Water Fasting

[squeakie]

I'm planning on going through a week-long water fast after next week, so I can have some time to ease into it. I'll be eating fruits and yoghurt for the next week in preparation.

I've been through a week-long water fast two years ago, and found it really easy with the only side-effects being bad breath, constipation and listlessness.

currently I'm having yoghurt, cereal, and fruits for most of my meals, and today I woke up with a energy-less sort of headache. I just feel generally quite weak, and I'm not sure why. I'm a bit worried about my upcoming water fast now, and I'm thinking I might be lacking some sort of nutrient, but I don't know what. any advice?

oh, I'm 20, 110 pounds and 5'4. if that helps.

[Tertl DEIEZ]

Originally Posted by squeakie

I'm planning on going through a week-long water fast after next week, so I can have some time to ease into it. I'll be eating fruits and yoghurt for the next week in preparation.

I've been through a week-long water fast two years ago, and found it really easy with the only side-effects being bad breath, constipation and listlessness.

currently I'm having yoghurt, cereal, and fruits for most of my meals, and today I woke up with a energy-less sort of headache. I just feel generally quite weak, and I'm not sure why. I'm a bit worried about my upcoming water fast now, and I'm thinking I might be lacking some sort of nutrient, but I don't know what. any advice?

oh, I'm 20, 110 pounds and 5'4. if that helps.

First... Why r u fasting? Also do you eat a lot of sugar, fat, salt, msg, hydrog. fats, high fruc.corn syr........etc. in ur normal diet?
The reason 4 asking is, in my mind, I understand 5'4" 110pnd. to b quite thin. So is this a cleanse? And if so have u, in prep 4 the fast, dramatically changed the way u eat in the prep?

[Lenie]

you're doing some Biblical fasting?

[Lenie]

Thanks for posting that, escapee. Curezone rocks.

[squeakie]

Originally Posted by Tertl DEIEZ

First... Why r u fasting? Also do you eat a lot of sugar, fat, salt, msg, hydrog. fats, high fruc.corn syr........etc. in ur normal diet?
The reason 4 asking is, in my mind, I understand 5'4" 110pnd. to b quite thin. So is this a cleanse? And if so have u, in prep 4 the fast, dramatically changed the way u eat in the prep?

I checked some vague body-fat calculator, and I should have at least 5% body fat so it's fine right? and yeah, it's a cleanse (I'm not religious and I understand this isn't the best way to lose weight, if I needed to lose weight anyway). also to give my digestion a rest.
actually what I'm eating now is not a lot different from my regular diet, only more yoghurt and less rice. my headache's gone now, so I guess I'm good to go!

so you're finished with your fast now right? how did it go?

[kanamit]

I saw this thread and had to register as there is so much misinformation here. I can't believe people are so ignorant to make comments about something they clearly haven't researched. I've read all of Joel Fuhrman and Herbert Shelton's material on water fasting - these are the two biggest modern pioneers of it. Let me dispel a few inaccuracies here:

Fasting is not starvation. Fasting is giving your body the rest it needs to rejuvenate. Fasting doesn't mean going without food; for a fast to be effective it must be preceded by a low fat plant-based diet (at least 3 months) and during the fast you must have rest and no stress. Any interference with this harms the fast.

Juice fasting is not proper fasting. A true water fast must be distilled water only. No juices. Not even tap water or filtered water. The digestive system must be kept absolutely clear. Juice fasting takes a lot longer to get results because the body is not in a complete state of rest. Plus you will feel hungry for longer because it will prevent your body going into ketosis.

Fasting doesn't make you hungry. After the second day you will go into ketosis and your brain will surpress your appetite. The innate brilliance of your body is such that it will get your energy from muscle tissue it does need or such that is dangerous (which is why it is so good for anti-cancer). Your appetite will return once the healing is complete. The hunger pains you feel in the first couple of days are withdrawal symptoms from your toxic Western diet. If you have a low fat plant-based diet before the fast you will not feel any discomfort at all. True hunger is not a stomach sensation, it is felt in the throat like thirst is.

