A cup of tea!

[ChubbieChops]

I have been reading a lot about fasting over the past year and can fast quite happily for 24 hours and occasionally 36 now. I believe I could fast for longer, but the thing that stops me is not having a cup of tea - builders' tea - with some milk! Tea without milk is too bitter.I am keen to get on to the autophagy stage and experience the health benefits of longer fasts but I am truly miserable without my cup of comfort, not to mention the withdrawal headache 😢 Any thoughts/tips welcome

[Dinasmom]

I also routinely fast for health benefits. I have numerous autoimmune diseases and it helps considerably. The thing I had trouble eliminating was coffee with milk. So here’s what I did. Over the course of a few weeks, I gradually added a little less cream or milk until my taste buds adapted. Now I actually PREFER coffee black. So maybe try slowly weaning off of it, allowing your taste buds to adjust. Good luck!

[ChubbieChops in reply to Dinasmom]

Brilliant!!! Now why didn't I think of that? Thank you so much, that's a great idea and I shall start it tomorrow. I am so pleased to hear that you have found that fasting has helped you. Hope the benefits continue

[atrax_robustus]

I think you have to make sure you don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. A cup or two of builders tea during a longer fast isn't going to destroy all the good the fast is doing.

Also, builders tea is too bitter to drink without milk or sugar, but there are lots of other teas that are much nicer to drink without milk. Try green teas, oolongs, darjeeling etc.

[ChubbieChops in reply to atrax_robustus]

I am very unadventurous and a real pleb when it comes to tea. I don't like green tea and I haven't tried oolong or darjeeling. Are they 'smelly' like Lapsang Souchong or Earl Grey 🤢? I have found that if I briefly swish an assam teabag ( rather than my favourite - Twinings Strong English Breakfast tea) and I don't leave it to brew, I can manage to drink it, though without any enjoyment! But I will see if I can get samples of the other teas to try - thanks for the suggestion

[atrax_robustus in reply to ChubbieChops]

Start with Darjeeling then. Darjeeling is a region and not a variety or style. I used to enjoy it as a standard black tea with milk. The stuff I have had more recently was much more delicate, it would be swamped with milk. It's perfect for drinking black.

Black tea is a different drink from milky builders tea. But if you like one, I think you could learn to enjoy the other. Persist with it for a bit.

[ChubbieChops in reply to atrax_robustus]

I will try it. Wish me luck!!