I have been doing intermittent fasting (eating from 12 noon to 8pm) for a few weeks now, but I find I can't start the day without a cup of tea! I use skimmed milk, but does this count as a snack? Thanks
Hello!
Typically during a fasting period nothing that contains any calories would be consumed, which would include milk (and sugar) in hot drinks. This would usually mean that if you wanted to have tea or coffee during the fasting period then it would/should be “black”.
However, including a small amount of milk in a hot drink – particularly if you are only having one – is unlikely to stop you from reaching your health goals (or to negate the possible benefits from intermittent fasting). So if having a cup of tea with a little bit of milk to start your day is something that you enjoy, then there is no real reason to stop doing this. It would be a different story if you were having lots of cups, with large amounts of milk and/or sugar, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here!
With any lifestyle change it is important that you adopt, and adapt, it in a way that meets your needs and preferences, and that you like enough that you can stick to it. If that cup of tea helps with that, then that isn’t a problem!
Best wishes,
Sean
Dr Sean Wheatley
Science and Research Lead
X-PERT Health
