If I had a few cups of tea during the day with a splash or coconut milk during the day, would I be breaking my 'fast'? I think it ends up being like 10 - 20 calories.

Yes! No. It depends on the purpose of your fast. Why did you make your own thread for this, I just started a fasting thread.

Panu diet suggests eating 2 meals a day... sometimes I only do one meal since I'm not hungry. Just wondering what it takes to 'break' it.

I'd think it would depend on the macro. Fat doesn't stimulate insulin secretion, but protein and carbs do, so a little cream in your tea is probably safer than, say, cream+sugar or a latte.

eta: on the other hand fat does stimulate ASP so you probably don't want to go over a few Calories there either....

OK, thanks for the feedback!

IMHO, paleo should be the easiest way to fast. Firstly, how did our ancestors fast? Well, earlier cultures had no means of refrigeration, no restaurants and lighting a fire wasn't easy...even for a cave man. So use your imagination and think about what would Moogie do? Well, first off even if Moogie had no food, he would definietly consume whatever was available such as a nice hot cup of tea, although that would be a hassle unless there's a fire burning . If there were a little coconut milk he would also put that in his tea. But, it may be a long time before he could actually knosh on solid food.

This being said, our primitive ancestors went for very long periods of time without food. They didn't store food, al least not easily. If anything was stored it doesn't compare to the abundance of what we can store now. Moogie also shared his bounty with other members of the tribe. Plus they most likely hunted once they felt hunger pangs. I deliberately wait until I am hungry before shopping for food. I can go in the grocery store without my hunger interfering. Thanks to IF, I am not an impulse buyer...anymore.

I've developed a manner of IF that works best for me and my family schedule. I have coffee with cream and MCT oil, in the morning. That comes in handy and keeps my tummy from growling noticeably. I have 3 days a week where I eat only one meal. The other days I eat anywhere after 3:00 PM until 7:00 PM which equals a 4 hour feeding window. If I had my druther's I'd druther eat once a day every day. But at the moment that ain't workin'.

Black57 - I have heard you say in the past to work up to this slowly. I have been working on creating a longer window from the last time I had food (at night - say 9:00pm) and then not eating again until after at least 15 hours have passed - so after 1:00pm for first meal. I have done this, starting at 13 hours this week and now I am up to 15. It has controlled my hypoglycemia somewhat, but today, I really have had constant hunger. Am I going to fast, or should I only do this a few times per week starting out? Any advice will be greatly appreciated! Don't know if it's relevant but I am insulin resistant and am on Metformin. More of preventative measure because both parents diabetic and now older brother is also!

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!

Okay, here is what I think. Avoid meds if at all possible. If you do not really need the Metaformin don't take it and I will explain why later...hope I don't forget.

I am a firm believer in taking your time to work up to this. Especially since we have to carry on the duties of the day which require our full attention. You should be able to carry on your usual duties ( driving, shopping, paying bills with a clear mind ). That makes it so much less painful. It gives you time to think about what to do to make it through the day. Afterall, you want to succeed at this.Now, if your hanger pangs are bad...go ahead and eat. Chances are you will eat a lot less than you expected. OR, you will find that you will not be hungry for the rest of the day. I want to post this so that you can see it as soon as possible but I have more to say on this subject/.

I was recently diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I am taking no meds...the doctor just wants my to watch my carbs...duh. He knows that is what I do anyway. My mom, who just passed away today, brother and 2 sisters are diabetic. I have been monitoring my blood glucose of a little over a month, I think. I have been able to lower my fasting blood glucose by taking large doses of vitamin D3. So far it has brought my FBS down around 20 pts. The vitamin D and being very careful to not cheat is what I credit my success. Plus I lost 5 lbs.

The reason I think that you should avoid meds, you should be able to treat your body with diet. See what your diet can do for you by means of eating low carb and having your vitamin D levels checked. If you have insulin resistance, I would wager that your vitamin D levels are low...quite low. That is what you want to address first before going on meds. I strongly feel this way since I have learned ao much about how the body works. I will post something here in a minute.

http://www.ucsd.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=15771

Since you mentioned that on the thyroid thread, I started noticing my intake of it on Fitday and saw it had been consistently low every day. My initial response to you was that 'I am always in the sun' - which I am, but not for several months.

I don't want to hijack the OP's thread here though. Maybe we should have this conversation somewhere else? Should I start another thread on the subject of IF? It is new to me though and I want to make sure I do this right. Have been reading a lot from Lisa's experiment on yahoo and that's how I decided to try this for myself!

Oh yeah.....had to add that my brother has L.A.D.A. - which is an autoimmune type of diabetes. I have to be tested for those antibodies. I also have a problem with another rare type called dipsogenic "water diabetes." Doesn't bother me much at all actually. Weird stuff, huh? I don't think I am like my brother. His onset wasn't like mine at all and he is actually very, very thin too! Thanks for input!

Black, I am so sorry to hear about your Mom.

Angie - feel free to hijack the thread I have my answer.

My whole idea is I am trying to listen to my body. Eat when it says to, only... I have cravings for tea though, so I was wondering if I should fight them and have water instead so I can benefit from IF.

I will continue to have my cups of tea, without going over board during the day. I usually am not hungry till the evening, for the most part.

Black - what is your fasting glucose number now?

Angie, since I started eating an all meat/eggs/(little dairy) diet - fasting is effortless... completely natural.

My number was 91 on Monday. On Tuesday and today it was 96.The lowest I have seen it since I began testing, was 89. Go to my journal to get a litle more idea of how my numbers have improved.

Also, I drink coffee during my fasting period.

Ugh, I've never even heard of those issues. I will google more information before I can share any intelligent information I am getting sleepy so I won't be much help to you tonight. I will be back tomorrow.