Water-fasting for 14 days (or more)

[ridetheglide]

Hi everyone! Newbie here, but I've been reading the threads on water fasts since last year. Many posts have been very helpful for me understanding what happens during the fasts, especially those posts of Ginkgo and MightySunTzu(?).

Anyways I have fasted before, the first one was for 3 days, the second one was 9 days, and now I am getting ready to attempt a 14 day water fast! If I can stretch it out to 21 days I would do it. But one day at a time.

I am preparing for now, drinking lots of water and jasmine tea and just having vegetables for now, just loading on nutritious food. Tomorrow I will start avoiding any carbs and stick to fat and protein based diet, just to induce myself to ketosis. When ketosis hits I will be starting my water-fast.

This post just reminded me I need to buy ketostix.

My reason for fasting is because I have endometriosis and PCOS, and it is wrecking my body - acne, massive weight gain, hirsutism, low energy levels, intense craving for food, etc.


While fasting I will also be swimming everyday for an hour. Just a light to moderate exercise that maybe will help prevent my metabolism to dip too low.


Will need your support/tips/etc.


Thank you!

[ridetheglide]

I had stir-fry vegetables last night and i decided it would be the last of my carb consumption.

Right now i'm drinking Jasmine tea. Will switch to pure water maybe in the afternoon.

[ridetheglide]

My period unexpectedly came back. I just ended my period 3 days ago. My body is doing crazy things!


So I dunno what to do, I really don't feel swimming now.


I'm also dreaming of food already, and I'm supposed to start my waterfast this afternoon.


help!

[ADudeNamedSteven]

I hope you're still moving forward and good luck in achieving your goal. I have no advice other than to listen to your body and remember the mind plays hunger games the first couple days. I will be starting my second fast this weekend and will also be aiming for somewhere between 14 and 21 days as well. I achieved four days easily on my first fast and am excited to take it further. I am new to the forums and glad to see others with similar beliefs in the healing potential of fasting. The average opinion on fasting is not in our favor most times, this is me.wishing you the best and keep posting.

[ginkgo]

Who taught you to go on a ketone inducing diet to induce ketosis before your fast and to test your urine for it? If something happens to you I would like to know whose advice that was. Where do I get my information? From books on fasting by doctors and others.

Now if you go by advice on forums, then some posts will tell you to drink your own urine during a fast. I even mention the books on my webpage so people can buy them themselves since I am not allowed to put the whole book online.

Joel Fuhrman M.D. is the country's expert on fasting and his book is only $10.87. He has fasted thousands of people with serious health issues. You will save over $10 in food the first 2 days of fasting if you live through your strange diet. Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor's Program for Conquering Disease Joel Fuhrman, Neal D. Barnard (another M.D.)

Note that Dr Shelton (N.D., D.C.) is no longer an expert on fasting since he is dead. But I have his book on fasting also.

[ridetheglide]

Originally Posted by ADudeNamedSteven

I hope you're still moving forward and good luck in achieving your goal. I have no advice other than to listen to your body and remember the mind plays hunger games the first couple days. I will be starting my second fast this weekend and will also be aiming for somewhere between 14 and 21 days as well. I achieved four days easily on my first fast and am excited to take it further. I am new to the forums and glad to see others with similar beliefs in the healing potential of fasting. The average opinion on fasting is not in our favor most times, this is me.wishing you the best and keep posting.

Hi! Your name threw me off, another reason why I'm fasting is for clarity. I had a really bad break-up in early 2009 (yes, more than 2 years ago!) and it is still bothering me. My ex's name is Steven.

Thank you for your advice, indeed, I am embarassed to say I failed day one of my fast. I was very strong all throughout the day until I had to go grocery shopping with my mom. The exposure to different kinds of food weakened me.

But I will re-start tomorrow. I just need support in this (my mother doesn't and she is pushing food on me left and right). Maybe you and I can help each other out. Tomorrow is my day 1 and I am aiming for at least 14 days....21 days if I can make it that long.


Good luck to us!

[justmee]

Originally Posted by ridetheglide

My period unexpectedly came back. I just ended my period 3 days ago. My body is doing crazy things!


