Linda Gardner's Blog: Can I Use Cream in My Coffee During Fasting?

There are tons of questions about intermittent fasting, like these:

Is LCHF or a vegetarian diet better for health?
Can I use cream in my coffee during intermittent fasting?
Will I stall on the Warrior Diet?

Dr. Jason Fung is one of the world’s leading experts on fasting for weight loss or diabetes reversal. Here are a his answers to those questions and more:

Vegetarianism vs. low carb?

Hi Dr. Fung,

Some of my friends are vegetarian/vegan followers, although they do not oppose fasting. I understand that there’s an intersection between low carb and vegetarian, however, logically speaking, it’s unlikely that both diets prevent, revert metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes. I googled and found some titles:

The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted And the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, And Long-term Health
Campbell, T. Colin

Eat to Live: The Amazing Nutrient Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss
Fuhrman, Joel *

May I know what your take is? Thanks.

Dino

I think the key is to lower insulin. Certainly you can eat a high vegetable diet and still have low insulin. You can also eat a low vegetable diet and have low insulin. It’s all about insulin.

Dr. Jason Fung

Cream in coffee during fast

I’ve been eating LCHF for about 6 weeks and lost around 26 pounds which obviously I’m very happy with. My weight loss has now significantly slowed which I’m not overly concerned about but thought I’d try 24-hour fasting which I’ve done for the last few days and feel great. However, I am having cream in my coffee during the fasting hours which really helps me cope. Am I undoing all the positives of the fast by doing this?

Lucy

I use cream in coffee during fasts as well. For me, that little bit of cream does not stop me from getting the results that I desire.

In others, it may undo some of the positives, but generally not.

Dr. Jason Fung

Stalling on the Warrior Diet?

Dear Dr. Fung,

I lost 21 lbs over several months doing 1, 2 and 3 day fasts. I hit resistance at that point and for the last month have been doing IF by skipping breakfast… lunch and dinner only. I find this is good for maintenance, but my body seems to have become used to it. I’m therefore thinking of going Warrior – eating every day in a 4-hour window, say 5 pm to 9 pm. Would appreciate your thoughts, and also whether any of your T2D patients have had success with the Warrior method. Thank you.

Jeff

My experience is that people who eat the same way daily eventually hit a plateau, and usually at a level higher than they wish. I think the intermittency of the diet is important to keep weight loss moving. That is, I think doing Warrior, or 16:8 or 24-hour fasts every single day eventually leads to plateau.

Dr. Jason Fung

Intermittent Fasting for Beginners