Our ancestors adapted to have energy reserves even after fasting. They feasted during the day, and their bodies entered a fasting state overnight. Come morning, they needed enough energy to scavenge for more food. This energy was supplied by ketones their bodies produced while fasting. This changeover from using glucose for energy to ketones is what we call metabolic switching. After menopause, ovaries in women shut down. At this stage, sex hormones are usually low. Therefore, fasting should be kept at a minimum. For a menopausal woman, intermittent fasting is the best.

Immune system reset: Last, but not least, a fast that’s 72 hours or more gives your immune system a bit of a reboot.

Day Water Fasting. The longer 3-5 day water fast does amazing things for immune and other chronic conditions. I recommend these longer fasts once a month when attempting to trigger your body’s own healing process. I personally do one of these quarterly. However be aware that this type of fast is for advanced fasters. So if you’ve mastered the other types of fasts and are ready to try a longer fast, here’s how you can prepare for a 3 day water fast. Ready to discover how fasting can harmonize with your body’s rhythm to help you achieve your wellness goals? When you think about fasting, do you imagine a monk living on nothing but air and sunlight? Or perhaps you picture going days on end without a single bite of food? Let’s clear up some misconceptions right off the bat: fasting doesn’t have to be that extreme! In Dr. Mindy Pelz’s enlightening book, Fast Like a Girl, you’ll find descriptions of fasts that last up to, and even beyond, 72 hours. But don’t worry, that’s not the norm. The main element cornerstone of the fasting lifestyle is intermittent fasting, which usually involves going 13 to 15 hours without food each day. Not so scary now, is it? Now, let’s see how this cycle dovetails with fasting. Pelz breaks down the cycle into three distinct phases based on the dominant hormones: power, manifestation, and nurture. The cycle begins with the first power phase from day 1 to day 10, followed by the manifestation phase from day 11 to day 15. The second power phase runs from day 16 to day 19, and from day 20 onwards until the onset of the next menstruation is the nurture phase. So far, we’ve delved into the transformative powers of fasting, how it can harmonize with your hormonal cycle, and even discussed a 30-day reset plan. Now, let’s zoom in on an essential part of fasting—the food you choose to eat during non-fasting hours.

Much like with exercise, fasting is an incredible, free healing tool that everyone can benefit from. What makes this book so unique is that women now have a fasting manual that will help customize food and fasting to match the needs of their hormones. In Fast Like a Girl, Dr. Mindy not only makes the science of fasting easy to understand but lays out a whole new health paradigm for women and men to improve their lives in a myriad of ways. – Tony Horton, bestselling author and creator of the popular P90X workout seriesAt day 12 – 14, estrogen production is at its peak. It is best not to fast. If you must fast, maintain 13-15hours fasting. On day 21 – 28, progesterone production is at its peak. The side effect of fasting in this timeline includes anxiety and shut down all other hormones in a woman’s body. Funnily enough, women (mothers especially) love fasting while men dislike it. How come women are susceptible ones? Why is fasting challenging for women? This book also includes more than 50 recipes based on the two food plans—ketobiotic and hormone feasting—she created to best support women’s hormones. And it has recipes specifically created to break a fast such as her Coconut Cacao Chia Pudding. Pelz introduces her two made up food programs, called ketobiotic foods and hormone feasting foods (as if eating isn’t already confusing for the type of person who would buy this type of book, let’s go ahead and invent another couple diets).

This is the only time in the cycle when all three hormones are present, making it a great time to start new projects, you'll feel motivated and super productive! Here we learn that there is a two-week “pre-reset” leading up to the actual 30-day reset (that then sets the foundation for a lifetime of fasting cycles). In the section about compressing the eating window, Pelz assures that “coffee and tea with a small amount of MCT oil and “clean cream” can work to kill hunger,” but advises that “if you like cream in your coffee, make sure if doesn’t have any chemicals or sugar in it as this will spike your blood sugar too much”.

What are the benefits of fasting?

Whoa, wait a minute – 72 hours? That’s three whole days without food! Now, if that sounds a tad intimidating, take a deep breath. It’s OK to feel a bit overwhelmed. Just like you wouldn’t run a marathon without training, it’s unwise to dive headfirst into a 72-hour fast without some preparation. Starting slow and gradually building your fasting endurance over time is the key.