Water Fasting

[Barcs]

I'd be happy to join you. I was going to do a week or so fast now that the weather is nice. I fasted during the winter and the only annoyance was hightened sensitivity to cold and dry skin. I think it will be better in the warm weather because I can go for daily hikes to keep the metabolism moving. If I were you I'd hold off until your exams are done, because while the body is detoxing you can experience dizzyness or light headedness and sometimes it's hard to concentrate. It would probably be best to do it during a week when you have minimal physical and mental activities and have some extra time to rest.

[pride]

Ya i agree with you..well i used to fast when i was 16-17. Now i am 23 haven't done it since then. But fasting really isn't that hard, sometimes the first few days its hard. Normally the cravings are far worse than some hunger pains. Right now i have been water fasting for about 33 hours now. Not really any disconfort or pain just i want to eat something not because i am hungry just sounds good lol.

[PoisonIvy]

Thanks Barcs .... Yeah I decided to postpone the fast to when I have more free time and don't have to worry about much... I will probably start fasting in two weeks.

[Barcs]

Sounds good. I will be starting my fast next Monday (5/12/08). If you're still interested in going at the same, let me know. Good luck!

[Amadeus]

I have googled stevepavlina water fasting and have found a few articles directly referring back to this blog. Below is an article that states that what we are advising is unhealthy and that we should consume more nutrients in order to detox. Oh but keep in mind they are SELLING you something, but we are not. Remember I warned you when I first started this blog that no money can be made from water fasting.

Cleansing vs. Fasting

[PoisonIvy]

5/12 sounds great.... I would be glad to join you. I'll start that same day!

[Barcs]

Ok cool. I will start that day as well. This weekend I am eating lightly and mostly fruits and veggies to prepare.

[Barcs]

Hey there Poison Ivy. Just curious how you're doing so far? I started Monday and these last 2 days have been tough. It gets better though!

[PoisonIvy]

I had a sore throat on Saturday, so I decided to start my fast on Sunday, so this is my third day and I really don't feel hungry at all. Maybe it is because if you are sick your appetite goes away... After fasting for a day my sore throat was gone and I had no symptoms of a cold (or sickness) at all, I didn't feel sick. How long have you decided to fast? I'm not quite sure yet.

[Machine99]

Water fasting is very powerful. I have done a supervised 30 day water fast with 2 doctors and a physical trainer. I continued to work a stressful desk job as well as weight training five days a week. I had a strength test prior to the fast as well as blood tests. Although my cardio stamina was somewhat reduced toward the end of the 30 day fast all other results were Extremely positive. On the last day of the 30 day fast I was able to lift the same weight as prior to the fast. My blood numbers all improved dramatically. My work mates were inclined to describe me as energetic or even hyperactive. With the loss of 45 lbs over the month, I felt much stronger.

This was a very strict fast following very specific procedures that probably would be difficult for most people, however the results were well beyond any that I would hope for.

[a1bip]

This is tough. I just wanted an opinion on whats going on for me right now.

1) I have strong stomach pains / hunger pangs or whatever you want to call them - they are brutal. Do these start to ease off on day 3 (as ive read) because im not sure i can go another full day like this (weak? maybe).

2) Since this morning ive had diarrhea all day. My stomachs making rumbling noises and im needing to go to the toilet alot. What comes out is water with mix of light brownie yellow 'poo' - some small 'pellets' of poo (sorry). I need to go right now!

3) I also have a slightly high temperature i think - hot flushes id say because right now im ok. And sometimes when im lying on my bed i cant lie on my stomach or side otherwise its very uncomfortable.

Do you think i could have coincidentally picked up a stomach bug the day before i started? or is all this part of the cleansing process?

I would like to go for 7 days but this seems like a hard road. Maybe i should just switch to raw fruit and veg lifestyle which is what this fast was a precursor for.

I havent eaten meat for 2 years but today i caught a clip of 'friends' on tv and joey with a bucket of kfc chicken - the craving was intense. Actually the craving for all my 'bad' foods is intense right now. I could flip and go buy something any second!!!!

Advice appreciated

And thanks to all that have contributed to this thread - very very interesting and helpful.

