What can you eat or drink while intermittent fasting: A complete guide to finding the right fasting approach

In a nutshell

What can you drink during intermittent fasting? Intermittent fasting basically breaks your day into two parts–a fasting window during which you abstain from food and an eating window when you can consume food. During fasting windows, you can have plain water (it’s allowed to add some lemon or electrolyte powder to it), black coffee, or tea. These drinks won’t break your fast and will let you get the most benefits.

During your eating windows, you can eat or drink nearly anything you want, staying thoughtful about your calorie norm and overall food choices for maximum benefits.

Intermittent fasting is now trending everywhere. Known for stimulating healthy weight loss and bringing a wealth of health benefits, this dietary approach continues to be widely adopted by women of all ages and for a variety of purposes. Although the concept seems clear, getting started with IF typically brings plenty of questions, with one of the most important ones being–what can you eat or drink while intermittent fasting?

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What Is Intermittent Fasting?

In a nutshell, fasting implies abstaining from food for a certain amount of time. Intermittent fasting is a more sustainable approach to a fast, which implies switching between fasting and eating for rather prolonged periods of time. The main benefits of such an approach include weight loss, metabolic reset, insulin regulation, and cell restoration (autophagy).

This form of a fast comes in many different forms. Namely, some of the most common IF protocols include:

• 12:12
• 16:8
• 18:6

The first number in these protocols shows the amount of hours per day during which you fast and the second one indicates the number of hours during which you can eat.

Additionally, there are more restricted forms of fasting such as One Meal a Day (OMAD), which implies having just one meal every day and fasting for the rest of the time.

Why Do You Have to Know What to Eat During Intermittent Fasting and What to Drink?

As was mentioned earlier, you may choose intermittent fasting due to a range of reasons, for example:

• If you’re on a calorie deficit and not losing weight and need a more structured approach to achieve your body goals.
• If you want to improve insulin sensitivity and thus, reduce the likelihood of developing diabetes.
• If you want to launch cell restoration processes and support your overall health and longevity.

Regardless of your reasons, the truth is that all this intermittent fasting magic happens when you abstain from food for fixed periods of time and stick to this schedule. During the fasting stage of the day, your body lowers insulin levels and blood sugar, starting to use glucose (sugar) as a primary source of energy instead of the food that it typically receives.

When you don’t know what to drink during intermittent fasting or what to eat during each window, you have a chance of breaking a fast, which could hinder all the positive processes that are happening in your body and leave you without the expected benefits. That’s why, it’s crucial to get very clear on what you can and can’t consume during every stage of your day, and we’re about to help you with this.

What Can You Drink While Fasting?

When wondering what to drink during intermittent fasting, most of you likely mean the fasting window of your day, in particular. During this time, it’s crucial to steer clear of calories as they break your fast and can alleviate fasting benefits. This, however, doesn’t mean that you can’t consume absolutely any calories. After all, in small amounts, they are contained in some drinks that are generally safe for fasting. However, it’s important to keep your calories very low.

With this in mind, we can outline the following drinks that you can have during your fasting window:

• Water - First of all, you need to drink plenty of plain water during your fasting windows. This is crucial to maintain a good level of hydration because when you fast, your body loses liquids quickly and needs to replenish them for you to avoid negative side effects.‍
• Coffee - Despite a common misconception among beginners, intermittent fasting doesn’t prohibit drinking coffee. On the contrary, having a cup of coffee during your fasting window can ultimately help suppress your appetite, boost metabolism, and support the anti-inflammatory effect of fasting. However, your coffee should be black, without any additives like sugar or milk.
• Plain tea - Black, green, and herbal teas with no sugar or other additives are also okay during your fasting window. Teas can also help boost metabolism and stimulate fat burn.

What Drinks Should You Avoid During Your Fasting Windows?

