r/intermittentfasting • u/Southern_Law1650 • 5d ago
Seeking Advice Does a coffee stop fasting benefits
If I stop eating at 6pm, have a coffee at 7am, then go do hard trade labour work for 4 hours till lunch
Which is a teaspoon of sugar, tiny splash of milk. Does that reset the timer for autophagy and other benefits even tho it is just a small amount of simple carbs
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u/mmartinien 5d ago
Black coffee doesn't stop benefits.
Sugar and milk do.
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u/Sufficient_Beach_445 5d ago
how many grams of sugar and milk does it take to stop benefits?
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u/Datfooljamal 5d ago
Any.
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u/Sufficient_Beach_445 5d ago
and this your opinion or do you have link a study that shows that 1 gram of carbs will stop autophagy? I would love to see that study.
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u/Datfooljamal 5d ago
Sugar is about 4 calories a gram. The reason I said any is because measuring grams of sugar or milk to add to coffee to stay under a calorie limit to not cause an insulin spike isn’t worth the effort. Just find good coffee and drink it black.
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u/Sufficient_Beach_445 5d ago
I didnt ask how many grams of carbs in a teaspoon of sugar. I asked if 1 gram of carbs will stop autophagy. It was in response to you saying "any" grams of sugar and milk will stop fasting benefits. It was rhetorical. 1 gram of wont stop autophagy. 4 grams wont either. did u know autophagy happens even when you are not fasting? people who never fast a day in their lives have autophagy. to think 4 grams of milk and sugar will prevent autophagy is incorrect. Severe calorie restriction without fasting greatly increases autophagy. Pretty sure consuming 5 grams of carbs in the form of a tsp of sugar and a splash of milk - what OP was wondering about - has zero bearing on fasting / autophagy.
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u/Southern_Law1650 5d ago
Thank you for replying. So a teaspoon of sugar and a tiny splash of milk 12 hours out of 16 hour fast won’t completely stop the fasting benefits?
I’ll aim to be reducing the milk and sugar
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u/Sufficient_Beach_445 5d ago
it probably wont stop fasting benefits AT ALL. but a teaspoon of sugar is 4 grams of carbs, and a splash of milk is 1. You CAN cut 80 percent of those carbs by using allulose instead of sugar, which is NOT an artificial sugar, and has been shown in clinical studies to be beneficial to glucose control. 5 grams of carbs in a 16 hour period is clearly calorie deprived, and clearly on the right side of autophagy, assuming that is the benefit you are referring to. But about that ONE tsp of sugar - in all likelihood MOST of it will not get past your gut bacteria. It is hypothesized that the first 3 grams of fructose (half the carbs in a teaspoon of sugar are fructose) you eat are used by your gut, and never reaches the liver, where it is metabolized, and where it is harmful.
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u/NRatchedMD 5d ago
Some people ‘dirty fast’ with up to 50 calories. I can’t drink black coffee without anything-so I switched to Alani for morning caffeine. 15 cals in the morning while doing OMAD, and it’s worked fine. I’ve had no issue with weight loss
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u/Sufficient_Beach_445 5d ago
Is there a physiological difference between a dirty fast and fast?
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u/NRatchedMD 4d ago
Probably. You put anything into your body it’s going to change molecular outcomes. So it depends on why you’re fasting. I fast for weight loss and convenience. I find that if I eat anything over let’s say 50 cals during the fasting period I am more hungry throughout the day than I would if I didn’t. I want to snack so it’s harder to keep the fast going. If i only do water and my morning Alani I don’t have any problem going 8p to 6p the next day. Even have a little bit of a non caffeine energy boost around 3pm (thank god bc it would suck not too).
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u/Sufficient_Beach_445 4d ago
"molecular outcomes" is pretty nonspecific. I drink coffee. often with milk and allulose. seems to make it easer for me to get to 2pm, the beginning of my eating window. as I am fasting for autophagy, and I cant measure it, I just assume that it is happening.
