Does green tea make anyone else ravenously hungry?

hunger
(Jeanne Wagner) #21

I remember him saying that, so that is why I use it. I just wish I didn’t ‘have’ to. One day I’ll get there. Megan Ramos talks about it took her a long time and lots and lots of chicken broth before she was able to strict water fast. We all come to it in our own time.

(Jeanne Wagner) #22

Huh, that could be something. Well whatever it is, I’m staying away from teas now when I’m fasting.

(Bob M) #23

I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Fasting the way you are doing now is fine too. I started out the same way, and I doubt there’s much difference between that and true water fasting. I found I could hack black coffee and broth made me hungry. That’s how I ended up doing stricter fasts, but I think either way is fine. My problem is that they seem to be getting harder to do over time. I’ve only done two 4.5 day fasts this year. Hope for 4 this year

(Jeanne Wagner) #24

I hear you about them being harder. That’s another thing that I seem to be backwards on. They say they get easier the more you do them. I had done many in quick succession within I think it was a 4 month stretch last year. I was working on getting my A1c down to a non-diabetic level and for me I knew the key was to do the long term fasts. After I hit an A1c of 5.4 I got lazy and it crept back up. I’ve been at 5.9 for the past 7 months so I really need to get back on track and keep it up. Keeping it up and maintaining is a struggle. I’m still learning a new normal after 46 years of crap eating. After 2 years low carb with 18 months keto, I still struggle. Now I know I need to get back to EF and it’s hard as you know what. But I’ve done 2 36 hr and I’m about to hit a 72+ hour fast soon. Because I know I really really have to. So, as a matter of course, it is easier doing more of them. I just have a FOMO problem with food, so I am struggling/dealing with that. My new plan is to do at least one 36-hr fast per week, and keep up at least an 18/6 during eating days for the foreseeable future. Maybe with a real schedule I’ll see it does actually get easier mentally as well.

(Bob M) #25

I have settled on a similar plan. I have been averaging one 36 hour fast per week, and one 22 hour fast per week, then on the days I exercise, I eat around 10:30-11am usually (workout at 6-7am, ending at 7-8am), then don’t eat again until dinner. On the other days, I try to last as long as possible until I eat “blunch”, then eat dinner. That blunch may be 11am, noon, 1pm, etc.

Then I try for one 4.5 day fast per quarter/season. I may do another in the summer, and try another in Autumn, only because I tend to get cold when fasting, and it’s easier if it’s warmer outside.

(Jeanne Wagner) #26

Sounds like a good plan. I get cold too. I can tell when my body is kicking into fasting gear when that happens.

(Heather Meyer) #27

Do you actually eat salt? or are you putting it in or on somthing?
The thought of trying to stomach just salt, makes my stomach turn… :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

(Bob M) #28

I do eat salt. Supposedly, salt gets into you faster if you put it under your tongue, but I can’t figure out how to do that. So, I just put salt in and about my tongue. But I’ve been known to eat or take pretty much anything if I thought it was “healthy”.

#29

Maybe the matcha type is triggering something because it’s a powder? I brew my green tea from tea leaves and it has a mild stimulant effect.

(Bob M) #30

Another thing about brewing from tea leaves: you can brew from the same tea leaves multiple times. I have brewed at least three cups of tea from the same tea leaves, and have not tasted much difference.

Green tea also sometimes makes me sick to my stomach. Not all the time, but infrequently. Like today. Not sure why.

#31

That’s what I do too! I use a small bodum (french press) and after the initial steep, I cool the leaves with a minimal amount of cold water and store it in the fridge for next time. When it gets too diluted, start over. :slight_smile:

(Jeanne Wagner) #32

I have used bagged tea and loose leaf tea as well. It doesn’t keep me ‘satisfied’ for long. As soon as the warmth wears off, my stomach gets that hunger pang/grumbly again.

It is what it is, I will still drink tea, but not expect it to be useful for helping me with fasting.

(Bob M) #33

I use one of those fine-mesh “cups” that fits into a mug/cup for the tea. Your idea is a good one, too. I have often come into work the next day and thought “could I just reuse yesterday’s tea leaves?” I think the answer is “yes”, but I’ve not tried it. I have tried it during the same day, sometimes even 6 hours later, and it works well. But I’ve not tried it 24 hours later.

I got this idea from Dr. Fung, who said they (his family) brewed tea all day using the same leaves. And I bought some green tea that was really expensive, and decided I wanted to make it last longer.

#34

I get my fav oolong (tie guan yin) on eBay straight from China and its not super expensive that way but there can be a shipping delay. It lasts me several days per scoop because I’m the only one drinking it and I usually just have one cup a day.

(Bob M) #35

Since lately I’ve been having one cup of green tea instead of two, I tried making one cup on one day and a second cup on the next day, from the same leaves. It worked very well. So, I’ll probably do this all the time for a while.

This coming week, I’m going to attempt a 4.5 day fast, so I might do two cups a day. We’ll see.

#36

It’s the same for me, I can’t drink black or green tea while fasting.
However I can drink camomile tea.
Black and green makes me ravenous. I don’t know why, it just does.

(Not a cow) #37

If you use the pink Himalayan rock salt or even the sea salt, you can stick a few hunks under your tongue but resting against your lower teeth. It’s like having a couple of pebbles in your mouth but slightly more satisfying. :wink:

(April Harkness) #38

It makes me hungry…only because I do NOT like green tea and it leaves me unsatisfied. Ginger tea or any of the spicy chais actually is much more helpful to me. So I will just go wtth a tea that works. Most of the time…that tea is called coffee. :wink: Although I do try and drink decaf.

#39

does black coffee make you hungry also? I know you said you don’t like black coffee so may not have had it enough to notice.

It might be the caffeine that is making your hungry and the HWC that is fixing it not the coffee. if you had green tea with HWC it might not make you hungry. (yes, it would also bump you out of your fast. )
Green tea makes me hungry also. so does black coffee. though not as much. I think the acid in the coffee puts my stomach off a little and eating seems less good. Powdered matcha makes me a little more hungry than leaf tea . I don’t know why.

I don’t mind being hungry so its not a huge deal to me . Also, if I add ginger or mint to green tea or matcha, Im not so hungry. I’m not sure if that is physical or psychological.

YRMV. Let me know if you try the ginger, or mint , or cream experiment I’m curious.

(Jeanne Wagner) #40

Yes I’ve tried different teas since first posting, and they all make me feel really hungry. It’s not real hunger, it’s a hormone trigger I think. Anyway, I pick an choose when I drink tea now. The list of things that doesn’t have an adverse effect on me is smaller and smaller. I’m guessing I have some significant gut microbiome issues.