Thin people can fast. I'm only 9 stone and I could fast for 40 days easy. The body can produce a lot of energy from a little muscle and since a proper fast is done while expending little energy a little goes a long way.

Fasting cures many chronic diseases. Fasting can cure - not suppress the symptoms of - type 2 diabetes, hypertension, colitis, IBS, psoriasis, alcoholism, drug addition, asthma, angina and many more including auto-immune disease like arthritis. Most disease originates in the gut. Western diet erode the protective layer of the gut and peptides, especially from meat leak through the gut wall and your immune system ends up attacking itself. A fast will repair the wall completely.

Fasting lower cholesterol and normalises blood pressure. In the first few days of a fast your cholesterol levels seemingly go up. This is your body removing all the plaque from your arteries. People have been spared paralysing strokes and life-threatening heart bypass surgery via fasting.

Fasting without a dietary change is pointless. Unless you switch to a low fat plant-based diet any fasting benefits will eventually go. After a fast your metabolism has slowed down so much that if you go back into a fatty diet you will end up gaining more weight than you lost.

I fasted and cured my tinnitus even though the Doctor said it could not be done. If you want to know more I suggest you get Dr Fuhrman's book Fasting - and eating - for health. Even if you're healthy a fast will drastically reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, strokes, etc. Fasting improves your body throughout. Your hearing and eyesight improve, you feel the mental clarify and energy you had when you were a teenager. You tongue goes pink and moist, your eyes go whiter. Even if you think you're healthy you'll still notice big improvements.

Fasting is shunned by most Doctors out of ignorance and because it doesn't sell drugs or goes against there 'just mask the symptoms' approach.

[KateWilliams]

When i heard about this water fast,i really surprised and have a question does it really works?..But some reasons made it really.They are:

First of all, research has conclusively proven that during a fast, you burn off a lot more fat than when you simply eat regularly throughout the day. To some people this might seem obvious but a lot of people are under the impression that if you fast you're only going to lose muscle.

Which I recommend, your body starts increasing the production of human growth hormone (HGH) which does several things including:

1. Burns more fat
2. Helps build and preserve muscle
3. Has anti-aging properties

Another shocking thing to know about the water fasting diet is that while you're doing it, your body is finally getting a much needed break and will start to repair, detoxify and cleanse itself.

[AB2009]

I am 29 years old and 6 months ago had a nervous breakdown and ended up in the psychiatric dept of my hospital. I have been on some pretty strong meds since then for Bi-Polar disorder II and six days ago I stopped taking them and feel like I came out of a fog.

I have been learning relaxation techniques and am wanting to try my first water fast. I want to completely get rid of any traces of medications and lose the weight they put on me. I have started yoga and journaling and I think fasting is my next step.

I do need support, I am married for 8 years and my husband and I are going through really tough times. I want to make myself the best I can be and have a clear mind to decide what to do with the rest of my life, and I am hoping I can make it long.

[Barcs]

Originally Posted by kanamit

I fasted and cured my tinnitus even though the Doctor said it could not be done. If you want to know more I suggest you get Dr Fuhrman's book Fasting - and eating - for health. Even if you're healthy a fast will drastically reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, strokes, etc. Fasting improves your body throughout. Your hearing and eyesight improve, you feel the mental clarify and energy you had when you were a teenager. You tongue goes pink and moist, your eyes go whiter. Even if you think you're healthy you'll still notice big improvements.

Fasting is shunned by most Doctors out of ignorance and because it doesn't sell drugs or goes against there 'just mask the symptoms' approach.

Interesting that you cured tinnitus by fasting. I suffer from tinnitus as well. How long did you fast for before noticing a difference, and how long was your fast? I've done 2 weeks on water before, but haven't noticed any improvements in that department. I'm going to be starting another fast soon and want to go at least 3 weeks maybe more.