[Amadeus]

Well keep in mind that your body is being reintroduced to the toxins that were previous stored. This is what happens when you detox so fast through water fasting. You could switch to a juice fast to slow down the process which is what I recommend on your first fast. I'm not quite sure why you would be feeling this amount of pain though, usually by day two you've burned through all your sugar levels and have not started detoxing yet. Maybe just switch to juice. If you dont' have a juicer to juice fruits and vegetables go out and purchase some V8s, grape juice, apple juice, chicken broth.

[a1bip]

thanks.

Ofcourse, my 'brutal' could be your acceptable normal... right now im ok and lying on my stomach typing this reply - maybe brutal was a bit strong. I have phases where its very uncomfortable and so there is no feeling to do anything but be distracted by the discomfort.

The day is coming to close here in UK (its 10.25pm) so ill go sleep and see how things are tomorrow - start of the third day.

ps. this is my first ever fast.
pps. i need the loo!!! this better stop soon!

[a1bip]

I decided to come off the water fast day 3. Ive had a few nuts, some orange juice and half a banana + water so far.

The combination of fever/hot flushes, diarrhea and aching neck & shoulder is alittle too much for me all in one go.

The hunger pangs stopped in the middle of the night but the others didnt. Its probably all part of the detox process - id say it is - but its rendered me completely dead.

Im going to move to my raw food intake and then return to the water fast in 2-3 months. But this time ill start off a few days on juice etc... basically go in prepared rather than naively thinking 'i can handle anything'.

[Lucian]

Hey guys, I'm currently doing a a water fast, and I am on the third day. I hope to do it for 2 weeks. I was wondering though, is flavored water against the rules, like the aquafina stuff? I just can't wait for the food craving to go away, cause everything just looks so good, and it's pretty tempting.

[Amadeus]

I know, when I water fasted I would just drool over the food network for an hour at a time and had so many plans about what I was going to eat. I would not drink flavored water because of the sodium or other additives.

[Lucian]

Originally Posted by Amadeus

I know, when I water fasted I would just drool over the food network for an hour at a time and had so many plans about what I was going to eat. I would not drink flavored water because of the sodium or other additives.

Hahaha. I know just what you mean, I never watched that channel until I started fasting. Hell, when I fast, I even think of running my own Restaurant and what type of food I would serve. Heres an update on how ive been doing with my water only fast, and I stay away from anything other than just pure clean water.



I started fasting on June/6/2008, right now it is June/10/2008, so im on my 5th day obviously and things are going okay I guess. One problem I seem to have is, trying to sleep, I already had sleeping issues before the fast, but now they seem worse. My arms or sore right now, but only because I had to move furniture at my job, which was just a teensy bit difficult, since I was fasting. If it were possible, I would stay clear of any hard physical activity while fasting, but I have to make a lot of money in just a short amount of time, but that’s a whole story in itself. I know this is boring but oh well. Restaurant

[SheDoesntThink]

After reading a few posts on this forum, I am going to start the water fast for spiritual enlightenments. I have a mild case of depression (nothing HUGE) but it does bother me from time to time and I think that a fast would really help me out and as a bonus to lose a couple pounds.

Another reason for me to fast is because of acne vulgaris. Ive been struggling with it for a good 5 years and I think I've tried all medications possible. So I'm going to go on a water fast for 21 days.

I have a few questions (although they might have been asked previously) 1)Can I continue doing Kickboxing and hot yoga during the fast? 2) Does the fast cause hairloss?

[neurolempicka]

I tried this a year ago. I fasted for five days until I couldn't take it anymore. I had a binge for a couple of days and ate really spicy food. My stomach has taken a turn for the worse since then, giving me constant diarrhea for a year. It was sensitive enough as it was, but the rocky path out of fasting made it worse.

I'm scared to try this again, since I'm not sure it will improve my stomach. In addition I am depressed, and I don't want to exacerbate my depression. I've heard it can go both ways as for improving your mood.

I would also like to know if there is any hard, scientific evidence of the detox process; that it eliminates toxins and dead tissue etc. I've heard so much theoretical evidence.

For the record, I am a vegetarian and have been so for 2 years.

[Barcs]

Originally Posted by neurolempicka

I tried this a year ago. I fasted for five days until I couldn't take it anymore. I had a binge for a couple of days and ate really spicy food. My stomach has taken a turn for the worse since then, giving me constant diarrhea for a year. It was sensitive enough as it was, but the rocky path out of fasting made it worse.

I'm scared to try this again, since I'm not sure it will improve my stomach. In addition I am depressed, and I don't want to exacerbate my depression. I've heard it can go both ways as for improving your mood.

