Intermittent fasting is an excellent way to lose weight, boost your metabolism, and even prove to yourself that you have plenty of willpower. Weight lifters tend to use this eating pattern because it allows them to control their gains, while others choose to follow the diet for other reasons. Others believe it might support heart health and healthy blood pressure and potentially combat obesity.
No matter why you decided to spend some time intermittently fasting each day, there are several rules that you need to follow. These include watching what you eat and drink so as not to mess up your fasting period. Here’s everything you need to know about intermittent fasting.
How Intermittent Fasting Works
The whole idea behind intermittent fasting involves eating for a period of time throughout the day, followed by fasting for the other hours. During the part of the day when you permit yourself to eat, you're supposed to follow a fairly healthy diet and avoid artificial sweeteners, added sugar, and other junk, as this would throw you off course.
There are a few different types ofintermittent fasting plans to follow, such as:
The Time-Restricted Fast
For this type of intermittent fast, you eat during certain hour windows during the day and refrain from eating at all during the other period.
One common example of this type of fast is called the 16:8 because it breaks the day into two periods. The 16-hour fasting window is spent not eating (and yes, the time you spend sleeping at night with an empty stomach counts), while the 8-hour eating window includes food, such as regular meals.
The Alternate Day Fast
This intermittent fasting schedule is exactly what it sounds like. You eat standard meals every other day while fasting on alternate days. For example, during alternate-day fasting, you would eat on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday while fasting on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday during that week.
The 24-Hour Fast
Similar to the alternate day fast, for this fasting diet, you go entirely without eating for several days of the week. During those one day fasts, you don't eat anything, while the "on" days include eating healthy meals.
For example, you would eat on Monday and Tuesday, fast on Wednesday, eat on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and then fast again on Sunday.
The Warrior Fast
Although this diet isn't a true fast, it does require you to eat only a small amount of food twice a day, followed by a large meal.
When you're following it, you essentially have two small snacks forbreakfast and lunch, such as raw vegetables, fruit, or a few whole-grain crackers. Then, for dinner, you can eat a standard meal consisting of all of the important macros, from protein and healthy fats to carbohydrates.
The Five and Two Fast
The five and two fast, which sounds a lot like the 24-hour or alternate day fast, is quite different, as it doesn't consist of any actual fasting or going without food. However, it does restrict your calories on two days of the week.
You’d spend five days eating regular meals and then two days with a calorie intake of 500 or 600 calories on this plan. Although you wouldn't be fasting exactly, you'd be limiting your calories to a point where you might as well be.
Can You Eat While on an Intermittent Fast?
The answer to this question depends on the type of fast you've chosen to follow. The five and two fast and the warrior fast allow you to eat small meals on your "fasting" days or during your fasting periods.
In this case, that would be the two days of the week that you choose to eat only 500 to 600 calories, or the two meals of the day that you decide to eat very small meals, like raw veggies and a few crackers.
However, during all of the other intermittent fasting plans, from the time restricted fast to the alternate day fast, you aren't supposed to eat at all during your fasting periods. No food can be eaten during those times, as that would remove all of the benefits of intermittent fasting. Obviously, this makes them a little tougher to follow than the other two options, but you can do it.
What Can You Drink While on an Intermittent Fast?
Although you shouldn't eat during your fasting periods, you can have certain beverages. It's important to stay hydrated throughout the day, even when you aren't eating.
Keeping in mind that the entire goal of a fasting period is to not introduce any protein, fats, or carbs into your digestive system, there are onlythree beverages that you can drink.
Coffee
Everyone needs their morning coffee, so learning that you can satisfy your caffeine cravings while still following your fast is probably a relief. With that said, you can only have black coffee. You can't add any cream or sugar to it, not even a keto diet-approved sweetener or form of MCT oil. These contain some of the macros listed above, such as fats and carbs, so they'll break your fasting state.
If you really want to add some flavoring to your coffee, find something that is zero calorie. For example, a seasoning like cinnamon will help.
Water
As with coffee, the water you drink needs to be plain and unflavored. Even those sugar-free flavorings contain a form of sugar that can hurt your fasting period.
However, you do have a few options. You can add some fruit juices, like lime juice or lemon juice, as long as you keep your serving of them under the one tablespoon threshold.
In addition, you can have a bubbly can of seltzer or sparkling water, as long as it's unsweetened and calorie-free.
Tea
Finally, you can drink unsweetened tea while you're fasting. Your tea shouldn't be filled with sugary additives, and you can't add milk, cream, or honey to your cup. You might be able to incorporate stevia. Although that places a few restrictions on your choices, you can have any type of tea you desire, whether it comes in tea bags or loose leaf tea.
Staying away from pre-brewed and bottled teas, which often include plenty of sugar and flavorings, will help you stay in your fasting state.
What To Eat When You Aren't Fasting
While you're restricted on what you can eat while fasting (nothing) and what you can drink (beverages without calories or additives), you have some leeway during your eating periods. That said, those times of the day when you can eat aren't a reason to put all of those sugarysnack foods on your plate. Instead, watch what you eat.
To successfully intermittently fast, you need to eat a healthy diet consisting of plenty of whole foods during your eating periods. Foods like lean meats (chicken and hormone-free bison), fish, and even foods that contain plenty of healthy fats, like cheese and milk, are on the list.
You can round out yourmeals with berries, fruits, and more, as long as you do so within reason. You can also include options like bone broth to help restore some of the electrolytes you may have lost. You might still choose low-carb options, particularly if you’re also trying to stay in ketosis, a fat-burning state.
Even better, if you want to avoid being so incredibly hungry during your fasting period, eat foods that are high in fiber. Things like oatmeal, raw veggies, smoothies, and beans will make you feel fuller for a longer period of time, helping your fast become successful.
A Word of Caution
Although there are several health benefits tointermittent fasting, including better-controlled blood sugar levels and weight loss, some people shouldn't follow this fasting plan without checking their doctors first.
For example, people with diabetes or other known blood sugar issues, and those on certain medications, such as drugs designed for heart conditions, shouldn't intermittently fast without consulting a medical expert.
Also, dietitians don’t recommend that children under the age of 12, pregnant people, women who are breastfeeding, and people with a history of eating disorders fast, as it can have some less than pleasant side effects. With that said, anyone who is considerably healthy and wants to test out an intermittent fasting plan can indeed do so.
It takes a bit of willpower, but it does work, and you'll receive the results you desire if you can stick with it.
Sources:
What Exactly Can You Drink While Intermittent Fasting Without Breaking Your Fast? | Women's Health
Pros and Cons of Five Intermittent Fasting Methods | Healthline
Intermittent Fasting: What Is It and How Does It Work? | Hopkins Medicine
Intermittent Fasting: A Heart Healthy Dietary Pattern? | PMC