[famee]

hi guys, i'm planning to stat a 7 or more day fast tomorrow. I've tried fasting numerous time but i always end up giving up but this time, i'm really hoping that i can finish the fast successfully. With this, i would like to ask if anyone is willing to be my fasting buddy. i really think this would help me a lot because the past times i tried fasting, i had no support. I'm looking forward to hearing from you guys.

[karthikrajg]

Its wonderful to see so many people genuinely interested in fasting. I fast quite regularly and always felt better when i did. There is a lot of scientific evidence for people who look for facts before starting this excellent habit.


Cheers,
Karthik
-----------
Karthik's blog

[cinnabar]

Originally Posted by famee

hi guys, i'm planning to stat a 7 or more day fast tomorrow. I've tried fasting numerous time but i always end up giving up but this time, i'm really hoping that i can finish the fast successfully. With this, i would like to ask if anyone is willing to be my fasting buddy. i really think this would help me a lot because the past times i tried fasting, i had no support. I'm looking forward to hearing from you guys.

I'd volunteer, famee, but I'm starting mine in October. I thought I'd prepare by eating whole (mostly raw) foods for a couple weeks prior.

Best wishes to you, though!

[Philemon]

I have tried water fasts a few times, and i've never made it past 4 days. I would be your buddy, but I don't think I will be able to do one until late December/early January. My work requires too much mental energy for me to feel comfortable fasting when I am busy with work. If you want to do one around that time, let me know. I could use a buddy next time myself. Good luck!

[thebestlife]

I m about to do the master cleanse which consist of drinking water,lemon juice ,maple syrup and cayenne pepper only. maple syrup is suppose to suply enough calories to sustain me functioning well and not starving.
We are all made of water (over 80%) so it makes sense that water fasting would be beneficial. I guess I ll see.
All i know is that if I drink enough water and eat little portions of healthy (live) food about 6 times a day I feel great and have so much energy. There is days I ll eat very little but I hydrate really well and it makes me feel awesome, my mind is so clear too.
I d like to do the water fasting sometimes for sure.

[Exiled347]

While water fasting, can you only used distilled water or can you use spring water (bottled water).

Is using distilled water going to help me more in the long run? Will spring water not help me to lose weight as quick as distilled water?

Thanks in advance for answers.

[MegaMrsP]

I can't believe how many people are interested in fasting...and everyone seems to be so supportive aswell. I am currently 168 pounds which gives me a BMI of 26.1 which is the heaviest I have been!! I have put two stone on in the last year, due to eating greasy take outs...would like a chance to give my body a fresh start, as it doesn't feel very well at the moment!

I'm going to aim to do at least 14 days but a maximum of 21 weeks...not sure how well I will do, but I'm going to give it my best shot. Are there any other low calorie drinks people drink aswell as water?

Would be brilliant if I could get a buddy to do this with?

[amynell]

MegaMrsP I sent you a msg, id love a buddy to help me with this, iv never done this b4 and i want to try it, i want to look and feel better and i honestly have searched a lot of sites and havn't found any reason NOT to do this! (obviously you can't be unhealthy and expect to feel better.)

Amy

[Steve23]

I used to do water fasting 1-3 days a week for a while (a religious stint in my life). It certainly created more discipline in my life and caused me to be quite mentally focused, as I didn't have much caloric energy to gain from. I had to push pretty hard to get throught the second or third days.
I've also done similar fasting, avoiding almost all food but a few I selected for the fast. These times were just as mentally intense, but I had more energy and didn't risk long-term health as much.

I think for long-term health, it's better to get some nutrition daily, especially protein and some vitamins and minerals.
This may go against the grain of what others recommend, but I think eggs, especially raw, are a good element to include in a fast, with some citrus. Or blend some nuts and fruits and vegetables.

I think water only for an extended period of time borders on superstitious nonsense.

Thanks for entertaining my opinions.

