40 days of water fasting....

[countrygal]

So I know y'all are going to bash me but hear me out....I was diagnosed 2 years ago with asthma and I have always have severe food allergies. Well I have been told that water fasting for medical healing is very beneficial and much better for you than a lifetime of meds. So tomorrow is day 1 and I will keep logging in and keeping you posted on all the benefits and troubles that I experience. If you post something negative or an opinion about fasting then please save your time because I will not read it and I have done all the research that I needed and know my pros and cons....by the way I am 28 and a healthy weight so my doctor says I won't need medical supervision for this. Wish me luck and I would love to hear from anyone doing a long term water fast...talk to you tomorrow!

[MightySunTzu]

Hi there countrygal ,

I agree with you completely that a long fast is the best gift you can give to your body in the quest to vanquish these ailments.

A long water-only fast healed my lungs of an inability to take a deep breath among many other aches, pains and other various ailments. 40 days would be quite difficult and even unachievable for most people, so i would encourage you to listen to your body and take it day by day, especially after about 30 days.

The physical hunger should be mostly non-existent after the first 2 or 3 days which makes it very nice, but the desire to eat can be quite persistent throughout and additionally you may encounter some immense weakness and even nausea from detoxing. The nausea in particular makes it a lot more grueling in the days where this is present (if at all).

I'm not saying you can't reach 40 days, but if you are able to you are a rare soul. Though i wouldn't have minded reaching 40 days myself, i made it as far as 36.5 and strongly believed my body was telling me it was time to stop and that it may have become dangerous to continue further. Ideally you will be able to end the fast feeling good as i was able to, enduring nausea my last few days and taking the opportunity to break as soon as this had lifted.

[russianrocket]

I won't be as nice as the above poster .

You will not last 40 days, and probably shouldn't last 40 days. You'll probably stop, feel discouraged, and binge. And, no matter how much you've read, you have no idea what fasting is actually like. How's that for bluntness?

[Trustme]

Originally Posted by russianrocket

I won't be as nice as the above poster .

You will not last 40 days, and probably shouldn't last 40 days. You'll probably stop, feel discouraged, and binge. And, no matter how much you've read, you have no idea what fasting is actually like. How's that for bluntness?

I gotta tell you that I always like reading your comments. Usually you write the stuff I think to myself but refuse to post because I don't want to piss anyone off

[countrygal]

Originally Posted by countrygal

So I know y'all are going to bash me but hear me out....I was diagnosed 2 years ago with asthma and I have always have severe food allergies. Well I have been told that water fasting for medical healing is very beneficial and much better for you than a lifetime of meds. So tomorrow is day 1 and I will keep logging in and keeping you posted on all the benefits and troubles that I experience. If you post something negative or an opinion about fasting then please save your time because I will not read it and I have done all the research that I needed and know my pros and cons....by the way I am 28 and a healthy weight so my doctor says I won't need medical supervision for this. Wish me luck and I would love to hear from anyone doing a long term water fast...talk to you tomorrow!

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?

My other favorite post was from the gal who is on day one...so is today day one for you or is tomorrow? I would love to be fasting buddies and make sure not to let one another slip or quit.....you just have to promise to be honest and we will get thru....if it helps we can send our weightloss as often as you want to keep us motivated. Are you only doing this for weight loss or do you have other reasons? I would love to keep in touch.

[russianrocket]

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?

My other favorite post was from the gal who is on day one...so is today day one for you or is tomorrow? I would love to be fasting buddies and make sure not to let one another slip or quit.....you just have to promise to be honest and we will get thru....if it helps we can send our weightloss as often as you want to keep us motivated. Are you only doing this for weight loss or do you have other reasons? I would love to keep in touch.

He did 36.5 days, but it was not his first fast. He's been doing them for a long time, and knows EXACTLY what he's doing. And, you're not a vegan, if you eat meat, even if you kill it yourself. Being a vegan, has nothing to do with not eating stuff OTHER people kill lol. sorry.

