Why fasting is not ideal if you’re trying to conceive
Is it safe to fast while trying to conceive?
As great as fasting is for spiritual reasons, it’s not ideal for hormone balance (for most women-read through to the end to find out who fasting may be helpful for on the preconception journey), especially if you’re trying to conceive.
Here’s why:
You see, in order to achieve and maintain a healthy pregnancy, your body needs a consistent flow of nutrients, calories and hydration throughout the day; abstaining from food and drink may impair your fertility this cycle or delay ovulation. This supports consistency in your sex and thyroid hormone production and indicates to the body that it is “safe to get pregnant”
Does your body feel “safe” to get pregnant?
Your body needs to know that it has the resources to conceive and maintain a pregnancy, and when you are eating inconsistently or insufficiently, your body wisely perceives this as a threat, representing a lack of food security. Just like other hidden stressors that often result in a diagnosis of “unexplained infertility”, fasting is a stressor that can impair your fertility.
This impaired fertility resulting from fasting is completely reversible
Not to worry though, as soon as you re-establish a consistent diet again you can continue making positive change to your fertility!
When I was trying to conceive 6 years ago (more on that in this blog post), I followed the Baha’i Fast- a spiritual Fast (similar to Ramadan) observed for 19 days in the month of March from sunrise to sunset- I knew how much of an impact fasting could have on my hormones so I was extremely mindful about maintaining a nutrient-dense diet with sufficient calories and eating to satiety (and even further).
Even then, I expressed no fertile signs until I stopped fasting.
I ovulated nearly a week later than I normally would and that was because I had stopped fasting. Within a week of breaking my fast, I finally ovulated and conceived my first child!
Once my body recognized that my nutrition had stabilized and that it was “safe” to conceive, I was able to conceive naturally.
But what if I didn’t know how to identify my fertile period?
What if I was trying to conceive and didn’t know my ovulation was going to be delayed?
I was able to conceive naturally because my hormones had normalized AND I knew how to time conception properly.
Understanding your fertility signs is a critical part of timing conception successfully! And this is one of the topics I teach about in my FREE masterclass!
Want to learn more about how you can unlock your fertility and get pregnant faster?
In my FREE masterclass, you’ll learn:
How to properly time intercourse for the most chance of successful conception
What factors may be depleting your essential fertility nutrients and delaying your time to conception
What you can do to restore your health and fortify your body and womb to become the most inviting space to grow your future baby
And Learn about my signature step-by-step pregnancy preparation program, Resilient Motherhood, and how my coaching can get you fertile faster
There are some metabolic states when fasting can be beneficial while trying to conceive naturally
I’ve successfully used intermittent fasting during pregnancy preparation and fertility protocols for my clients with:
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
A prior history of Gestational Diabetes (GD)
Obesity
This is because women with these metabolic states tend to be more insulin resistant and fasting can improve insulin sensitivity in women with PCOS, obesity or a history of gestational diabetes.
If you have been diagnosed with PCOS and you’ve been told that you’ll never be able to get pregnant, check out my post: Navigating your PCOS Journey: From Diagnosis to Hormone Vitality and Motherhood
If you want to make sure your fasting practice is working FOR you, not against you, or you want to learn how to incorporate healthy amounts of fasting into your hormone balancing and pregnancy preparation efforts, work with me in my Resilient Motherhood 1:1 Coaching Package!
