Why fasting?

Back in the caveman era humans did not have access to an abundance of food; fruits and vegetables were not readily available, meat had to be hunted down and cooking from scratch meant roasting a fresh kill on an open fire. Those primal years were simple in terms of diet; feast or fast.

Nowadays, our lives revolve around food. Instagram feeds are littered with recipes, cooking hacks and accessories making our days seemingly endless with food prep and thoughts of how to make the next meal tastier, prettier and more cost effective. As a society we are consumed by the quick fix - what can I make in ten minutes? what can I plate up after the evening clubs? the busy work day and the difficult meeting. Convenience, man-made food consumption has never been higher and neither have our stress levels, our dependence on pharmaceutical drugs and our waistlines.

But there is a solution. And i know it’s a solution because I have tried it and I have witnessed it first hand.

Fasting isn’t about starving yourself. It is not a punishment and it doesn’t have to be complicated.

Fasting is a strength, a tool, a practice that enables your body to heal itself. Because the body is designed to function and perform primally under feasting and fasting conditions. In a fasted state the body regenerates at a cellular level, ridding itself of toxins, burning fat for energy, healing ailments and injuries, balancing hormones and boosting neurochemicals.

And the bonus…..it’s free!

Women & fasting

If you’ve ever gone on a health journey or tried dieting with your husband, male partner, friend etc, I will guarantee that he had results quicker and more dramatic than you did. Men have traditionally written the books on fasting and at one point even suggested that women shouldn’t fast due to a number of symptoms that women have experienced; mood swings, hair loss and even weight gain.

But women and men are inherintly different when it comes to how their bodies work…..obvs! This is all down to hormones. Men work on a 24 hour cycle of testosterone, women work on a monthly cycle of estrogen, testosterone and progesterone (to keep it simple). So, why have we been following men’s rules, suggestions and research about fasting?

Fast Like a Girl (FLAG) written by Dr Mindy Pelz revolutionised eating and fasting according to a women’s cycle. Our hormones are designed for us to grow, develop, bleed, get pregnant, mature and cease bleeding. Bleeding is not just the body’s way of informing us that we are not pregnant, it is a huge detox of toxins. In order to bleed as effectively as possible, we need our hormones in prime condition.

Toxins in our foods, packaging, our water supply, our clothes etc are harming us on the inside. Our lifestyles; stress levels, rushing woman syndrome, less sleep, high intensity exercise, running a home, raising a family, prioritising everyone else…..these are elements of life that we have been taught to accept. Put on a brave face and stoically carry on. But every single one of these and more, affect our hormones. And not in a good way.

What do I need to know?

Fasting isn’t a simple or as boring as just ‘not eating’.

Fasting is a lifestyle. And when you have done it once, felt the benefits, seen the results, you will know instinctively that this lifestyle is not only manageable but something you can and will want to incorporate into your life.

It all starts with knowing your cycle.

Day 1 = the first day you bleed. And then you can count the days from then. A typical cycle is approximately 29 days but every one of us is different and this can vary from 25-35 days.

If you do not know your cycle, do not bleed, are in peri-menopause or your menopausal years, the rules will be different but still manageable.

Eating according to your cycle is vital in order to prep your body for the naturally changing hormones.

For example, estrogen thrives when glucose is low so eating a high protein, high fat diet in the first ten days of your cycle enables estrogen to build and peak. One of the benefits of having a health level of estrogen is that it influences how your body responds to cortisol. Lower estrogen can make your nervous system feel more reactive to stress resulting in overwhelm, sleep disruption, poor exercise recovery.

Everything is linked. Food affects our hormones, our hormones affect our moods, reactions, nervous system, coping mechanisms and these in turn affect our stress which has a negative affect on our hormones.

How do I get started?

You have options.

You could read Fast Like a Girl and become hooked, like I did.

But, the power for me came in community; asking the questions, sharing my challenges as well as my successes.

There are Facebook groups that you can be a part of and this was incredibly useful to me when I first started out.

Or you could reach out to a FLAG coach.

First things first, look at your cycle. If you bleed then you can track where you’re at and learn what to eat at different stages of the month. My advice would be to start tracking your symptoms as soon as possible. Recording things like your mood and energy levels as well as how your body is feeling can give you a real insight into where you’re at.