Can I drink MCT-oil/butter or coconut oil in my coffee during fasting?

(Danielle ) #1

Hi there!
I fast 24 hours 3 times per week and the rest 16:8, or 18:6, with an average of 17.7 hours per day.
Can I drink “bullet proof” throughout the day?
When I fast 24 hours and only have one bulletproof coffee in the morning I get very weak and “light” in the body in the end of the day. Sometimes I walk to and from university for about an hour, and on top of this I have two children aged 4 and 5.
Can I “top-up” with some bulletproof throughout the day,? Also when I am breaking the fast, can I have more than one meal before starting the fast for the next day?

Best regards,
Danielle

#2

Sure you can. This would be considered a fat-fast. Many people on this board engage in this!

AR

#3

eating calories is exactly the opposite of fasting. “fat fasting” and “egg fasting” etc are non sequiters. black coffee is OK. either fast or don’t. and make sure you are fat adapted before you do.

(Renee Slaughter) #4

As with keto there are no hard and fast rules with fasting. Some like myself have a creamy butter coffee in the morning. I may have home made bone broth in the evening. I read Dr Fung’s book the complete guide to fasting. He calls these crutches and are ok when you’re starting. The goal is water, black coffee, tea fasting as you progress. I haven’t gotten there yet. I have been keto for only 4 months. I understand that total fat adaptation takes a while longer. Have I succeeded in fasting with my crutches? Yes I have. I have broken a stall moving from the 180’s into the 170’s. I lost 3 lbs last month and hoping for the same this month. Since I’m working towards fat adaptation I can only fast about forty hours. Then i need food. But I make it work for me. So find what works for you.
Best wishes
After thought
There are a couple of different reasons to fast. Some want autophagy health benefits. Some want weight loss. Others want to improve their insulin resistance. So why you fast may have a decision as to how you fast
I am in for weight loss and improving my insulin resistance. So I may use my crutches with impunity.

(Allie) #5

Depends on your reasons for fasting. Plenty do, plenty don’t. But, if you’re new to fasting then do what you can to help yourself get through until you find it easier, then transition to water fasting if that’s what you want to do.

I still drink fatty coffee when I’m fasting but that’s because I have very little fat left to lose and am fasting more to give my body a rest from digestion than for any other reason

(Danielle ) #6

First I want to thank you for all you answers! I really appreciate it!

I have done ketogenic diet for about a year now and go between 4-8 mmol in ketones everyday. However, I have been very stressed since starting my last year of university in September, which makes me stall. I heard a podcast by Dr. Fung that fasting can help lowering cortisol, and breaking the stalls.

So, my goal is to break the stall caused by prolonged stress, and loose weight (i am near my ideal weight which makes it very hard).

However, some of you say I cannot fat fast, and some say I can. So, I am still confused which one will help me break this evil cycle of stress and stalling.

(Rob) #7

No-one here can TELL you to do one thing or another. Even when they use a patronizing, absolutist tone :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Do what you want to, treat it as an n=1, record the results and either carry on if it is successful or try something else if not. Fat fasting is preferred for the leaner folks to achieve autophagy when there is little body fat to utilize. If you have plenty of body fat and are fasting for fat loss, then you may want to try and cut out the BPCs entirely since you are not letting your body benefit from the fast since it will probably burn the dietary fat first.

Unfortunately, fasting is one of those topics that that can create religion in it practitioners which sometimes spills over into overly prescriptive advice based on insufficient context.

(Allie) #8

You have to try things and see what works for you, no one else can tell you how to do it, they can only offer their own opinions.

Personally I find water only fasting to be way more stressful than fat fasting which is another reason I tend not to do it.

(Danielle ) #9

Thanks for giving me guidance! :pray:t2:
I think I will keep measuring and weighing myself, and try which of the fasts that give me the best result, without being too stressful. Because I agree that fat fast is easier in that sense.

(Allie) #10

Have you listened to the Fasting Talk podcast? It’s not made anymore but you can still learn a lot from listening to the old episodes. I know you mentioned Dr Fung, and in the podcast he & Megan talk about using fats as “training wheels” while you’re strengthening your fasting muscles. Be worth a listen to help guide you :slight_smile:

(Candy Lind) #11

Cortisol - the great deal-braker! LOL I have not heard that about fasting helping with cortisol levels. Time to do some research!

As others already said, this is YOUR “n=1” - I agree with your decision to see if fat fasting works better for you. :+1:

(Danielle ) #12

I think the podcast was “The Obesity Code”, and it was about a woman that lost her older and only son, and gained weight despite being a fitness instructor. She was already keto adapted at the time, and she couldn’t loose the weight anyway. However, after starting fasting she broke the cycle of heightened cortisol and insulin.

(Chris Caldwell) #13

You’re wanting an answer and so did I. So I sent a message to Dr Ted Naiman and he said - If it has calories you’re not fasting. I’m not saying he’s right and there isnt other philosphies but I really like his approach. So, when I fast in the morning it’s only black cofee. But I do like the idea of “fat fasting” - it wasnt as effective for me or my body. YMMV.

(Liz ) #14

Just as anecdotal information: I’m female, 48, 5’8", 165 lbs with maybe 25 pounds left to lose, stalled for months. My last fast of 93 hours I used 500-750 calories of fat every day (mostly coconut oil, MCT, a little HWC). I lost 6 pounds, 3 of which have returned upon refeed as expected. I was surprised I lost any weight at all eating so much fat. But using the fat made the 'fast" much more comfortable and I would do it again unless and until it doesn’t work anymore. My goal has always been a water fast but I do what I can handle. Weight loss was my goal and if It worked with fats added, then why not? I will still strive to do water fasts to achieve autophagy, but that’s a different goal.

(Tara) #15

Thanks for posting this question. It’s good to see the responses. I feel like I’m not as good as the rest if I have my BPC coffee in the morning. :slightly_frowning_face: But it helps me. I’m just 3-4 pounds away from having a “normal BMI”, or about 15 lbs from my goal weight. Maybe that’s why I’m not good at fasting, or maybe because I’ve only done about 4 extended fasts.

If you haven’t done this already, you should also try my new favorite thing, it might help:
Brenda Zorn’s Ketoaide

(David) #16

As I understand it, fat fasting is not fasting, but you do get some of the benefits from fasting. I don’t think it breaks the boost in autophagy, since it is broken by protein. You do not lower the metabolic rate and you still get spike in HGH. You do not raise insulin levels, because it needs more fat, or protein or carbs. But you do trigger the digestive system, kidney and liver.

This is how I understand it, might be wrong :slight_smile:

( ChristosKeto) #17

Thank you for this. The folks who are Fasting police or Keto police need to realize how silly they sound when their tone is demeaning. This is not a text book of rules and procedures. Use it is a guideline but make your own path using n=1 as mentioned. Try water fasting or try fat fasting see what works better for YOU. Nothing wrong with either aporoach. If someone tells you why the other version is wrong ignore it. Collect facts and see what works for YOU not the person yelling at you because you didn’t follow their way.

#18

Please tell me what n=1 means?
I’m new.Many thanks!

(Allie) #19

Self experiment, basically a “try it and see” because we are all so different.

#20

I have a question for you, you sound like me I think I have very little fat that to lose on Keto. I still need to lose 5 more pounds I’m 5’7 " at 133 lbs, which is slim, but i like me slimmer., should I be cutting my fat and my calories do you think?