I am child-free, and also not a doctor, so I donât have much experience, nor anything approaching actual expertise with this personally. But, from several friends who have struggled with fertility, I do know that weight (and specifically, too much/obesity, though being underweight brings its own issues) can have a pretty big impact on it.
It therefore makes sense to me that if youâre a woman whose extra weight is negatively impacting your ability to conceive, the possibility that IF might âmess with your hormones and promote infertilityâ is moot, since youâre already having issues with fertility. I would think the priority in such a case would be to work on getting to an optimal weight, which can be done with IF; then you and your doctor can evaluate your hormone levels and determine whether moving to a âstandardâ eating pattern (still focusing on nutrient-dense foods) would be beneficial. If you enjoy IF, you can always return to it after giving birth/breastfeeding.
If youâre not overweight and are instead interested in IF for its other benefits, and also interested in conceiving⊠the IF/hormone impact is something youâd need to discuss with your doctor. Or, perhaps you could do IF for a few months, and if you canât conceive, switch to a 3MAD to see if that changes anything. Bodies are weird⊠they can be so adaptable sometimes, so stubborn others. We know a lot about them, but for everything we know, there are 20 unanswered questions. I donât know whether anyone knows for sure the impacts of IF on fertility, or how long-lasting they might be, but Iâd also hazard this guess (bearing in mind that again, I am not a doctor, scientist, or anthropologist): our ancestors often went days without eating (unable to hunt or forage) and basically unintentionally IFing, and yet here we are today.
Youâre asking this question on an IF sub where most women will be doing 16:8 at a minimum. Iâm not sure how many women have decided against the IF lifestyle due to issues experienced with it and would still be on this sub, but I hope you get the info youâre looking for. Personally Iâve had success with 16:8 in the beginning and OMAD these days. I lost the intended weight and I feel better than ever physically and mentally. I spent a few years working 12hr night shifts in the past and got out of that partly due to reading some things about female infertility & long term interrupted circadian rhythms. Yet to find out about my own fertility but I really do feel better than ever when consistently IF-ing.
Hearsay isnât very valuable. Actual links to data is much more compelling if you want a discussion =) The reproductive system is affected by many things, so I donât think youâll get a conclusive answer other than âfor some people fasting could negatively affect their repro systemâ. Plus, how do you track if trouble conceiving came from not eating for 18 hours a day, or say a history of eating EDC pesticide laced foods?