@Megan Ramos 回答了关于间歇乏食的各种问题，包括低BMI人群是否可以进行间歇乏食，如何利用间歇乏食治疗多囊卵巢综合征（PCOS）并为怀孕做准备，间歇乏食是否会损害甲状腺，以及夜班工作人员如何进行间歇乏食并保持健康。
对于低BMI的人群，在开始间歇乏食之前，建议先进行DEXA扫描和血液检查，以评估身体成分和营养状况。如果内脏脂肪过多，可以进行24小时乏食，每周2-3次。
对于PCOS患者，建议先解决胰岛素抵抗，然后优化性激素。月经周期的第一周是进行长时间乏食的最佳时间。
对于亚临床甲状腺功能减退症，建议在早餐后开始乏食，并注意在进行血液检查时避免乏食。
夜班工作人员应准备健康食物，并在最后一次进食和睡觉之间至少间隔3-4小时。
低BMI人群是否可以间歇性禁食？
一位来自北卡罗来纳州的Beth提问：冯博士提到他不建议BMI低于20的人乏食。我的BMI低于20，最近我的糖化血红蛋白（A1C）从6.2降到了5.5，但我想进一步降低或至少维持这个水平。间歇乏食或OMAD（一天一餐）适合我吗？
答：BMI并非衡量健康的完美指标。在开始间歇乏食前，建议先进行DEXA身体成分扫描，评估内脏脂肪和瘦体重比例。如果内脏脂肪过多，瘦体重不足，则需要进行血液检查，评估营养状况。如果存在营养缺乏，应先补充营养，待身体状况改善后再考虑间歇乏食。对于内脏脂肪过多的人群，可以尝试每周2-3次24小时乏食，其他时间则进行温和的间歇乏食（例如14-18小时）。目标并非单纯减重，而是增加瘦体重，改善身体成分。
如何利用间歇乏食治疗PCOS并为怀孕做准备？
来自荷兰的Miggy提问：我一直在进行治疗性乏食以解决我的PCOS，并希望恢复月经。您对乏食和营养的孕前计划有什么建议？尝试怀孕前我应该做些什么？我该如何知道我的身体是否足够健康？
答：PCOS本质上是卵巢的糖尿病，治疗的关键在于先解决胰岛素抵抗。这可以通过低碳水饮食或生酮饮食，结合治疗性乏食来实现。月经周期的第一周，由于孕酮水平下降，雌二醇水平上升，是进行长时间乏食的最佳时机。在排卵期后，应减少乏食时间，并增加碳水化合物的摄入，以支持孕酮的产生。孕前准备的关键在于补充营养，特别是叶酸、胆碱等。建议进行微量营养素检测，并根据结果补充营养，为怀孕打下坚实的基础。这个过程通常需要6个月左右。
间歇乏食是否会损害甲状腺？
来自荷兰的Miggy还提问：间歇乏食是否会损害甲状腺？我的甲状腺曾出现亚临床低甲状腺功能减退，但在停止乏食后恢复正常，无需药物治疗。我现在又开始进行隔日乏食了，因为我非常喜欢乏食。
答：间歇乏食本身不会损害甲状腺，但需要谨慎。如果出现亚临床低甲状腺功能减退，建议在早餐后开始乏食，这有助于防止T4转化为反向T3。进行甲状腺激素检测时，应避免乏食状态，建议在停止乏食2-3天后进行检测。一些研究表明，间歇乏食可以降低炎症，而炎症可能是亚临床低甲状腺功能减退的原因。建议检查微量营养素（如硒、碘、铁）水平，并根据结果进行补充。
夜班工作人员如何进行间歇乏食并保持健康？
来自南卡罗来纳州的Suzy提问：我在医院做夜班已经30年了，每天晚上7点到早上7点。我想知道如何在夜班期间保持尽可能健康，以及在这种情况下最佳的乏食方式。
答：夜班工作者应提前准备健康食物，避免医院内不健康的饮食诱惑。建议在上班前吃一顿丰盛的晚餐，并在工作期间只吃一顿饭。下班后，应在最后一次进食和睡觉之间至少间隔3-4小时。
总结
间歇乏食是一种有效的健康工具，但需要根据个人情况进行调整。在开始间歇乏食前，建议进行全面的身体评估，并咨询医疗专业人士的意见。 尤其对于BMI较低、患有PCOS或甲状腺疾病的人群，更需谨慎，并制定个性化的乏食计划。 对于夜班工作者，则需要注重饮食规划和作息安排，以保持健康。
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00:12 黄体酮是促进食欲的激素，而雌二醇是抑制食欲的激素。因此，到第三天，我们的黄体酮下降，雌二醇上升。
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00:41 在月经周期的第一天进行间歇乏食是最佳的，因为此时激素水平有利于乏食，并且情绪和胰岛素敏感性也更好。
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01:32 我听说冯博士提到他不建议BMI低于20的人乏食，我的BMI低于20，最近我的糖化血红蛋白从6.2降到了5.5，但我想进一步降低它，或者至少保持它。间歇乏食或OMAD可以吗？
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01:51 乏食前必须确保个体营养充足，BMI并非衡量营养状况的良好指标。
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02:15 BMI低的个体禁食前应进行DEXA扫描和血液检查，以评估身体成分和营养状况。
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02:39 BMI低的个体禁食前应进行DEXA扫描和血液检查，以评估身体成分和营养状况。
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03:01 如果DEXA扫描显示体内脂肪过多，则应进行血液检查以评估营养状况，如有缺乏则需补充。
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03:23 如果DEXA扫描显示体内脂肪过多，则应进行血液检查以评估营养状况，如有缺乏则需补充。
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03:36 对于BMI低的个体，增加健康体重（肌肉和骨骼质量）可能比单纯减脂更重要。
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04:03 增加健康体重（肌肉和骨骼质量）可能比单纯减脂更重要。
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04:20 增加健康体重（肌肉和骨骼质量）可能比单纯减脂更重要。
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05:15 对于内脏脂肪较少、BMI低的个体，不建议进行长时间禁食，可采用时间限制饮食法。
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05:22 对于内脏脂肪较少、BMI低的个体，不建议进行长时间禁食，可采用时间限制饮食法，并注重蛋白质摄入和肌肉增长。
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05:48 对于内脏脂肪较多的人，建议进行24小时禁食，每周2-3次，以减少内脏脂肪。
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06:00 内脏脂肪可以通过24小时禁食有效减少，皮下脂肪则可能需要更长时间的禁食。
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06:23 对于BMI低的个体，应在进行间歇性禁食的同时，注重蛋白质摄入和肌肉增长，目标是增加瘦体重，而不是单纯减脂。
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06:53 体重秤只能显示总体重，而不能反映身体成分（脂肪和肌肉比例）。
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07:12 体重秤只能显示总体重，而不能反映身体成分（脂肪和肌肉比例），健康体重应考虑身体成分。
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07:33 进行DEXA扫描和微量营养素检测，以评估身体成分和营养状况。
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07:59 进行DEXA扫描和微量营养素检测，以评估身体成分和营养状况。
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08:16 在开始禁食前，应咨询医疗保健提供者。
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08:42 对于BMI低的个体，应谨慎进行禁食，建议咨询禁食教练。
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09:06 A1c值低于5.5仍有优化空间，可能需要增加健康体重。
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11:14 我一直在进行治疗性禁食以解决我的多囊卵巢综合征（PCOS），并希望恢复我的月经。您对禁食和营养的孕前计划有什么建议？尝试怀孕前我应该做些什么？我该如何知道我的身体是否足够健康？
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11:37 治疗PCOS的关键是首先解决胰岛素抵抗，然后优化性激素。
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13:08 备孕期间应进行微量营养素检测，补充营养，并服用叶酸。
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13:23 推荐使用Weenadal品牌的产前维生素和补充剂。
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13:52 备孕期间应进行微量营养素检测，补充营养，并服用叶酸。
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14:08 建议在备孕前3个月优化营养状况。