So I dunno what to do, I really don't feel swimming now.


I'm also dreaming of food already, and I'm supposed to start my waterfast this afternoon.


help!

Originally Posted by ADudeNamedSteven

I hope you're still moving forward and good luck in achieving your goal. I have no advice other than to listen to your body and remember the mind plays hunger games the first couple days. I will be starting my second fast this weekend and will also be aiming for somewhere between 14 and 21 days as well. I achieved four days easily on my first fast and am excited to take it further. I am new to the forums and glad to see others with similar beliefs in the healing potential of fasting. The average opinion on fasting is not in our favor most times, this is me.wishing you the best and keep posting.

both of you - good luck.


to the OP i know how you feel. check out my thread i was so determined but it's taken me about 4 days to actually start it and times running out! aiming for 24 days was meant to be 28 but reaching 10 right now will be fab. i doubt il do more but im gonn massively push myself it's now or never but as u said food thoughts just set in i gave in to all my cravings for 4 days running. urgh!

[justmee]

Originally Posted by ridetheglide

Hi! Your name threw me off, another reason why I'm fasting is for clarity. I had a really bad break-up in early 2009 (yes, more than 2 years ago!) and it is still bothering me. My ex's name is Steven.

Thank you for your advice, indeed, I am embarassed to say I failed day one of my fast. I was very strong all throughout the day until I had to go grocery shopping with my mom. The exposure to different kinds of food weakened me.

But I will re-start tomorrow. I just need support in this (my mother doesn't and she is pushing food on me left and right). Maybe you and I can help each other out. Tomorrow is my day 1 and I am aiming for at least 14 days....21 days if I can make it that long.


Good luck to us!

aw hun it's a sign! we're both here online at the same time wanting to embark on a fast.i really need to do it though now before i set off to uni so it reall is now or never i hate my body how it is and ive put back a lot of stuff this month to sort it so id feel worse and itd be a waste if i dont but dont feel bad the first 2 days i did so well got 22 hours in then gave up it's very annoying but i knew as the days went on into the month i couldnt last much longer on excuse days and i had to start it and by 9:30 am today itll be 24 hours
good luck if u want any advice post on my thread discuss how u feel if u feel like giving in or its going well and maybe we can support each other if u really really deeply want to do it like me -a s i said now or never for my situation - then we can be fast buddies just a suggestion

[ridetheglide]

Originally Posted by ginkgo

Who taught you to go on a ketone inducing diet to induce ketosis before your fast and to test your urine for it? If something happens to you I would like to know whose advice that was. Where do I get my information? From books on fasting by doctors and others.

Now if you go by advice on forums, then some posts will tell you to drink your own urine during a fast. I even mention the books on my webpage so people can buy them themselves since I am not allowed to put the whole book online.

Joel Fuhrman M.D. is the country's expert on fasting and his book is only $10.87. He has fasted thousands of people with serious health issues. You will save over $10 in food the first 2 days of fasting if you live through your strange diet. Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor's Program for Conquering Disease Joel Fuhrman, Neal D. Barnard (another M.D.)

Note that Dr Shelton (N.D., D.C.) is no longer an expert on fasting since he is dead. But I have his book on fasting also.

Hi ginkgo! I'm glad you responded! I actually don't have any medical references to a ketosis inducing diet. Atkins? I've never tried Atkins though.

I must have read it from an intermittent faster....I seem to remember one who would fast for 2 days and eat on the third day (but no carbs).

The many times I failed on day 1 or day 2, I make sure my failure is made of fats, oils or protein. So that would be a spoon of mayonnaise, egg-white, or chicken. It seemed easier for me to restart my fast when I'm in a ketotic state already. Hunger just goes away quicker. I dunno. Please enlighten me in this matter lol.

I am going to order Joel Fuhrman's books for me and my mom. My mom has glaucoma and cataract as a result of her diabetes, and I just want her to open her mind a bit about fasting.

Thank you ginkgo!

