Fast Like a Girl A Woman’s Guide to Using the Healing Power of Fasting to Burn Fat, Boost Energy, and Balance Hormones (EPUB)

Fast Like a Girl A Woman’s Guide to Using the Healing Power of Fasting to Burn Fat, Boost Energy, and Balance Hormones (EPUB)

Written by Dr. Mindy Pelz

Book readers’ opinions

Canadian Jen: I started following dr.Mindy on Instagram 4 months ago. She popped up on my feed in my perpetual quest on perimenopause and hormonal imbalances. Yep, that’s right folks. That’s me, here, now. Fun! Not so much.
I’m fascinated with the concept of fasting and the healing aspects as well as the muscle building properties of the food we eat and when we eat them as we age.
She is compelling, charismatic and a strong voice on a taboo subject that has widely been ignored. I think her messaging is on target: avoid toxic ingredients (read labels); sugar bad; complex carbs bad; fruit and vegetables good; protein animal and/or plant good; good and bad fat; good and bad oils. Fasting with your hormonal cycle and putting your body into ketosis where the real healing begins.
Is fasting the holy grail of weight loss and healing? It makes sense and has been around for many years- this isn’t the first book to explore this. But I don’t think it’s a complete program. Although she does goes deeper and considers insulin levels, monthly cycles and hormones. Since I started following her, I do a 13 hour window fast daily. Rather than weight loss however, my focus is on functionality as I age and cleaning up my internal carburetor.
What throws me off is the “Dr” title. It’s misleading. She is not a physician but a chiropractor. LeAnn Rimes does the intro which doesn’t add credibility to the subject matter. This, however, could just be a me problem. Overall, she does disseminate info in a powerful and impactful voice and although she isn’t a leading medical doctor/scientist/biologist on the subject matter, I think her value here is as an advocate for women trying to lose weight at different times in their lives. 3.5⭐️ For those interested, in longevity I also highly recommend Andrew Huberman, Scientist hubermanlab; Gary Breker, Biologist @ultimatehumanpod; KarenMartelHormones, Hormonal Specialist; Netflix series The Blue Zones w Dan Buettner. The more info we are equipped with the better choices we can make to live our best and healthiest lives.

Zoe Crighton: If there’s two things I hate more than anything else in health/wellbeing books, it’s delivered truths and sentences that start with “The research shows that…” without adequate citation – and this book is chock full of both. Not only that, but they’re accompanied by complex, nuanced scientific concepts that have been watered down to the point that they lose all meaning. Fast because it’ll “make your cells stronger! Make your mitochondria more efficient! Increase the resilience of your body!” What? What does this even mean? Vague, unhelpful, not compelling. Which is a shame, because the science behind fasting really *is* compelling. But I understand that this book is for a non-specialist audience, so if you know absolutely nothing about fasting, nutrition or metabolic health, this book is probably ground-breaking – so kudos to Dr. Mindy for spreading the message in a way that’s accessible. And particularly because she makes fasting doable for women, 50% of the population for whom the current fasting paradigm really does not work. But more irksomeness, is the overreliance on contrived anecdotes. Again, studies where N=1 are not compelling (but it’s encouraging to think that if Sharon, or Bridget, or whoever can do it, so can I!). And the repetition, good lord, the repetition. We tread the same ground regarding “metabolic switching”, “fat-burner mode”, etc etc, to the point of nausea, probably to pad out the page count and justify the book format when in reality all of the useful stuff could be condensed into a decent-length blog. Not to mention 1/3 of the book is pointless recipes (why ruin a perfectly good avocado by scooping out the entrails, wrapping it in bacon and frying it? Sacrilege!). All in all, I did learn a lot and will be applying the principles Dr. Mindy recommends in my own life, where they work for me – but I do recommend skipping the book and just getting the info from a podcast or YouTube video instead. There is not enough in this book to justify 300 odd pages and Dr. Mindy is a great orator anyway, probably better to hear her speak about it.

book review

If you’ve grown tired of one-size-fits-all health advice that leaves you feeling disappointed, this book will feel like a breath of fresh air. Dr. Mindy Pelz will help you create a plan that’s unique to your body and your goals. She combines ground-breaking research, powerful stories and a clear guide to greater health. – Jessica Ortner, New York Times bestselling author of The Tapping Solution

Dr. Mindy is the Warren Buffet of fasting. – Jesse Itzler, entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, endurance athlete and an owner of the Atlanta Hawks

I have never met someone that has more respect for the body and its innate intelligence to heal than Mindy. Her reverence for the body is met with an intense passion for helping people learn how to tap into it through the timing of fasting, eating and detoxing. This way of living is the way of the future for all women if they want to truly thrive. – Danica Patrick, entrepreneur and former race car driver

Fast Like a Girl is an amazing book that is both inspiring and informative. It’s a wealth of knowledge for any woman who wants to reclaim their health. It will leave you feeling motivated and ready to take on the world. – Megan Ramos, New York Times bestselling author, co-founder and CEO of The Fasting Method

Fasting is an incredible tool for longevity and healing. With Fast Like a Girl, women finally have a go-to manual designed specifically to their unique hormonal needs. – John Gray, New York Times bestselling relationship author of Men Are from Mars, Women are from Venus

