If you’ve been researching different fasting schedules and started ordering your own intermittent fasting mints, chances are you’re interested in trying out intermittent fasting for yourself. However, if you’re currently going through menopause, you may have some questions as to whether fasting is helpful or even safe during this time. Menopause can come with a number of health challenges, from imbalanced hormones to symptoms such as hot flashes and more. However, in some cases, intermittent fasting could potentially help to ease those symptoms. If you’re wondering whether you should do intermittent fasting during menopause, here are the key facts to remember.
How Does Intermittent Fasting Help
When it comes to the connection between intermittent fasting and menopause, there are several potential benefits that could surprise you. Although you may already be aware that intermittent fasting can be part of a healthy lifestyle overall, you may not have known that:
- It can help you learn to manage your hunger and approach your diet in a healthier way
- It could encourage you to cut out junk foods and focus on eating a whole-foods-based diet complete with balanced food groups
- It could help you drop extra weight gained due to menopause
- It may help regulate your hormones to improve your mood and reduce hot flashes or other common signs of menopauseÂ
Tips For Making Intermittent Fasting Easier
If fasting for women’s health still sounds daunting to you, you may want to ease yourself into the fasting process by trying out different regimens to see which one works for you. For instance, you could:
- Try fasting for 12 to 16 hours on alternate days throughout the week
- Allow yourself to eat normally five days a week but only fast on the weekends
- Conduct a full 24-hour fast just once a week
Even if you’re aware of the benefits of fasting during menopause, you may still need some extra motivation to stay on track during your first few fasts. In these cases, all it takes is a little bit of a routine adjustment to help you get excited about the fast again. If you find yourself getting discouraged, it may be helpful to:
- Find distractions during fasting periods to avoid snacking and breaking your fast
- Stay focused on your long-term goals and the benefits of fasting in order to keep up your motivation levels
- Work out and do light weight-lifting while practicing intermittent fasting to make sure you don’t accidentally lose muscle mass
- Try out a few types of intermittent fasting regimes before committing longer-term to find the one that works best for your body
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