I would also like to know if there is any hard, scientific evidence of the detox process; that it eliminates toxins and dead tissue etc. I've heard so much theoretical evidence.

For the record, I am a vegetarian and have been so for 2 years.

Your problem is in the first paragraph. When you break the fast you need to come off really slow, and really healthily. A general rule of thumb is to give the same amount of time breaking the fast as you were on the fast. If you fast 5 days and then binge eat unhealthy or extreme (spicey) foods you are going to cause more harm than good, and it seems like this is the exact case. I think in all honesty what you need to do is fast again and make sure that you that you break it properly this time. You don't have to do anything crazy, just give it 4 or 5 days. I'm willing to bet that giving your system a reboot will help fix your stomach issues.

[neurolempicka]

You're willing to bet, but I'm not. My family has a history of an extremely delicate digestive system, so bad in fact that my aunt had to have her colon removed. I'm aware that I did it all wrong, but how can I be sure that a fast would rectify the mistake? In the worst case it could all go really wrong. I see no evidence, just holistic musings.

[Barcs]

When you fast, your body heals itself with the extra energy left over from not using the digestive system. If you do not break the fast properly, not only do you shock the hell out of your digestive system, you also risk screwing up your metabolism amoung other things. The reason that fasting again would fix the mistake is because fasting is pretty much like a system reset. Your digestive system needs to slowly get used to food again after being out of commission for 5 days. Does that not make sense? This should definitely help remedy your problems. I mean you are telling me that you've had diaheria for a year straight now, and that is obviously what caused it.

There have been countless studies done on fasting and how to break the fast properly. But don't listen to me. Read it for yourself throughout this thread. I honestly do not see how it could hurt you to do it again, but properly. If anything it will help. Maybe it won't.. maybe it's too late, but you might as well try. Ultimately the choice is yours, but I'd hate to have to live the rest of my life in annoyance and agony because of 1 stupid decision that can easily be rectified.

[neurolempicka]

I understand how the water fasting principle works in theory, but I'm having a little hard time finding out how people know that all this microbiology is really happening. Weight loss I have no problem understanding. The toxin expulsion is harder to grasp. I know that some toxins are stored in fat, and that losing weight will get rid of them. But in order to get rid of all the toxins in the body you would have to get rid of all your fat. How does the body get rid of toxins, is it by expulsion or by breaking them down? Also, has anyone seen the toxins go out of the body? Has anyone measured that the damaged tissue which once resided in the body is now removed?

[Joeschmoe]

Maybe you would understand it if the term toxin was taken out of the mix. Other than ridding you of toxins stored in fat (which is in my opinion why we store most of our fat, to store toxins we are under too much stress to get rid of), fasting gives all of your waste elimination systems a break. It allows your digestive system a chance to rebuild the walls of your stomach small intestines and colon. It wouldn't have a chance if you keep shoving toxic food into it. It would be like trying to fix a motor while it was running. It also gives your liver, kidneys, and skin a chance to repair and rebuild. And you get that 30% of energy that digestion normally takes back to do it.

[bakerjw]

I hit one of those pinnacle moments in life last Friday and without thinking twice decided to go on an extended water fast for spiritual reasons. I know that I'll never make my intended target, but I am closing in on day 7 and although I have a real urge to start breaking out of it tomorrow, I suspect that I will push on through the weekend to day 10 and see where I am by then. Perhaps even push it to 2 weeks. And then... So at least 7 days for a first time seems like a success to me.

So far I've seen sinus drainage, coughing up a lot of phlegm, NO bad breath, no funky excretions, no hunger pangs to speak of, some minor heartburn, and a minimum of a gallon of pure water a day. My energy is low enough where I can't do too much work around the house. I am losing weight and it can't be all water with my high intake levels. If anything I'd expect to lose water when I stop this fast.

To add from what I've read, my sense of smell is through the roof now! I can only imagine what my sense of taste will be like. I dream of the day when I can make a pot of from scratch vegetable beef barley soup.

[zhPaul]

Back in January i was overweight and my career goals would require me to be in excellent shape and my friend was doing something called juice fasting. He told me all about it and i became interested so i decided to do all of the research i could and started my juice fast.

For my first fast i stretched this one out and did a 30 day fast with NO breaks in between or anything like that and the results were really good.

