I find 16:8 to be actually really easy except for my morning coffee. I absolutely need coffee to function and I hate it black. So on fasting days I put in a few no calorie sweeteners.
I’m new to fasting but I’ve heard this is really controversial. Has anyone had success while using sweeteners? I don’t need to lose a ton of weight, I’m doing it more to get in control of my eating, for mental health, and to cut a few calories out of my day.
Also: if you’re a “clean fast” kind of person, does that mean you don’t brush your teeth or use mouthwash in the fasting window?
https://www.ginstephens.com/all-blog-posts/does-a-clean-fast-really-matterSweet or food-like flavours cause you to release insulin, which signals your body to store energy as fat, exactly the opposite of what you need when you’re trying to burn stored fat for energy.
In Gin Stephens book Fast. Feast. Repeat she says that brushing your teeth cause insulin for about 8 minutes, so not a major impact. But if you try to have flavoured teas, coffees, water, gum, mints throughout your fasting period, you will likely see your weight loss stall at some point. If your body can’t access stored fat for fuel, it will balance reduced calories by lowering metabolism. https://www.thefastingmethod.com/blog/2021/11/22/weight-loss-hormones-vs-calorie-counting-
Will it effect weight loss, probably negligible. Will it make your fasting more difficult, very possibly. When you have artificial sweeteners there is still an insulin response. When insulin is released and there is no glucose for it to work on, it can make you hungry. You are an experiment of one. Try it. If you are having success, go with it. If you are white knuckling it through your fasting rather than coasting, maybe it would be something to try eliminating. My other thoughts are if you are fasting, obviously you are trying to get healthier, maybe artificial anything is not a good way to go. Good luck!
If you don’t drink black coffee, then don’t drink it black, this is a common question but still important. 0 calorie sweetners are fine in general for staying in a fasted state. In an absolute sense they do trigger an insulin response but not significant enough to be meaningful for your stated goals.
Fasting isn’t complicated. Fasting is also pretty flexible. However you go about it be consistent.
During your fasting period look to stay hydrated. Coffee and tea are fine if you put stuff in it , its not really a big deal, if it helped you to make it to your official eating window. Sugar slows down the fast proportional to the size consumed.
I hope this helps good luck.
It breaks a fast.
But you can go ahead and do it. I would recommend using full fat cream before using artificial or natural no calorie sweeteners. Those can be not so great for an insulin response. Go with fats before you go with any type of carb fake or natural.
I do OMAD but have a sugared espresso every morning. Went like this for 3+ months this summer and honestly, I had all the benefits and the fat melted off me. Even though I was doing it mostly for weight loss rather than IF benefits, I can’t say my health didn’t do a 360 for the better anyway. I literally can’t live without my single morning espresso and can’t stand it bitter. I’m a layperson but I think that with sweetener you’d be doing perfect.
Two non-sweet coffee hacks to try…. cold brew (lower acidity and bitterness usually) and a little table salt can work wonders as well! If those dont work, I am one who thinks you are better off doing real sugar with a low glycemic index (like date sugar) in moderation rather than sugar substitutes (stevia has shown itself to not cause an insulin response, so maybe that is better, but I think it still could mess with your bodies ability to self regulate to experience sweetness with no calories repeatedly, there’s a lot we dont fully understand and I just dont buy that fake sugar is a free lunch - which in studies “diet soda” drinkers will often gain more weight than regular soda drinkers over the long term, dr. fung has some writings about what he’s seen in cutting patients off non-cal sweeteners).