What Can I Eat & Drink While Fasting?

food and drinks during fast

What Can I Eat and Drink While Fasting?

People often ask me “Can I have fruits when I fast? How about juice, an iced latte, or a handful of nuts?” The answer is please don’t! Although these are all good food choices, the goal of fasting is to reduce the number of times our insulin (aka “fat storing hormone”) spikes in a day. Whenever we eat, we’re telling our body to store body fat, not burn it, so, in order to trigger the latter, we need to refrain for any type of food while fasting (that includes zero calorie foods!)

The rule is quite simple. While fasting, you don’t eat. The only exceptions are liquids such as water, tea, or coffee. Water can be flat, sparkling, mineral, iced, hot, or room temperature. Drinking water throughout the day will ensure you don’t mistake thirst for hunger so your fasting journey day-to-day will be a lot easier. Make sure not to add any artificial or natural sweeteners (yes, that includes stevia) to your drinks. Instead, try adding a dash of cinnamon or a squeeze of lime. A small amount of cream in your coffee is also most likely ok.

Other than black tea, try the hundreds of different teas available! One of my favourite teas is a non-caffeinated lemongrass tea, peppermint cocoa, and dandelion root tea. Matcha green tea is also great to have in the morning because the caffeine is released slowly, compared to that in coffee, which is released all at once. Green tea is an especially great choice as the chemical compounds known as catechins help suppress the appetite. The caffeine may also help increase metabolic rate. You may also find some teas that are specially blended for fasting but make sure that they’re only composed of natural ingredients.

I prefer having caffeinated drinks in the morning, however, in the evenings, herbal teas, like ginger tea, roselle, chrysanthemum, that are decaffeinated. You can also simply add fresh mint leaves to water for extra flavour. Camomile tea is often considered soothing and can help if you get hungry before bed. As we mentioned before, coffee may act as a natural appetite suppressant, however, if you drink too much, the rapid release of caffeine may cause jitters and raise your stress hormone. Therefore, switching to green tea for some can be a better alternative. Lastly, a fermented tea such as classic pu’er tea is also a great choice.

If the thought of giving up all food in one go sounds daunting, don’t worry! There are ways to build up to it where you first focus on establishing the habit of fasting before doing it for a specific goal. The ways to build up your fasting skill is to use training wheels. If you are new to fasting, try drinking homemade bone broth for the first few months until it feels comfortable for your body to fast. Local restaurants or healthy food stores will often sell fresh broth so you can take your pick of which you want. Typically, they have beef, chicken, fish, or a vegetarian option. Naturally if you are vegetarian then vegetable broth is also great but make sure there are no lentils or legumes because it will make fasting harder. I would go with a mushroom based veggie broth.  

Homemade pickle juice is also a great training wheel because it contains electrolytes. If you struggle with cramps while fasting, this would be a good and natural way to combat that.

Electrolytes

Should you take an electrolyte supplement during fasting? When insulin levels fall, your kidneys will release excess water, which may initially cause some light-headedness or flu-like symptoms. It is also responsible for the large initial weight loss but there may be some loss of electrolytes, too. Taking some fluids with electrolytes may help reduce symptoms. We recommend broths and pickle juice, which naturally contain electrolytes as opposed to processed sources.

Sodium, or salt, is an extremely important electrolyte, because it helps maintain healthy levels of other electrolytes like magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. Sodium can be taken in the form of broth, pickle juice, or just plain salt. Add it to water or simply place it on your tongue and then drink some water. Himalayan salt capsules are also available online. It is most useful for extended fasting during the first 48 hours. Don’t take excessive amounts of salt, especially if you have kidney or heart disease. Always check with your doctor

Potassium supplements are rarely needed, but check with your doctor. Magnesium deficiency is common, and may cause cramping and constipation. If you think you may be low in magnesium, consider taking 400 milligrams of magnesium supplementation per day. Look for Magnesium bisglycinate or magnesium citrate and avoid the cheaper magnesium oxide, which is not well absorbed. Magnesium citrate is often used as a laxative, so is useful if experiencing constipation. Magnesium may also be absorbed through the skin. Add 1-2 cups of Epsom salts to your bath and soak for ½ an hour. If you don’t like baths, try spraying on some magnesium oil. Check the handout on how to make magnesium oil.

 

Here are some tips on eating and drinking when you first begin!

  1. Always be safe. Our number one rule. If you are not feeling well, or not feeling sure of something, then stop fasting and get some help. There will always be another day to fast. Don’t push yourself and get into trouble. Always seek medical attention immediately if you start to feel unwell.
  2. Drink water. Start each morning with a full 8 ounce or 250 mL glass of water.
  3. Drink coffee or green tea. Both are mild appetite suppressants and contain caffeine, a mild stimulant.
  4. Ride the waves. Hunger is like a wave. You’ll get hungry during fasting. That’s unavoidable. But if you simply ignore it, that hunger doesn’t continue to build. It passes over you like a wave.
  5. Don’t use fasting as an excuse to eat whatever you like. Stick to a nutritious diet low in sugars and refined carbohydrates.
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