16:8 IF question about supplement calories

andielyn

I just started 16:8 IF, and I normally take a supplement packet with my morning coffee that has 19 calories in it from MCT oil (no carbs or sugars). Is this enough calories to be considered breaking my fast or is this fine to have during my fasting time?

Diatonic12

Truth, 19 calories from MCT oil are meaningless in the big picture. I don't fast but people who do say anything less than 50 calories won't affect anything.

janejellyroll

What is the purpose of the fast? In other words, what are you looking for it to do?

If you know the answer to that question, you can answer for yourself whether those 19 calories are relevant.

Personally, I don't think there is much evidence that extended fasting does more than help control overall calorie intake (for some individuals). With that in mind, I would not be concerned about consuming 19 calories during my "fasting" period.

If you're going with some of the less established claims for fasting -- that something significantly positive will happen to your body with a regular extended period of not-eating, then those 19 calories may be relevant to your overall goals.

Diatonic12

@janejellyroll hit the nail square on the head. Most of the fasting dogma leads to mind warp and digging you into a much deeper hole with food.

andielyn

@janejellyroll @Diatonic12 to answer your question, in a nutshell I'm hoping to get out of it some of the potential benefits of fasting in terms of how the body processes energy when fasting. It's not whether 19 calories will have a big impact or not on weight loss, which is pretty obvious. Not really looking for a discussion of pros or cons of fasting, I'm looking for whether or not consuming a very small amount of fat as fuel is considered breaking the fast.

janejellyroll

andielyn wrote: »

@janejellyroll @Diatonic12 to answer your question, in a nutshell I'm hoping to get out of it some of the potential benefits of fasting in terms of how the body processes energy when fasting. It's not whether 19 calories will have a big impact or not on weight loss, which is pretty obvious. Not really looking for a discussion of pros or cons of fasting, I'm looking for whether or not consuming a very small amount of fat as fuel is considered breaking the fast.

I wasn't trying to debate, I was more trying to give you a framework with which to answer your own question.

If I was fasting for perceived benefits beyond calorie limitation, I would think I'd want to avoid consuming fat during my fast, even if it was a small amount. But it would also be key to me if there was anything relevant in clinical studies to show if there was such a benefit and what people who achieved that benefit were actually doing in terms of practice (again, not trying to debate, I'm explaining what I would do in this situation to answer my question).

Diatonic12

I'm in the same camp with @janejellyroll There's no way I'm spoiling for an argument or debate about fasting. I'm a leader on an IF group that has all but flown over the chicken coop. There were 7500 members at one time and most have lost complete interest in it. Very few of the original group are still standing on their feet. There are even fewer that have come back to report any long term success with it. The numbers don't lie.

These fasting threads used to go to debate. There's recent research to support that OMAD leads to nutritional deficiencies due to the fact that you cannot eat of all things you need to eat in an hour's time. For some it becomes just another permission slip for a glorified daily binge taking you on another thrill eating ride.

The general construct of the IF breaker is 50 calories or less. You should be fine.

andielyn

@janejellyroll @Diatonic12 thank you for your further feedback. I'm not interested in OMAD and can't imagine that would be too healthy. I'll give the 16:8 a chance and see what happens. I'm planning to still log my meals and not seeing this as a free pass to binge. This is the first "diet" for lack of a better term I've tried, as I don't hold much stock in them as a whole. Pretty much believe in terms of weigh loss calories in/calories out.

psuLemon

andielyn wrote: »

I just started 16:8 IF, and I normally take a supplement packet with my morning coffee that has 19 calories in it from MCT oil (no carbs or sugars). Is this enough calories to be considered breaking my fast or is this fine to have during my fasting time?

Yes, it would break a fast, as your body would have to metabolize those calories. Would it matter? No.

joyanna2016

My question is why not consume your packet during your eating window?

sijomial

I'm more of a guideline than a rules person.....
Bearing in mind there isn't any over-arching governance on intermittent fasting anyway, just a lot of people with opinions. So here's mine.....

I did 5:2 fasting to lose my weight. I found it far easier to adhere to if I ate 650 cals a day on the two low days as bizarrely that was far easier to adhere to than the rule of 600cals. Made no difference to the outcome but made dieting less unpleasant.

I trialled 16:8 fasting but found it irritating to stick to rigidly despite being a regular breakfast skipper anyway. That some days I had a 7 or 9 hour eating window made no difference to the outcome. That I shifted the eating window around made no difference either.

Some people set an arbitrary 50cals limit, I doubt it matters.

Some people say absolutely nothing outside the fasting window but actually drink black coffee (which has a few calories) or diet fizzy diets (which have a very few calories). I doubt it matters.

Try it and see. Maybe those 19cals make you hungrier and better to consume them in your eating window. Maybe it won't. Maybe coffee or diet drinks make it easier, maybe not. I'm all for making something difficult (dieting) as easy as possible.

andielyn

@sijomial thank you! That's super helpful. I was under the impression that water, tea, coffee was not excluded during the fasting window, and the supplement I take is actually used *in* my coffee. Thanks for the feedback on 16:8 versus 5:2, I may give that a try if I also find 16:8 irritating to stick to that window.

andielyn

@joyanna2016 because the supplement is actually used *in* my coffee, and I'm drinking my coffee in the morning during my fast period.

NovusDies

It is breaking your fast.

It isn't breaking your fast.

It is breaking your fast a little.

I typed 3 responses. They are all from a random person on the internet.

That is the core problem with IF. I decide what the rules are for you. I am unqualified to do so but you have given me this power.

Make your own rules. Be in charge. You do not have to get it perfectly right as long as you progress towards a goal for which IF may be proven to assist you. If you are trying to achieve goals only proven in rat studies you should do what they did and not even drink coffee.

andielyn

@NovusDies yep, I knew better than to ask. 🙈🙄