Ep 140: Should Women Fast? Talking fat loss, muscle growth & sustainability

Rachel and Ashleigh both ran a short fast in the same week, Ashleigh for 36 hours and Rachel for 24, and this conversation is what came out of it. They cover why they each wanted to do it, how Ashleigh cycled the calories from her fasting day across the rest of her week instead of erasing them, and where fasting sits as one tool among many rather than a rule. The first stretch is a coaching conversation about Ashleigh's 12-week cut, how to decide whether to extend a fat loss phase, and why Rachel treats the reverse diet as the part that matters most. Later on, Rachel walks through how she uses a protein sparing modified fast day inside a weekly calorie budget, and both hosts talk about who fasting may not suit.

CHAPTERS

00:13 Welcome

02:25 Ashleigh's 12-week cut and how it has actually felt

03:24 Extend the fat loss phase or start reversing out of it

05:47 Why Rachel treats the reverse diet as the part that matters most

07:29 Why hunger often goes up when you start eating more

09:47 Ashleigh's planned diet break, and never having reverse dieted with a coach

12:02 Coming back to structure after a diet break

13:31 Thinking about calories wzeekly and monthly instead of daily

15:48 Have a plan, without turning it into a numbers game

16:37 How the 36-hour fast came about