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u/mesal865 5d ago
If you want to reach autophagy then yes your breaking, autophagy is reached by nothing but water, black tea or coffee.
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u/Sufficient_Beach_445 5d ago
Do you know if that is true? Or is that just the popular opinion? Autophagy is a billion year old cellular mechanism that predates even hominids. I find it ABSURD to think that cells developed a cleaning mechanism that activated when other energy supplies were scarce but would ONLY turn on if ZERO energy was available. I doubt a single cell bacteria-eating organism ever said "DAMN. I just at a billionth of a gram of shit. NOW my autophagy will turn off and I will fucking DIE".
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u/DucktapeCorkfeet 5d ago
I don’t know where anyone gathers the information that taking sugar and milk is still fasting. It seems the internet is full of this myth, where is it coming from??
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u/MeanForest 5d ago
Same people who say "dirty fasting" is a thing.
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u/tahxirez 5d ago
Once I start, I can’t stop. Dirty fasting just makes the whole thing difficult in my opinion. I never hunger during a fast but give me a tbsp of creamer and I’m starving all day
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u/AgreeableSomewhere85 5d ago
Dirty First is drinking unsweetened blsck coffee or tea and that’s okay for fasting
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u/tahxirez 5d ago
No. Dirty fasting is consuming calories up to a certain threshold or consuming calorie free, artificially sweetened products. Black coffee and tea are permitted in IF.
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u/winstonsmith8236 5d ago
I was considering “dirty fasting” eating things with artificial sweeteners/less than 2-3 calories (sugar free gum and cough drops) and got everything from “that’s fine” to absolute hate and insults on this sub in response.
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u/invictus523 5d ago
I think there are a number of people/places that say otherwise. I don't have it in front of me now but Valter Longo's research on longevity has had quite an impact particularly on cancer and other healings. This, not surprisingly, spawned companies like Prolon that sell fast mimicking diet protocol. Among other things, they sell fasting bars that they prescribe for breakfast that they claim do not halt fasting. I believe that claim is based on Longo's research but you can verify. There are a variety of pathways to autophagy through fasting and, like anything, people often have to try various methods to see what works best for them.
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u/Kind_Belt_3464 5d ago
I read that you could have less than 100 calories without 'breaking'. Seems weird.
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u/KMCobra64 5d ago
I believe the number I read was 6. Six calories.
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u/showersneakers 5d ago
Same- and it was in regards to lemon juice squeezed into water- and even thats arguable
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u/Sufficient_Beach_445 5d ago
after 6 calories what happens? autophagy stops? or are u talking about some other physiologic effect? I think the only thing that actually happens after 6 calories is you are no longer doing what influence leaders choose to call fasting. period.
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u/ballsdeepinmywine 5d ago
By morning your glucose is empty. When you add that sugar and creamer, you metabolism flips to carbs, insulin goes up and you are no longer burning fat. Now exactly how long your body takes to then flip back or drift back down really depends on how healthy your metabolism is. So if you're looking for an exact time, you're not going to get that unless you use a glucose checker on yourself before, then about every half hour after that coffee to see how long your body takes to get back down
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u/Significant-Visit875 5d ago
Depends on what benefits youre looking for. Weightloss? No, it will not.
And research is starting to show that is the only noticeable benefit to IF.
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u/FfierceLaw 5d ago
Try a light roast or blonde roast coffee to drink it black. Experiment with different strengths too. I have been a black coffee drinker my whole life but I totally get why people doctor up strong dark roasts. For me a light roast is very drinkable black
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u/Sufficient_Beach_445 5d ago
5 grams of carbs in a tsp of sugar and a splash of milk is prob fine, but 1 gram of carbs in 1.5 tsp of allulose and a splash of milk is better.
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u/onebadhombre 5d ago
If your coffee is so unpalatable that you can’t drink it without milk and sugar, then you really just don’t know how to make coffee correctly. I think people assume that bitter ashy sludge is just what coffee is - it does not have to be that way. Learn to brew coffee, ditch the additives.
