So I’m adding cream too my coffee, or any small snack. I’m just struggling to fast ‘properly’ and I want to be clear about whether I’m fasted or not. I’ve always had a big appetite and I’m physically active all day at work… It’s hard to be strict.
I’m aware that everyone faces hunger during a fast, do you just tough it out?
There isn’t a fixed number.
There is a lot of pseudo science in this sub and people don’t realise that metabolism is not a binary process with hormones turned ‘on’ or ‘off’.
Even if you ate nothing, your body is still metabolising stored fat, the remains of what is in your stomach and proteins which are constantly being turned over in your body even after not consuming exogenous calories for a week.
You really don’t need to approach these things with such a rigid mindset or with this false sense of accuracy. If you consume tiny amounts of say milk or creamer in coffee then there is no real benefit in ‘counting it’ aside from some psychological all-or-nothing mentality.
It’s your goals that matter, not the numbers. Going for weight loss? I’ve seen people consume a couple hundred cals through broths and such and still consider their fasts successful. They met their goals and that’s all that mattered
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Others (like myself) do it for health benefits like autophagy, growth hormones, stem/immune cell boosting etc. This is much more strict and even your cream is going to kick your body out of those processes making the fast unsuccessful
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There’s lots of reasons and approaches, too. So you have to look at why you’re fasting and cater your fasting style to what works for you
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For your appetite problem, here’s some things that helped me (also someone with a massive appetite):
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Hope that helps. Keep working at it. You’ll figure out what your body needs from you for the fasts to be successful in your eyes