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Newbie Question

I read something just recently and someone wrote “if you go more than a week and don’t loose weight while IF’ing you are doing something wrong” … That’s a pretty big generalization but it got me to thinking. I’ve had phases were things seemed to melt off. And others where I’ve gained while trying to IF I’ve started to really focus now so that I can get better control of my health. I’ve always counted when I eat for my “16/8” time … so here comes the real questions If I have a bottle of gator aid beside my bed and take a drink during the night, is that enough to throw off my fast?? I’m not a great lover of plain water so I drink water with bcaa’s or gator aid etc or water with lemon 🍋 Could that be the simple part I’m missing ??? Edit:: and what about thinks like vitamins.. can I take those or will they break my fast ??

Answer

Try the Bubly sparkling water drinks. Really good flavor, with zero calories. Especially the new orange cream and lemon cream that aren’t out yet, but should be soon. I got to try them because my sister works for them.

For the record, I stay away from anything processed or with “natural flavors”, including those. But since you’re already drinking gatoraid, it may be a suitable replacement for you.

Answer

Although IF does increase your metabolism relative to continuously eating throughout the day, the effect is relatively small. If you’re at a significant enough calorie deficit to lose weight then “breaking your fast” with a small portion of Gatorade is unlikely to affect things much. I probably would stay away from calorie-containing foods and beverages because of the other benefits of fasting, though.

If your Gatorade is sugar-free, don’t sweat it (pun intended). You’ll hear conflicting opinions about artificial flavors and sweeteners but the evidence against them is minimal, and in my experience it makes no difference whether I have them. YMMV, though.

I wouldn’t at all worry about vitamins. They don’t (usually) have calories or flavors anyway, unless you’re ingesting something like gummy vitamins. I also wouldn’t worry about water with the juice from maybe half a lemon, which would only be a few calories and not enough to interrupt fasting.