Is IFing all or nothing? page

[Shawnamarie]

Hey all,

This may be a silly question but I'm genuinely curious. If I were to consider IFing for 16 hours, does that mean I must absolutely and positively avoid all food? What if I have a bite (or two) of my husband's food? Does that negate all potential benefits of IFing for that period of time or is there a little bit of wiggle room?

Thanks!

[Chaohinon]

Technically no, having small amounts of food is no big deal in grand scheme of things, but I find it actually makes things much easier in the long run. IFing while having small bites of food here and there is like trying to eat Paleo with small amounts of grains and sugar on a daily basis. You just end up resetting your progress every single time.

And - at least this has been my experience - you'll find that going long periods of time with absolutely no food feels really good, and you won't want to stop. Just keep your mouth occupied with plenty of water, green tea, iced herbal tea, yerba mate, and/or black coffee, and ride that catecholamine wave.

[Mama_Pie]

I have read somewhere here that anything besides water will "interrupt" an IF. I can do a 16 or 18 hour IF quite easily every day but I love my homebrew latte with half & half in the am.... I might be blowing any advantages of the fast. Hope a senior official will reply here.

[Glamorama]

We discussed this another thread, and Doc Kruse stepped in with an aswer: anything more dense than water or tea or black coffee will interfer with the fast. Basically you might as well not fast be ause you won't reap the rewards of IFing. I second Chaoinon, enjoy those drinks during your IF and stay away from actual solid food, milk, coconut milk etc.

[Sue]

Technically no, having small amounts of food is no big deal in grand scheme of things, but I find it actually makes things much easier in the long run. IFing while having small bites of food here and there is like trying to eat Paleo with small amounts of grains and sugar on a daily basis. You just end up resetting your progress every single time.

And - at least this has been my experience - you'll find that going long periods of time with absolutely no food feels really good, and you won't want to stop. Just keep your mouth occupied with plenty of water, green tea, iced herbal tea, yerba mate, and/or black coffee, and ride that catecholamine wave.

I don't think small bites of food during a fast is like trying to eat paleo with small amounts of grains and sugars resetting your progress every single time. I think those bites of food just make you hungry and wanting more food so hard to accomplish the full fast. Try 12hrs first and once you've mastered that up it slowly to 16hrs.
I don't know if a few bites of food which would be very minimal calories completely negates the fast.

[jammies]

I guess that depends on why you are fasting. If it it a mechanism to create caloric deficit for you then a few bites will not matter much. There are warrior style diets that allow very light caloric intake during the day (as opposed to fasting) and then a large meal at night.

However, if you are seeking the hormonal and metabolic benefits that can come with fasting, I would worry that small amounts of food would be sufficient to block those effects.

[Bissen]

I don't know, but the Jaminets from PHD consume heavy cream during their fasting.

[Grim]

I wish there was a definitive answer for these types of questions. I could probably IF without much issue if I could have coffee, or maybe a nibble of something just to kill the stabbing pains from hunger.

[sjmc]

I think the little nibbles would make your stomach anticipate more food. If you wait long enough the hunger pains will go away.

Related question: I've read conflicting things about fake sugars causing insulin to rise-- anyone know, or just want to give me a link? (this has probably been answered, so I'll apologize preemptively). I like a little truvia in my coffee/tea, have a diet soda every now and again, and chew sugar-free gum like it's a food group-- the trifecta.

edit: Though these things enable me to concentrate during classes and do 16+ to day-length fasts every day, so I'm thinking it's worth it?

[Leida]

I have a cup of broth when I do IF during the hard period, it is really a picker-upper (I can only drink coffee before 5 am, as otherwise I have troubles sleeping) & a couple pieces of gum (though I try to wheen off gum). If the combined intake is under 50 calories, it's fine. I just increased my fasting window to 17 hours, from 8 pm to 1 pm. My goal is to do 18 hours (from 7 pm to 1 pm)