Intermittent Fasting and Fibroids

Hey yall, how yall doing? I know this post may ruffle some feathers, or at a minimum disagree with what you may have heard, but here goes. So if you saw my Fibroid Story, then you know my largest fibroid was almost 7 lbs. If you have not seen that post, what are you waiting for? Click Here. That thang doubled in size in less than 2 years and I have a sneaky suspicion that intermittent fasting may have played a role in that. Pull up a seat and let me tell you why.

What is Intermittent Fasting (IF)

Intermittent fasting is the practice of regularly switching between a timed period of eating and a timed period of avoiding eating. While many diets focus on what you eat, intermittent fasting is focused on when you eat.

Benefits of fasting

In general, for many people, fasting can have a plethora of benefits. Some of them include:

• Improved focus
• Weight loss
• Improved blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity
• Decreased inflammation
• Improved physiological function

Women and Fibroids

As women, but especially women with fibroids, IF can impact hormones and can either be beneficial or potentially harmful. For most women, it’s all about the frequency and duration of fasting and understanding that women need to fast in a way that supports our changing hormones, specifically Estrogen and Progesterone.

• Estrogen: Healthy estrogen levels are essential for a healthy metabolism.
• Progesterone: Affects how women metabolize the three primary macronutrients: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.

Why do I think IF helped my fibroids grow

Okay, so there is a lot of conflicting information on whether or not fasting affects estrogen or progesterone, but my personal experience has led me to why I think IF had a negative effect on my fibroids. If estrogen levels are too high, it can lead to fibroid development and growth, and if you don’t have sufficient progesterone, the body can’t stop the growth.

One way progesterone gets out of balance is if you are fasting at the wrong times of your cycle. Women of any age need to be careful about this. Doing too much fasting, at the wrong time in your cycle, may lead to unknowingly depleting progesterone. In turn, my body may have had a difficult time fighting the fibroid growth. I think while I was following the general directions for IF, I was not doing it correctly for a fibroid fighter. Baybee I was doing it week after week, no days off. When I say I was all in, I mean allll in. While I was worried about trying to get a 6 pack, JoJo (my fibroid) was like hold my beer.

Takeaway

Lissen sis, do not take this post as me telling you if you fast, your fibroid will grow substantially. However, I am telling you to fast responsibly. If I had a few pieces of advice, they would be:

• Don’t fast because someone on Youtube or Instagram told you, even if it’s me :).
• Do research for your body type, ailments and/or whatever else you may have going on.
• Understand how fasting affects the female hormones.
• Create an effective intermittent fasting strategy.
• You don’t have to be alllll in, all of the time for something to work for you. Breaks are suggested, especially during certain times of the month, IYKYK.
• For more of my thoughts, check out my full IF story here.

That’s It. That’s All Yall.

J. Bai

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional.  If you need medical advice, please consult your doctor. I am just here to share my knowledge and my personal experience with mybroids. See what I did there (I know you liked that)?!