Episode summary
On this episode of the School of Greatness, host Lewis Howes sat down with Dr. Mindy Pelz, a fasting expert and author of the bestseller Fast Like a Girl, which sold over 400,000 copies in its first year. The conversation centered on why traditional fasting protocols fail women and how aligning fasting with the menstrual cycle can restore hormonal balance, fertility, and metabolic health. Dr. Pelz revealed her own health crisis at age 45 when aggressive fasting caused her hormones to crash and her period to stop for months, sparking anxiety for the first time in her life. She reversed the damage within 90 days by cycling fasting intensity with her hormonal phases. The discussion covered the two energy systems humans rely on, the critical differences between male and female hormonal rhythms, and why women need different fasting, exercise, and recovery protocols than men. Dr. Pelz made controversial claims about birth control pills decimating the microbiome and preventing natural hormonal development. She explained the science behind menstrual synchrony through pheromones, the importance of oxytocin for cortisol regulation, and why progesterone requires women to nurture rather than push during the final week of their cycle. She also shared a dramatic patient case study of a 300-pound man who lost 175 pounds by changing when he ate rather than what he ate. Throughout, Dr. Pelz emphasized that women have been forced to live like men hormonally and that reclaiming cyclical living is the key to unlocking female health and power.
