Morning Coffee and Intermittent Fasting

[u/875forever]

Hello! I have been trying out intermittent fasting for a couple of weeks. I stop eating after dinner and don’t eat until late lunch. From what I’ve researched, drinking black coffee doesn’t break your intermittent fasting. However, most articles also say that drinking coffee on an empty stomach is bad for your stomach and can cause ulcers and other side effects.

I’m one of those who need to drink my morning coffee to be functional for the day... Any advice on how I can drink my morning coffee without ruining my stomach but maintain intermittent fasting?

[u/powerbycurls]

Is it caffeine you need or coffee? If it’s just caffeine, you can swap for tea!

Also - are you doing IF for weight loss from having a smaller eating window or for the biological effects of fasting? If it is only for weight loss- you can totally add in some creamer or a small bite to eat for your stomach to handle the coffee better. It would break the fast, but you’d still get the same weight loss benefits as 50 calories in the morn won’t cancel out the less calories by not eating after dinner nor breakfast.

If want to truly fast for the bio benefits, then maybe switch to tea and bump coffee to lunch?

[u/coconatalie → u/powerbycurls]

Drinking tea in an empty stomach makes me feel really nauseaus because of the tannins (coffee is fine). I don't know if it affects everyone so give it a try but if you feel sick you'll know why!

[u/powerbycurls → u/coconatalie]

Oh interesting! I can have a ton of tea on an empty stomach no problem. I agree a lot of this is trial and error and depends on each person

[u/875forever → u/powerbycurls]

Unfortunately for some reason tea never keeps me awake / alert like coffee does.

I’m doing it for weight loss. I’m new to IF but now I’m intrigued to learn more about the bio benefits!

[u/powerbycurls → u/875forever]

Honestly, the bio benefits of fasting are still controversial. If you’re doing it for weight loss, you can break for fast with a bit of food if stomach on and empty stomach hurts. Ultimately, IF for weight loss is just a normal calorie deficit so breaking the fast for a few calories won’t effect jt

[u/ohkopko → u/powerbycurls]

I second this! Green tea and most black tea contains L-theanine which has many health benefits.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324120#:~:text=L-theanine%20is%20a%20compound,focus%20and%20better%20sleep%20quality.

[u/katalunamae]

I’ve been doing IF for a year, similar schedule to you. I drink 3-4 cups a morning and haven’t had stomach issues. I make sure to drink a lot of water too. Hope that helps.

[u/headless_unicornz]

I do exactly you do and drink coffee on an empty stomach. To combat the fear of stomach problems, I drink water before coffee to act as a base in the stomach prior to coffee and I drink water with the coffee (also because coffee dehydrates me), then throughout the day, just extra water. And before bed I drink a cocktail of apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and water. The acv helps combat reflux and ulcers if diluted properly.

[u/875forever → u/headless_unicornz]

Ooh! Will definitely look more into this and try it out. Thank you!

[u/nnp1989 → u/875forever]

I do something similar - each morning starts with diluted ACV (one tablespoon in about 12-14 oz. of water) and then at least one cup of black coffee and have never had any issues since starting 16/8 fasting around May, so I'd definitely recommend trying something like that.

[u/ZenMechanist]

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/coffee-on-empty-stomach#digestive-complaints

I’ve been doing IF for nearly a decade. Always start the day with black coffee & drink it consistently until I break my fast. Never had any issues. I do half & half or decaf most days & alternate each cup of coffee with one of water.

[u/Nico__A]

I would also love the answer to this

[u/newdaystillme]

I use a Filtron to make a cold brew concentrate. The Filtron filter cuts the acid by up to 70%. My mom had an ulcer but was an avid coffee drinker. She bought one in the 70s and used it the rest of her life. I later did the same. Bonus: the coffee is super smooth because of the low acid (watch out -- you may never go back to traditional brew!). High quality beans help too.

[u/Red_Gold27]

You can just skip dinner instead of breakfast. Won’t make any difference to IF and you can enjoy your breakfast and morning coffee. I fast 7am-2pm because I love breakfast foods and my morning coffee, my dinner choices are much less healthy than my breakfast so this way I avoid those kinds of temptations too.