Episode
Ep. 621 Cortisol, Belly Fat, and the Fasting Mistake Most Women Make with Ben Azadi, FDN-P | Menopause, Perimenopause, Keto
- Published
- Jul 22, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3162
- Processing state
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- https://traffic.megaphone.fm/CTH8049662082.mp3
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Summary
I’m delighted to reconnect with my dear friend Ben Azadi today, in honor of his newly revised book, Keto Flex. Ben is a leading authority on metabolic health, an international Keystone speaker, and the New York Times best-selling author of Metabolic Freedom. In today’s conversation, we discuss why women fail on keto. We examine how women’s menstrual cycles and various life stages influence both the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting, and the importance of coming out of ketosis and incorporating feast days. We explain what the Randall cycle is, why we need to be finely tuned to it, how to support healthy cortisol regulation, particularly the HPA axis, and tools to determine whether we are balanced within the autonomic nervous system, including heart rate variability, sleep, and whether our glucose and ketones are within range. We also explore the effects of anti-nutrients and elimination diets, and Ben shares his approach for women who feel keto hasn't worked for them, explaining why keto should be viewed as a process rather than a diet. This is, as always, a truly invaluable conversation with my dear friend Ben Azadi. Stay tuned, as we will also be offering giveaways to listeners of Ben's new book, Keto Flex. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: Various factors that could influence how women respond to a ketogenic diet How women need to adjust keto and fasting according to their menstrual cycle, perimenopause, and postmenopausal years, rather than continuously following the same approach Why Ben encourages women to have intentional feast days instead of remaining in ketosis indefinitely What a feast day looks like, and how it differs from a cheat day Why fasting should be adapted to how well your body tolerates stress Factors that can help to determine whe…