Women Who Fast provides conflicting viewpoints on intermittent fasting so you can decide for yourself.
We don’t claim to be experts. Our goal at Women Who Fast is to provide you with many alternate viewpoints on intermittent fasting. Then you can experiment and determine what works best for YOU. If you are curious about how to get started, be sure to read How to start intermittent fasting. Testing.
Experts agree that intermittent fasting is not for everyone. Please read our Terms of Use.
We (Dawn and I) have researched many of the suggestions we’ve heard from our doctors, other fasters, resources online and social media intermittent fasting groups. As time has gone by, we have certainly changed our minds about some things. That’s why when we started Women Who Fast, we were determined to purposely provide a wide variety of differing opinions. That way, you can experiment and create a thriving intermittent fasting lifestyle of your own.
Books that have influenced our intermittent fasting journeys:
Reading all three of these books will certainly optimize your fasting experience. I’ve seen these books recommended over and over again by real-life fasters. And for good reason! Spoiler alert: They don’t always agree, but provide a solid foundation to help you decide what works best for you.
1. Delay, Don’t Deny by Gin Stephens
Delay, Don’t Deny explains how to live an intermittent fasting lifestyle without counting calories!
2. Fast Like a Girl by Dr. Mindy Pelz
Fast Like A Girl includes a 30-Day fasting reset that uses the power of your cycle–even if you no longer have one!
3. The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung
Harness the power of intermittent fasting for lasting weight loss with The Obesity Code.
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Here are four of the controversial fasting topics:
1. Which fasting schedule works the best? (16:8? 20:4? OMAD? ADF
?, e
tc.)
Are you overwhelmed by the numerous expert opinions declaring which fasting schedule works the best? It sure would sure be easier if one intermittent fasting schedule worked for all of us. But, the truth of the matter is different fasting patterns work best depending on the goals, of the faster.
Dawn and I have completely different body types and metabolisms. So we have made many tweaks throughout our individual fasting journeys. From time to time, we even have conflicting views on intermittent fasting because of our experiences. So don’t be afraid to try the schedules that appeal to you and through trial-and-error discover which fasting schedule helps you accomplish your goals.
One thing nearly all experts agree on is the importance of gradually working up to some of the popular fasting times. Check out How To Start Intermittent Fasting for ideas on how to determine your first fasting goal.
You don’t have to use an app to fast but it is very helpful…especially in the beginning. There are lots of apps out there but we sure hope you will consider giving the 100% free Women Who Fast app a
try.
Follow these links to try out the free Women Who Fast app from the App Store or Google Play.
The Women Who Fast app provides all the necessary timer tools for your fast as well as curated information just for women about fasting, health, fun, and life in general.
2. Can I eat whatever I want during my eating windows?
Try asking this question in social fasting groups and you will encounter two equally strong answers: YES you can, and NO you can’t!
We say YES! You can enjoy many fasting benefits while eating whatever you want during your eating window. However, if you have health goals that are affected by what you eat and how much you eat, then that’s another matter.
Both Dawn and I have experimented with eating whatever we want while fasting. We’ve also tried various eating plans to find what works best for us to accomplish our individual goals. We certainly hope you will do the same!
If weight loss is your goal, check out Intermittent Fasting to Lose Weight.
3. How many meals should I eat during my eating window?
It all depends on who you ask. When I first started fasting I selected a 16:8 schedule and literally snacked and grazed for the entire eight hour eating window and then spent my fasting time dreaming about what I was going to eat next. Was I fasting? Yes! Was I experiencing benefits? Absolutely.
Except, upon reflection, I realized I was actually eating more calories than I normally do when I eat whenever I want. I was joyfully “eating up” so I could make it through my fasts. Which is ironic, because it’s because of all my “eating-up” over the years that I don’t have to “eat up” now. 🙂 I still enjoyed the health benefits of the 16 hour fast but I wasn’t losing any weight and I wasn’t feeling very well during my eating windows.
What I’ve discovered about eating and fasting:
It took some experimenting and research to figure out why that wasn’t working for me. I’m not a doctor or a scientist, but here’s an attempt to explain what I came to understand about eating (even small amounts) multiple times throughout the day:
- When you eat anything with calories in it, your pancreas gets a signal to release insulin.
- The insulin “unlocks” your cells to allow the glucose (calories) in your bloodstream entrance to the cells to be used as energy for the cell.
- When the glucose moves into your cells, that causes the glucose level in your blood to decrease which signals your pancreas it can stop producing insulin.
- So, if you are grazing all day, the glucose levels in your blood never get a chance to decrease and the pancreas thinks it needs to keep producing more and more insulin.
- When there is always insulin available and loitering around your cells, the cells have all they need and they quit “unlocking” as easily (otherwise known as insulin resistance).
- Once the cells don’t need any more glucose to make energy, the glucose that never made it into a cell gets speed delivered directly to your fat stores.
Understanding this has really convicted me! And because of that, I try not to eat more than two times per day (as far apart as possible within my eating window), so my pancreas isn’t firing up and releasing insulin off and on all day.
(Here’s a more scientific explanation with a cool graphic.)
4. Do I have to drink my coffee black?
It probably isn’t even fair for me to be answering this question because I don’t love coffee to begin with. (Maybe because the caffeine turns my face and trunk bright red and makes me hyper-crazy.) But one thing’s for sure, any coffee I’ve ever had has been heavily sweetened and accompanied with generous amounts of cream.
Many real-life fasters insist that artificial sweeteners and cream will not break a fast because there isn’t any sugar in it. But most of what I’ve read on this topic claims the consumption of any calories technically break a fast (which rules out the creamer).
When it comes to the zero-calorie sweeteners? Even zero calorie sweeteners can still trick your body into thinking sugar has been consumed; prompting the pancreas to release insulin. Many experts claim Aspartame won’t spike your insulin but then go on to say that Aspartame can cause other serious issues. (Again, I’m not a scientist…so please do your own research on this!)
New intermittent fasting information is released all the time!
I recently read there are currently more than 150 ongoing studies on intermittent fasting so we can expect to learn much more over the coming months and years. But for now, get educated. Do your research. Find out what works for you. And remember, you can’t fail at intermittent fasting! Every little bit really does help.
For answers to other questions about the Women Who Fast app, please visit our Help page at womenwhofast.com.conf
