Do supplements break a fast?
- Thread starter AdelV
- Start date
john.patterson
Well-known member
You'll get a few different answers on this one - my personal opinion would be no. If you're taking a thermogenic or nootropic supplement that contains stimulants and vitamins, there will only be trace calories that will not technically "break" your fast.
Same with coffee. Coffee is perfectly fine in my opinion. I wouldn't stress the small things while doing IF. There isn't much different to fasting for 16hrs vs eating every few hours - the main difference is the size and quantity of your meals.
Same with coffee. Coffee is perfectly fine in my opinion. I wouldn't stress the small things while doing IF. There isn't much different to fasting for 16hrs vs eating every few hours - the main difference is the size and quantity of your meals.
AdelV
Well-known member
I'm mainly looking to fast because I'm never that hungry, and a few other benefits listed below Unfortunately I'm unsure how many calories I'll be able to fit into that 8 hour window.
Benefits of true which seem appealing
- Increased Human Growth Have
- Gut Health
Plenty of drawbacks tho
-Interfearance with social life
-Training on empty
john.patterson
Well-known member
If you've never tried it, I would give it a shot and see how you like it. I incorporated an IF schedule during college and loved it. It was convenient, easy, and allowed me to eat massive meals when I had the time to sit down and enjoy a meal.
There are definitely two sides to it though, and you have to see if the goods outweigh the bads for you personally. I would experiment with it and see how you like it. Also, in the beginning your lifting will be a challenge, but you will eventually adapt to training fasted
DaeshDontSurf
Member
fasted training = less performance. i'd lessen fasting time in order to have fuel for weights - weights are glycolytic. i believe health benefits of fasting can be had with less than 16 hours, ie. cellular autophagy etc... stop eating at 6pm and eat at 6am for weights - be fine, my opinion. fasting never been proven to be light years better than anything else when comes to body-comp - it just *may* have some niche benefits on grand health scale. greatest gh output occur in famine victims 
LeanEngineer
Legend
Agreed with this. There are pros and cons to it but if you haven't tried it I would definitely give it a try and see how you like it.
Chamaan
New member
In short i believe that yes, some supps break a fast. Some are obvious (BCAA, Whey etc) and some are less, but I consider any substance leading to an insulin spike to break a fast.
With that being said you need to consider if peri-workout nutrition is worth breaking your fast. If you train just before breaking it, there is no problem and you can take whatever supps you like.
If you train fasted AND for some reason keep fasting for a few hours before breaking your fast, then you have to make a choice.
Martin berkhan suggests that even in that case, pre-workout nutrition is so important it's worth breaking your fast and consider the insulin spike is so minimal it can be ignored.
Personally, my last meal is around 7 pm, with no carbs since 1p.m and i train fasted at 7.00 am with supps which do not break my fast : caffeine, vit C, hmb and yohimbine.
Then i break my fast around 10 am with a whey/oats shake, and a creatine/betaine blend.
With that being said you need to consider if peri-workout nutrition is worth breaking your fast. If you train just before breaking it, there is no problem and you can take whatever supps you like.
If you train fasted AND for some reason keep fasting for a few hours before breaking your fast, then you have to make a choice.
Martin berkhan suggests that even in that case, pre-workout nutrition is so important it's worth breaking your fast and consider the insulin spike is so minimal it can be ignored.
Personally, my last meal is around 7 pm, with no carbs since 1p.m and i train fasted at 7.00 am with supps which do not break my fast : caffeine, vit C, hmb and yohimbine.
Then i break my fast around 10 am with a whey/oats shake, and a creatine/betaine blend.
EMPIREMIND
Well-known member
I have played with this alot and gone through this issue many times. I would say a large bulk of supps break the fast, because a true fast is nothing being consumed. Some people do water, tea and coffee, but even those start certain processes in the body, which in essence break the fast. Furthermore alot of supps have filler ingredients added in addition to the active ingredients. But I think at the end of the day it really just depends
u_e_s_i
Well-known member
For the purposes of IF, the vast majority of supps won’t break your fast.
A general rule of thumb would be to do with whether or not what you consume contains <~10g of carbs and protein. So most supps in pill or caps form won’t break your fast.
The thing I’m not sure about it whether or BCAAs and EAAs are permissible. I’ve read that consuming freeform BCAAs increases insulin annoyingly so you may need to be careful with those.
A general rule of thumb would be to do with whether or not what you consume contains <~10g of carbs and protein. So most supps in pill or caps form won’t break your fast.
The thing I’m not sure about it whether or BCAAs and EAAs are permissible. I’ve read that consuming freeform BCAAs increases insulin annoyingly so you may need to be careful with those.
Alan1
Member
Definitely not permissible if you want to remain in a fast.
BEAST73
Well-known member
I agree 100%.
aaronuconn
Well-known member
I mean, technically, any calorie intake breaks a fast, but I wouldn’t sweat it too much if it’s marginal