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14:36 建议在备孕前6个月优化营养状况。
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15:02 建议在备孕前6个月优化营养状况，这将为孩子的未来奠定基础。
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15:36 治疗PCOS应先解决胰岛素抵抗，再优化性激素。
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16:24 治疗PCOS应先解决胰岛素抵抗，再优化性激素。
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17:16 月经周期的第一周是进行长时间禁食的最佳时间。
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17:43 月经周期的第一周是进行长时间禁食的最佳时间，因为此时激素水平有利于禁食。
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18:08 月经周期的第一周是进行长时间禁食的最佳时间，因为此时激素水平有利于禁食。
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18:56 月经周期不同阶段的禁食策略应有所不同。
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19:19 月经周期不同阶段的禁食策略应有所不同。
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19:44 对于PCOS患者，应先进行禁食以控制胰岛素抵抗，然后根据月经周期调整禁食和饮食策略。
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20:13 大多数女性需要4-6个月才能恢复规律月经周期。
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21:58 禁食是否会损害甲状腺？我的甲状腺功能低，但在停止禁食后恢复正常，现在又开始间歇性禁食。
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22:16 禁食本身不会损害甲状腺，但应注意自身耐受程度，并检查甲状腺水平。
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22:42 对于反向T3型甲状腺功能减退症，建议在早餐后开始禁食。
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23:10 进行激素和血脂检测时，应避免禁食。
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23:36 进行激素和血脂检测时，应避免禁食。
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24:02 进行激素和血脂检测时，应避免禁食。
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24:31 禁食期间进行的血液检查结果可能不准确。
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24:56 禁食可能会降低炎症，从而改善亚临床甲状腺功能减退症。
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25:03 禁食可能会降低炎症，从而改善亚临床甲状腺功能减退症。
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25:32 禁食可能会降低炎症，从而改善亚临床甲状腺功能减退症。
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25:54 治疗亚临床甲状腺功能减退症应检查营养状况和肾上腺功能。
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26:14 治疗亚临床甲状腺功能减退症应检查营养状况和肾上腺功能。
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26:40 治疗亚临床甲状腺功能减退症应检查营养状况和肾上腺功能，包括皮质醇、硒、碘和铁水平。
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27:05 我在医院做夜班已经30年了，每天晚上7点到早上7点。我想知道如何在夜班期间保持尽可能健康，以及在这种情况下最佳的禁食方式。
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27:24 夜班工作者应准备健康食物，以避免不健康饮食的诱惑。
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27:46 夜班工作者应准备健康食物，以避免不健康饮食的诱惑。
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28:00 夜班工作者应准备健康食物，以避免不健康饮食的诱惑。
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28:19 夜班工作者应提前准备食物，并选择易于携带和保存的食物。
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28:41 夜班工作者可以考虑在上班前和下班后各吃一顿饭。
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29:02 夜班工作者可以考虑在上班前和下班后各吃一顿饭，并确保饮食多样化。
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29:29 夜班工作者可以考虑在上班前和下班后各吃一顿饭，并确保饮食多样化。
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29:49 夜班工作者应确保最后一次进食和睡觉之间至少间隔3-4小时。
00:00
Progesterone is an appetite driving hormone where estradiol is an appetite suppressing hormone. So by day three, our progesterone's down, our estradiol is up. 语法解析
00:12
we are hormonally programmed to be very effective at doing fasting. We also emotionally feel better at this particular time, so there's less sort of emotional eating drivers. And at this particular time, we're also the most insulin sensitive in our cycle as well. So this is a great time to further enhance that or support that, especially if there are some insulin resistant issues going on. 语法解析
00:41
Hi everyone, it's Megan Ramos here with another episode of the Fasting Method Podcast. Today I'm going to answer your questions. We're going to tackle topics such as why it's best to do extended fasting during the first week of your cycle. Is it safe to fast when you have hypothyroidism? And what about BMI? How much does that factor in to whether or not you should be fasting? 语法解析
01:10
All right, so we're going to kick it off with that last one. Beth from North Carolina says, I've heard Dr. Fung mention that he does not recommend fasting for people with a body mass index or BMI under 20. My BMI is under 20. I've recently lowered my hemoglobin A1c from 6.2 to 5.5%. 语法解析
01:32
but I would like to lower it further or at least maintain it. Would IF or OMAD, which is one meal a day, be okay to do? This is a really great question. It's really important that individuals are not malnourished when they are fasting. 语法解析
01:51
