I’ve been practicing intermittent fasting pretty consistently. That means I eat within no more than an eight-hour window each day.
Based on my reading and research, as a woman older than 50, there are clear benefits to intermittent fasting. All the benefits can clearly help my health.
First, by limiting the time each day that I eat, I’m deliberate. I focus on more protein and healthy carbs. I’ve expanded the vegetables I eat. And water…I drink a lot more water. All these choices are good life choices.
Intermittent fasting helps me burn more fat.The longer I fast, my body moves into fat-burning mode. I can workout five or more days each week, but at my age that’s not enough. Limiting when I eat helps my body switch to a fat-burning stage more often.
As I’ve aged, my hormones have gotten out of whack. It happens after menopause. Intermittent fasting helps balance out so many of my hormones. Add workouts to the mix and my hormone levels start to fall into balance.
Taken together, all these health reasons have brought me to practice intermittent fasting. The overarching outcome is better health and a better weight.
Overall, I’ve felt really good. The longer I practice it the better I get. I’ve added a daily protein shake to my diet (most days) and it’s helped me feel in control from the start of my day. I’m also taking a high-quality daily vitamin. It covers the basics if my food choices don’t have all the same nutrients.
In the first week or two, I did have occasional headaches. That’s subsided. I do eat carbs, but there are times when I crave them more than usual. All this has ebbed and flowed over my first weeks fasting.
Intermittent fasting is a new way of life for me.
