The FastDay Forum

This is for people who prefer a long fast with just one meal in the evening. I have questions/musings about having milk in coffee on a fast day and the benifits of doing so if having that milk breaks your fast? It's my understanding that having milk in your coffee is breaking your fast, the same as having something to eat. You've essentially put food in your body.

I personally do a long fast, 24 hrs on water and these days black coffee. I've forced myself to get used to black coffee. I actually drink skinny cappuccinos which I love on none fast days and to me is a treat in a mug. But anyway,, from what I have read, the longer the fast the better the results, and it certainly proved so in my first 4 months. I averaged 3/4lbs a week my first 3 months, this dropped to 2/3lbs in my 4th month as I became less strict on weekends.

But my question is, why bother wasting calories in coffee or tea to get you through a long fast if actually you have broken the fast once you have that first milk in your drink? Also that milk if you are going to break your fast could be swapped for a low cal nice healthy snack rather than just milk. For instance, 100g of prawns is only 88 cals and a great source of protien. I used to think that I had a 'splash' of milk, in my coffee, which seems to be the term we all use. My friend and I decided we should test this 'splash'. It actually turned out to be a 1/4 cup 'splash' of skim milk! I wasn't prepared to waste 46 calories in a coffee! Even if you halve this, your coffee with skim milk is pretty dark and not very milky and makes little difference. And if you have 2/3 a day on a fast day that's 69 calories, I'm doubtful most people use that little milk though.

Anyway, food for thought for those who like me do a long fast but don't realise that breaking the fast like this is the same as 2/3 small meals.

I'm not saying anyone should do without coffee and milk if it's getting you through a fast day, but be aware of the calories by actually measuring your milk each time and.... That you have broken your fast once you have that milk.

What's your take on milk in coffee if your a long faster?

[carorees]

We are often asked “how many calories break a fast?” and takes the body out of ‘fasting mode’. The answer is that, in truth, no-one knows. It depends on what you eat as well as many, many other factors. However, around 50 calories in milk over the day should be fine…and we need our tea/coffee to get us through don’t we? Those few calories will be used up so quickly the body most likely doesn't step out of fasting mode especially as they would be spread over the day. Hope that helps.

[Debs]

My thought is that there is no point making yourself miserable! I can't go without my tea and milk and won't give it up if I am fasting. For me the mental pain of going without out isn't worth it!!!

Hi Jaye,i agree with Caro & Debs!
Ive read 50 cals of milk is fine but is the max you can have without breaking a fast.
I like strong non milky tea and a pint of milk lasts me nearly a week,so i dont worry
I would prefer not to even have that trickle in one/ two teacups of tea on fast days and i DO hold out as long as i can before i drink them,but like Debs said,no point making ourselves that much more miserable if those measly cals get us thru til dindinds time !xx

I've tried black coffee, but much prefer some milk, so on fast days treat myself to skinny caps and allocate 200 cals of my allowance to this (not sure entirely how accurate I am with this). It enables me to get through the day with no solid food, just having veggies in the evening.

I'm not sure if I could go without food for the day without the treat of nice coffee.

Hi guys, thanks for your imput. I did say 'I'm not suggesting anyone should go without milk in their drinks if they want too'. It's just something that interests me and I want to know if it is breaking a fast. I personally won't use milk on a fast day preferring to save my 450 cals for one evening meal.

I appreciate that everyone adapts this to how they like it and what gets them through it and so they should if it continues to work and they loose. I like to follow the rules, do it right, that's just my way and what I like. What I like is Facts, not what we think or feel but actually what is factually true. It's my belief from what I have read that the milk in drinks does break the fast. I just wondered if anyone had any hard evidence for or against it. Also, there are new people here, not just long term readers and some of them completely forget to count milk calories, I did it myself my first week.

Caro, you are often armed with the facts, is this because you just read all the relevant info or does it have anything to do with your job?