So someone who generally has a lower BMI, we assume they don't have a ton of body fat, not a lot that's going to sustain them when they're fasting. But what we do know is that body mass index or BMI is not a really good measurement of anything. So if you are on the lower side of your total weight, 语法解析
02:15
There's a few things that I would recommend doing before you decide whether or not you're going to start fasting. The first one is have a DEXA body composition scan. Do you hold excess body fat, visceral fat, that unhealthy fat in and around your organs, subcutaneous fat? Are you what we call a TOFI, someone who's thin on the outside and fat on the inside? 语法解析
02:39
If your dexed body composition does show that you have an unhealthy amount of body fat and you have a subpar amount of lean mass in your body, meaning that you might have weaker brittle bones or that you might not have very much muscle mass or deteriorating muscle mass, something called sarcopenia, then this is where I move on to step two. 语法解析
03:01
So if you do your dexabody composition scan and it shows that you do have a higher level of body fat, then lean mass, go on to level two here and get some blood work done. Make sure all your nutrient stores are good. And if you have any nutrient deficiencies, then take care of them, recheck in a few months and then begin your fasting journey. But 语法解析
03:23
But sometimes when we have a little bit too much body fat and we don't have enough lean mass, the answer isn't always necessarily losing more body fat. 语法解析
03:36
Sometimes the answer is putting on good lean mass, fixing those brittle bones if your bone mass density is low, getting on some good muscle mass. So putting on a little bit of weight, but healthy weight. So not all weight is unhealthy. I often share that throughout my journey, I hit a low of 97 pounds, but I had more body fat at 97 pounds than I did at 120 pounds. 语法解析
04:03
How can that be? Well, I did have to lose a little bit of body fat, but I mostly gained good weight. And gaining the good weight, increasing the ratio of good weight, muscle mass and bone mass, which I didn't have very much of at 97 pounds, that's what brought my weight up. 语法解析
04:20
And bringing my weight up in a healthy way lowered my body fat percentage down significantly. So when I weighed 97 pounds and my body fat percentage was around 37%, the goal wasn't to get to 60 pounds. That was not the goal. That, of course, would have been unhealthy. The goal was to put on healthy weight. And I did have a little bit too much visceral fat, according to my Dexabody composition scan. So I did have to lose a couple of pounds. 语法解析
04:49
So when someone comes to me who is very slender, we look at these things. Are you a toffee? Are you someone who's thin on the outside, fat on the inside? How much visceral fat is that Dexascan saying that you have? If it's under two pounds, then I say, you know what? Therapeutic fasting really isn't for you. You can do 12 or 14 hours regularly. You can do 16, 18 hours. You can focus on really good time restricted eating protocols. 语法解析
05:15
but really try to get in some good protein and just focus on building some lean mass. 语法解析
05:22
Now when someone has a little bit too much visceral fat, okay, let's do some intermittent fasting. We would be very gentle just doing 24 hours of fasting, not every day, two or three times a week to target that visceral fat. 24 hours of fasting is actually very effective at targeting that visceral fat. You don't need to do 36, 42, 48. You don't need to do three days or five days to target that visceral fat. 语法解析
05:48
Subcutaneous fat can be a little bit more stubborn and sometimes we benefit from doing longer fasts for that. But visceral fat, we can pretty much obliterate in a good 24 hour consistent fasting pattern. 语法解析
06:00
With this individual, again, if we did have that higher visceral fat and we would do those 24s two to three times a week, we would do anywhere from 14 to 18 hours of fasting on the other days, really prioritizing protein and a nutrient-dense diet just to help aid in the development of some healthy weight, good bone mass density, good muscle mass. And the goal 语法解析
06:23
would to actually be to increase lean mass. So increase your total weight while losing a little bit of fat mass. So we wouldn't want the scale to actually go up kind of in the end, but being reflective of healthy weight. 语法解析
06:38
