I've tried a lot of supplements. Like, a lot. Electrolyte powders, MCT oil, exogenous ketones, berberine, magnesium, you name it. Most of them did nothing noticeable. Three actually made things worse. One genuinely helped.
The winner: Electrolytes.
Specifically, sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Not the sugary sports drinks — actual electrolyte powder with no calories. I drink it during my fast and it completely eliminated the headaches I used to get around hour 14. Turns out, when you're not eating, you're not getting electrolytes from food. Obvious in retrospect.
I use a simple powder I mix with water. Costs like $20 for a month. Worth every penny.
The losers:
1. MCT oil. I added it to my coffee because everyone said it "doesn't break a fast." Maybe technically true, but it made me hungrier. Like, way hungrier. My body tasted fat and was like "oh, food is coming?" and ramped up my appetite. Counterproductive.
2. Exogenous ketones. Expensive pee. That's it. I didn't feel different, didn't lose more weight, didn't have more energy. Just very expensive urine.
3. Appetite suppressants. The herbal kind from Amazon. Made me jittery and anxious. Not worth it. If you need to suppress appetite, drink more water or have some salt. Don't take random pills.
The maybes:
- Magnesium glycinate before bed. Seems to help my sleep, which indirectly helps everything. But I can't isolate the effect.
- Black coffee. Not really a supplement, but it's the best appetite suppressant there is. And it's free.
I don't track supplements in the calculator because honestly, most don't matter. But if enough people ask, I might add an optional supplement log. Let me know if that's something you'd use.
My rule now: if a supplement costs more than $30/month and the evidence is mostly Instagram testimonials, I skip it. Electrolytes are cheap and the science is solid. Everything else is noise.