[ridetheglide]

Originally Posted by justmee

both of you - good luck.


to the OP i know how you feel. check out my thread i was so determined but it's taken me about 4 days to actually start it and times running out! aiming for 24 days was meant to be 28 but reaching 10 right now will be fab. i doubt il do more but im gonn massively push myself it's now or never but as u said food thoughts just set in i gave in to all my cravings for 4 days running. urgh!

Thanks! It is now or never for me too! I am going to be very busy in August and July is the only month suitable for fasting. Don't give up! I failed day one but tomorrow is going to be a good day for both of us because we will re-start our fast and we will be stronger this time!

[ridetheglide]

Originally Posted by justmee

aw hun it's a sign! we're both here online at the same time wanting to embark on a fast.i really need to do it though now before i set off to uni so it reall is now or never i hate my body how it is and ive put back a lot of stuff this month to sort it so id feel worse and itd be a waste if i dont but dont feel bad the first 2 days i did so well got 22 hours in then gave up it's very annoying but i knew as the days went on into the month i couldnt last much longer on excuse days and i had to start it and by 9:30 am today itll be 24 hours
good luck if u want any advice post on my thread discuss how u feel if u feel like giving in or its going well and maybe we can support each other if u really really deeply want to do it like me -a s i said now or never for my situation - then we can be fast buddies just a suggestion

Yes we can be fasting buddies! So today is day one for you as well? I shouldn't have given in to the temptation we could have both marked today as our day one! ugh. but it's okay Steven is here (haha not the ex).

I will be reading your blog. I know we can help each other out!

[sailorgirly]

Good luck! Stay strong, and listen to your body. Its more mental than anything else. If you can get through this, you can do anything you put your mind to!

[justmee]

Originally Posted by sailorgirly

Good luck! Stay strong, and listen to your body. Its more mental than anything else. If you can get through this, you can do anything you put your mind to!

yes it is... i always just felt like someone was controlling my mind and that i must give in to take back control; the exact opposite of what i want to achieve. food cravings kill but i need to remember i want the body cleanse more than the foods.

[justmee]

Originally Posted by ridetheglide

Yes we can be fasting buddies! So today is day one for you as well? I shouldn't have given in to the temptation we could have both marked today as our day one! ugh. but it's okay Steven is here (haha not the ex).

I will be reading your blog. I know we can help each other out!

yay <3

Yes today is day one at 9:30 am : hehe haha bless you exes suck
and yes don't give in hun i gave in a tiny bit by chewing some food but didnt actually swallow it. had lots of glasses of water throughout the day and having some boiling water now. also do you have any vitamins to take? how old are you. so glad to have someone real to talk to and discuss this with. its my first really long fast and i must succeed if i dont itl crush me because ive dedicated a month to losing the comfort eating weight before uni. must must must. but always in the past ive felt like i need to eat to improve my food so i think its best people just stay away from me this month: or to please parents:s food cravings are the worst but it's mind battle and just remember that food will be there AFTER the fast. must must must do it. remember hun you're only a day behind and im here for u :hugs:

[justmee]

staying strong is really easier said than done when food is like the other 50% of your life but op youve done 9 days in the past so you clearly can do it
whenever we get down just remember happy happy happy it's all good the fast

[ridetheglide]

Originally Posted by justmee

yay <3

Yes today is day one at 9:30 am : hehe haha bless you exes suck
and yes don't give in hun i gave in a tiny bit by chewing some food but didnt actually swallow it. had lots of glasses of water throughout the day and having some boiling water now. also do you have any vitamins to take? how old are you. so glad to have someone real to talk to and discuss this with. its my first really long fast and i must succeed if i dont itl crush me because ive dedicated a month to losing the comfort eating weight before uni. must must must. but always in the past ive felt like i need to eat to improve my food so i think its best people just stay away from me this month: or to please parents:s food cravings are the worst but it's mind battle and just remember that food will be there AFTER the fast. must must must do it. remember hun you're only a day behind and im here for u :hugs:

I'm not taking any vitamins...but will probably have some electrolytes every 3 days.

I agree it is a mental thing so maybe we should occupy ourselves and be productive at this time. I am going to review Algebra and Sciences (Bio, Anatomy, etc). I plan to do lots of reading this month. Maybe you should too, since you are going to Uni...buy some used books and read them in preparation for school!

