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Originally Posted by countrygal  Alright so I'm halfway thru day 1 and I have to say that this online blog idea is keeping me on track. I am very thankful for the first reply from the person who fasted for 36.5 days...good for you and you will be a strong inspiration for me....hello if you can do it I will make myself so it. I am aiming for 40 but nor letting myself quit till at least 30....I want to make sure I achieve my health goals otherwise I have failed. I do have a question for you....I am a healthy weight now so being on a long fast is kinda scary in terms of weightloss. I am already a vegan (If I kill it myself I will eat it tho)....how much weight did you lose fasting and how did you break your fast? |
The weight loss aspect is tricky because much of it is temporary water and intestinal content. I try to estimate how much actual fat is lost and depending on various factors it is likely to be about 1/4 to 3/4 of a pound per day. As one important factor highly correlated with metabolism, a person weighing 100 pounds is more likely to burn about 1/4 pound and someone weighing 300 would likely be closer to 3/4. Other permanent losses can include excess water of a more permanent nature and some believe impacted fecal matter (in some people), 2 factors that can also make a substantial difference in weight. In short, if you are at a normal weight i highly doubt that your body fat percentage will become so low as to become unhealthy even if it approaches the low end of the healthy range.
The scale weight i reached at the end of this 36.5 day fast is something i consider to be insignificant and was a lot lower than the weight where i normalized within 2 or 3 weeks of breaking. I believe i got down to 138 pounds and was back (as desired) to about 163 within 3 weeks (my height is 5'11"). Even at such a low weight my body fat percentage, though low, was not even nearly dangerously low. I looked overly thin at 138 but i knew that what really mattered was where i would normalize a few weeks later with the return of these temporary losses and as well i was taking advantage of this prime opportunity to quickly restore any and all of the minor losses in muscle. As a side note, i place a high value in such measurements as body fat percentage, muscle mass and bone mass, and discount the importance of scale weight. I don't think most people will gain back 25 pounds before stabilizing, but i had a strong rebuilding emphasis.
The Russian Rocket has seen a lot of people announce that they will fast 40 days never getting past a day or two so i understand his skepticism... On the other hand i have known a few people who were able to reach 40 days with little or no prior experience, so it is possible with ample nutritional reserves and enough determination. Eliminating asthma and your food allergies is a good source of motivation and when temptation is strong it will help to daily remember how badly you want to be rid of these issues... something i absolutely believe can be achieved in a long fast.
As to breaking a long fast i am a big proponent of juices as the first step, gently nurturing your digestive system back to normal after it had been enjoying such a long slumber. Live and organic ideally and i also believe there is a lot of value in cooking some of your fresh juices and enjoying them this way, as in say a mixed vegetable cockail consisting maybe of Collards, broccoli, tomatoes, onions, chili peppers and garlic.
Even if you experience a good appetite it is generally a good idea to juice for about a day for every 4 days of fasting then eat fruits and veg for a day for every 4 days of fasting and juicing before graduating to other healthy foods. With 40 days of water-only this would amount to about 10 days of juices alone (or maybe 90% with 10% juicy fruits if a person can be disciplined in this way which can be enormously difficult immediately after a fast) followed by about 12 days of fruits and vegetables.
Everybody and every situation is different and it is possible to be ready for more digestively complicated foods sooner (or in some cases, especially if breaking the fast feeling ill, not as soon), but this is a safe general guideline in protecting your delicate digestive system and helping to restore it to normal functioning after such a long fast. Some even advocate breaking with whole fruits but in very small quantities. Myself, I would rather indulge in larger quantities of juices.
The above guidelines assume that you break the fast before the return of genuine hunger. If genuine hunger is encountered (which is pretty unlikely), your digestive system is almost miraculously ready for anything right away and you could probably juice for just a day or two, have fruits and veg for the same and then move into other healthy foods without impairing yourself digestively whatsoever.