[IvyW]

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?

My other favorite post was from the gal who is on day one...so is today day one for you or is tomorrow? I would love to be fasting buddies and make sure not to let one another slip or quit.....you just have to promise to be honest and we will get thru....if it helps we can send our weightloss as often as you want to keep us motivated. Are you only doing this for weight loss or do you have other reasons? I would love to keep in touch.

Today is day 1 for me. im doing this in hopes it will cure my bursitis in both hips & bilateral sacroiliitis. I just have to stick to it long enough for it to work. as far as weightloss goes.. i dont really care! after this im hoping i can be back in the gym lifting heavy again.

[MightySunTzu]

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.

[Cado]

Originally Posted by MightySunTzu

The physical hunger should be mostly non-existent after the first 2 or 3 days which makes it very nice, but the desire to eat can be quite persistent throughout and additionally you may encounter some immense weakness and even nausia from detoxing. The nausia in particular makes it a lot more grueling in the days where this is present (if at all).

I can attest to feeling nausea on day 2 whenever I've done a 3 day water fast. I never go beyond 3 days; I don't have the will to do it and I currently don't have a reason to develop it. You really don't need to fast that much to get benefits from it. Seeing as it is your first fast you might benefit more from doing one day weekly. That's what I did for a while-I slow carb, so when I needed to cleanse a lot of junk from my system I ate normally for six days and fasted one for a month.

If it's not critical, "I'm going to do this or I'm going to die," then you're better off planning and sticking with something less intensive that's easier to maintain. Hell, I've done 2 and 3-day fasts before and it's usually difficult for me to get past 1.

If you eat meat switch to organic, get rid of any junk food or anything that doesn't have a lot of nutritional benefits for the body, maybe add some supplements, and fast once or twice a week. Add some green tea to your non-fast days to help cleanse the liver, 4-6 cups should be fine; you can drink up to 10 safely. That's the sort of thing I'd recommend going with. It's possible you'll get better results, too, as it won't shock the body so much. That's key-you do not want to go too far beyond the body's comfort zone when you don't have to. Stretch, don't break, if you get my meaning.

[IvyW]

I think im going to do daily yoga too.

[MightySunTzu]

Originally Posted by Cado

I can attest to feeling nausea on day 2 whenever I've done a 3 day water fast.

Hey there Cado,

It is interesting to hear that you encountered nausea so early. I have done a lot of 7 day fasts over the years and never experienced it until my 2nd and 3rd long fasts and then not until after about 25 or 30 days. Every individual is indeed different. Out of curiosity, how many 3 day fasts have you done and how many of these led you to feel nausea?

Originally Posted by Cado

I never go beyond 3 days; I don't have the will to do it and I currently don't have a reason to develop it. You really don't need to fast that much to get benefits from it. Seeing as it is your first fast you might benefit more from doing one day weekly.

This is true that a 3 day fast can be amazingly beneficial. I really think that with countrygirl's issues, though, it will likely take a lot longer to eliminate them. 3 days can wipe out arthritis symptoms, brain fog, many sore muscle issues and other quirks and make a lot of other corrections, but asthma and food allergies strike me as the kind of ailments that will take quite a bit longer. I was not able to heal my breathing in a 10 day fast but when i followed this up a few months later with 30 days my lungs emerged feeling like new.

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by MightySunTzu

Hey there Cado,

It is interesting to hear that you encountered nausea so early. I have done a lot of 7 day fasts over the years and never experienced it until my 2nd and 3rd long fasts and then not until after about 25 or 30 days. Every individual is indeed different. Out of curiosity, how many 3 day fasts have you done and how many of these led you to feel nausea?



This is true that a 3 day fast can be amazingly beneficial. I really think that with countrygirl's issues, though, it will likely take a lot longer to eliminate them. 3 days can wipe out arthritis symptoms, brain fog, many sore muscle issues and other quirks and make a lot of other corrections, but asthma and food allergies strike me as the kind of ailments that will take quite a bit longer. I was not able to heal my breathing in a 10 day fast but when i followed this up a few months later with 30 days my lungs emerged feeling like new.

