Dirty Fasting. What It Is And How It Can Affect Your Weight Loss.

The information we give at Practicallyperfectmeg.com is not intended to replace consultation with a qualified medical professional. Always consult your personal physician before starting any diet or exercise program.

Intermittent fasting is an amazing way to lose weight. Especially if you have struggled to lose weight like I have. I did everything right and lost nothing. During my research it shocked me to learn that there was a subset of fasting named dirty fasting. It may surprise many who learn that they themselves are dirty fasters. The point of fasting is not consuming anything that creates an insulin response. Consuming beverages other than water, tea or black coffee during a fast is dirty fasting. Many think artificial sweeteners will create an insulin response. Unless you test your blood sugar after consuming some it is hard to tell. 

Some people cannot go 12 plus hours on water, tea, or black coffee alone. There are people who want to put sweetener in their coffee or drink diet soda. Even chewing gum can technically break a fast. I love gum and diet Pepsi so it surprised me how easy it was to give it up for 16 hours. Honestly, I thought it would be torture, but I craved water.

I was Intermittent Fasting for the last two years without realizing it. Despite this, I lost no weight. I skip breakfast and rarely eat until 1-2 pm. But I drink diet soda in the mornings and have sweetened coffee. I spent two months researching Intermittent Fasting. Only to realize diet soda could be why I had no success.

We are all built different. Many women in a group I belong to practice dirty fasting and have success. It depends on how your body responds to artificial sweeteners. Some women transition by starting with dirty fasting. Then wean themselves off of the diet soda and it works for them. They see even more success once they stop dirty fasting.

I am not here to rain on your parade if you love diet soda or artificial sweetener in your coffee. If you want to tell me how terrible it is spare me. There is a lot of junk science to support both sides of the argument. Recent studies state artificial sweeteners do not create an insulin response are intriguing.

Point is, some people fast and do not understand why they are not losing weight after months. Some people may drink a few cups of bulletproof coffee and not take into account that could affect the fast. Like I said earlier some people can fast dirty and some cannot. It is only trough trial and error you find out.

Some lose weight but slower than they would like. With weight loss slow and steady is best. Intermittent Fasting paired with a healthy diet can cause weight loss to happen fast. Intermittent Fasting is a lifestyle not a diet. It’s about refraining from eating outside your window. There are many factors that can determine your success. Dirty fasting can make it harder to lose weight. While there are many benefits to fasting besides weight loss, many fast to lose weight.

The problem is many people do not know that artificial sweeteners may break their fast. Intermittent fasting books and Youtubers say artificial sweeteners break a fast. Still many people do not know. Adding sugar substitute to your coffee or drinking diet soda can affect your results. What you eat during your window matters too. But many think because something has zero calories it does not break their fast or affect it. I stick to water and the occasional cup of green tea. Since I ditched the diet soda and sweetened coffee during my fasting hours, I have seen results. If dirty fasting works for you that is awesome. If you have been drinking diet soda or sweetened coffee while fasting and have seen no results it’s time to stop. Wait until your eating window to consume diet soda or sugar substitutes. This also includes infused waters or water with lemon and/or lime juice or slices.

Bottom line is do what works for you. But talk to your doctor first.

I hope this post was helpful to you because I did not understand why I was not losing weight. I wish there was more information out there about dirty fasting. Especially why it works for some people and not others. If you found this post helpful, please pin it or share it on Facebook. Thank you.

The information we give at Practicallyperfectmeg.com is not intended to replace consultation with a qualified medical professional. Always consult your personal physician before starting any diet or exercise program.