It's important to remember that the scale only tells you your total weight, but it doesn't tell you what that total weight is. Is it mostly fat or is it mostly muscle? Now I'm five foot three and around 120 pounds when I have little fat. 语法解析
06:53
and more muscle and more strong bones is a really good spot for me. But if I weighed 120 pounds and I had a lot of fat and I had osteopenia or osteoporosis and sarcopenia, so my lean mass is really low, then I'd be unhealthy and I'd be at risk of all kinds of metabolic concerns. 语法解析
07:12
So this is where the total number on the scale can be really misleading and it's important to know your body composition and a DEXA body composition scan can tell you all of these departments so you know what to do. And then going for micronutrient testing, you can do standard micronutrient testing in almost any lab if you're in the United States. 语法解析
07:33
It's Genova and SpectraCell do some more in-depth, detailed micronutrient testing. I personally have alternated between using both depending on just sort of what's going on at each company when I could get faster results, what my doctor's preference was because I'm in California and do require a doctor to order it for me. They're both really great tests. They're ones that I also recommend to people that I work with. 语法解析
07:59
And then we want to make sure that we've tackled any of those nutrient deficiencies. Most importantly, you need to get your health care provider on board. You should never fast without having a cooperative and supportive physician or health care practitioner giving you the thumbs up. 语法解析
08:16
Now again, we would sort of cap it at 24 hours. We would add in some strength and resistance training. We would really try to focus on optimizing the nutrients and the protein in the diet to help gain some good weight. So we can't always necessarily go by BMI, but BMI does pop up a little bit of a flag where we need to assess these things before we can determine whether or not it's safe. 语法解析
08:42
When someone has an A1c of 6.2 and they're on the lower side of things, chances are they are a bit of a toffee. We know that we want to optimize our A1c and an optimized A1c is 5.2 or below. So at 5.5, there could still be a further bit of optimization. I wouldn't be surprised if this individual does have a little bit of visceral fat. 语法解析
09:06
but they probably don't need to lose body fat, maybe half a pound if that, and it's about putting on some healthy weight. So as long as we follow all the proper protocols, we have that healthcare provider on board, then we would transition into some strategic fasting strategies. 语法解析
09:26
With that being said, in this particular set of circumstances, it would be most advisable to work with a coach who can navigate this with you safely. So this is one of those instances where I would really recommend connecting with a fasting coach. You can learn more about coaching over on thefastingmethod.com. Have you ever thought, I am my worst enemy when it comes to weight loss or health goals? If so, you are not alone. 语法解析
09:56
But this barrier does not need to keep holding you back. I'm offering a self-sabotage workshop that can end this pattern of defeat. Together, we will explore the root causes of your self-sabotage and create strategies to overcome the thoughts and behaviors that have been preventing you from feeling the success that you are seeking. 语法解析
10:19
You will learn to proactively avoid the pitfalls that have kept you feeling stuck and develop new responses to triggers that have served as roadblocks for years. Join me at TFM for my self-sabotage workshop that begins in May. The links are in the show notes. You can also enjoy 10% off any of the workshops and masterclasses we are offering from now until November on the TFM website. 语法解析
10:48
This includes the three pack and six pack bundles, as well as the all access pass using the coupon code podcast 10 capital P O D C A S T 10. The next question says I have been doing therapeutic fasting to address my polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS and hopefully get my curated back. 语法解析
11:14
Do you have any recommendations for a preconception plan for fasting and nutrition? Is there anything I should be doing before trying to conceive? How will I know my body is healthy enough? Oh, my friend, I could probably do a whole podcast series just on this alone. If you've been following my journey, when I was young, I had PCOS. 语法解析