[ridetheglide]

Originally Posted by sailorgirly

Good luck! Stay strong, and listen to your body. Its more mental than anything else. If you can get through this, you can do anything you put your mind to!

yes!!! THANK YOU!

[justmee]

Originally Posted by ridetheglide

I'm not taking any vitamins...but will probably have some electrolytes every 3 days.

I agree it is a mental thing so maybe we should occupy ourselves and be productive at this time. I am going to review Algebra and Sciences (Bio, Anatomy, etc). I plan to do lots of reading this month. Maybe you should too, since you are going to Uni...buy some used books and read them in preparation for school!

yeah i should....doubt i will though
just passing time by watching movies :S
yes mental it's all down to. wanting to but battling the cravings.

[justmee]

i had a meal

scrambled egg
and toast
i failed day two

redoing my new time.

[ridetheglide]

Originally Posted by justmee

i had a meal

scrambled egg
and toast
i failed day two

redoing my new time.

I failed too. Let's re-start our fast tomorrow.

[ridetheglide]

My day 1 started great. Upon waking up I felt lots of energy. My room receives a lot of sunlight in the morning and I sunbathed nude! (I have horrible tan lines and I'm trying to fix them). I felt great and refreshed.


I cleaned up my room, folded clothes, and by mid-day I went to the pool to swim for an hour. It was my regular 30 laps swimming. I didn't take it easy.

After swimming I got really really sleepy. I took the bus home and I was falling asleep on that 10 minute ride! When I got inside the house I fell asleep on the couch for an hour.

I woke up really nauseous, queasy, and that familiar ketone breath was on my tongue. I should have been happy that I was in ketosis in just my day 1, but my nausea was soooo bad that I decided to have a piece of pork.

After that I felt better.


And then later I had ice cream.


The reason why my fast is so hard this time is because I'm expecting my healing crisis to be horrible this time. Last time when I fasted for 9 days I ate healthily.

Now I'm living with my family and their food is atrocious. So many flavorings...it kind of reminds me the feeling I get whenever I eat take-out chinese food. Good while eating, but it makes me wanna puke after eating.

The food they cooked also made me gain weight.

I know also I need to take it easy swimming but I enjoy it so much.


So tomorrow, July 8, 2011, is my day 1.

I plan to wake up at 6am. Get some sun for a 10 minutes or so.

Then hit the pool at 7am. Because my energy levels would still be great at that time.

Then I will be at the library most of the day. Studying. I shall be bringing many many bottles of refreshing water!

Wish me luck!

[justmee]

Originally Posted by ridetheglide

My day 1 started great. Upon waking up I felt lots of energy. My room receives a lot of sunlight in the morning and I sunbathed nude! (I have horrible tan lines and I'm trying to fix them). I felt great and refreshed.


I cleaned up my room, folded clothes, and by mid-day I went to the pool to swim for an hour. It was my regular 30 laps swimming. I didn't take it easy.

After swimming I got really really sleepy. I took the bus home and I was falling asleep on that 10 minute ride! When I got inside the house I fell asleep on the couch for an hour.

I woke up really nauseous, queasy, and that familiar ketone breath was on my tongue. I should have been happy that I was in ketosis in just my day 1, but my nausea was soooo bad that I decided to have a piece of pork.

After that I felt better.


And then later I had ice cream.


The reason why my fast is so hard this time is because I'm expecting my healing crisis to be horrible this time. Last time when I fasted for 9 days I ate healthily.

Now I'm living with my family and their food is atrocious. So many flavorings...it kind of reminds me the feeling I get whenever I eat take-out chinese food. Good while eating, but it makes me wanna puke after eating.

The food they cooked also made me gain weight.

I know also I need to take it easy swimming but I enjoy it so much.


So tomorrow, July 8, 2011, is my day 1.

I plan to wake up at 6am. Get some sun for a 10 minutes or so.

Then hit the pool at 7am. Because my energy levels would still be great at that time.

