Episode #173

In this Fasting Q&A episode, Megan Ramos answers some of your fasting questions:

1. Why is it that, when I am consistent with fasting and diet, my PMS and period symptoms (cramps, headaches, and backache) are lessened? Is it to do with insulin? (Jenna from Michigan) [01:30]
2. I keep hearing mixed answers about fasting for PCOS. Some say it’s really beneficial and then others tell me to eat 5-6 small meals a day and not to fast or have coffee on an empty stomach because of the cortisol response. Can you clarify please? I feel better when I fast. I’m still only fasting 14-18 hours per day and trying to stick to TRE but I’m afraid I’m making it worse with my cortisol response. Help! (Amy from South Dakota) [02:45]
3. I’ve been trying to heal my PCOS with ADF for about six weeks now. I have started spotting occasionally and sometimes have shorter periods. Could this mean that my body is healing and trying to self-regulate and get my cycle back to normal? (Sarah from Maryland) [08:12]
4. I take vitamin D daily because my levels were low a few years ago. They have since returned to normal. Since vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, do I have to eat something with it on my fasting days or can I take it without and still get the benefit? (Beth from Nova Scotia) [09:47]
5. Should you eat dark chocolate every day? I read a study that says, “The research findings suggest that eating 48g of 70% dark chocolate each day may help lower fasting glucose levels and reduce insulin resistance.” I’ve also heard that dark chocolate reduces LDL cholesterol. Do you agree with this? (Michelle from British Columbia) [12:17]
6. I need some mindset help! I am 53 and spent most of my 40s gaining weight. I spent hours and hours every day unhappily thinking about my weight. My doctor told me about TFM and, after four months of TRE and 24,42, 48-hour fasting, I reached my goal weight. I was looking forward to the mind freedom but it’s been nine months now and I am still consumed by thoughts about weight and fasting. I eat whole foods, little sugar and processed foods, and fast 24-48 hours three times a week with TRE the rest of the time. I just want the mental freedom that so many people talk about. Help! [14:46]
7. I’m a 40-year-old female and have lost 53 pounds following different protocols but mostly intervals of OMADs 3-4 times a week and 2MADS for nearly two years. Recently, I’ve also added one 42-hour fast a week. I’ve noticed that I’m just not hungry. I end up eating based on the planned windows which are scheduled around workouts and a busy schedule. Should I wait for hunger and so extend my fasts further? I feel more like I *want* to eat than *need* to eat. (Michal from Israel) [18:25]
8. I keep hearing that fasting is different for men and women and that women can actually gain weight if we fast at the wrong times. I am a 48-year-old woman. Is this accurate? [20:33]
9. Do you have any tips for fasting when you have ADHD, specifically, the lack of dopamine and how food can be a source of dopamine. What other ways can we get dopamine, especially in the immediate and easy way eating provides? [22:39]

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