The FastDay Forum

Re: Tea as better than coffee during a fast...

I'm a coffee hound, though as I'm relatively sensitive to caffeine I must limit my (real) coffee intake.

Several years ago I was being treated homeopathically, and had to give up coffee for a couple of years. So I became quite the tea connoisseur; you should see my cupboard! Now, I have my one cup of coffee in the morning (strong, black, 3 scoop Aeropress), then tea the rest of the day (usually green on light days). Though some normal days I might do a second cup of coffee; I did today, 'cause I got my favorite fresh ground coffee last night.

One thing y'all probably know but have forgotten is that tea--the real thing, not herbals (properly "tisanes )--have an amino acid called theanine. This is known for relaxation and enhancing alpha brain waves; they even sell it as a supplement...apparently popular in Japan. And I've used it to counteract excessive coffee intake a time or two...

Anyway, it may be that the theanine helps with the fasting. I also feel that too much coffee on a light day makes my tum too acidy and makes hunger pangs more unpleasant.

Today is my second fast this week. A bit nervous but not as much as I was 2 days ago as I know now I can fast again. If only I stopped waking up before 5:00AM.... With only 4 hours of sleep every night that makes long long long days and, even if I am not hungry early in the morning, when comes 10 or 11, the hunger pangs are at their worse. Anyway, I plan on staying far away from any living soul, doing the housework top to bottom, with music as loud as I can without annoying my neighbours. And, as a treat, having Mr Manderley massaging my back tonight to help relax between my burst of laughter because I am so ticklish

@Tracieknits I hope you're right. I don't miss smoking, but the mood swings and lack of sleep are really terrible for everyone.
I had to search for the teas you were mentioning because I never heard of them. I don't like flavored teas, except for green tea with mint but it's because I don't usually like green tea, it's too bitter for me. Maybe because of the habits I took in England, I drink mostly Earl Grey or, if I can't find anything else, English Breakfast, and to find a proper good and strong black tea is not that easy over here, especially when you live in a small town. Oh I forgot, the other exception I make about flavored tea is the Christmas Special, I love that one we find in the markets. It's a pretty expensive one but really worth it.

@ferretgal Thanks for the infos, I completely forgot about that. Believe it or not, the first time I drank some tea was when I came to live in England in 1994. In my house, my mother only used to drink herbal teas (chamomile, linden) which I can't stand. I used to drink a lot of black tea, without sugar, and even tried to make my own iced tea, especially with the green tea with mint, but never found the right recipe.

I realize I am a kind of caffeine junkie. Between the strong coffee and the zero coke (which I also stopped 2 weeks ago), no wonder I am on the edge as I am these days...


EDIT to add : I have the best motivations ever to never smoke again. First we're still trying to get pregnant, and second, I put the money I used to spend on cigarettes in a piggy bank for my next tattoo. I know exactly what I want (the pic below) and where I want it. I should have enough to get it in the beginning of July

next tattoo.jpg (21.03 KiB) Viewed 968 times

[Tracieknits]

For iced tea, you need to just make the tea stronger and pour it over ice, or make it regular strength and put it in the fridge to get cold.

I usually make it double-strength and then pour it over ice, because I want to drink it right away. So if I'm using loose tea, I'll use 2 teaspoons of tea per cup of water (230ml). if I'm using bags, I'll use 3 bags for two cups of water (500ml) Brew as normal for how you would drink it hot (2 to 5 minutes), then pour it over an equal amount of ice. When making a big pitcher for my son, I use five twinings English Breakfast bags and 3.5 cups/825ml of hot water. I brew it for five minutes (that's how he likes it) and add 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Then I fill a 2quart/ 2 liter pitcher with ice and pour the tea over once it's brewed. I don't use sugar or lemon when I'm making it for myself. I do like to use The Framboise from Mariage Freres when I have it.

We call hungry and angry "hangry" here LOL It's a silly word for a bad mood, but somehow just saying out loud "I know I'm just hangry" seems to help.

Yesterday's fast went really well and I mean, when you compare to Monday's with the mood swings and everything, this was was a breeze. No real hunger pangs, which is not really surprising, my hunger pangs are mostly triggered when I chew something, no mood swings. I ate early more to get rid of it than anything, and I even had a decent night of sleep. Still waking up around 04:40AM but still.

I kept busy all day, cleaned the appartement top to bottom, with music in the background, played my favorite game before Mr Manderley arrived and focused on trying to relax before having some minestrone soup for diner. It was a good day.

@Tracieknits My brain is not completely awaken yet so I had to read 3 times your recipe before, finally, understanding it Thanks for that, I will give it a try today.
"Hangry" I like it. It's way nicer than just bitchy

Here we go for the third fast this week. As I said in the "today fast" post, I am dealing with a new challenge also known as the periods challenge It's a big, one, I am usually so sick, for the first 2 days, that I can't barely stay out of bed. We'll see out it goes with everything else but, for now, I can't complain. I made a big pitch of ice tea for today, had my only coffee of the day, one hot tea and nearly a full bottle of water and it's only mid morning !