11:37
I was able to correct it in my 20s by targeting and treating the insulin resistance first and then optimizing my sex hormones later. But because I developed PCOS so young and had it for about 15 years before I was able to treat it, before I knew what to do, before I even knew that I could treat it, I had burned through a lot of my ovarian reserves. 语法解析
12:01
So I was 38, trying to get pregnant and I didn't have much in terms of ovarian reserves. Knowing that I wanted to have a couple of kids, 语法解析
12:11
And my second kid would probably be born in my 40s if I was lucky. I ended up doing three rounds of IVF to bank embryos just to guarantee that I could likely, hopefully, have a second baby as I got older because in my early 40s, I wouldn't have these ovarian reserves. So I feel like since I was 14 years old and I am going to be 41 soon, I've spent a lot of my life 语法解析
12:38
My personal health focus has been on treating these things. Now, I never lost my period with PCOS. I always did have a regular period with PCOS, but so many women that we work with don't. 语法解析
12:51
So one of the best things you can do is you're looking to try to conceive, regardless of whether you have PCOS or not, is get that micronutrient testing. Build your nutrient stores back up. Take a pre-methylated folate. 语法解析
13:08
The brand of prenatals that I use is Weenadal. I have no affiliation with the brand. I have talked to the founders of the brand. They have occasionally sent me some samples, but I do pay out of pocket every single month. 语法解析
13:23
They also have an egg optimization supplement that recently came out and they have a DHA supplement. Now I have all my embryos on ice, so I still take their prenatal because it's got that pre-methylated folate in it. It's got choline in it. But the most important thing you can do as soon as possible in your preconception journey is to test your micronutrients and bring them up to where they need to be to those optimal levels. 语法解析
13:52
And once they're there, then that's when I would begin trying to conceive. I, in my own journey ahead of doing IVF, I knew that it was coming up and I spent a solid three months because the egg lifespan is three months. 语法解析
14:08
I spent three months making sure that I was optimizing every single one of these every day either through nutrition first and foremost always through nutrition or if there were some obvious deficiencies in your nutrition through supplementation and monitoring this very very closely. It's the most important thing that you can do again PCOS or not whether you're 22 years old or 42 years old or anywhere in between looking trying to conceive 语法解析
14:36
You want to get a head start on this. And if you can give yourself six months to do it, even better. Now, I was in a unique position because when I did my initial baseline micronutrient testing, I was almost optimal across the board. Obviously, I know a little bit about nutrition and for many years had been working on optimizing things. But if you're just starting, you want to give yourself six months. It will make a world of difference. 语法解析
15:02
And ladies out there, I know how eager it can be to want to be a mama. But this six months just totally radically sets a foundation for your kids' future. It's the most important thing that you'll do. 语法解析
15:15
All right. Now back to the whole fasting topic, which most of you are here for. PCOS is a form of diabetes of the ovaries. It's essentially diabetes of the ovaries. The advice that Jason and I have always given has been quite different from those of other functional female hormone specialists. 语法解析
15:36
our peers who we respect so much, they often really try to optimize the sex hormones as much as possible through nutritional strategies and over time see the insulin resistance improve. And these strategies are a little 语法解析
15:54
bit different than what we would do with insulin resistance. So a little bit less fasting during the second half of the cycle, a little bit more carbs during the second half of the cycle. But when someone has insulin resistance and that's causing PCOS, 语法解析
16:10
Jason and I have just always found it being so much more successful is treating the insulin resistance first, obliterating the insulin resistance, and then optimizing those sex hormones secondary. 语法解析
