What Breaks your Fast? What you Can and Cannot Have!
Happy Monday Squadies!
As you probably know, I am a HUGE advocate for Intermittent Fasting. In fact, I practice it on a regular basis and recommend all my squadies try it! If you want to learn more about what exactly intermittent fasting is and how to implement it into your life check out my Beginners Guide to Intermittent fasting, morning workouts & breaking your fast, Intermittent fasting, How to Curb your Hunger.
For those of you who practice intermittent fasting or want to practice intermittent fasting, there are a couple things you should know about what WILL and WON’T break your fast! There are certain things you can have while in a fasted state that will actually benefit your fast, whether it helps keep you satiated or enhances your fast by allowing you to get into a quicker and deeper fasted state! By incorporating some of these ‘enhancers’ into your diet, you can make the MOST out of you fast!
Fasting SAFE Foods:
1.WATER!
This is an obvious one, but water is definitely okay to have while in a fasted state! Not only is it okay, but it is encouraged to drink as much as you like while fasting! Water keeps us hydrated and can help keep us feeling full. For those of you who struggle with drinking enough water throughout your day, practicing intermittent fasting can help you drink MORE! While fasting, whenever you feel hungry, reach for water instead!
2. Black coffee
BLACK coffee is okay to have while in a fasted state! Although black coffee does technically contain calories, it will NOT break your fast. This is when it is not just as simple as any amount of calories will break a fast. Caffeine actually INCREASES the benefits of fasting by helping to metabolize fatty acids in the body faster and also helps expedite the removal of glycogen stores in our blood AND increases autophagy in the body!
So basically, drinking black coffee while fasted will help you burn more fat faster by allowing your body to get through any remaining glycogen stores in your body faster so you can get into a deeper fast sooner. It also helps you get rid of any waste in your body quicker. If that isn’t enough reason to try drinking some black coffee while fasted, caffeine also SUPPRESSES hunger! If you workout in a fasted state (which I recommend) caffeine can improve your performance! Lastly, caffeine is one of the BEST things to help increase alertness, awareness and energy levels.
3. Green Tea
Like black coffee, green tea contains CAFFEINE! If you are not a coffee person and want to enjoy the benefits of caffeine, try drinking green tea!
4. Carbonated Drinks
Carbonated drinks WILL NOT break your fast - CONTINGENT on the fact that it is naturally favoured AND contains 0 calories. Carbonated flavoured water is great to drink while fasting in order to help you feel full and satiated.
Speaking of carbonated drinks, I get asked A LOT about diet coke and other diet sodas. Diet pops are made with aspartame which will not spike your insulin, therefore it will not break your fast. Although this is the case i would not recommend drinking diet pop, especially frequently. Instead reach for a carbonated flavoured water!
5. GUM
Chewing on sugar free gum will NOT break your fast. Before poping that gum into your mouth, take a second to make sure it has 0 CALORIES and is SUGAR FREE! Regular gum can break your fast. Gum can help make your fast easier if you get hungry frequently throughout your fast. Sometimes, the act of chewing alone can help keep you satiated Chewing gum can also help reduce stress, so you can go ahead and have a piece while fasted!
6. Spices & Hot Sauce
Spices WILL NOT break your fast. I bet you are thinking, well Phil, how can I eat spices without being able to eat any food with it?! Well, there are certain spices you can add to your fasting safe drinks to help enhance your fast. Many people like to add some tumeric to their black coffee for its anti-inflammatory effects. You can also add some turmeric to your apple cider vinegar! Hot sauce is something else that will not break your fast. Although you probably wont get many opportunities to eat hot sauce while fasted, most hot sauce are 0 calories and will help speed up the metabolism!
7. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is one of those things that oddly enough, will NOT break your fast! Drinking apple cider vinegar during your fast can help enhance your fast by helping you feel full and satiated. It also helps absorb minerals into your body from meals you had previously eaten before your fast which can help you feel healthy and full. Apple cider vinegar is great to take either at night or in the morning when you wake up.
8. Lemon/Lime Water
Like apple cider vinegar, lemons and limes do contain calories but having lemon or lime in your water will NOT break your fast! Lemons and limes can help speed up your metabolism and help keep you feeling full!
SUPPLEMENT DO’s
- Caffeine
- Creatine
- Magnesium
If there are any specific supplements you want to know about shoot me a DM in INSTAGRAM!
AVOID During a Fast
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MCT oil
For all the keto fans out there, MCT oil WILL break your fast! There is a little bit of a misconception here - YES MCT oil will keep your body in a state of Ketosis BUT it WILL break your fast. MCT oil has far to many calories to have without breaking your fast. I am personally not a fan of MCT oil and would not recommend it. I personally do not like drinking so many of my calories right in the morning I, would prefer EATING my calories later on in the day.
2. Creamers
YES creamers will definitely BREAK your fast! Again, creamers have far too many calories which will no doubt, break your fast!
3. Almond Milk
Almond milk is a little bit of a grey area. Since it has such a low amount of calories, some believe that having a SPLASH in your morning coffee will not break your fast. Although this sounds great, the reality is, this is not proven - therefore I would suggest trying to go without it and just having your coffee black. If you absolutely need it, then ONLY a dash if it could possibly be okay. Again it is not proven, so use at your own risk!
4. Herbal Teas
Herbal teas WILL break your fast! Most herbal teas contain dried fruit pieces which contain sugar. That bit of sugar will spike your insulin and break your fast.
5. Fruit
Fruit will definitely break your fast! Again fruits (other than lemons and limes) do not benefit your fast, therefore the calories ingested WILL cause an insulin spike and break your fast.
SUPPLEMENT DON’TS
- BCAA’s
- Protein Powder
- Pre-workout
Pre-workout most likely will break your fast, but if you read the nutrition facts carefully, you can possibly find a calorie free one which will not break your fast.
There you have it Squadies! Make sure to subscribe to my youtube channel for Lean tips, tricks and information!