While zero (or nearly zero) calorie beverages are generally okay for your fasting, there are some drinks that should be fully restricted during your fasting windows as they can break your fast due to a high content of calories. These include:

• Sodas
• Juices
• Milk
• Alcohol

Simply put, anything that contains sugars and many calories can potentially break your fast. The situation is a bit more controversial with artificial sweeteners because not all of them break your fast.

What Can You Eat or Drink While Intermittent Fasting That May Not Break a Fast?

Although staying away from calories is the most ideal approach during your fasting window, sometimes, you may want to let yourself have some little extras during this time. This might be for the sake of managing your appetite and making the fasting period easier. In some cases, it may also be for the sake of improving your well-being and supporting health.

In any case, we have to say that there are some extras that you can allow yourself to have during your fasting window that should not break your fast. These include:

• A small amount of lemons added to your plain water. Lemon water is low-calorie, yet it can support your body by supplying it with vitamin C, potassium, antioxidants, sodium, and other important nutrients.
• Electrolyte powder added to water. Along with water, your body loses many essential electrolytes during fasting, which can lead to a number of side effects. Electrolyte powders can help replenish their levels and support your health.

Additionally, you may opt for “dirty fasting.” This concept basically means allowing a small amount of calories (typically, around 100) during your fasting windows and can be helpful in extended fasts. If you choose this option, you may additionally have bone broth or MCT oil during your fasting period. 

What Can You Eat or Drink While Intermittent Fasting During Your Eating Window?

Now that you know what you can and can’t do during your fasting windows, let’s talk about your eating windows. Basically, an eating window is a set number of hours during which you can eat when and what you want. However, it’s important to stay thoughtful of your food choices.

You can think of it this way–you won’t get many benefits if you fast for a few hours and then go over your calorie norm in the eating window, consuming unhealthy and calorie-high foods like fast food, sweets, pop, etc. This will not only hinder the weight loss process but can also alleviate any other fasting benefits you expect to get.

Here’s what to eat during intermittent fasting for maximum benefit:

• Protein-rich foods, such as lean meats, fish, seafood, and eggs.
• Lots of fiber sources from complex carbohydrates and vegetables.
• Healthy fats, such as olive oil, seeds, nuts, avocados, etc.

Generally, it’s recommended to stick to healthier food choices for the maximum impact of your fasting. Opt for nutrient-dense and natural meals instead of processed foods and avoid excessive sugars to achieve your body goals and gain other benefits.

FAQ

When fasting what can you drink?

During your fasting window, you should consume no to very few calories in order not to break your fast. Due to this reason, you can have plain water, lemon water, electrolyte water, black coffee, or teas with no additives. If you want to try “dirty fasting,” you may also have some bone broth or MCT oil for extra calories.

What can you eat during your fasting windows?

The core goal of the fasting window is to get your body into the fasting phase, meaning that eating is prohibited during this time. Instead, you can enjoy some of the allowed beverages or bone broth (in small amounts).

Can you eat anything while intermittent fasting?

When it comes to your eating windows, generally, yes, you can eat whatever you want. However, it’s crucial to keep in mind the purpose of your fasting. With that being said, if your goal is to lose weight, you should stick to a healthy calorie deficit and opt for healthy food options. If you’re looking to regulate blood sugar and insulin, it’s important to stay away from sugary and processed foods.

Conclusion

So what can you eat or drink while intermittent fasting? As you now know, the answer to this question can vary dramatically depending on which stage of your daily fast we’re talking about. If we’re talking about your fasting window, typically, you can only have plain water, black coffee, or tea in order not to break your fast. Sometimes, you may add electrolyte powder or a bit of lemon to your water for added benefits. Or if you choose “dirty fasting,” you can let yourself have some bone broth or MCT oil.

During your eating windows, you are less restricted in terms of drinks and food. However, this doesn’t mean that you can have absolutely anything. In order to facilitate weight loss and receive other benefits of fasting, it’s crucial to stay mindful of your food choices and try to refrain from sugary and processed foods.

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