16:24
So what I'm talking about is we would treat you just like a diabetic. We would focus on doing a very low carb or ketogenic diet, depending on sort of your adrenal needs, someone who has some adrenal issues going on, if it's on the lower end of the side of things, more sort of adrenal fatigue or insufficiency, HP axis dysfunction. We would be sort of more of a moderate to liberal low carb diet. 语法解析
16:51
if someone's got more cortisol issues in sort of the opposite direction or is cortisol healthy, you know, then we focus as lower a low carb or a ketogenic diet to help. And then we would do therapeutic fasting. The first week of your cycle is actually the best week to do extended fasting, extended fasting for you at the start of your journey might look like something 24 to 48 hours. 语法解析
17:16
As your journey progresses, it might look like something 48 hours, three days or five days. But usually around day three of your cycle is when you plan extended fasts. Even for myself, today's day and age, I always calendar pencil in any extended fasts I do to be starting on day three of my cycle. Why is that? It's the most hormonally easy time to do an extended fast. 语法解析
17:43
As day one of our cycle happens, our progesterone levels are coming down quickly and our estrogen levels are shooting up very quickly. Now, by day one of your cycle, your progesterone levels have kind of dipped already. Progesterone is an appetite-driving hormone where estradiol is an appetite-suppressing hormone. So by day three, our progesterone's down, our estradiol is up. 语法解析
18:08
we are hormonally programmed to be very effective at doing fasting. We also emotionally feel better at this particular time, so there's less sort of emotional eating drivers. And at this particular time, we're also the most insulin sensitive in our cycle as well. So this is a great time to further enhance that or support that, especially if there are some insulin resistant issues going on. 语法解析
18:32
Once ovulation happens, we do notice that the appetite starts to bump up a little bit. And that particular time we start to see estradiol come down over the next seven days and progesterone go up over the next seven days. And then that week before our cycle is when we struggle the most with fasting. So during week one of a woman's cycle, we tend to do extended fasts. 语法解析
18:56
or whatever that might mean for you. As we approach ovulation, we still try to stay in that therapeutic range of 24 to 48 hours. As we go just post ovulation, 24 hours, and then that week before the period, we focus on just good time-restricted eating. And if we're trying to conceive, we do add more carbs. 语法解析
19:19
root vegetables, I'll be specific, not just all carbs, root vegetables, we start adding in after ovulation to support progesterone. But when you are first starting out with this, you don't have a period, you don't have a cycle to even know because the insulin resistance is so bad, then we just fast as much as we can, tolerate as much as fits into our schedule, and we keep the carbs down. 语法解析
19:44
Once you start getting a regular period and a regular cycle, then that means we've done a good job tackling a lot of the PCOS issues. And then we move into supporting those sex hormones by breaking down the cycle week by week and talking about targeted fasting and nutritional strategies per week. So I hope that that helps. I'll say most women takes about four to six months to get their period back on a regular cadence. 语法解析
20:13
And then after that, we see a lot of people get pregnant in the six months following that. So I would be very optimistic. We have an amazing person on our team. She's actually just taking some time off for personal reasons, Dr. Nadia Pataguana. We called her Baby Whisperer. In about a year, a lot of women got pregnant working with her. She'll be back doing some coaching in the fall, a unique program that we're going to be launching in the fall. But we have an incredible, 语法解析
20:42
credible team that's fully able to support you if you're in this journey, you're not alone. You'll find a lot of community members that are trying to conceive and tackle PCOS and get regular cycles as well. So the Fastly Method, we're a great tool for you, my friend. And I want to give you all the hope in the world. I'm 14 years old. 语法解析
21:01
