If you’re looking to burn fat, heal your gut or boost your metabolic health, it’s crucial you know which drinks will support those goals while you fast. I’m breaking down what you can drink while fasting based on fat loss, metabolic health and gut health goals.
First, Which Type Of Fast Are We Talking About?
There are a variety of different ways you can fast ranging from short Intermittent Fasts (known as Time Restricted Eating) that last 12-20 hours a day to extended fasts lasting three days or longer.
As a Clinical Nutritionist with nearly a decade of fasting experience under my belt, I rarely recommend anything other than Intermittent Fasting. Intermittent Fasting, or Time Restricted Eating (TRE), is significantly more sustainable for most wellness goals. When done properly, you can use this type of fast for a long time and still see the results you’re looking for without having to take breaks or experience “yo-yo” dieting.
Related Reading: This Woman Lost 47 Pounds With Intermittent Fasting. Here Are Her Top Tips.
Other forms of fasting, such as extended fasts, can’t be done continuously and can often result in significant muscle loss and a slower metabolism.
TRE also allows you to get the nutrients your body needs every single day so that you can feel your best while achieving your goals. To top it all off, with TRE, you can eat three solid meals a day during your eating window and feel satisfied from your food while still seeing results! (When done the right way.)
For all of these reasons, I’m going to assume you’re asking what you can drink during your TRE Intermittent Fast.
Pssst… Depending on your goals with Intermittent Fasting, the length of time you fast will vary also. You could fast for only 12 hours and experience an amazing transformation, or you might need to fast for 16-18 hours to get the results you’re looking for. I have a free quiz to help you determine how long you should fast based on your goals that you can checkout HERE.
If Your Goal Is Weight Loss
Intermittent Fasting is an incredible tool for fat loss. A plethora of studies have shown Intermittent Fasting helps you lose weight, burn body fat and reduce belly fat.
TRE helps by:
- Increasing fat burning by reducing how often the storing hormone insulin is spiked.
- Improving insulin sensitivity which helps the body more easily burn fat as fuel.
- Reducing hunger by regulating the hunger hormone ghrelin.
While you fast, there are quite a few things you can drink that will help to build upon the benefits Intermittent Fasting already provides as long as it doesn’t cause insulin to spike.
Unless you wear a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) there’s not a sure-fire way of knowing if something causes your insulin to spike. So to keep things simple, I follow the “one gram rule”.
The One Gram Rule includes any calorie containing food that has less than one gram of carbohydrates and/or protein combined.
For example, if a coffee creamer that uses has .2 grams carbs and .4 grams protein per serving, then combined it has .6 grams carbs/protein and therefore will not break the one gram rule and is likely perfectly fine to have during your fast.
If a coffee creamer that you use has .6 grams carbs and .7 grams protein, then this adds up to 1.3 grams carbs/protein and therefore should only be used during your eating window, to be safe.
This drink list uses the One Gram Rule to help determine which drinks are “safe” to have during the fast and still see results.
We use the One Gram Rule in our 21 Day Intermittent Fasting Program to optimize for fat loss results. This is the program used by thousands of men and women around the world to help them feel their best and achieve their goals with Intermittent Fasting.
Get the science-backed tips, recipes and meal plan to guide your journey with the 21 Day Intermittent Fasting Program.
If Your Goal Is Gut Health
Outside of fat loss, this is my favorite reason to use Intermittent Fasting. Spacing your meals and taking time to fast each day is immensely important for supporting gut health. This is actually the main reason I first started using Intermittent Fasting nearly a decade ago to heal my gut.
TRE helps by:
- Giving the GI tract time to rest. When the gut is digesting, it can’t take time and energy to heal. Fasting and spacing meals out helps to give the gut time to devote resources to repair.
- Boosting gut cleaning pathways. “Not eating” triggers the body to turn on a gut cleaning pathway called the Migrating Motor Complex (MMC). This pathway causes the gut to get rid of food and bacteria in the GI tract that could normally lead to bloating, gas or inflammation. One cycle of the MMC takes about 4 hours to complete, so by Intermittent Fasting for 12 hours or longer, you can get quite a few cleaning cycles in!
Pretty much anything that requires digestion is not suitable during the fast if your goal is gut health. However, there are a few things you can still sip on while optimizing for GI cleaning.
If Your Goal Is Metabolic Health
Due to Intermittent Fasting’s excellent reputation with improving insulin sensitivity and metabolic flexibility (the ability to turn on/off fat burning), it’s often a tool used to improve metabolic health.
TRE helps by:
- Improving insulin sensitivity. Most metabolic diseases start with insulin resistance. By improving insulin sensitivity, Fasting can help address the root cause of many metabolic concerns.
- Improving Metabolic Flexibility. Many people with metabolic disorders are “stuck” in carbohydrate burning. One marker of good metabolic health is the ability to switch back and forth between carb and fat burning.
- Boosted Autophagy. This is your cell’s system of “cleaning house”. When autophagy is turned on, it gets rid of dysfunctional cells and cell parts, which can lead to more efficient fat burning and energy production.
This category also uses the One Gram Rule to make sure you’re reaping the benefits of metabolic health.
The Best Things To Drink While Fasting
Below are the best drinks for fasting. You can also find which drinks are going to be best for each goal.