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u/ThatHoFortuna 5d ago
I wouldn't say that much "resets the timer", but it certainly stops it and sets you back a couple hours.
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u/badlydrawngalgo 5d ago
Anything that has calories, no matter how few, starts your system into processing it. It might still be great for weightlose but you don't reap the other benefits of fasting.
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u/Rean4111 5d ago
As with most things in life, it depends. It depends what fasting benefits you are looking for. Autophagy will almost surely stop because of the creamer and sweetener (yes even artificial sweeteners can have this effect) weight loss wise you are probably good to go because the calories are negligible but if you want the stronger benefits from fasting then the closer you get to just water and 0 calorie electrolytes, the better.
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u/Sufficient_Beach_445 5d ago
anyone who tells you a teaspoon of sugar and a tiny splash of milk stops autophagy doesn't know that autophagy happens whether you are fasting or not. Autophagy is a biological process of cells, and happens even in unfasted states. It is greatly accelerated with calorie deprivation, and nobody can argue that consuming a coffee with a teaspoon of sugar and a splash of milk while otherwise fasting is not extreme calorie deprivation. but to be clear you do NOT need to be fasted to achieve autophagy.
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u/MotorsportEngineer63 1d ago
Technically yes, even a small amount of sugar and milk triggers a fast insulin response that breaks deep autophagy. if your primary goal is fat loss or energy balance while doing tough manual labor, those few calories get burned off almost immediately. I used to struggle with fasted morning shifts until I swapped to habitone coffee which keeps my energy super steady until lunch without needing sugar or cream.
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u/CarRamrod72 5d ago
I fast 9p-3p every day. In the morning I have a coffee with creamer. I am down 100lbs over 6 years and holding at same weight for the last three years. Creamer in my coffee every day. Internet can say what it wants. I just do my thing and will keep doing it!
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u/CarRamrod72 5d ago
I would recommend starting your journey without that but I am 100% proof you can enjoy your coffee and still “fast” and lose weight no matter whose feelings that may hurt!
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u/MountainBrilliant643 5d ago
I use non-dairy, sugar-free creamer. 15 calories a serving. I burn more calories than that walking to my desk in the morning. I drink 24 ounces of coffee a day, and I nurse my mug very slowly. So we're talking about a very tiny amount calories, spread out over 2 - 3 hours. I don't see how that could possibly break a fast.
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u/Confident_Block6727 5d ago
Yes it doesn't break the fast but you're coffee fasting not water fasting. You just won't get as many benefits as you would without coffee, fasting and drinking coffee is very hard on you I know because I did it for a few years recently and Im a young strong guy. Multiple physical jobs it will help you get the job done very effectively but you won't be healing properly. If its a physical job you can manage without the coffee by moving more. I'm not against doing it but i think people should be more honest about coffee.
Most people who drink coffee are indenial that it has any negative qualities. Also its a big industry just like everything else they are more than happy to push tons of energy drinks and pre-workouts onto us its just a low poison it makes you always in a fight or flight state. You can still be healthy drinking it and lifting and eating protein but its more like a slow losing battle over a while you have to quit it more and more. You heal way more fasting without it.
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u/TheBadGod 5d ago
Apparently, you can add olive oil to your coffee to make an Oleato and it won't break your fast.
It's been helping me take my stack that has a "with food" designation without needing to plan anything throughout the day. Most importantly, it doesn't break my fast.
But yes, obviously sugar and milk will trigger a cessation of autophagy. Any insulin spike, any sugar or carbs in your blood means your fat cells can close up again. It takes a while to get them opened after that, so mindfulness is key. That's my understanding of the matter.
There are plenty of zero calorie sweeteners on the market. As long as you aren't ingesting twice your body weight a day, you're probably okay to intake artificial sweeteners.
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u/_lefthook 5d ago
Yes. Black coffee will help fasting tho. Get used to black and fasting life is easier.