I remember a doctor telling my parents that I probably wouldn't be able to have kids. And I'm a 40-year-old mom to a really wild, wild 17-month-old healthy baby boy. So there's a lot of hope. Even though I didn't have to do IVF for infertility, I had to do it to bank embryos because of my past fertility issues in my 20s and teens. 语法解析
21:25
Science is super cool. So between lifestyle and science, I wish you the best of luck. I think there's a lot to be positive about. 语法解析
21:33
All right, the next question is from Miki from the Netherlands. Miki is asking, can you wreck your thyroid by fasting too much? Or is this not true? And can you heal it with fasting? Mine was subclinical hypothyroidism, but returned to normal when I stopped fasting without meds. I am back to alternate day fasting now because I love fasting so much. 语法解析
21:58
This is a big thing to unpack, but in general fasting is perfectly fine. You just have to do what you can tolerate. So we would want to look into one. Why do you have subclinical hypothyroidism? Is it because you have reverse T3 hypothyroidism? 语法解析
22:16
If that's the case, we would begin your fast after breakfast. This actually helps prevent the conversion of free T4 into reverse T3, driving it into the form of free T3 and sort of course correcting some of that subclinical hypothyroidism just by changing the meal timing. And then we would start our fast at breakfast and we would end it at breakfast the next day and we would just see how the body was doing. 语法解析
22:42
Often that helps in those cases of say reverse T3 hypothyroidism. When someone says that thyroid function has gotten worse while fasting, are you checking your thyroid levels while you are fasting? We never ever ever want to do hormone blood work or lipid blood work while we are fasting. The numbers are all going to be temporarily thrown off. 语法解析
23:10
So people will be halfway through a 42 hour fast or 48 hour fast or they'll be three days into a fast and they'll go get blood work done. And this blood work is not going to be representative of your hormone levels at all. The advice I give for hormones, so when anyone that I'm working with at The Fasting Method is to not fast for more than 14 hours a day for two to three days before doing any hormones. 语法解析
23:36
Whether that's thyroid hormones, whether that's sex hormones, we want to stop fasting for at least two days. For lipids, at least three days. And most people are doing all these at the same time, so it's three days. I always tell people, book your labs on Monday, eat Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Then Sunday evening, you can begin your fast and you can launch into a 24, 42, 48, 50, 语法解析
24:02
Three day fast, whatever at that point, because you're going to do your labs the following morning at 12 to 14 hours fasted. And that is the best time. So sometimes people look at their labs and like deepen into these therapeutic fasts and that they think that the numbers are not ideal. They're not going to be ideal. Lots going on in the body when you're fasting. So you do want to sort of stabilize a norm here and then having your levels checked. 语法解析
24:31
So if you came into a consultation or were in one of our community groups, that would be like the very first thing that I ask since you are checking your labs in the morning without medications. Were you fasting and how fasted were you? How long had you stopped fasting before doing these particular labs? There are instances, a lot of my colleagues in the low carb space do believe that a 语法解析
24:56
Fasting helps lower inflammation in the body and it's cellular inflammation that causes subclinical hypothyroidism. 语法解析
25:03
And that when that cellular inflammation is reduced, then the subclinical hypothyroidism goes away. So I actually have a lot of colleagues in the low carb space that won't even bother trying to treat subclinical hypothyroidism with any type of medication, especially if it's not too far off because the fasting will lower that inflammation, improving and correcting this issue. Dr. Fung and I also have a Facebook group. It's a free community. It's like the wild, wild west, to be honest. 语法解析
25:32
I spent a lot of time in our community forum, but every now and then I perused the Facebook group and I saw one woman report that it had actually reversed her hypothyroidism over time as well. We want to address any nutrient deficiencies. We want to make sure that the adrenals are in good shape. We want to make sure we know what's causing that subclinical hypothyroidism in the first place. 语法解析