[Wes]

Truth is, the body can't sustain itself on water alone. It needs vitamins that aren't present in water. As stated, people don't realize that true fasting doesn't mean total absence of food. Many people fast without any eating at all, but most often they don't realize the effects it has on their bodies, caring only about weight loss. It's important to lose weight, but also to maintain the health you have.

Besides water, the body needs a minimum dose of a series of vitamins. If you can ensure that, fasting doesn't need to be dangerous. If anything, research that, since it is the most important part.

[Gazzali]

Originally Posted by Amadeus

Have many of you experienced water fasting? Of course water fasting is drinking only water and no other substance. No food. I recently went on a 3 week water fast. I lost about 40 pounds (I was heavy to begin with). A couple of weeks before that I went on a juice fast (using a juicer and drinking 100% fruit juices). I'd even drink chicken broth.

There are many benefits to fasting. It is a natural human function to fast dating back thousands of years. We are meant to fast when we are sick. This is why we don't have an appetite when we are feeling under the weather. Everyday we use such a great amount of our energy just for digestion, and if you eat a great deal of meat products digestion is even more taxing on your body. One reason we feel good in the mornings is because we haven’t eaten anything in several hours.

When you fast your digestive system is resting, which will let your body heal other parts of the body that have not gotten a lot of attention from our immune systems. Some may think that you will go into starvation mode and your body will shut off burning less fat. This simply is not the case. Your body first will burn off the stored sugars. Then it will focus on all the stored damaged tissue land toxins lurking in the body. Then it will go to fat. Research has shown that very little muscle will be burned until your body goes into starvation, which is after your fat stores are used up. Muscle and "good tissue" will be used up at the very end.

You will still pass some waste even after a couple of weeks. Basically (not to get too personal) my stool was a plastic looking substance. I am assuming this is dead tissue and toxins that had been building up over years in my body. That is the main purpose to fasting is to rid your body of stored toxins. Your tongue will be coated with the toxin everyday. Just make sure you brush your tongue with toothpaste a couple of times everyday. My blood pressure went down considerably. My energy level was great. The hunger pangs stopped after a couple of days. I never felt hungry to be honest.

The first time I water fasted I pigged out after completion. I ate meat, dairy, and other things I shouldn't. I did eat considerably less, to most people's standards, because my stomach shrank. However, this was not a great idea. I started to feel bad after a week so I went to a vegan diet. After a few days everything was back to normal. What you should do after a fast is to drink vegetable and fruit juices for a couple of days. Then you should move to soup, solid vegetables, then to other solid foods. This will be less taxing on your system.

I will say I had a lot more success with the juice fast. I didn't gain back much of the weight I lost and I was able to keep it off. You will lose a lot more weight from a water fast, but you will gain a quarter to half the weight back within a couple of weeks. Basically, most of this is water weight you are gaining back. But keep in mind that you are not doing it to lose weight; you are doing it to give your digestive system a rest and to rid your body of stored toxins. A juice fast will also serve to flush your body of toxins and give your digestive system a rest. It just takes longer than the water fast.

I need to mention that you will grow spiritually. You'll start to realize how little we need to survive and how much God provides for us everyday. You'll start to realize how blessed we are and how much we take food for granted. You'll be able to enjoy less rich foods and start to have an appreciation for everything. Yes, people will think you are crazy. They will tell you it is unhealthy, but the research will tell you otherwise. Of course I'm going to tell you to do it under doctor's supervision (even though I didn't). No doctor will tell you to do it to rid your body of sickness. However it has been proven that fasting can cure you of allergies, high blood pressure, depression, high blood sugar, etc. How come you don't hear about fasting in the media, doctor's journals, or even in chat rooms? Well how much profit is in it? How much can drug companies and other large corporations make from it? I think you've already answered the question.

Don't take my word for it!!! Do your own research on it. Below are a few links that will help you out.

