🥑 Why I Broke My Fast and Started Eating Breakfast Again (And What Happened When I Did)

For years, intermittent fasting was my go-to rhythm. It felt simple: skip breakfast, eat around noon, and give my body a break from constant digestion. Like many women, I loved the idea of balance andcontrol, and it was easy. I had read all the benefits of intermittent fasting and kept it up. I even blew my niece off when she mentioned that women (especially my age 🤔🤔) needed protein in the morning.

Recently, I noticed something was off.

Even though I was eating healthy and exercising, my body wasn’t responding the same way— my energy felt flat. I started waking up wired, anxious, or foggy. I started investigating what could have me feeling a little different. After reading all about cortisol and its effect on older women, my ears perked up. I recalled hearing that intermittent fasting didn't work for everyone.

So I did something I hadn’t done in years...I ate breakfast.

🌿 What I Learned About Cortisol and Fasting After 50

Here’s what I discovered (and wish I’d known sooner):

Intermittent fasting can work beautifully for some, but as women, our hormones play a huge role — especially after 50. I have always encourage my clients to find what works well with them. I was trained to treat our bodies like science projects and find what works.When we skip breakfast and push through hunger, our cortisol (the body’s main stress hormone) can spike. That stress signal tells the body: “Hold on to fat, we’re not safe!”

In our 20s or 30s, estrogen helped buffer that stress response. But now, lower estrogen means our bodies are a bit more sensitive. Instead of burning fat, we might be telling our systems to store it — especially around the midsection.

That’s when it clicked: Maybe my “discipline” wasn’t helping me anymore. Maybe my body was asking for nourishment, not more stress in the morning. I think I used intermittent fasting as a crunch for easy lol. It was one less thing I had to plan!

🍳 My New Morning Ritual

Now, I start my day gently — and I think I feel a little better.

Within a week, I noticed my energy stabilize, my mood improve, and that my anxiety seemed to calm down. I am not starving by noon — I feel a little more balanced.

💪 The Lesson: Your Body Changes, So Should Your Approach

One of the biggest gifts of midlife is awareness. We’ve lived enough life to notice what works — and what doesn’t — without guilt or judgment.

Intermittent fasting isn’t bad. But for many women over 50, it may no longer fit the same way it once did. Hormones, sleep, and stress all interact in new ways. Our bodies crave steady nourishment, protein for muscle, and calm mornings that lower cortisol — not more fasting “rules.”

Now, I think of my breakfast as a gentle reset button — a way to tell my body: You’re safe, you’re supported, you can let go.

I cannot believe though how hard a habit is to break. I have skipped breakfast for the last 8 years and now I have to remind myself.

🌸 Final Thoughts

Our bodies change and sometimes we need to mix things up. I am such a creature of habit and it was a little difficult admitting that what used to work doesn’t anymore.

Because after 50, we want to embrace changes.

It’s about rhythm, nourishment, and listening to what our incredible bodies are trying to tell us.

Have a beautiful day!