How to break your fast well

After a daily fast of 12 to 18 hours you don't need a special ritual, a juice or a supplement. A normal, balanced meal is perfect. But the way you eat that first meal matters more than most people think: the same food, eaten in a different order or at a different pace, can change how high your blood sugar climbs and how full you feel afterwards.

Why the first meal is special

After a fast, your body is primed to absorb what you eat. That's mostly a good thing, but it also means a meal of refined carbohydrates on an empty stomach can produce a sharp rise in blood sugar, followed by a dip that leaves you tired and hungry again within a couple of hours.

Eat your plate in order

One of the simplest tricks in nutrition science is food order. Researchers at Weill Cornell served people exactly the same meal on different days, with protein, vegetables and carbohydrates. The only change was the order. When the carbohydrates came last, 10 minutes after the protein and vegetables, the blood sugar rise was dramatically smaller ^1,2.

Slow down

After many hours without food, it's tempting to eat quickly. But fullness takes time to build. Your gut releases hormones such as PYY and GLP-1 as food arrives, and these tell your brain you've had enough.

A good first meal

• Start with a glass of water, especially if you've had only coffee during the fast.
• Eat the vegetables or salad first, then the protein: eggs, fish, meat, tofu, yoghurt or legumes.
• Leave bread, rice, pasta, fruit and anything sweet for the end of the meal.
• Put your fork down between bites and aim for 20 to 30 minutes at the table.
• If you can, take a 10 to 15 minute walk afterwards.

That last step is backed by a large body of research. A review of dozens of trials found that breaking up sitting with light walking or standing lowered the rise in blood sugar and insulin after meals ⁴. You don't need a workout: a gentle stroll is enough, because working muscles take up sugar from the blood without needing as much insulin.

Sources

1. Shukla AP, Andono J, Touhamy SH, et al. Carbohydrate-last meal pattern lowers postprandial glucose and insulin excursions in type 2 diabetes. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2017;5(1):e000440. doi.org/10.1136/bmjdrc-2017-000440
2. Shukla AP, Dickison M, Coughlin N, et al. The impact of food order on postprandial glycaemic excursions in prediabetes. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2019;21(2):377-381. doi.org/10.1111/dom.13503
3. Kokkinos A, le Roux CW, Alexiadou K, et al. Eating slowly increases the postprandial response of the anorexigenic gut hormones, peptide YY and glucagon-like peptide-1. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010;95(1):333-7. doi.org/10.1210/jc.2009-1018
4. Buffey AJ, Herring MP, Langley CK, et al. The Acute Effects of Interrupting Prolonged Sitting Time in Adults with Standing and Light-Intensity Walking on Biomarkers of Cardiometabolic Health in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2022;52(8):1765-1787. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-022-01649-4
5. Mehanna HM, Moledina J, Travis J. Refeeding syndrome: what it is, and how to prevent and treat it. BMJ. 2008;336(7659):1495-8. doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a301