Intermittent fasting drinks?

simplyhannahme2479
simplyhannahme2479 Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I’ve been reading up on intermittent fasting and it says you can only have water, black tea and coffee when fasting. Has anyone done this, but allowing themselves other low calorie drinks in the fasting period?

Replies

  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,974 Member
    edited May 2020
    Just black coffee, tea and H20 4me during the fasting period while doing IF.

    BUT I also drink alcohol w/my food during the eating window w/in my cal limit. So, you don't have 2 deprive urself of ur favorite bevs as long as you have enuf cals to drink them
  • Jelly_Belly_Jim
    Jelly_Belly_Jim Posts: 24 Member
    I just drink black coffee but anything with zero calories is probably ok. And it really depends on what you are doing it for. Honestly, I know there are a host of health claims...but I do it because after I drink black coffee I can go hours without eating, which then saves my calories for the afternoon. I can then eat a lot more and stay within my calorie goal much more easily.
  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    I am trying IF. I drink coffee with half and half (I'll buy cream next time I guess, less carbs). I'm just doing it to control my calorie intake, no other benefits. I am fine sipping a coffee all morning, the half and half doesn't make me more hungry or anything.

    If I get up and eat something with carbs, I'm hungry again quickly.
  • Luckee_me
    Luckee_me Posts: 1,426 Member
    I’ve been following IF since 10/1/19 I drink water, sparkling water(unflavored), and hot tea while fasting and then a can of diet Dr Pepper with my meal. In my case when I stopped drinking diet pop I didn’t crave sweets and food during my fast.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    VeryKatie wrote: »
    If zero means zero, black coffee isn't zero. Its like 4. Nearly zero but not. I think you can set your own rules. If they end up not working, change them.

    4 calories is not going to matter one little bit. ;)

    I think where people trip themselves up is by thinking that being militant is the way to go with IF. It might be for the very (very!) rare person, but honestly, 4 calories in a cup of black coffee is totally irrelevant as far as your body and weight loss is concerned. It also won't 'break your fast' because, again, weight loss is 100% about the total number of calories you consume on a daily basis, and not about when they are consumed.

    If your Intermittent Fasting goal is to skip breakfast and that morning cup of coffee sparks your appetite, however, you may want to re-think having coffee. Thankfully for me, that doesn't happen, because me without a morning coffee is just sadness. ;)
  • missyelainious
    missyelainious Posts: 30 Member
    When I was starting out I drank hot water with lemon, apple cider vin and a small amount of honey and that helped with the hunger in the morning. Now I’m used to it and just have black coffee. I was a big breakfast eater until I tried IF!
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,974 Member
    edited May 2020
    Plain or carbonated water (0 cal additives are fine if u need them), black coffee (0 cal sweetners or creamers if you must) or plain tea (any kind but green if you belive the hype about it and 0 cal sweeteners/creamers, again if you must).
  • Luciicul
    Luciicul Posts: 415 Member
    edited May 2020
    Depends on why you are doing intermittent fasting, and which style and protocol you are following.

    The form of IF I follow, I usually stick to water only. It's not just about the calories, its about reducing insulin, and maximising other processes (like autophagy) that ramp up when our body is in an unfed state. Our body can release insulin if we taste something sweet, even if it doesn't contain calories - and when insulin is elevated, it prevents some other processes from occurring (or can minimise their impact).

    But it's all relative...

    Occasionally I might drink unsweetened tea, even though water-only fasting is best; some people drink bulletproof coffee; fasting-mimicking diets (e.g. the 5:2 diet) allows people to consume up to 500 calories while "fasting"; some people "fat fast" to get into a state of ketosis while still being able to eat...

    Ultimately it is up to you to decide how you implement intermittent fasting. I think it helps if you understand why you are doing it, what your health goals are, choose a fasting style and protocol that aligns with this, and learn from those who are following the same way. Otherwise, you will be confused, because different people practice IF in different ways.

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