Fasting & Low Carb Diets For Women

Should older women do intermittent fasting with the same eating windows and macros as men? Do women need the same macro nutrients as men on a  low carb or ketogenic  diet?

Women in general as well as those who are approaching the menopause, going through it or have been through it have different hormonal circadian rhythms to men and younger women. Many women find a cyclical ketogenic/low carb diet works well to manage cortisol levels and thyroid hormones. This would be a period of following a low carb/ketogenic diet then having a break and eat meals containing protein and carbohydrates for a day. The length of the low carb window can vary from several weeks to five to six days and trying out different variations is the only way to find what works for you. 

Anecdotal data and emerging studies suggest that older women struggling with weight loss do better when they eat in the morning / earlier in the day, then fast until the next day, rather than fasting for the morning / early afternoon then having the eating window later in the day. This traditional method of OMAD, 16/8 or 20/4 (fasting in morning, eating in early evening) works well for men but not for all women. Particularly if the woman is not insulin resistant. 

In addition for women who are not insulin resistant and are  fat adapted, eating more protein and less fat (appx 30% of calories from protein, 60-65% fat ) find that this can also kick start weight loss that has plateaued on a keto / fasting way of eating. 

Because they are not insulin resistant and not carb burners, the insulinogenic effect of protein is less pronounced so they don’t need to worry about protein and gluconeogenesis as a carb burning insulin resistant woman. 

With anything we all vary slightly but I am going to try reversing my eating window, lowering fat and prioritizing protein to see what happens in my n=1 experiment