62: Fasting for Women: How to Align Metabolic Health with Hormonal Rhythms with Dr. Mindy Pelz
Fasting has become one of the most popular tools for weight loss, metabolic health, and longevity. But the same fasting schedule does not necessarily work the same way for every body—and women’s hormones can change the equation entirely.
In this episode of Take Back Your Health®, Dr. Amy Myers sits down with Dr. Mindy Pelz to unpack what women need to understand about fasting, blood sugar, ketosis, autophagy, menopause, and metabolic flexibility. Dr. Mindy brings decades of work in women’s health and a personal history of moving from vegetarianism to paleo, keto, and fasting. Dr. Amy also shares her own evolution from needing snacks throughout the day to completing longer fasts as her metabolism and diet changed.
Together, they explore why a woman’s fasting strategy may need to shift across menstruation, perimenopause, and postmenopause—and why menopause may be an opportunity to understand your body, your stress, and your life in a new way.
What You'll Learn
- Why fasting can feel different for women than it does for men.
- How menstrual-cycle hormones may influence the timing of longer fasts.
- Why perimenopause and postmenopause call for different metabolic strategies.
- What Dr. Mindy means by metabolic flexibility, ketosis, autophagy, and hormetic stress.
- How trauma, nervous-system regulation, strength training, protein, and community fit into women’s health.
- Practical questions about fast length, exercise, coffee, and preserving muscle.
About Dr. Mindy Pelz
Dr. Mindy Pelz is a 2x New York Times bestselling author and a leading voice in women’s health, hormones, and aging. Her official biography states that she trained as a Doctor of Chiropractic. Her books include Fast Like a Girl, Eat Like a Girl, and Age Like a Girl. She is also the host of the Live Like a Girl Podcast and provides education through her website, YouTube channel, and Reset Academy.
Resources
- Dr. Mindy Pelz’s Official Website
- About Dr. Mindy
- Dr. Mindy’s Books
- Beginner’s Guide to Fasting
- Reset Academy
- Live Like a Girl Podcast
- Age Like a Girl: How Menopause Rewires Your Brain for Mental Clarity, Increased Confidence, and Renewed Energy by Dr. Mindy Pelz is available on Amazon.
Special Offer
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Timestamps
- 00:01 Welcome and Dr. Mindy’s introduction
- 01:20 How Dr. Mindy came to fasting and autophagy
- 03:16 Detox pathways and why some women feel worse when fasting
- 06:11 What fasting means and the metabolic switch
- 10:18 From vegetarianism to paleo, keto, and intermittent fasting
- 13:41 Why women and men may need different fasting rhythms
- 16:48 Perimenopause, glucose, and metabolic preparation
- 19:00 Postmenopause, ketones, memory, and brain health
- 20:41 How ketosis may vary across life stages
- 22:05 Hormone therapy, menopause, and the opportunity for emotional healing
- 25:43 Estrogen and the “neurochemical armor” of the reproductive years
- 27:41 Ketones, neurotransmitters, and mood
- 28:43 Hormetic stress, adrenal stress, and gradual fasting
- 30:46 Autophagy and the range of longer fasts
- 31:53 How Dr. Mindy uses fasting in her own life
- 34:14 When trauma changes the way you use fasting
- 35:13 Practical fasting durations and their intended purposes
- 38:05 Metabolic flexibility and the appeal of quick fixes
- 42:08 Strength training, protein, and preserving muscle
- 46:15 Training in a fasted state
- 48:20 Coffee, additives, and fasting
- 51:37 Why Dr. Mindy created Live Like a Girl
- 53:35 Looking at health through a female lens
- 56:06 The five principles of living like a girl
- 59:15 Community and the “lime tree” idea
- 01:00:44 Dr. Mindy’s three ways to take back your health
- 01:02:05 Closing conversation