Then I will be at the library most of the day. Studying. I shall be bringing many many bottles of refreshing water!

Wish me luck!

hun not to sound mean but in a way im glad you 'failed' day one cos i havent lasted either yet but im determined and now we both are on the same starting days we mUST do it and MUST HELP EACH OTHER ON okies
tbh u shouldnt feel too bad you practically burnt off the food with your exercises. and if its any conolsation i ate chocolate and breakfast today breaking day 2 but i felt the effects of 30 hours plus of the diet; my stomach was an inch flatter lol! must do it not many days left in this month

[justmee]

Originally Posted by ridetheglide

I failed too. Let's re-start our fast tomorrow.

omg hello. youre amazing
must do it in july must. i want this to be a yearly thing actually ive heard you can live longer lol
but seriously july 8 is the day. dont want mums curries spoiling it so she better not cook one for a while.but i wont give in. cant cant mustnt

howre you? day 1 is the hardest to get past. it took me 4 attempts before i finally managed day 1 and then messed it up on day 2: so re-doing day 2 today. grrrrr. day 2 wouldve been complete had i not had an urge for scrambled egg

[ridetheglide]

Originally Posted by justmee

omg hello. youre amazing
must do it in july must. i want this to be a yearly thing actually ive heard you can live longer lol
but seriously july 8 is the day. dont want mums curries spoiling it so she better not cook one for a while.but i wont give in. cant cant mustnt

howre you? day 1 is the hardest to get past. it took me 4 attempts before i finally managed day 1 and then messed it up on day 2: so re-doing day 2 today. grrrrr. day 2 wouldve been complete had i not had an urge for scrambled egg

I think we will be good tomorrow! I plan to break my fast on July 30th! How about you?

I love curry too as well! But I warned my mom I will be fasting. To other family members I will just tell them I'm doing a "cleanse" because I know if they know I'm on strict water-fast they will cook all my favorite foods!


Next time I feel nauseous again I will just drink more water, with maybe a slice of lime and a pinch of salt.

I have just found a bike trail in my neighborhood, a 45 minute bike ride beside a river! I'm pretty excited and will plan to bike with my cousin. Two years ago I was biking for an hour everyday, and swimming four days a week, in addition to going to the gym every 2 days and walking my dog for an hour everyday. I was at my healthiest! I'm glad that I'm rediscovering my love for the outdoors!

[justmee]

Originally Posted by ridetheglide

I think we will be good tomorrow! I plan to break my fast on July 30th! How about you?

I love curry too as well! But I warned my mom I will be fasting. To other family members I will just tell them I'm doing a "cleanse" because I know if they know I'm on strict water-fast they will cook all my favorite foods!


Next time I feel nauseous again I will just drink more water, with maybe a slice of lime and a pinch of salt.

I have just found a bike trail in my neighborhood, a 45 minute bike ride beside a river! I'm pretty excited and will plan to bike with my cousin. Two years ago I was biking for an hour everyday, and swimming four days a week, in addition to going to the gym every 2 days and walking my dog for an hour everyday. I was at my healthiest! I'm glad that I'm rediscovering my love for the outdoors!

i havent told anyone about my fast
i feel like having another free day today cos im craving fish and chips help!lol
yeah same 30th we can do it now that i know youre with me but i seriously need help with the cravings.
oh and all that exercise sounds fab but dont overdo it. i dont plan on doing any exercise but the fresh air would do me good.

[justmee]

I am badly craving and WANT fish and chips atm...more than this fast? No but it'll still make me feel good to eat it yummmm

help?

[ridetheglide]

Originally Posted by justmee

I am badly craving and WANT fish and chips atm...more than this fast? No but it'll still make me feel good to eat it yummmm

help?

ACK! Don't post any food triggers here! Unfair lol!


If you want you can make a list of food you're going to eat AFTER your SUCCESSFUL FAST! But don't post it here!

You can do it girl! Envision yourself where you want to be. I know you're doing this for weight loss so think of yourself in that little black dress or sexy lingerie.

[ridetheglide]

I'm sunbathing again. I'm so glad my room receives so much sunlight.


