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On days that I am Fasting, I still drink a cup or two of coffee. Is this ruining the effects of my fast?

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Any particular effects that you have in mind ? – Ikco Aug 2 at 11:37

10 Answers

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I drink decaf with heavy cream, even during IF.

Does it ruin my IF? Not hardly. Does it decrease the effectiveness? Possibly.

I've been doing sporadic fasting the last week or so (except not skipping my decaf + cream), and my scale has been moving down, which is precisely the effect I'm looking for. Could it have moved further than it has in the same time? Maybe, but I don't think it's making a huge difference.

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Ditto. Decaf + heavy cream during IF and still losing weight. – Mr. Trashcan Jul 29 at 18:27
Decaffing coffee beans (even water style) using solvents repeatedly on the bean. – pjnoir Jul 29 at 19:18
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 Why are you guys drinking decaf? – Chris Jul 29 at 20:21
@Chris: I read about how repeated ingestion of stimulants like caffeine wear out the adrenals, so decided to go decaf. I know it has chemicals. I'm impatient to lose weight and it helps me with cravings. Once I'm down to my goal I'll cut probably cut back on decaf, too. – Mr. Trashcan Jul 31 at 3:27
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I've been drinking coffee black for months now, and regularly have it during fasts. I have not seen any negative effects whatsoever. If there are positive effects, I haven't really seen those either, FWIW.

I agree with many others -- enjoy the coffee and 86 the sugar. A good quality cup of joe requires nothing in it but coffee.

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Am I the only one against drinking coffee at all on the Paleo diet?

To me it seems as if everybody is drinking large amounts of this stimulant and diuretic and my idea of it has long been negative, even before paleo. I see people addicted to their cup of coffee in the morning and I can't see the positive in that. After all a stimulant is borrowed energy and it has to be given back.

Anyway, I don't have the science behind coffee but my gut feeling tells me not to touch it, heck even on a standard american diet I didn't think of coffee as healthy.

Wouldn't having coffee during a fast a potential risk for elevated cortisol?

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Drink your coffee... pour me a cup.

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No.

I regularly consume coffee with a fair amount of heavy cream during my fasts.

In theory this might say shift my metabolism for the next hour or two to burning the fats from the heavy cream, but counter balanced again the thermogenic properties of coffee/caffeine...

It is the sugar you want to avoid.

Here is what seems to be a fairly good review of the mechanisms of action of coffee/caffeine on obese and non-obese individuals:

http://coffeescience.org/ppt/CoffeeCaffeineInsulinResistance.ppt

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Hmmm... I wonder if this effect of adding the cream might be put to good use for those (like me) who want to avoid excessive cortisol release caused by fasting + caffeine? (as the cortisol would itself be counterproductive to fat loss, among other things) – archaea Jul 29 at 19:59
This idea that IF or caffeine causes excess cortisol release is not really supported by the literature, I would not worry about it. – Chris Jul 29 at 20:20
Cortisol rise probably related to GNG ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11724664 – Chris Jul 30 at 2:50
Thanks for the link Chris. Very interesting study. You're right about the sugar as well. – Alan Jul 30 at 11:54
I am confused, how is it fasting if you are drinking heavy cream? – Matthew Jul 30 at 13:58
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I don't eat sweets, no cookies, cakes or chips... Coffee with heavy cream (and recently also with added butter - so good!) is really my only "dessert"... I am not cutting it back :) It's such important part of my daily routine, that I really can't imagine not drinking it - even when I fast. I also wouldn't want to stress my mind during fasting by denying the caffeine it's probably at least mildly addicted to.

As a matter of fact, I am planning on having one now. It's late so decaf. :)

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Butter, interesting, must try that. Great way to add a bit more lovely healthy fat into the diet. Thanks. – Alan Jul 30 at 11:51
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To be pedantic anything eaten, with the exception of water, breaks the fast and some even advocate a "dry fast", no water. However coffee with a small amount of cream doesn't seem to affect anything in my experience. I tend to alternate between regular and decaf during the day and some days only decaf to reduce the habituation and withdrawal effects. I like to have a coffee before a workout, I think it helps effort but can't be sure. I fast daily and eat in a narrow window around 6pm and a couple of coffees or decafs and cream during the day make this WOE effortless.

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Some studies show that coffee affects insulin, which I suppose shouldn't be surprising given how many other physiological effects coffee has.

Personally I love the effects of caffeine and the evidence that it causes any kind of problems is weak so I say drink away. Having something flavorful makes it a lot easier to fast.

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 Coffee increases levels of catecholamines, which releases free fatty acids into the bloodstream, which causes cells to preferentially use that as fuel instead of glucose (e.g. decreases insulin sensitivity). Nothing to worry about. – Will Jul 29 at 19:54
Decreases insulin sensitivity? Surely that would be bad... – archaea Jul 29 at 20:43
Even a long-term ketogenic diet reduces insulin sensitivity. That's why if you are on a low carb diet you have to up your carbs for 3 days before a glucose tolerance test. I think whether decreased insulin sensitivity is good or bad depends on context. – Ambimorph Jul 29 at 22:11
Must be complicated. Cuz supposedly low carb diets improve resting blood glucose levels by quite a bit, which insinuates increased insulin sensitivity. – Eva Jul 30 at 4:44
This is physiological insulin insensitivity, an adaptive mechanism designed to spare glucose utilization by non-necessary tissues when fat is available. Once you do eventually ingest carbohydrates, you will require slightly more insulin to get the signal across, but your body will still respond rapidly to store glucose. In pathological insulin resistance, insulin will skyrocket and still be unable to clear glucose from the bloodstream. Welcome to the metabolic syndrome. – Will Jul 30 at 15:22
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If the desired effect is detoxifying or clearing one's mind of the effects of various foods then perhaps coffee should be avoided for those reasons.

I seem pretty successful fasting with coffee for fat reduction. I'd love for someone to post some research on the effects of coffee on insulin. I suppose I could monitor my blood sugar or something after my cup of joe although if I am ingesting very low carb anyway would the spike really do anything anyway? hmm, this looks like more of a question to ask.

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 Testing your blood sugar would only show if there is a spike in blood glucose, not insulin, which is what coffee is suggested (by some) to affect. If coffee does cause an insulin increase, you'd actually expect to see a decrease (although perhaps very small) in blood glucose as a direct effect of this, assuming an insulin sensitive individual. – archaea Jul 29 at 19:57
MikeD: see the ppt I updated my answer with. – Chris Jul 29 at 20:27
thanks Chris, very interesting. I like the ending... answer = Decaf! Although I believe the process by which one renders coffee decaf involves some interesting non-paleo chemicals. having just had an espresso and a 12oz coffee i will have to go with the lesser of two evils here. just hope it doesn't sidetrack my 'abs by 30' goal... – MikeD Jul 29 at 21:56
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I drink black coffee (and/or black iced tea) a few times a day every day, IF or no IF. Hasn't slowed me down any as far as I can tell.

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