Menopause Fasted Exercise Pros and Cons

Our stance:

Flipping 50 believes each woman is unique.

That said, we favor fed exercise over fasted exercise when it is intense. That is, high intensity interval training, or strength training with the intent of preserving lean muscle mass and avoiding frailty or fragility occur within the eating window and ideally bookended by protein consumption if for muscle or bone mass.

We do acknowledge that exercise may “feel hard” when exercise is performed fasted giving the perception of “working hard.”

However, we suggest based on research and 4 decades of primary observation, women actually exercise harder related to their capacity for exercise when fueled. That is, they will go faster if being timed, go further within a timed test, lift more weight or perform more reps to muscular fatigue.

Fasted Exercise Pros and Cons During Perimenopause

A 27% muscle loss has been reported between early and late stage perimenopause. This is most likely due to multifactors: insomnia disrupting anabolic hormones and together with other signs and symptoms of menopause interfering with desire to workout, as well as a drop in estrogen, testosterone and growth hormone levels, and an increase in cortisol levels.

This is an important consideration when looking at fat loss vs lean muscle gain and priorities. Mitigating potential loss of muscle is a critical factor in aging well and overall metabolic health.

What Science Says

Some studies (review of literature) suggest that before prolonged exercise, fueling provides more benefit but before short exercise, results are inconclusive. A 2013 study on sumo wrestlers eating a ultra high calorie, 50% fat diet burned more fat after exercise done fasted. However, we’ve got to consider…. How like you are that? Extremely high calorie and 50% fat? In almost the same time frame, college women were fed vs fasted in exercise and showed no difference. Their diets probably reflected at least a little closer to yours and their hormone profiles also at least slightly more like you.

The problem is, few studies about fasting and exercise exist on midlife or postmenopausal women.

Women who are at risk for accelerated muscle and strength losses.

In studies for the last 10 years, fasted vs fed with the same hypocaloric diet there was no difference in increased fat loss due to fasted vs fed.

I hear comments from women who believe they are burning fat for fuel when they’ve fat-adapted, however, without measuring this, we don’t know it to be true. The crossover is only visible when you’re measuring in a lab. It would mean that at the same speed and intensity previously (watts) you were burning fat vs carbs for fuel. We can see that in clinical lab testing during progressive exercise testing using stages. Your cardiovascular fitness level may also improve meaning for the same speed your heart rate isn’t as elevated. That’s another way to hypothesize you’re burning more fat for fuel at higher levels.

I want to remind you that at a certain point we all cross over. If you’re “working hard” in high intensity interval training you are NOT burning fat during. You’re burning a lower percent of fat for fuel during. Because you’re burning calories - that is your energy expenditure is higher - you are still burning more fat.

Your goal is not to burn a high percent of fat for fuel during.. Or you’re doing that best at rest.

The data is not there to support higher fat burning during HIIT fasted. It’s not there to support higher fat burning after HIIT if fasted.

What seems most important is a hypocaloric diet, performing optimal exercise intensity for energy expenditure. And resistance training improves post workout FFA circulation most compared to HIIT.

To support anabolic response to strength training, especially for women when more prone to anabolic resistance, fed exercise makes the most sense.

Fasted Exercise Pros and Cons wi