Intermittent fasting question

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JohnnyL
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Intermittent fasting question

Post by JohnnyL »

Hey gang. I have a question about IF that I see conflicting information about.

Am currently doing 16:8 and love it. It's working for me. question is about coffee or intake of cals during the fasting period.

I have heard less than 50 cals, less than 35 cals, less than 25 cals and 0 cals, as being acceptable caloric intake during the fasting period that won't 'break' the fast.

I can do black coffee if I must. But, a tiny bit of skim milk (a splash, 10-12 cals) and one raw sugar packet (20 cals, can do have for 10-12) is perfect lean coffee combo. Am I still fasted if I drink it this way?? I have tried stevia and sweeteners. They are gross and change the taste. Would rather go black than use them. The milk I can give up as well. But this is a question for the sustainability of the diet over months.

Thanks in advance!!!
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Boss Man
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Re: Intermittent fasting question

Post by Boss Man »

Hi Johnny, good to talk to you.

When you say 16:8 I assume you mean 16 consecutive hours fasting and 8 hours remaining in which to eat.
JohnnyL
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Re: Intermittent fasting question

Post by JohnnyL »

well yes.

it's certainly not 16 feeding lol
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Boss Man
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Re: Intermittent fasting question

Post by Boss Man »

Well yeah, but when you mentioned 16:8, I assumed it meant time frames, but the name of that system could have related to something other than time frames, as I'm not intimately familiar with the inner workings of intermittent fasting :).

To be honest fasting is basically the abstinence of calories for a prolonged amount of time. I don't know what minimum duration counts to be called fasting, but I would suspect it's either 3 or 4 hours and potentially might qualify as 6 hours, but if you're consuming any sort of calories from a drink, then I don't think it qualifies as fasting, but to be honest having a small amount of calories during the supposed fast period, is hardly going to make a significant negative impact on you if at all and might actually be beneficial, as consuming the bodies dietary requirements in just 8 hours can be a bit difficult and depending on how you do it, the body could be trying to process macro-nutrient and micro-nutrient levels over a period of time, let's say 3-4 hours, that is higher than is capable which means you may not be able to get a an intake of calories and nutrition over that period of time, that would be considered "what's best" by your body.

For example eating 20g of protein 6 times a day or 60g twice a day.

If you think this system is working for you then stick with it, but if I may ask, what is the exact nature of your partaking in this fasting principle. I'm assuming it's for weight loss purposes?
Fitafter50
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Re: Intermittent fasting question

Post by Fitafter50 »

understanding is that it's not just the calories that count--all the cool keto kids seem to be into Bulletproof Coffee (coffee blended with coconut oil, MCT oil, and/or grass-fed butter), which can pretty caloric. You could probably stay "fasted" in the 16/8 sense if you dropped the sweetener and just blend in a little butter (using a stick blender or an actual blender--just stirring doesn't do it) or maybe a touch of heavy cream.
JohnnyL
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Re: Intermittent fasting question

Post by JohnnyL »

Appreciate the responses.

Boss man, I eat 2 - 3 meals inside roughly 8 hours per day. It's not at all difficult to get roughly 2000-2200 calories and macros in that window, to stay in a caloric deficit in order to slowly burn fat week to week (require roughly 2500 per day to maintain). I stay fasted, nothing but water and that one coffee. I'd rather not drink it black. I make a lot of sacrifices, I would hope not to rev metabolism up with some minor additions but if that's the case I can learn to go black.

I have endomorphic body type and going fasted for extended period is working I feel and I am also feeling pretty good.

Fitafter50. I have yet to cry bulletproof coffee but thats sounds just disgusting lol.

So, does anyone know if those amount of calories will break fast..
Ashy123
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Re: Intermittent fasting question

Post by Ashy123 »

I don't think it's a "set number of calories" that would be considered breaking a fast... consuming anything with calories whilst in a period of fasting is technically not fasting. However, I have heard that having pure fat (like butter/coconut oil) in the morning can help increase energy and satiety during the day. If I were you I'd be sticking to black coffee or no coffee during your fasting period :)
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Boss Man
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Re: Intermittent fasting question

Post by Boss Man »

Coconut Oil contains Medium Chain Triglycerides, which unlike long chain ones, don't end up in the arteries but end up in the liver and convert to energy.
djryanash
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Re: Intermittent fasting question

Post by djryanash »

I'm also 16:8 (most days of the week).

On IF, any calories is breaking your fast. To stick to your IF, drink your coffee black - that's the only way to stick to your fasted period.
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garygoberjr
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Re: Intermittent fasting question

Post by garygoberjr »

I know I'm a little late to the conversation here, but I am in the process of transitioning to the 16:8 IF. However, there are some studies that indicate that the 2:5 IF is better suited for sustainability over the course of your life. I'm not entirely sure why that is though. If I ever find the article I'll come back here and post it.
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