Water
Best for: Weight Loss, Gut Health, Metabolic Health
It’s super easy to become dehydrated while Intermittent Fasting due to the drop in insulin levels. Aim for at least 16-20 ounces of water before breaking your fast to prevent headaches and muscle cramps.
Sparkling Water
Best for: Weight Loss, Gut Health, Metabolic Health
Spice up your hydration routine with sparkling water! I love plain sparkling water or adding in a squeeze of lemon or lime.
Black Coffee
Best for: Weight Loss, Gut Health*, Metabolic Health
If you struggle with hunger, black coffee can help to temporarily reduce your appetite during the fast. But keep in mind, this can make you even more dehydrated. If you sip on coffee during the fast, make sure to still have 16-20 ounces of water (and electrolytes), too.
*If your primary goal is gut health, black coffee is most likely fine to sip on. However, some people can experience a halted MMC from caffeine. For this reason, you might want to experiment with keeping coffee during your eating window when focusing on gut health.
Keto Coffee
Best for: Weight Loss, Metabolic Health
Keto coffee is a great option for those who are new to Intermittent Fasting and struggle with hunger. It provides high quality fats during the fast, which helps to reduce your appetite without spiking the storing hormone insulin. Eventually, it’s best to shift to a small amount of approved creamer or black coffee for better fat loss results. But Keto Coffee is an excellent choice to ease the transition into Intermittent Fasting.
Try my famous Keto Coffee recipe HERE.
Keto coffee uses grass-fed butter, which is rich in butyric acid and very important for reducing inflammation in the gut. If you want to test out Keto Coffee with your gut health goal, keep it to your eating window to get the perks of the MMC, too.
We also use Keto Coffee in our 21 Day Intermittent Fasting Program to help ease the transition and reduce hunger when first starting to fast.
Unsweetened Tea
Best for: Weight Loss, Gut Health*, Metabolic Health
Both caffeinated and herbal teas are generally suitable during an Intermittent Fast. You can get the appetite suppressant perks of unsweetened tea or the hydration and relaxation perks of herbal tea.
Just like black coffee, be cautious when using unsweetened caffeinated teas with a gut health goal.
Ginger “Tea”
Best for: Weight Loss, Gut Health, Metabolic Health
Fresh ginger that has been boiled in water makes a fantastic “tea” that helps to support the gut health perks of Intermittent Fasting by speeding up the MMC.
Checkout my Ginger Tea recipe with the video below.
Coffee With Certain Creamers
Best for: Weight Loss, Metabolic Health
Assuming you use the right amount and the right type of coffee creamer, you can add it to your coffee and still see amazing fat loss and metabolic results with Intermittent Fasting.
Complete List of What You Can Add to Coffee While Intermittent Fasting.
Because any calories could potentially stop the MMC, this is not suitable for a gut health goal.
Water With Lemon
Best for: Weight Loss, Metabolic Health
Lemon has a sneaky health perk of stabilizing blood sugar levels. This makes lemon water great for both a weight loss or metabolic health goal. However, there is the potential risk that the lemon juice could stop the MMC, which is why I don’t typically recommend it with a gut health goal.
Mint “Tea”
Best for: Weight Loss, Gut Health, Metabolic Health
Fresh mint leaves boiled in water can help to reduce hunger during the fast. Plus, it doesn’t require any digestion, making it a good option for a gut health goal. Just make sure to use fresh mint leaves and avoid adding any sweeteners (including zero calorie ones).
Water with Electrolytes
Best for: Weight Loss, Gut Health*, Metabolic Health
Due to the drop in insulin during the fast, the body releases a lot of water and sodium. If that water and sodium isn’t replaced, it can result in headaches, low energy levels and muscle cramps. For this reason, adding electrolytes into your water could potentially be a requirement to feel your best.
I love using LMNT’s various electrolytes during my fast. You can test them out and get a free 8-count sample pack with your order when you use my link here.
If gut health is your goal, make sure to use pure electrolytes, such as LMNT’s Unflavored Electrolytes to help avoid disrupting the MMC.
Pickle Juice
Best for: Weight Loss, Gut Health, Metabolic Health
Yup, you read that right. Pickle juice.
Depending on the brand, a 3.5 ounce bottle of pickle juice contains less than 1 gram of carbohydrates, about 500mg sodium, 170mg potassium and 23mg calcium. Because pickle juice contains less than one gram of carbohydrate, it stays within the limits of the One Gram Rule.
In fact, due to pickle juice’s relatively high electrolyte level, it might even have some added perks for your Intermittent Fast and hydration. Just make sure the brand you’re using doesn’t contain any added sugar, otherwise that will break a fast.
To Sum It Up
You can use a variety of different drinks to keep your Intermittent Fast interesting, but it’s crucial that you use drinks that are tailored to your specific goals.
If you want more step-by-step, meal-by-meal guidance that’s trusted by thousands of men and women around the world, checkout our 21 Day Intermittent Fasting Program.
You’re going to love the science-backed tips, proven guidelines and deliciously simple recipes!
Grab the 21 Day Intermittent Fasting Program HERE.
Tap into fat burning
The 21 Day Intermittent Fasting Program
The 21 Day Intermittent Fasting Program provides step-by-step strategies to help you use Intermittent Fasting with delicious, protein-packed meals to support fat loss, reduce hunger, and boost gut health.