I will try to alternate my fast days every other week so the next one will be on Tuesday. To not have a too big of a gap between 2 fasts, I was wondering if I could try to do something in between on Sunday. Fast until dinner but then have a regular dinner, not a fast day dinner. So, it would be more a 16/8 except the window would only be open for dinner.

And in other news, I made an appointement for my next tattoo. It will be on July 4th

I am not the kind who weight herself regularly, but I did go on the scale last weekend and this morning and I almost lost 2kg. There's a good chance it's water weight, because of quit smoking business but still. I feel much better, way less bloated and, most important of all, my confidence has returned. After several fails these past few weeks, I was seriously doubting myself and was a lot worried when I tried again Monday. That may explain my mood swings because they seems to have gone - which is a relief for everyone around me

Tomorrow, it's decided, I will do a fast until dinner and then have a normal dinner. As my next fast will be on Tuesday, I prefer not leaving a too big of a gap between 2 fasts.

All thing considered, even with yesterday's pain, this week has been a good one.

Hi @manderley mands,sorry - my son in law doesnt know,sadly..wish we could have given you more help XXX

Thanks @CandiceMarie, it was a long shot anyway, especially after 22 years (has it been THAT long already ? )

I've been dealing with a bit of a cold these past few days and it doesn't seem to want to go away. To be fair, it's pretty cold and rainy outside and it feels more like a mid February/March than an end of May kind of day...

All the water weight is gone, but I still have around 4 kgs to lose. I think the quitting smoking thingy gave me some bad cravings for a while and, between that and the fact that it's way too cold, it's a bit difficult to stay on top of things. Plus, I need to find something that "excites" me for my fast dinners and it's pretty difficult these days. I crave grilled prawns and goodies like that but it's too early for those yet. Instead I am dealing with a "lentils obsession" and put them in about everything. As someone who doesn't really like meat and only eat some about twice a week, and only white meat, I am not a red meat lover at all, I need to find other ways to put some proteins in my food and, over here, we can't really find vegetarian friendly food as easily as I remember finding some in England

Hi there how do you start a blog post

Hi Therese,I will leave it to someone else to respond, I am pretty hopeless,I am just getting used to this forum

[Tracieknits]

Hi there how do you start a blog post

Hi @Therese!

For this type of post blog, you can go to this forum section and click "Post New Topic" - it's a blue button in the center-left area a couple of inches from the top.
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You can go to this page and click on "My Blog" on the upper left corner for a proper blog.
blog.php

Thanks, @Tracieknits

I have been pretty busy these past few days, I am a foster mom to 2 now about 3 weeks kittens I have to bottle feed every 2 hours, and having a huge and fun crush with a Canadian man, who is musician (plays guitar) and who makes me act like a blushing teenager

I do some regular fasts but gave up the IF idea. I have no idea why but I just can't change my fast days. I tried doing a Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday week but it didn't work out. It didn't feel right, if that makes any sense.

I don't have any more quit smoking side effects, which is great, just wish that we had an actual near summer weather....

And here if you want to see the fur babies. The link should work properly, please let me know if there is any issue
https://www.facebook.com/sandrine.blanchejuliette

[Tracieknits]

Oh musicians are always alluring and new crushes are so much fun! I've been loving the kitten photos
Do you need to fast that much for maintenance? I do understand being afraid of having the weight creep back on. I've been dedicating myself to daily weighing so I can nip any problems in the bud before they become huge.

And that's FANTASTIC that you're over the hardest part of quitting smoking! I'm glad you're feeling better!

@Tracieknits Musician are sure alluring and I can't resist a guitar player, it's in my genes However as he's a Canadian guitar player, that won't be anything else than a platonic thing Plus he keeps playing a hot and cold kind of game, which I don't like but the cheeks blushing and the hands shaking is pretty nice...... BTW, what were the chocolate thing your son likes ? I was trying to remember what it was to send it and I just can't... Shame on me !

I need to fast regularly or the pounds come back really fast. I also have a case of water retention so that helps to control it. I am not really careful with how many calories I take on a "normal" day and I did indulge a bit when I quit smoking. I was attracted to sugary or salty things. I didn't binge but it was enough to make me put on a few pounds.

For next week I need to find a way to have a soup for lunch in front of people without it being weird. I have a picnic where my mother lives and I want to have my traditional fast on that day. Maybe a cold soup ?

[Tracieknits]

Well don't worry about my son - we will be in France in 10 weeks, so I can stock up on his chocolate. I'm still happy to mail you a small packet of rolos when I get to France. It should be extremely inexpensive to mail from Paris as opposed to from the US I'm getting very excited for our trip. We've booked a photographer for one morning, so hopefully we'll get a few nice photos. We haven't had our pictures taken formally since we were engaged, and we've been married 18 years! We will be taking the train to Reims for a day trip, and plan to wander that city as well as visit some champagne caves -- possibly Taittinger. I just hope the chocolate won't melt if I mail in in late August!!

Crushes are fun, no doubt about that. And yes, a cold soup would work well -- a gazpacho. This one is only 85 calories http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/membe ... ho-1222156