Women were Excluded from Research for a Reason. Why Women Need a Gender-Specific Menopause Protocol.
I realized something recently. When I was younger, any diet worked. I could drop a few pounds in just a couple of days. Now, at this stage, that does not work anymore. Months go by and I still don’t shred it or it’s a yo-yo. I gain it in places I never did before. My energy is different. My body is telling me something obvious: I am not the same as I was. And I’m definitely not the same as the man sitting next to me.
I’ve probably tried all the trendy protocols from diets to activities, exercise, etc.
I fast 16 hours because that’s used to work and I am used to it. I cut calories and carbs the way women have always been told to. I follow the same advice that worked before. Except it doesn’t. Not anymore and I finally understood why.
Why Women Were Excluded from Research
In 1977, the FDA barred women of childbearing age from early-phase clinical trials. The reason they gave: our hormones were too complicated. Researchers already knew women’s bodies were different. That’s why they excluded us.
Think about that. They didn’t exclude women because our bodies are simple. They excluded us because we’re complex.
For decades, the major studies that shaped medical treatment were conducted on men. The Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial enrolled 15,000 men. The Physician’s Health Study enrolled 22,071 men. These studies set the standard for how we treat disease, how we dose medications, how we eat, how we move. All based on male physiology (NIH, 1993; Revitalization Act of 1993).
It wasn’t until 1993 that Congress actually wrote women’s inclusion into law. And even then, as of 2019, women made up only 40 percent of participants in cardiovascular research despite being 51 percent of the population. We’re still underrepresented in the science that’s supposed to guide our health.
What Changed in Your Body (and Why Nobody Told You)
Before menopause, estrogen was working hard for you. It improved your insulin sensitivity. It kept you responsive to the hormone that regulates blood sugar. It reduced oxidative stress. Estrogen buffered your metabolism.
Then menopause hits. That buffer is gone.
Your insulin sensitivity drops significantly (MDPI Nutrients, 2023). The protective advantage you had over men your age evaporates. Your body begins to redistribute fat toward your center, which increases insulin resistance further. You lose muscle mass faster. Your metabolism shifts.
This is not a deficiency. This is a stage. A real, biological shift that requires a real, biological response.
The protocols that worked before don’t work now because your body isn’t the same. And the protocols designed for men never worked for you anyway. You’ve just been trying harder.
The Protocol That’s Working Against You
I do 16-hour fasts. Dinner at 7 p.m., and then no solid food not again until noon. I was used to it by the time I hit menopause and it feels disciplined. It felt right because fasting has become the standard advice, and if it works for men, it should work for women, right?
Wrong.
When you fast for 16 hours in menopause, your body interprets that as a scarcity signal. Without estrogen’s buffering, your stress hormones spike. Cortisol elevates. Your HPA axis dysregulates. Your thyroid hormone down-regulates (Dr. Stacy Sims research, International Menopause Association, 2023). Your gut microbiome, which needs diversity to function, takes a hit.
The fasting that works for men creates unnecessary stress for women in menopause.
I didn’t know this. I just knew I was tired. Brain fog that doesn’t clear until late morning. Weight stuck. Energy that doesn’t show up.
What This Stage Actually Requires
Your body changed. The advice shouldn’t stay the same.
I want to make clear that this isn’t about fixing a problem. This is about adapting to a new stage of life and doing it purposely and with love for your body and its needs.
A baby doesn’t have a feeding problem when it gets teeth and moves from milk to solids. Its body moved to a new stage, and the protocol changed with it. That’s natural adaptation, not correction.
You’re in a new stage now. Your body’s fuel needs are different than before. You need quality sleep, restorative sleep, not just hours. You need movement designed for your hormonal reality, not a man’s. You need an approach built on the science of female bodies in menopause, not the science of male bodies in general.
Before following the trendy protocol or copying what works for someone else’s body, ask: what does my body need at this stage?
What’s true for me, right now, in menopause.
My Perspective
I tried many things throughout the years. From Keto to fasting, and so much more. Some worked in earlier stages. None of it made sense at 55, but I kept trying harder instead of trying differently.
When I became aware I stopped pretending I was still the person I used to be. I stopped following protocols designed for men. I started honoring the stage I’m actually in.
That’s when exhaustion started to lift. That’s when I understood: the problem was never my body. The problem was I was trying to fit a female, menopausal body into a male, general-population framework.
Your body is just moving to a different stage. The protocol needs to move with it. Learn how to give it what it needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does fasting work differently for women than men?
Women’s hormone production is tightly linked to energy availability. Fasting signals scarcity to your body, triggering stress hormones like cortisol. Without estrogen’s buffering effect in menopause, cortisol dysregulation persists and can disrupt thyroid function, sleep, and metabolism. Men’s reproductive physiology is not as sensitive to energy signals, so extended fasting doesn’t trigger the same cascade.
If I’ve been fasting 16 hours, what should I do instead?
Research suggests limiting fasting windows to 12-13 hours for women in menopause, with one non-fasting day per week that includes adequate food intake. The exact approach depends on your individual needs, sleep quality, stress levels, and movement. Work with someone trained in female-specific nutrition for menopause, not general fasting protocols.
How do I know if a protocol is designed for my body or someone else’s?
Ask: was this tested on women in menopause, or on men, or on a general population? Do the recommendations change for different life stages? If the answer is no, the protocol was not designed for you. Your body is different at 55 than it was at 25. The science should reflect that.
Is this about eating more or changing what I eat?
It’s about eating in a way that honors your stage. You might need to shift when you eat, not necessarily how much. You might need different nutrient timing. The goal is to give your body what supports it at this stage, not what a trending diet says you should do.
Your body is smarter than the trends.
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Sources: FDA 1977 Clinical Trial Exclusion Policy (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). NIH Revitalization Act of 1993, Public Law 103-43, Section 131 (National Institutes of Health). Women’s Underrepresentation in Cardiovascular Research: American Heart Association, 2019 scientific statement. Insulin Sensitivity and Estrogen Loss in Menopause: MDPI Nutrients, 2023. Adipocyte Metabolism in Menopause: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Intermittent Fasting and Women’s Hormonal Health: Dr. Stacy Sims research, International Menopause Association consensus, 2023. Cortisol Response to Fasting in Women: Neuroendocrinology Letters. Note: Verify all citations for current PubMed links before publishing.