In her ground-breaking book, Fast Like a Girl, Dr. Mindy Pelz provides a much-needed manual on fasting specifically for women. – Elle Macpherson, founder of Wellco, humanitarian, supermodel and actress

At a time when all of us are looking for ways to improve our health and vitality, Dr. Mindy Pelz offers great advice. This book is about fasting, but also so much more. It’s about our womanhood, our health and our lives. – Marianne Williamson, four-time New York Times bestselling author

A much-needed fasting resource for women! – Sara Gottfried MD, New York Times bestselling co-author of The Hormone Cure

Fasting is such an incredible tool for our mental and physical health. Dr. Mindy is my go-to for fasting! She’s teaching women like me how to tap into our innate intelligence while minding our hormones. – Alexandra Elle, author of After the Rain and How We Heal

It’s possible to say goodbye to being tired and hungry all the time. Fast Like a Girl will teach you how long and when to fast so your hormones will support you instead of working against you. Welcome to getting your brain back and having to buy new, smaller pants! – Dave Asprey, author of four New York Times bestselling books, including Fast This Way

Fasting is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Dr. Mindy Pelz is one of the leading experts in this area of fasting for women, and she truly understands how fasting is different for both men and women. If you’re a woman and want to get the most out of fasting, then this is the book for you. – Drew Manning, creator of TV show Fit2Fat2Fit and New York Times bestselling author of Fit2Fat2Fit

Fasting is such a powerful healing tool. In Fast Like a Girl, Dr. Mindy does an excellent job of helping women understand how they can use fasting to power up their hormones, as well as providing tips and strategies that are easy to follow and tailored specifically for women. – Josh Axe DC, DNM, CNS, founder of Ancient Nutrition and DrAxe.com, bestselling author of Keto Diet, The Collagen Diet and Ancient Remedies

Wow. Didn’t think Dr. Mindy could achieve the same brilliance as she put forth in The Menopause Reset – but she did – going above and beyond. This should be required reading for any and every woman on the planet wanting to bring metabolic flexibility, vitality and longevity to their life! Packed with good science, resources and inspiration, this will be the gift that keeps on giving. – Nasha Winters ND, FABNO, bestselling co-author of The Metabolic Approach to Cancer

Dr. Mindy has written the guide of all guides for women looking to improve their health by adding fasting into their life. Most importantly, she plans it all around their menstrual cycle. As a women’s health and hormone doctor, I can’t recommend this book and her step-by-step process enough! – Carrie Jones ND, FABNE, MPH, head of Medical Education, Rupa Health

When it comes to health, there’s no cookie-cutter approach. This is especially true with fasting. In Fast Like a Girl, Dr. Mindy Pelz does a masterful job of outlining why women should practice fasting differently than men. Mindy provides practical steps backed up by science on how women at different stages of life can apply fasting strategies to balance hormones, reset their metabolism and lose weight without having to deprive themselves. If you are wondering how to apply fasting for your unique hormonal needs, this is the book for you! – Ben Azadi, bestselling author of Keto Flex

The nutrition and integrative health fields are increasingly recognizing the power of short- and long-term fasting in protocols for health and disease. However, too often the influence of cyclical hormonal patterns on metabolism and fasting physiology is overlooked. Dr. Mindy outlines here a strategy for optimizing the healthful impact of fasting in coordination with your hormonal cycles. – Zach Bush PhD, physician (internal medicine, endocrinology and hospice care)

Dr. Mindy is such a wonderful women’s health advocate by empowering women, at all stages, to embrace their physiology and to stop apologizing for our own unique needs! Fasting is one of many tools that can help us thrive irrespective of our life stage! – Cynthia Thurlow NP, author of Intermittent Fasting Transformation

Wow! How refreshing! Dr. Mindy Pelz’s book weaves patient stories with ancestral and nutritional research about the science of fasting and tied it together with clear steps for women to follow. Her words of truth delivered spot-on advice. I found myself saying, ‘Oh, I’m stealing that.’ A wonderful read! – Annette Bosworth MD, founder of Dr. Boz, owner of Meaningful Medicine and author of Anyway You Can and KetoContinuum

Fast Like a Girl is a must-have-guide for resetting your hormones, ageing beautifully and looking and feeling fantastic. But even more importantly, following Dr. Mindy’s guidance can have a profound impact on generations to come because fasting is the ultimate detox. Buy a copy for your daughters and granddaughters, teach them to Fast Like a Girl and help put an end to this epidemic of hormone imbalances, infertility and – ultimately – on the chronic illnesses in our children. – Donna Gates M Ed, ABAAHP, internationally bestselling author and founder of The Body Ecology Diet

Much like with exercise, fasting is an incredible, free healing tool that everyone can benefit from. What makes this book so unique is that women now have a fasting manual that will help customize food and fasting to match the needs of their hormones. In Fast Like a Girl, Dr. Mindy not only makes the science of fasting easy to understand but lays out a whole new health paradigm for women and men to improve their lives in a myriad of ways. – Tony Horton, bestselling author and creator of the popular P90X workout series

Do check out Mindy’s fabulous book, Fast Like A Girl. I’ve been recommending it to everyone and it’s a great resource for anyone interested in fasting as a tool for health. – Dr. Rupy Aujla, Sunday Times bestselling author, doctor and host of The Doctor’s Kitchen podcast