

Here’s the thing: There’s no data to either support this idea or shut it down, so it’s really hard for experts to say one way or the other.īut it’s unlikely that coffee will do much, if anything, to give you a weight-loss boost of any sort when you’re fasting, says Scott Keatley, RD, of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy. Since coffee makes you feel revved up, it’s only natural to wonder if it can give you an added boost when you’re fasting. But if you were a decaf tea drinker before, don’t start chugging espresso, mmkay? Can coffee enhance the effects of intermittent fasting? coffee, you should be okay: The calories are minimal and your body is adjusted to the caffeine. In other words, if you’re already addicted to an a.m. "But if you're a regular caffeine consumer, the thermogenic effect is minimal,” explains Boules. Caffeine can temporarily speed up your metabolism and potentially take you out of that starvation mode. So, macchiatos, lattes, flat white, cappuccinos, mochas, and proffee don't make the cut.Īn important note: You don’t necessarily want to start a coffee-drinking habit just to soothe your hunger pains if you're doing intermittent fasting. You could have any of these hot or over ice," she adds. The coffee orders you could safely have and stay in a fasted state are decaf or regular coffee, espresso, Americano (which is espresso with hot water, and be sure to ask for no milk or creamer in there), says Ehsani. "Unfortunately, adding milk (whether it's cow’s milk, oat milk, almond milk, or creamers) will technically break your fast, as milk and cream does have calories," says Roxana Ehsani, RD, a nutritionist in Miami, Florida. The more calories you feed your body, the more outside fuel it has to use as energy, which means it won't utilize the glucose stored up in your fat cells, in theory. So, make sure you’re drinking your brew straight. But once you start pouring in sugar, dairy, or cream, you’re adding anywhere from 16 to nearly 100 more calories. Plain black coffee has around two to five calories per cup. So, your usual Starbucks order loaded with syrup and milk is off-limits during your fasting window. All your regular coffee variations and add-ins will cost you fat and calories-consuming fat and calories means you are no longer fasting. Can I combine coffee and intermittent fasting?īecause a cup of black coffee is fat-free and almost no-cal, it won’t screw up your fast, says Boules. So, do you need to kick your coffee habits? Read on to learn more about how you can work them into an intermittent fasting diet. Keri Gans, RD, is a New York-based registered dietician and author of The Small Change Diet. Scott Keatley, RD, is a nutritionist and member of the Academy for Nutrition and Dietetics. Meet the experts: Barbie Boules, RD, is a nutritionist and certified health coach at Barbie Boules Longevity Nutrition.

So far the studies that have shown those positive results have mostly been done in rats, but not humans. “We don't yet know conclusively what happens in humans while fasting, and if it's any more beneficial than simply reducing overall calories,” says Boules.

That said, fasting would, in theory, permanently slow your metabolism and counteract the benefits over a long period, so undereating all the time isn't ideal. Repeat that process a few times, and you may start to experience weight loss. When you deprive your body of calories, it goes into a temporary state of starvation and slowed metabolism that forces your fat cells to give up the glucose they’re storing in order to fuel your body, says nutritionist Barbie Boules, RDN, of Barbie Boules Longevity Nutrition. Here's a refresher on why so many people opt for IF in the first place: It may help improve blood pressure, reduce liver fat, and lower cholesterol on top of helping you lose weight, according to Michigan Medicine.

Your regular cup of joe can fit into most diets pretty seamlessly, but for those doing intermittent fasting (IF), "can you drink coffee while fasting?" is a trickier question to answer. So, if you're on a weight-loss journey, you're probably looking for ways to continue to incorporate it into your new eating plan. Considering 65 percent of the population drink coffee each day (per data from the National Coffee Association), it's safe to say it's an essential part of the American diet.
