slowing climbing back onto the wagon

my last bought of IF lasted a year until i developed problems that i thought were gastrointestinal, now i know it was likely radiating pain from a hernia. upgrade complete, back to IF. I've already cut out "eating after 7PM" and my breakfast is down to less than 1/4 cup of cereal/whatever with my 1 cup of coffee. I've noticed that as i eat less breakfast, the coffee effects are much stronger. With surgery recovery, I'm slowing increasing exercise intensity+duration as well. near term plans: reduce food window to 1000-1900 and limit coffee to less than 1/2cup with the tiniest amount of half n half required to reduce the PH... that and i fekkin love half n half in coffee. I'm not counting calories but will further reduce junk food. increase to 30mins daily rowing/cycling/walking. longer term: eating time reduced to 1100-1900. lose enough weight so more of my pants fit so i don't have to buy new clothes that are wearing out. increase to 50mins daily rowing/cycling/jogging. I've tried eliminating coffee to adhere to "water only" and i was miserable in the mornings. my wee cup of coffee will be my only exception to the rule. i have to have it to deal with morning allergy symptoms and other effects

Answer

The small splash of cream in your coffee is much less of a concern than the cereal. Cereal is pure processed starch and sugar, and will cause a blood sugar spike and an insulin spike to go with it.

Black coffee is totally OK during your fasting period. You don’t have to eliminate coffee or feel guilty about it. I’d focus on eliminating the cereal, and stop worrying about the coffee.

I wouldn’t even worry over-much about putting a small splash of cream into the coffee, as long as you don’t put sugar, and don’t use a lot of cream. Using a bit of cream in your coffee is technically a “dirty fast,” but it does very little damage.

But see if you can learn to drink it black! I’ve heard some people recommend a tiny pinch of salt — it doesn’t make it taste salty, but it reduces bitterness.

Edit: Here’s an article about adding salt to coffee with some recommended amounts! Apparently 0.5 g salt per 1 L of brewed coffee is recommended — not sure how that translates to what to put in one cup of coffee, but could do the math based on the volume of the mug…

Answer

Black coffee and a pinch of salt is a neat trick, caffeine and electrolytes for the day.

I wouldn’t worry about calorie reduction just yet, rather play with the timings of meals first to see what what you can live with. If you can slowly work your way to omad calorie counting is a non issue.