Fasting

INHS Water Fasting article - What to expect on your first fast

To add to this topic I have written an article pertaining to this at ..Personal Development Blog-Proenrichment | Heavenly Tips On How To Burn Off Ugly Flabs Fast In 30 Days- Real Life Memorandum

perhaps readers might gain some points there

[ginkgo]

Many people get their info on fasting from drunks in a bar. Like one will say that he fasted for 5 days and almost died. Actually someone on this forum said that. I know a teen girl that did not almost die, but did die crossing the street. She was hit by a drunk driver and was dead before she hit the ground 25 feet away. Then the other drunk will say "my brother was fasting for 3 days and since he was hungry he had a dream that he ate a giant marshmallow. When he woke up, his pillow was gone!"

Many times tinnitus is caused from the hearing being diminished and fasting can help with that. Arnold Ehret had a fasting center in Europe and has cured some cases of blindness and deafness. Ehret is recognized as the founder of naturopathic medicine. He was in his 30s when he had done this and Dr Herbert Shelton was around 5 years old at this time.

Here is a link to the book mentioned above. It is great and a masterpiece on healing with fasting. That is what this MD does. Amazon.com: Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor's Program for Conquering Disease (9780312187194): Joel Fuhrman, Neal D. Barnard: Books

The above page has testimonials from 6 MDs about this book. It says "Therapeutic fasting accelerates the healing process and allows the body to recover from serious disease in a dramatically short period of time."

As far as the guy with mental problems, this webpage on fasting has testimonials from 19 MDs and 3 of them are psychiatrists. This webpage says "Dr. Yuri Nikolayev, director of the fasting unit of the Moscow Psychiatric Institute, reported on the use of scientific, therapeutic fasting to successfully treat over 10,000 patients, all suffering from neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and various neuroses, concluding: "The hunger treatment [as Soviet psychiatrists term fasting] gives the entire nervous system and the brain a rest."

[Barcs]

Originally Posted by Wes

Truth is, the body can't sustain itself on water alone. It needs vitamins that aren't present in water. As stated, people don't realize that true fasting doesn't mean total absence of food. Many people fast without any eating at all, but most often they don't realize the effects it has on their bodies, caring only about weight loss. It's important to lose weight, but also to maintain the health you have.

Besides water, the body needs a minimum dose of a series of vitamins. If you can ensure that, fasting doesn't need to be dangerous. If anything, research that, since it is the most important part.

The body can sustain itself on water alone, but not permanently. When you fast, the body goes into a state of self digestion, where your stored fat is digested to sustain the body. You do get vitamins and minerals from that, which is why it's usually not necessary to supplement during a fast.

[James Reno]

I'm not so much of a fasting guy, but I do agree with drinking more water and calorie reduction.

I've lost 30 lbs. eating mostly a raw food diet and you can see how much water I drink relative to food intake here.

Huge Reduction In Calories With A Raw Food Lifestyle!

[ohbe1canobe]

Hi just wanted to drop by and say hi,

It's funny I researched water fasting and can remember finding this thread a couple of years ago, and here it has come up again during my new browsing.

I'm halfway through day one of my water fast now, it's 1PM and I haven't eaten anything since 10PM yesterday evening (I went to bed at about 1am).

I have been unwell past few days which prompted the reevaluation and pushed me into doing the water fast. It's 50/50 for me half my health and half for the mental conditioning and just deeper appreciation of life that I am sure I will get from this.

I'm currently 21stone, my plan is to follow this for 25 days, then start a 500 calorie a day diet. It's extreme but it's about time I did something and the thought of being able to survive for 25 days on nothing but water is a really powerful thought to me. If I do this it will teach me alot about myself and my body.

I gather from other comments that if you revert back to your 'normal diet' after a water fast you gain most of your lost weight back. Which is why I am going to start a VLC diet of 500 calories a day after my initial 25 day fast.

It was great to read this thread again, good luck to anyone else on this journey or thinking of starting it.

