It’s Q&A time! You can ask your own question here for a chance to have it answered in an upcoming edition.
Today’s question is about whether fasting can help with chronic fatigue related to Long Covid.
Dear Christy,
I really appreciate your work and the way you approach conversations about intuitive eating and healing our relationships with food, and I am a happy member of your Substack. I wanted to reach out because I’ve been struggling with a recommendation I received from multiple doctors regarding my ME/CFS [myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome] which I got from Long Covid.
They’ve suggested that I stop eating early in the evening and delay breakfast as much as possible to allow my body to “rest” and gain energy for the next day. From what I understand, this is essentially a form of fasting(?). While I want to support my health, I’ve found that these recommendations trigger my history with an eating disorder, making me feel restricted and anxious around food.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this—both from the perspective of intuitive eating and how to balance medical advice with a history of disordered eating. How can I navigate this in a way that supports both my chronic illness and my relationship with food?
Thank you so much for your time and for all the work you do!
FYI: my answers here are for educational and informational purposes only, aren’t a substitute for medical or mental-health advice, and don’t constitute a provider-patient relationship.
Thanks so much for the kind words, and I’m glad my work has resonated with you! I’m sorry to hear you’re going through this.
I get this kind of question a lot from my clients, and it can feel like a real dilemma. How can we navigate restrictive dietary advice that’s framed as essential for our health while also working toward (or staying strong in) recovery from disordered eating? Sometimes those two things feel incompatible.
I’ve found that an essential skill for resolving these dilemmas is to look critically at the scientific literature, and to ask: is this restriction actually medically necessary? Or is it not backed up by sound evidence? If it’s the former, we can think of the restriction as self-care (e.g. avoiding anaphylactic allergy triggers, or eating gluten-free for celiac disease) and work to make peace with it. But if there’s no good evidence to support the diet, then it’s probably not a true medical necessity, even if some doctors might suggest it. (And this is where second opinions can come in handy.)
So what does the science say about fasting for chronic fatigue?
