5-7 Day Water Fast

[jn15]

Okay, so I know there are plenty of similar posts here already... but I NEED the morale support. Why? As you might imagine from the title, I'm embarking on a 5-7 day water fast.

The problem? I've never made it more than 1 day without eating. So this is going to be a bit of a jump for me.

I'm doing this primarily for the detox benefits. I've read that it's good to do a 1-2 week water fast annually.

I'd also like to lose some body fat. I'm a skinny guy (6'3 170), but I've got way too much fat stored up. Hopefully this will jump start me.

Lest you think this is just a lose fat quick method, my long term strategy is to follow the 80-10-10 raw food diet plan (have already followed it off and on with great results). I just want to use this fast to jump start me.

The plan is to report back here every day on my progress. Lord willing, I'll be breaking this fast next Friday at this time. If any of you have any tips or encouragement, I'd LOVE to hear from you.

[MightySunTzu]

Hi jn15,

I agree that an annual fast of 1-2 weeks would be highly beneficial to almost everybody.

The main advice i can give you towards reaching your goal is to find a way, within yourself, to want the fast more than you want to satisfy your desire to eat. Even if this is is maintained at 51% vs 49% it will be enough. Usually the first 2 or 3 days are the hardest at the end of which it is common to have no physical appetite whatsoever. While this breakthrough makes it quite a bit easier to endure the fast, the cravings can still be strong so you can't let down your guard. Reading fasting literature can provide a lot of encouragement and exercise can help a faster to get through bouts of appetite and/or cravings. All the best!

[jn15]

Originally Posted by MightySunTzu

Hi jn15,

I agree that an annual fast of 1-2 weeks would be highly beneficial to almost everybody.

The main advice i can give you towards reaching your goal is to find a way, within yourself, to want the fast more than you want to satisfy your desire to eat. Even if this is is maintained at 51% vs 49% it will be enough. Usually the first 2 or 3 days are the hardest at the end of which it is common to have no physical appetite whatsoever. While this breakthrough makes it quite a bit easier to endure the fast, the cravings can still be strong so you can't let down your guard. Reading fasting literature can provide a lot of encouragement and exercise can help a faster to get through bouts of appetite and/or cravings. All the best!

Thanks for the advice, great to hear from someone who's already an accomplished faster. I'm still going strong at 10 AM! Just got to keep this up for 6.75 more days.

I've been reading a lot about water fasting lately, but your post has also given me new insights. I think the hardest part is going to be cutting back on exercise. I try to do some form of vigorous exercise every day, so cutting back is going to be challenging.

[Sabu]

Hi jn15,

I am on day 2 of a water fast. I am unsure of how long I will be fasting. Mostly I am fasting to break a very unhealthy emotional addiction with food.

I'm looking forward to hearing about your progress

[MightySunTzu]

Originally Posted by jn15

Thanks for the advice, great to hear from someone who's already an accomplished faster. I'm still going strong at 10 AM! Just got to keep this up for 6.75 more days.

I've been reading a lot about water fasting lately, but your post has also given me new insights. I think the hardest part is going to be cutting back on exercise. I try to do some form of vigorous exercise every day, so cutting back is going to be challenging.

You're very welcome. I once experimented with continued high or fairly high intensity exercise for about 4 days into a fast and it clearly did not agree with me, making me feel amped up even after sleeping as if high on caffein... a heart rate that would not calm down (i believe it was about 80 resting instead of what would normally have been about 45 for me in a fast). This was not corrected until about 36 hours after curtailing the intense activity (as i continued deeper into the fast) after which i felt normalized and very good.

No problem with 2 or 3 hours of daily brisk walking though if you were inclined to do that or something of a similarly light-medium intensity. This (lighter) level of activity during a fast is widely recommended among various fasting experts, especially Russians.

[jn15]

Just a quick update-I broke off the fast halfway through the 1st day. I've been coming off a string of junk food eating (largely because I was travelling last week and the temptations were too much).

On the bright side, I was successfully able to stick to the 80-10-10 raw food diet plan on Saturday. My goal is 3 fruit meals throughout the day, followed by a huge salad at night.

Most days I at least make it through 2 entirely fruit meals before breaking it off. However, Saturday I stick with it nearly all day.

By the end of the day, I had more energy than I knew what to do with, and was extremely clear headed (which was the main goal of my fast in the first place) I can't wait to see how I feel after being on this diet long term. Just have to stay more disciplined...

I think if I continue this diet long term, it will detox my system to a large degree. I definitely plan on revisiting the water fast down the road, however. Anyway, thanks everyone for your help and encouragement!

[dream]

Good luck. I was wondering what you are going to say to family and friends and dinner parties and free lunch that always pops up when your fasting. (Funny how that happens right?) This is one of the hard things on fasting as you can tell people but they still want to asks many questions out of concern. I always say I am fasting and when they dig further and I don't want to discuss it, say 'You know how private fasting is". That usually stops the questions (Unless it's your mother, than good luck!) lol. All the best to you. Let us know how it goes.
-Dream