Wondering how you can juggle both intermittent fasting and coffee habits? I share my experience here!
You might be new to intermittent fasting and asking yourself all the java questions; “Does intermittent fasting include coffee?”, “can you do intermittent fasting without coffee?” or even “while intermittent fasting can I drink coffee?”
I will answer these questions based on my personal experience and the reading/research I’ve done in the past 20 months of intermittent fasting.
This post is about Intermittent Fasting and Coffee ☕️
With Intermittent Fasting Can You Drink Coffee?
Let’s let out a collective ‘Hallelujah’ when I say “YES!” we can. Plain black coffee, with its bitter profile doesn’t cause an insulin release and doesn’t break a fast.
It is such a gift, to me at least, that I can still have my morning ritual of a hot cuppa joe in the morning. I don’t need breakfast when I am able to fast and sip coffee all day.
When thinking of drinking black coffee so many people believe that means simply a hot cup. While that is usually my preferred method you can also have:
- blended hot coffee
- iced black coffee (I do drink this often in the summer)
- cold brew
- espresso
- americano
Switching up the way you consume black coffee can add the feeling of variety in. Speaking of options, buying different unflavored blends, such as a personal favorite above, helps to add variety!
Word of caution on black coffee
Prior to fasting, I still was a black coffee drinker. However, I would drink black coffee using flavored beans. These were flavors like creme brûlée, french vanilla or my personal favorite, blueberry! Not only were they delicious, but they felt like a snack! I often made these in place of a snack at night.
When I read “Fast. Feast. Repeat.” I learned that the flavorings cause my body to release insulin and anticipate me eating. As Dr. Jason Fung wrote here, “When we eat, insulin goes up, signaling the body to store some food energy as body fat. When we don’t eat, then insulin goes down.”
Not only does drinking the flavored coffee most likely break the fasted state because of an insulin release, but it also makes my body think it’s about to eat! I had to switch to unflavored coffees to remain in a fasted state. I’ve also noticed it really makes a difference in helping me not feel as hungry while fasting.
I always suggest taking this plunge before fasting…
I think learning to drink black coffee is really important to a successful intermittent fasting lifestyle. Coffee isn’t a must, but if you’re used to drinking lattes, coffee with half and half, coffee with a creamer, coffee with sweet and low or any similar combination, you will want to train yourself to enjoy simply black coffee.
This will open your options and allow you to still have the caffeine and morning rituals you may be used to. I found this really wonderful article all about learning to enjoy and drink black coffee!
Can you do intermittent fasting without coffee?
Absolutely! Coffee isn’t a magic ingredient that allows fasting to work. It’s simply a beverage many choose to consume. My personal journey may not have been as successful if I didn’t already love black coffee prior to fasting, but there are certainly many who fast and don’t drink coffee.
Others, like my own Dad, never drank coffee until they became a faster! You can check out my dad’s journey for his first year on my YouTube channel!
Can I drink coffee with sweet and low while fasting?
Unfortunately, in my experience, no you cannot drink sweet and low with your coffee while fasting. I’m often asked “Will sweet and low break a fast?” There is a belief that because it’s low calorie it doesn’t count. But that isn’t true.
I have been an Intermittent Faster for 20 months and I have been religiously following Gin Stephens’ Clean Fasting outlined on her blog post and in her books (both of which I highly recommend!) I believe that in implementing these clean fasting guidelines, I’ve been able to more effectively fast.
As mentioned above, please check out her books ultimately, but for now, read her linked blog post. Gin gives great detail as to how even zero calorie sweeteners (such as sweet and low) can cause our body to release insulin. This release of insulin prohibits our body from using stored fuel – essentially breaking the fast.
Not only does the insulin released in response to sweet and low (or really, any added flavors) break the fast, it may make the rest fo the time you refrain from eating (what you might still think of as fasting) much more difficult. As Gin describes, your body got the flavor and now thinks it’s going to eat!
I have experienced this myself multiple times! If as an experiment I drink a zero calorie flavored sparkling water prior to eating, I have a much harder time waiting to actually consume food! My body tasted a flavor and essentially sent out hunger signals in response saying “we want more!”
What about delicious coffee treats?
Don’t fret, you can still have your favorite coffee while living an intermittent fasting lifestyle. See how happy I am below with my iced coffee, half and half and marshmallow flavoring? I still enjoy sweet and creamy coffees, I just have them in my eating window. So delicious coffees can still be a part of your life! Rejoice 👏
Other Intermittent Fasting Drinks
You all know I often reference what I’ve learned from Gin Stephens. She is the author of the book that really was a catalyst for my love and resulting passion for intermittent fasting. She has developed a chart on what you can and cannot have during your fast. Gin Stephens’ clean fasting chart can be found here! This is a chart I follow in my own personal intermittent fasting journey.
The other beverages outlined here are plain, unflavored water, sparkling & mineral water (as long as unflavored) and unflavored plain teas, such as black or green tea.
To illustrate the difference, let’s think of La Croix waters. I love them (and all off brands) and regularly drink them. However, I save the Limoncello flavored ones for my eating window and I drink plain/unflavored while fasting!
Bottom line – learn to drink & love black coffee! Not only can you have it, but it could become a ritual you enjoy often while fasting!
Is decaf coffee ok? I love coffee but I can only take in so much caffeine!
yes! I switch to decaf in the afternoon, too!
I wish I liked coffee
May be worth trying to learn to like it? It makes fasting much easier IMO.