get massive PMS (bloating, crankies, cramps, headaches, etc). If I stick to clean primal (with perhaps a bit of dark chocolate a few times -- say 25g/time about 4-6 times in the two weeks), then i'm good to go.

I also find that I need more iron heading into/during menses -- so going with the liver, steak, etc is a good plan for me. Happiness.

[Omni]

THe main reason women have so much trouble in childbirth is because of obstetrics. But that's another topic. LOL

I discovered that my calories just go that way. Right now, I'm 1500/day menses to ovulation, and 1700/day ovulation to menses.

if i have grains, sugar, etc in that second half, then I get massive PMS (bloating, crankies, cramps, headaches, etc). If I stick to clean primal (with perhaps a bit of dark chocolate a few times -- say 25g/time about 4-6 times in the two weeks), then i'm good to go.

I also find that I need more iron heading into/during menses -- so going with the liver, steak, etc is a good plan for me. Happiness.

Thanks for feedback, interesting to get someone elses experience,
I'll have a look at the carb sugar thing re post ovulation.
My theory on the Iron & Protein was highest demand is pre & during ovulation to build up the lining, but post ovulation the uterus shuts off the blood flow and seperates the lining, so the actual blood residue that appears at mensus was actually taken from the body 2-3 weeks before and hence supplementing with iron during mensus is probably irrelevant.
I still dispute this with the Naturopath, but your experience seems to support later supplementation and also your natural calorie intake being higher leans this way as well.
Interesting, hmmmm

[Health Divas]

Here's something on anovulation in fasted (72 hs) lean women vs normal weight women.
Effects of fasting on neuroendocrine... [J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1998] - PubMed - NCBI

I think the sample is too small to be conclusive.

[paleo-bunny]

I seem to benefit most from fasting for about 15 hours just once or twice a week (usually at weekends). I IF'd chronically for about a week during a staycation a few months ago and I'm sure that lowered my BMR. It wasn't deliberate - I fell into my typical eating pattern at weekends. I'm a female of child-bearing age.

I enjoy having the ability to fast even though it's only for about 15 hours. Black coffee is my friend.

[Omni]

Here's something on anovulation in fasted (72 hs) lean women vs normal weight women.
Effects of fasting on neuroendocrine... [J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1998] - PubMed - NCBI

I think the sample is too small to be conclusive.

Had a read of it,
I think a significant part of the overall metabolic issues lie in communication between body and brain, particularly the leptin story and even Women who have a healthy body weight or are overweight may still respond in starvation mode with the slightest calorie restriction.
I do believe that IF may well be a litmus test to overall metabolic health, there is no reason why anyone male or female should go into starvation mode, suffer lethargy or become irrational on a 24 hour fast, there just isn't any evolutionary advantage to that type of debilitating response to fasting, so if the response is so negative, then in my mind it is probably indicating other underlying metabolic/nutritional issues need to be adressed.
I just stumbled across the BP Exec's post on this issue and he also link's Stefani Ruper's post on this along with lots of other good link's:
» A Bad Combination for Women: Intermittent Fasting and Paleo The Bulletproof Executive
There is also some good info in the comments.

[windypasswheeler]

Can someone please explain autophagy in layman's terms to me. It's one of those things I have read about enough to believe will help me in my quest for better health, but do not completely understand. Fasting for me means being able to be sated daily when I do eat, letting my body rest from digestion, repairing while not digesting, and reaping the supposed anti-inflammatory benefits. If it is a bit obsessive at this point for me, I consider it a much healthier obsession than the other things in my life I do/have done to excess in my life!

[zoebird]

I don't know why it works that way, Omni.

I just notice what it is. And that's what it's been for a long time now.

[Paleobird]

Can someone please explain autophagy in layman's terms to me. It's one of those things I have read about enough to believe will help me in my quest for better health, but do not completely understand. Fasting for me means being able to be sated daily when I do eat, letting my body rest from digestion, repairing while not digesting, and reaping the supposed anti-inflammatory benefits. If it is a bit obsessive at this point for me, I consider it a much healthier obsession than the other things in my life I do/have done to excess in my life!

Autophagy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Autophagy literally means "self eating". It is the body's normal process of house keeping and repair on a cellular level. All the cells that get damaged or degraded need to be broken back down and recycled or gotten rid of. If you are constantly eating, the body doesn't get much of a chance to do this house keeping. It is only when you stop eating (fast) that this mechanism kicks in.

[windypasswheeler]

Thanks Paleobird. You put it as succinctly as possible! I read a bit more on wikipedia and didn't get much more out of it than what you wrote. I am also hoping that autophagy can help with getting rid of those old fat cells have that have been deflated but are still hanging around.

[sbhikes]

So what I have been doing the past few weeks is I have some buttered or creamy coffee and possibly a mug of bone broth (which is clear broth, fat skimmed away, no bits of meat) at the normal morning breakfast time. Then I ride my bike 50 minutes to work. It's not exactly a fast, more of a modified fast.

Then I have a big ass salad for "break-fast". Some days I am not hungry for this breakfast as late as 1 or 2pm, but that is rare. Some days I'm hungry by 9am. Most days it's around 10am.

I run slowly for an hour at lunch and ride my bike home slowly another 50 minutes. I don't eat anything during the day between my big ass salad and dinner. I usually have dinner around 6pm.

Nowhere in there do I ever have along amount of time of a fast and it's not really a fast at all because of the coffee and bone broth. Even so, I am finding that I feel the mental clarity and freedom from food of a real fast. I feel energized on my ride into work. I feel alert, focused and uplifted in spirit during the morning. I'm really hungry for breakfast and boy does that food taste good. I feel great during my lunchtime exercise and during my ride home. By the ride home I'm feeling pretty hungry but once again I get that energy and clarity and well-being and don't feel that I'm suffering during the ride. Dinner, of course, tastes as great as breakfast because of the spice of hunger.

It's 10:41 but I've only had my morning coffee and I'm thinking even with some weak hunger pangs I might go for a run and have my "break-fast" later.

All this is to say I think I found my own personal version of fasting that works for me, which is really modified fasting or reduced calorie non-fasting, and I think the very slow exercise is key to it all as well. By slow I mean my heart rate never exceeds 133 beats per minute. My bike commute is done only breathing through my nose the entire way, including any hills. I'm betting I could do it without the coffee but I'm an addict and I admit it.