I've had nauseu after 2-3 days as well. A few times.

As far as the second part. If a 3 day can't wipe out her problem, I don't see what's wrong with starting off slowly, and working her way up. It's the whole mindset of wanting something instantly, and I don't agree with that mindset. It always causes problems. I want it NOW NOW NOW.

[countrygal]

Well it is almost 430pm and I am doing great...my family is about to eat dinner and I feel very strong to say the least. I bought some fresh tea because it is so cold right now....about 30 degrees and raining so some hot tea made of just tea leaves I figured would be fine. Please let me know if this is not good asap...I don't want to throw away a whole day!!!

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by countrygal

Well it is almost 430pm and I am doing great...my family is about to eat dinner and I feel very strong to say the least. I bought some fresh tea because it is so cold right now....about 30 degrees and raining so some hot tea made of just tea leaves I figured would be fine. Please let me know if this is not good asap...I don't want to throw away a whole day!!!

Tea isn't part of a water fast.

[IvyW]

Originally Posted by countrygal

Well it is almost 430pm and I am doing great...my family is about to eat dinner and I feel very strong to say the least. I bought some fresh tea because it is so cold right now....about 30 degrees and raining so some hot tea made of just tea leaves I figured would be fine. Please let me know if this is not good asap...I don't want to throw away a whole day!!!

ive been freezing too! but we can not have tea while water fasting.

[MightySunTzu]

Originally Posted by russianrocket

I've had nauseu after 2-3 days as well. A few times.

Interesting again. I've read a lot of people's fasting stories and this seems to be unusual so early.

As far as the second part. If a 3 day can't wipe out her problem, I don't see what's wrong with starting off slowly, and working her way up. It's the whole mindset of wanting something instantly, and I don't agree with that mindset. It always causes problems. I want it NOW NOW NOW.

Nothing wrong with starting off slowly, true, but if countrygal is able to do a long fast, listening to her body and breaking when it is time and in the proper way, i believe she has everything to gain and nothing to lose. It can be helpful to train with shorter fasts, yes, but it's not necessary.

Originally Posted by countrygal

Well it is almost 430pm and I am doing great...my family is about to eat dinner and I feel very strong to say the least. I bought some fresh tea because it is so cold right now....about 30 degrees and raining so some hot tea made of just tea leaves I figured would be fine. Please let me know if this is not good asap...I don't want to throw away a whole day!!!

It's important to know that a water only fast is a lot more than just a zero calorie diet and I agree with these other guys that ideally you should forego the tea or anything else with taste (including toothpaste, gum, diet drinks or anything else besides water) as they confuse the body and interfere with the optimal process. Even worse would be anything that requires digestion such as vitamins and minerals. As a way to preserve the perfect fast while keeping comfortable, some people like to sip hot or warm water.

[Cado]

Originally Posted by MightySunTzu

Hey there Cado,

It is interesting to hear that you encountered nausea so early. I have done a lot of 7 day fasts over the years and never experienced it until my 2nd and 3rd long fasts and then not until after about 25 or 30 days. Every individual is indeed different. Out of curiosity, how many 3 day fasts have you done and how many of these led you to feel nausea?

I've done around four, and the reason for the nausea during at least one of those was I had a lot to cleanse out of my body. It happened two other times and it was far more mild; it probably had more to do with being hungry and not being acclimated to it than it did any physical issues, but it was enough that I took noticed and monitored myself carefully.

This is true that a 3 day fast can be amazingly beneficial. I really think that with countrygirl's issues, though, it will likely take a lot longer to eliminate them. 3 days can wipe out arthritis symptoms, brain fog, many sore muscle issues and other quirks and make a lot of other corrections, but asthma and food allergies strike me as the kind of ailments that will take quite a bit longer. I was not able to heal my breathing in a 10 day fast but when i followed this up a few months later with 30 days my lungs emerged feeling like new.

