Coffee and intermittent fasting

brownvs
brownvs Posts: 40 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I want to try intermittent fasting this time around (sigh). But I really like my morning coffee and I take it with cream and sugar.

Do any of you do intermittent fasting with coffee and if so - do you do plain coffee or with stuff in it?

TIA.

Replies

  • MichelleWithMoxie
    MichelleWithMoxie Posts: 1,817 Member
    Yes. I take it with a bit of truvia and a splash of almond milk. I do not consider that breaking my fast.
  • Megg82
    Megg82 Posts: 24 Member
    Enjoying my morning cup now :)
    I put exactly 2 tbsp of whole milk in mine.
    If I have a second cup at any point before breaking my fast, I drink it black.
    Some ppl say under 50 calories is fine, my cup is about 20 calories. It doesn’t break the fast for me.
  • guy_1987
    guy_1987 Posts: 48 Member
    I use skimmed milk.

    Barely any calories or fat and I treat myself to a "proper" coffee once a week and on the weekend I'll have a few.

    Full fat milk is high in calories and fat and milky coffee is one of the most obvious things to cut if you drink them regularly.

    Easier for me as I drink a lot of tea with skimmed milk so it accounts for only about 10 calories per cup!
  • SomeMorr
    SomeMorr Posts: 220 Member
    edited May 2018
    2 tbs of sugar free liquid creamer, which is 30 calories and does have artificial sweetener. I just started IF, so I'm no expert but I need that cuppa joe at work.
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    From what I understand the research on the effects of fasting is still in its infancy. So I'm not posative drinking your coffee before the 16 hour mark or whatever is doing any harm or not to the fasted state. It probably wouldn't be recommended to have a 250 cal. Starbucks coffee though. It's kind of a personal decision on how strict you want to be with it. I like to follow the 50 cal rule personally. It allows me to have my coffee which helps me be complaint to the 16:8 schedule. I have been doing a cashew almond milk blend and some splenda lately. Huge cup of coffee for around 20-30 calories. And the cashew milk gives it a creamy taste comparable to regular milk. For me though, I am using the 16:8 IF schedule as simply an eating schedule. It allows me a decent size lunch and dinner while still being in a calorie deficit. Any benefits coming from being in a fasted state are a bonus for me, but not the main reason I'm doing it.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    I don’t do IF anymore but when I did I always drank my coffee still. I take mine black though
  • kds10
    kds10 Posts: 452 Member
    You are correct for sure! I find that it keeps my eating in control but also at the same time I am training myself for moderation..i.e so if I want chips, I buy a small bag eat half or 3/4 then throw the rest out (all during my eating window of course)

    To me as I finish supper by 5:30 or 6:00 it feels good to go to bed on an empty stomach and simply skip breakfast and just drink plain green tea all morning until lunch. The hunger in the morning is very manageable and if I can get a workout in even better. I feel good and am pleased with the results to this point.

    I guess to me the way I look at is when I used to eat say a 500 calorie breakfast at 6:30 a.m. I would still be very hungry by lunch and even way before, now I am still hungry by lunch but I have now just saved 500 calories and like I said the hungry is surprisingly very manageable.
  • Nova
    Nova Posts: 10,318 MFP Staff
    edited May 2018
    Please stay on topic. If you want to debate intermittent fasting, please see this topic.
  • jayemes
    jayemes Posts: 865 Member
    I drink two cups of coffee in the morning with milk and sugar and then don't eat until usually 1pm. I'm guessing it wouldn't fall under the strict definition of "intermittent fasting" but it works for me. I prefer a decent lunch, a snack and a larger dinner. If I start eating early I find I'm hungrier throughout the day and find it much more difficult to stick to my calorie goal. Do what works for you. Nothing is written in stone (besides CICO) :wink:
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    If the purpose of the IF is to not raise insulin levels, then use non-sugar substitutes which don't.

    (don't even argue about that if you don't agree - take it over to the actual science topic about it)

    And fat doesn't of course, so if creamer is high fat, safe there.

    And creamer low enough carbs, especially in morning, may barely bump insulin up - but then again after fasting all night it'll be used too for the small quantity it is, and blood sugar may have room to move up and not illicit an insulin response.
  • lostsomeweightonce
    lostsomeweightonce Posts: 23 Member
    I do IF and used to take cream and sugar/sweetener in my coffee. Moved to black coffee out of convenience. Now I can't go back to creamer/milk/cream and anything sweet in it. Didn't take long either but now I need it black or it tastes bad.
  • ashliedelgado
    ashliedelgado Posts: 814 Member
    I don't follow any rules, I joke that I do "modified" intermittent fasting. Most days, I just drink a couple cups of coffee with creamer until noon. This helps me stave off my hunger until lunch. It may not be IF, but it helps me stick to my calorie goal, which is my only purpose for it. If you have others, that might change my answer.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Depends on why you are "fasting." I don't really think of IF as a fast (which is not a slam on it, just think it is weird terminology), but I would consider cream or sugar breaking a fast if I thought I was fasting.

    I don't consider black coffee to be inconsistent with fasting, unless you've decided on a water only fast or some such, and personally I think coffee is better black anyway.

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