I woke up again with lots of energy! I want to note this feeling - the feeling that my body is lighter and clean. This is the state I want to be in for the next 14 days and no matter how tough the cleansing process will be, I will endure it just to get this nice, light, wonderful energetic feeling that I only get in the mornings.

I am going to buy that ketostix thingy that will detect ketones in my urine.

I am going to break my fast with just plain coconut water for three days. And then coconut water with coconut bits in it for the next three days, along with soups. Then maybe fruits and vegetables.

I will envision myself and my body as it should be: 20 lbs lighter and full of energy. I will envision my fibroids and cysts being destroyed by this fast. I envision myself 10 years younger after this fast. This fast will give me clarity and ability to break away from the burden of my past.

[gowel]

Hi guys! I just found this thread today as I was browsing some fasting-related pages. I've read the forum before but this thread made me register.

I see you guys seem to be having a hard time with your first days into the fast, so I hope we can help each other in our journey.

justmee, I don't know if you ate the fish or not but anyway there's still plenty of days in July so stay strong.

Let me talk a little(just kidding, it's going to be a looong post ) about myself: I'm water-fasting now as well, I'm on day 4. I've done this before several times, some very successful, some terrible failures.

I've fasted for 1 day, 3(more than once), 5, 6, 12, 21, and I did some IFing in which I ate 4 hours and fasted 20h everyday.

This time I'm going for 10 days, in which I'll consume only water, no pills, no enemas, just water. So far I'm drinking ~3L a day but it's better just to drink when you feel like it.

I don't tell anyone about it when I'm fasting, usually people don't react well and it's too hard to explain and try to educate them on this when you're actually fasting.

I usually experience very strong emotions everytime I'm fasting, so to me it's a must to refrain from entering in discussions with people.

Also, I feel cold all the time, and it's winter now in the south hemisphere, and I'm at home and wearing six layers of clothing lol my feet and hands are the worse!

To me one of the most important aspects of the whole process is resting, seriously, it's key to you rest as much as you can, in my last fast even a light 40min walk daily was enough to deplete me and make me feel miserable, so even if you feel fine and energetic it's best not to strain yourself physically.

The other really important thing is the after-fast (or the breakfast )
It's here where everything can go wrong, I remember some of my shorter fasts some years ago when I felt like I was 'clean' and I could just eat following my instincts, but your mind really play tricks on you, and I ended up bingeing on everything on sight and felt terrible afterwards.

Fortunately, this never happened on my long fasts or it could have caused me real damage. Now I know better to plan ahead, the hardest part is breaking the fast, so I always plan the days after the fast, and know that I absolutely must follow that.

It helps having another person around to help you at this time, maybe preparing the meals or even just being there in the kitchen to hold you accountable.

After the first few days, the intense cravings will go and if you fasted long enough there'll be this amazing sense of freedom of food and eating healthily will be incredibly easy.

That's why I never lust after food when I'm fasting, I find it easier to control myself after if I don't.


ridetheglide , it's funny that you ate low-carb before starting, this time I chose to prepare myself the same way. For 3 days I ate only, meat, eggs, cheese, broccolli and some nuts, and in the last day I didn't eat meat and I ate very little, I thought it would be smoother and more gentle with my body.

About the ketosis thing, I don't have anything scientifical and I didn't read it anywhere but my logic was that it would be a good way to prevent muscle catabolism in the beggining of the fast.

Since the body uses glycogen/protein for energy before turning to the lipids, I thought if I ate reasonably high protein and calories before entering the fast I would prevent some muscle wasting. But anyway, it's just a 'theory', and I'm not a scientist


To sum up, best of luck you guys! The first day is hard but if I can do it then you can do it! Just stay way from all the food, even if you have to sleep all day.

I'll be posting here the next days, to share my experiences and to stay motivated.

[ridetheglide]

Gowel, you're my inspiration! I wanna be where you are, at day 4! I remember that day 4 was the easiest for me because ketosis already kicked in and my hunger pangs disappeared completely!

I just gotta get through days 1, 2 and 3!

I will respond later as I'm off to buy me some ketostix!


Later!