What do you guys drink during your fasting periods ? Is it just plain h20 or do you find other liquids curb the hunger pangs better ?
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What is h20
Anything other than water alters the effects of an actual fast and, technically, turns it into a modified fast. Coffee, aminos/protein, whatever.
That might be a good thing or it might not. It depends on context like why you’re fasting, how you’re doing it, and for how long.
There’s something to be said for being hungry or thirsty and just dealing with it. You’re not going to die if you go 12 hours without food or water. As long as you don’t gorge yourself when the fast is over, it could be a “simple” way to build, or at least assess, your mental strength.
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Black coffee, use it as a preworkout too if you want.
I was thinking black coffee but wasn’t sure if it may impact on the insulin levels.
I had been on the water as Chris mentions, builds the head strength.
How does one drink and fast? Those things don’t go together.
More practically, it is more about what makes you less miserable. I always found a bitter black coffee does a good job of curbing appetite. I’ve also had juice with (short term) success.
Well, I like to intermittent fast sometimes and one of the only things they say you can have with that for it to be effective is either water or black coffee during the fast, just don’t add sugar or cream. Only 2 calories bro.
I drink nothing but water on 24 hour fasts. This isn’t because of insulin, or because I think my body is just incinerating fat like crazy on my fasts, it’s just because I consider it part of the challenge. Not eating for 1 or even 2 days isn’t going to kill you, or anybody not on the brink of starvation. I hear people say, “I’m literally going to die if I don’t get something to eat”, 4 hours after having eaten. I love to eat, I know hunger sucks, but I think everybody should try at least one 24 hour fast.
That being said, if you want to have a cup of coffee or a 0 cal drink on your fast, I don’t consider that bad. I don’t think enough fat gets “torched” during a fast for the insulin response to have a noticeable effect on fat loss - I just think IF is a useful tool for maintaining a caloric deficit.
I tried a 20 hour fast, that’s the longest I’ve tried, it wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be but I worked up to it from 16 hour ones.
Timing is everything. Eat a big dinner at 7 pm, go to sleep by 10, wake up at 6, you’re already almost at 12 hours. Then it’s just making it to the evening. I break fasts with something small - you can ruin the entire fast by consuming more calories than you would have taken in over the course of the fast, and it’s not hard to do. I generally break the fast with a spoonful of peanut butter and a vegetable. Then, before bed, carbs and protein.
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I’m doing two 12hour fasts a week. Out of interest, is there any difference/benefit to doing one 24hr as opposed to two 12hours ?
Well, again, I don’t know exactly how much truth there is to all the benefits of IF that some people claim, but I think the idea is that during the first 12-16 hours of a fast your body is just depleting it’s glycogen stores, and as such the “fat burning” portion of the fast doesn’t really occur until after 12-16 hours. So, if you believe IF will have you losing fat due to a fasting state as opposed to a caloric deficit, then your 12 hour fasts are largely useless. If you’re using them as a caloric deficit tool, then I suppose 2 12’s is the same as a 24. My only qualm with 12 hour fasts would be that they’re super easy - like I said, stop eating at 7 pm, go to sleep and wake up at 6-7 and that’s 12 hours. The difficult part is extending it beyond that.
I have done a bit of reading this afternoon and I think you are right flap, a break of plus 12 hours is definitely going to be of more benefit. I will give your protocol a go, smash the din dins (no pun intended) then nothing until the following lunch 
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