The thing about more severe stuff is that it seems like it's gonna take a while no matter how you do it, and it's important to develop a regimen you can maintain after you're finished with a long fast. Jumping right into this kind of thing is more often than not a recipe for failure because we have a tendency to underestimate how much willpower we have at our disposal, and if emotional issues surface while she's doing this that will make it all the more difficult to stick with it.

A long fast may indeed be necessary to get rid of the symptoms for good, but I figure if it won't kill you tomorrow take the route that eases you into it steadily as opposed to the most efficient route. Sticking with a goal is more beneficial than jumping in, failing, and entering into a cycle of that.

There are outliers who avoid that, especially with strong motivation, but without intimate knowledge of a person I'm going to go with generalities over gung-ho encouragement. So countrygal, there's no ill-will here, just make sure you focus on your long-term success over what happens short-term with your current fast.

[IvyW]

hows day 3 going for ya?

[IvyW]

Originally Posted by countrygal

So I know y'all are going to bash me but hear me out....I was diagnosed 2 years ago with asthma and I have always have severe food allergies. Well I have been told that water fasting for medical healing is very beneficial and much better for you than a lifetime of meds. So tomorrow is day 1 and I will keep logging in and keeping you posted on all the benefits and troubles that I experience. If you post something negative or an opinion about fasting then please save your time because I will not read it and I have done all the research that I needed and know my pros and cons....by the way I am 28 and a healthy weight so my doctor says I won't need medical supervision for this. Wish me luck and I would love to hear from anyone doing a long term water fast...talk to you tomorrow!

good luck! im starting my water fast today..i made it to day 6 a week ago lol. my goal is 10 days and im eventually going to do 30 or until "true hunger" hits.

[Mariana Trench]

Why did you tag this with "weight loss"?

[countrygal]

Weight loss my my original question when I came on this site. I am doing this to get rid of my asthma primarily but am nervous about becoming a skeleton in the process. I wanted to know how much weight people have lost during their fasts. Have you fasted or do you fast regularly and if so how much weight did you lose?

[Karen TDQ]

Good luck with the fasting! It is a tough thing to do and one that was enlightening for me. I have done several water fasts but my longest were two 12 day stretches. I found it fascinating how much my head was involved in the eating and not my body!! My only tip for lasting the course has to do with the smells of food. I found that resisting them made my life harder. In the end the best thing for me was to go into the kitchen when the food was being prepared and chat and SMELL the food. Lean into the wind.
For the record though, IMHO if a cup of warm water with a tea bag shaken at it will help you through the day - then do it. It is a better alternative than giving up. I suspect that 40 days may become hard on your body - I think 30ish is probably quite sufficient. Truth to tell my body thought 12 was really quite enough thank you very much!
It is a magnificent feeling of achievement to do a water fast! Go for it!

[countrygal]

Do u remember how much weight you lost and did you only drink water? Did u do it to heal a medical issue or just weight loss?

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by countrygal

Do u remember how much weight you lost and did you only drink water? Did u do it to heal a medical issue or just weight loss?

Considering you've done a "15 day fast", I'd say you would be the better judge of what happens on a long fast, then the person who only did a 12 day fast

[Karen TDQ]

Originally Posted by countrygal

Do u remember how much weight you lost and did you only drink water? Did u do it to heal a medical issue or just weight loss?

I did the first one for a medical condition. It was that or get a colonoscopy. I chose the fast! It worked extremely well. I noticed then that I had lost weight and was delighted with that. So then I tried it for that purpose. I generally lose 2 pounds a day and then at the end I put back about 4 when all is said and done. Coming out of it slowly and carefully is essential for me. Lots of tiny meals with easily digestible foods and work my way back to regular foods and meals.

Some I did only water and some I occasionally did 5 cups of water with 1/4 of a cup of juice mixed in for flavour. My mouth was soooo incredibly bored! It was important to me to last the time I had set out and that was what it took.

Hope that helps