I went from 266lbs to 232lbs when the fast was done and shortly after down to 225lbs. I was very pleased with the results and enjoyed myself quite a bit so recently i've decided to undertake a water fast and this is day 1.

Now that i have some experience fasting, i figured i'd be able to do a water fast so i'm thinking of doing mine for 10-14 days.

To the skeptics... If this is something that interests you please give it a try, you have nothing to lose! You will enjoy this unique experience.

[toasterwater]

call me a pessimist, but I know I've heard of water fasting somewhere before... OH YEAH! it's also called anorexia!

"To the skeptics... If this is something that interests you please give it a try, you have nothing to lose! You will enjoy this unique experience."

I find the above statement absurd. You definitely have something to lose... quite a bit actually. What if someone tries your water fast for 30 days and dies from malnutrition? You'll never know about it because they will never post in this forum again. It's very irresponsible for you to so highly promote something so dangerous without even the slightest disclaimer. If you are deadset in your belief that this is the greatest thing since sliced bread, you may want to at least throw out the suggestion that a doctor should probably be consulted before becoming anorexic for a month.

[waterbug]

I'm planning on doing a water fast and I know I should probably stick with distilled water but what about having some seltzer water during my fast would it hurt?

[Barcs]

Originally Posted by toasterwater

call me a pessimist, but I know I've heard of water fasting somewhere before... OH YEAH! it's also called anorexia!

"To the skeptics... If this is something that interests you please give it a try, you have nothing to lose! You will enjoy this unique experience."

I find the above statement absurd. You definitely have something to lose... quite a bit actually. What if someone tries your water fast for 30 days and dies from malnutrition? You'll never know about it because they will never post in this forum again. It's very irresponsible for you to so highly promote something so dangerous without even the slightest disclaimer. If you are deadset in your belief that this is the greatest thing since sliced bread, you may want to at least throw out the suggestion that a doctor should probably be consulted before becoming anorexic for a month.

You dug up this thread from 2 months ago just to call it stupid? Seriously dude, calm down. The risks and benefits of fasting have been FULLY covered in this thread, and many have been successful. Every single problem I've seen in fasting, is usually because the person does not do it properly, or listen to their body. I fasted 3 weeks and felt better than I have in years and was finally able to get my diet rolling properly and know my body much better now. I consider this a great success. Anorexia and Starvation are much different than fasting, not to mention that humans have been fasting for health reasons since 4000 BC at least and it still goes on today. Perhaps you could link me to some stories about people who died while fasting? If it's so dangerous, there should be tons of them. I bet the number is tiny compared to other causes of death in the world.

I'm planning on doing a water fast and I know I should probably stick with distilled water but what about having some seltzer water during my fast would it hurt?

Check the ingredients of the seltzer. I drank some sparkling mineral water when I was juice fasting a whiles back. The carbonation might be a little harsh on an empty stomach though. If you are water fasting, your best bet is probably to stick with water.

[Tertl DEIEZ]

This is my 1st time on this thing and my 1st time shooting for a 40 day fast. I am most likely doing the first 3-5 days with water only, this being my 3rd day and only water being used. Then the remainder substituted with fruit and veg. juice as I feel led ,and, needless to say, water. I have done the week long thing so I was feeling the need to try 40 days.

I am doing this for spiritual reasons and not for any other reason. I do believe that God will sustain me if this is His will and I am waiting to see what happens. Jesus was able to do this and Moses did 80 days without any water.......OUCH! Listen...this is in NO WAY advice to do the same. The point being God had to sustain him through this. I have had many good friends that have done this and they say they'd never have wanted it any different. Sooooo I hope the same is true for me by the end of this thing.

I am seeing a doctor who, has done recently, and will do blood/urine tests every week. I do believe God wants us to act intelligent and take the steps necessary to keep safe........ not go into this on blind faith<------He doesn't require that and He has given us great doctors with a wealth of knowledge.
My doctor happens to be a Muslim and is in the middle of a fast himself so I think that I have the right person helping me through this.

I have done lots of homework b4 doing this and I would say the the same 4 anybody trying a fast of any sort. DO UR HOMEWORK! Make sure this is 4 u.

You may b one who has a problem with something like hyponatraemia, also known as water intoxication.<----- must have electrolytes!!!! If u dont know what it is then u r most likely not ready and need to do a bit more research b 4 starting.

Go to the doctor too.

I hope to be back soon.