What I like about this way of eating is that there are no hard and fast rules. Everyone can find what is sustainable for them -which is the key to success. So milk / no milk your choice-as long as you can live withe the decision long term and don't give up because you have broken your own 'rules'

[carorees]

Caro, you are often armed with the facts, is this because you just read all the relevant info or does it have anything to do with your job?

Both really JayeGirl. I'm a medical writer by trade and since I set up the forum with Moogie in early 2013 I've been reading everything I can lay my hands on about fasting, weightloss and related topics. And more recently, I have been working with our sister site waysofeating.com to create a 6-week 'program' to introduce people to fasting who would like some extra help and guidance.

[Tracieknits]

Rather than skim milk, have you tried whole milk? I fix myself a long espresso shot with milk every morning. On fast days, I'm sure to measure out exactly 1 tablespoon of milk, which is 9 calories.

1 tablespoon of whole milk does more to make coffee creamy than 1/4 cup skim milk, imho.

Must admit that when I read all the early posts on the various forums about 5:2 I was concerned that for some people a true Fast Day meant that no calories were consumed for 36 hours. I also got the impression that if you had more than one meal during a FD then you weren't doing it properly. So, it is a relief that over the past year it is recognised that there are many different forms of IF eg 5:2, AD and 16:8 and the main thing is that people are finding a method that suits them, their body and their lifestyle and they are getting the desired results. For me, so far so good, and I appreciate it is early days as I only seriously started 5:2 in April and I am hoping I will be doing this in the long term as my body is already saying 'thank you very much'. In a nutshell, do whatever you feel comfortable with and don't let a bad day or even a bad moment become a big issue - far better to enjoy and have positive feelings about what you consume.

For me, as I have 3 small meals on a fast day there is no such thing as ' breaking a fast '. I do not fast, I have a fast day, with a set level of calories. As long a milk in drinks keep me within the limits, it is fine.

I get that it might be better not to have milk in your tea/coffee, but I'm still doing 5:2 after 2 years, and have to ask myself if I would have kept it up without my beloved morning tea WITH milk! (I didn't have it in the early, keen days!)

My completely non-scientific take on this (how many calories "break the fast"?) is... If it doesn't cause an insulin release, it's not "breaking the fast." Of course, that will vary from person to person. Ironically, fat is less likely to cause insulin release (tiny amount, not gobs!) than carbs, and since cream is high in fat and skim milk is pretty much pure carbs, guess which one I vote for? Not to mention, you get a lot more "creaminess" from cream than skim milk...

This is all academic for me anyway, as I am one of those lucky people who LIKES coffee and tea black, no sugar. In fact, when I worked in an office, I wouldn't share my fancy green tea with my friend because she insisted on adulterating it with sugar!

... and here comes another unscientific take on this from a person who prefers her coffee and tea 'unadulterated' ...
Like caroees says, nobody seems to know exactly how many calories 'break a fast' (yet?) and it's likely that this would be different from person to person ... sometimes where our bodies are concerned 'the facts' are a bit wooly and 'personal' - which I guess makes them not really 'facts' ...
We could each try to have a battery of scientific tests run to get a closer idea about our 'personal facts' - as most of us can't afford this, and for some things the tests might not even be available, the best choice we have is to experiment ourselves - try different things, tune into our bodies and listen to what they are telling us - this is what I like about 5:2
Sorry if this a bit of a ramble, and I'm most definitely not trying to have a go at anybody...

Must admit that when I read all the early posts on the various forums about 5:2 I was concerned that for some people a true Fast Day meant that no calories were consumed for 36 hours. I also got the impression that if you had more than one meal during a FD then you weren't doing it properly.

It's strange that people gave that impression. In the book, MM has breakfast and dinner on fast days.

Re: what to whiten coffee with: in Japan, they use these fake non-dairy creamer thingies. I'm not much of a milk drinker so I use them since they don't go off so fast. They're about 10-13 calories depending on the brand. Now I'm worried they're full of trans fats.