This episode of Flipping 50 answers several listener questions about fasting for women over 50. I’ve spoken and written about fasting previously as it relates to you and to exercise timing and no doubt will again. This one is here to stay.

This episode will help you to decide if it’s appropriate for you, if so what are some basic guidelines, and provide you with a fantastic resource in a good friend if you’re interested.

My Guest

Cynthia Thurlow is a globally recognized expert in nutrition & intermittent fasting, highly sought after speaker, CEO and founder of Everyday Wellness Project. She's been a nurse practitioner for 20+ years, is a 2x TEDx speaker: her 2nd talk on intermittent fasting has been viewed more than 7 million times. She has been featured on ABC, FOX5, KTLA, CW and in Medium, Entrepreneur, Yahoo Finance and Business Insider. She's also the host of Everyday Wellness podcast, which was listed as "20 Podcasts That Will Help You Grow in 2020" by Entrepreneur magazine. 

Fasting for Women Over 50

Your questions on fasting, whether you should try it, and the benefits of it, keep rolling in. I want to address them and of course address them in the relationship to exercise specifically. Having worked as a health coach since 1995 – before certifications were even a “thing” much of health coaching surrounds diet habits. Our relationship with food is a complex one.

Food is in fact one of our sources of pleasure. That in fact is one of the reasons it can go wrong so easily.

When clients seek me for support with exercise goals for optimal aging, as a catalyst for other health habits that will help weight loss, or exercise performance for instance, diet always comes up. For 37 years it’s been a conversation that has to happen in order for reap the rewards of exercise and to perform better.

Fasting Advice

My advice is fasting for women over 50 can be an option once you have realized and tested foods to know what your optimal daily habits are regularly. You have a good relationship with food and eating. You’re eating regularly, not bingeing. If you have a history of bingeing, dieting, overeating and emotional eating, fasting is not something I recommend first.

In this podcast I turn to a friend of mine, Cynthia Thurlow for her responses to several questions asked recently.

In fasting literature we often refer to the benefits and among the highest is what is called Autophagy. I asked Cynthia to explain, what is autophagy. Here’s her answer.

What is Autophagy…

Eat… then switched to MTOR (more on that coming)

The longer in a fast, the more autophagy

18-24 hours of a fast

Then one of the most common and confusing question is what breaks a fast. This in part comes from combining your fasting with a ketogenic diet. When the two begin to blur this question. I ask Cynthia to clarify and here is her answer to…

What Breaks a fast?

protein and carbs

prefers no fatty coffees

What’s okay?

Black coffee, bitter teas or water

1 tsp MCT oil in coffee?

Fat stores vs added fats

Insulin response from protein and fat

Not sleeping through the night?

Stress to the body

Slow and steady wins

14-15 hour fast first

Fasting for Women Over 50 Tips:

• Fat-adapted first

 Get through fasted window

• Variety

Cynthia also recommends as I do a product from Teri Cochrane for electrolytes. Now I want to be clear this isn’t your Gatorade, Powerade full of sugars and garbage. It’s not Nuun, or Base salt for my athletes out there. It’s not even Skratch, a cleaner reduced sugar alternative from a company in Boulder, CO. What we’re talking about here is a way to get the mineral balance you need in very small amounts, yet that make it no less important, in while you’re fasting.

So, here’s what she has to say about electrolytes.

• Include electrolytes

Stevia will break a fast

And last Cynthia adds a success tip about carbohydrates that might surprise you.

Lower carb (but not NO carb) diet to get into ketosis

That's a Wrap

There you have it, some of your key questions about fasting for women over 50. What is autophaghy, what breaks a fast, and hints at when to consider fasting and things you may not have given enough thought to in regard to starting and progressing for benefits if in fact fasting is for you.

First step?

Let’s eat three meals, no snacks and get a minimum of 12 hours overnight without calories eating foods that make your body feel good before you go to the next step.

Got questions? Add them in our Insiders group at facebook.com/groups/flipping50insiders

How to connect with Cynthia Thurlow:

IG: www.instagram.com/cynthia_thurlow_

Twitter: www.twitter.com/_cynthiathurlow

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CHTWellness

Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle group on FB (free): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1004505663061383

Website: www.cynthiathurlow.com 

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