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Green tea is a naturally calorie-free drink, as long as you don’t add anything to it like cream or sugar.
This makes it ideal for drinking while on a fasting protocol. You can drink it during both your feed and fasting windows.
Along with water, tea of any kind can really benefit you during intermittent fasting.
So when you combine green tea health benefits and intermittent fasting you are adding a ton of antioxidants and overall health benefits while adding no calories which makes it ideal for Intermittent Fasting.
You can check out some of the most popular types of green tea right here.
What Is Intermittent Fasting
Simply put, intermittent fasting is limiting your calorie consumption to a set time range during any given day, and consuming no calories the rest of the day. The time when you intake no calories is your fasting window.
During this time it is imperative that you consume no calories so that your body will start to use its fat stores to produce energy instead of the food in your gut.
Green Tea For Fasting
It is during the fasting window that green tea becomes really important because of its lack of calories.
It can be consumed without breaking your fast and will still convey all the antioxidants and health benefits that you would normally receive from drinking green tea.
Drinking a lot of fluids during a fast is key to suppressing hunger and cravings. Drinking a good amount of water is always necessary but adding in a cup or two of tea during these fasting windows will not only hydrate you but help curb your appetite.
And help your body deal with free radicals that can be harmful to your body’s overall health.
Green Tea also has less caffeine than coffee and other types of tea, if you are looking to reduce your caffeine intake.
Green Tea Variety
Even though Green tea was the main focus I have been using, any tea variety would be a good choice to drink during a fast, If it contains no added calories in any form.
Sugar, milk cream, even dried fruits found in some herbal teas may have enough calories to break your fast so be aware of exactly what is in your tea. Here are some great ways to flavor your green tea without adding calories.
You want water and tea leaves and nothing else in order to maintain a calorie-free drink in order to maintain your fast. Here are some great green teas to try for your fasting window.
It is important to vary your beverage intake during a fast in order to keep it fresh, water should be your main drink but adding various tea varieties to your daily fasting routine can really help you stay focused on your fast.
16/8 Intermittent Fasting With Green Tea
I personally use the 16/8 method for intermittent fasting. 16 hours of fasting with a feeding window of 8 hours.
During a typical day, I will consume around 4 glasses of tea, either hot or cold. Typically, 2 during the fast and 2 during meals. And then drink water anytime I am thirsty.
Drinking the tea during the fast is a must for me as it gives me a little bit of flavor, something to taste during a fast.
This really helps pull you through some of the tougher hunger pangs, at least until you have been at it for a while and your body adjusts to the fasting.
But even after that having a little bit of tea really quiets the mind and helps you concentrate on the tasks at hand and not worry about when you get to eat next.
The All-Purpose Fasting Tea
The goal of this little article was not to get people to try intermittent fasting, that’s something you’ll have to decide on for yourself. The goal was to help illustrate just how versatile tea is as a beverage.
It can be drunk at almost any time, and still not mess with your particular diet, even a diet where you can’t even eat anything for long periods. It’s no wonder that tea is the most popular drink in the world behind only water.