25:54
You know, maybe it's iron, maybe it's selenium, maybe it's iodine, maybe it's the cortisol. So there's all these little things that we can look at and that we can easily address either through food or through some lifestyle modifications. Then we are able to help further support the thyroid and carry on with ADF. 语法解析
26:14
So those are things to take a look at. I would make sure you get some blood work done, know your morning cortisol. That's best to do with a saliva test or a urine test though over a 24-hour period. But get some selenium, iodine, and iron panel checked in the morning too. Get your reverse T3 levels checked as well so we have a better idea as to what is the cause of the subclinical hypothyroidism. 语法解析
26:40
And then, yeah, just be mindful of when you are doing your blood work. The last question for today's Q&A is from Susie in South Carolina. Susie says, I've been on a night shift schedule at the hospital for the last 30 years, working 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. I love to know the ins and outs, stay as healthy as possible on nights, and the best way to fast with that schedule. 语法解析
27:05
Hospital is someone who spent most of her life working in a hospital or just in a hospital for family reasons. They're like the worst places to eat. So if you are going to eat, bringing foods that you can have. So doing meal prep, meal planning in advance. 语法解析
27:24
As someone who's worked in a hospital, sometimes having things on hand just in case, a dozen hard-boiled eggs, a pound of cooked chicken wings, some bacon, keeping a small bag of avocados around, a bottle of olive oil to go along with those avocados. Those are all things that I always just kept around in our staff room. 语法解析
27:46
So I would have something if I needed to that would help me stay away from some of the temptation that's there, especially during those really long and stressful days when the fasting is not necessarily going to happen. 语法解析
28:00
So having good, healthy food to revert back to more of these fat fasting style foods can be really good just to help you stay on track. And then, of course, doing as much meal prep as you can. So you're bringing any of your particular meals that you would eat during that time. 语法解析
28:19
Usually on an eating day, we would eat two meals. You'd have one at home before leaving. I imagine you would eat quote unquote dinner, which would be more like your breakfast before you leave for the 7 p.m. start of the shift. And then you would just eat once. So making sure that before you do go, that you prep something, even if it's just a duplicate of what you've eaten right before you've gone to work. 语法解析
28:41
and you've just made extra. That's what I found a lot of nurses and other healthcare practitioners do that work night shifts. They tend to have a bigger meal with their family before they leave to go to work. And what they bring for their next meal is just extra from that particular meal. And that's okay to do as long as you have enough variety in your diet throughout the week. 语法解析
29:02
So if you have something like steak and Brussels sprouts at home for dinner, then you can bring it for your lunchtime at work as well. You can just make an extra steak, make extra Brussels sprouts, bring whatever extra leftovers you have from that meal. And that's one of the easiest things to do. It can be a little monotonous, but you just got to make sure you're adding in enough variety throughout the week. And most people find that to be very sustainable. 语法解析
29:29
Now you get off work at 7am, I imagine you don't go to bed right away and if you are going to eat, if you are going to have your meal then, your second meal then, that's okay to do. You can have your second meal then. You just want to make sure that the time before your last meal and going to bed 语法解析
29:49
the window is at least three hours optimal would be four so if you can eat before you go to work and then once you're at work and then that way you're not eating at seven o'clock in the morning that would probably be the most ideal for this particular night shift schedule all right everyone thank you so much for sending in such amazing questions we'll be back next week with another episode bye for now and happy fasting 语法解析
Edit:2025.04.11