Have decided to chart my journey here: 25 Day Water Fast

[Nameless One]

Usually we get all heavy and bogged down from our "normal" diets because they are a crappy way of eating to begin with. Obviously if someone is way overfat and waterlogged before a fast, loses this baggage, and then does the same things they did before, to make themselves this way, they will return to their previous state. I still believe that it is better to fast from time to time, and not change, than to not fast at all. If nothing else, the fasting helps recover from all the abuse

[Nameless One]

In other words, even if cosmetically the body becomes fat agian, fasting will help keep the organs in better shape, more healthy on the inside, etc.

Might add many years to life, and possibly avoid horrible conditions the body may have been close to developing

[M1kester]

Hey guys, hoping this thread isn't dead, but I have just completed a 7 day water only fast and lost 11 lbs. My plan was to lose weight and then build muscle and get toned. My question is: Would it be okay for me to start out by maybe drinking a protein shake, or something like slimfast, also I was going to eat some tunafish and white rice along with some raw veggies, would that be too hard on my digestive system after ending the fast?

[OnMyWeigh]

Originally Posted by M1kester

Hey guys, hoping this thread isn't dead, but I have just completed a 7 day water only fast and lost 11 lbs. My plan was to lose weight and then build muscle and get toned. My question is: Would it be okay for me to start out by maybe drinking a protein shake, or something like slimfast, also I was going to eat some tunafish and white rice along with some raw veggies, would that be too hard on my digestive system after ending the fast?

Yes that would be too hard. That can do more harm than good. You're supposed to break a fast with diluted orange juice OR where I've gotten this next block of info from is Loren Lockman, I will just quote him actually, advice he'd given me on another forum when I was doing my 14 day water fast.

"I'm just seeing this for the first time; life is very busy for me right now at Tanglewood.

Normally, after fasting for a week, most people feel fine and are able to eat as they normally do after about 3 days of slowly ramping up. We never uses juices here as I've modeled my program on what happens in nature and it occurs to me that every other species both fasts and starts eating solid food when ready to eat. W>e've fasted thousands of people over the years and high water content, juicy fruits like papaya and watermelon seem to the easiest, most digestible things for most people to start with. You can't improve on whole food, and having the fiber allows the body to start things moving in the colon again as quickly as possible."

[MightySunTzu]

Originally Posted by M1kester

Hey guys, hoping this thread isn't dead, but I have just completed a 7 day water only fast and lost 11 lbs. My plan was to lose weight and then build muscle and get toned.

As far as plans go, i think this is a pretty good one. Can it be assumed that you welcome the cleansing and healing benefits in addition to the fat burning? Your fat loss likely constitutes about 3 pounds out of the total 11, the vast majority consisting of temporary water loss.

Originally Posted by M1kester

My question is: Would it be okay for me to start out by maybe drinking a protein shake, or something like slimfast, also I was going to eat some tunafish and white rice along with some raw veggies, would that be too hard on my digestive system after ending the fast?

Originally Posted by OnMyWeigh

Yes that would be too hard. That can do more harm than good. You're supposed to break a fast with diluted orange juice OR...

I agree with OnMyWeigh. If it is me i am strictly juicing for 24-40 hours after a 7 day fast. It's way too soon for tuna, i would hold back til day 5, 6, or 7 for that... rice maybe on day 4 or 5, though you may have heard that refined grains stripped of much of their nutritional portrait are not a good choice. I don't know anything about slimfast so i won't comment on it, but whey protein powder is quite digestively simple and would likely be workable as early as day two with some careful experimentation (ie: start with a little bit and see how you feel 20 minutes later).

Originally Posted by 11

"

... We never uses juices here as I've modeled my program on what happens in nature and it occurs to me that every other species both fasts and starts eating solid food when ready to eat. W>e've fasted thousands of people over the years and high water content, juicy fruits like papaya and watermelon seem to the easiest, most digestible things for most people to start with. You can't improve on whole food, and having the fiber allows the body to start things moving in the colon again as quickly as possible."

I have long wondered... if animals in the wild were capable of juicing, would they still break a long fast with whole fruits? . While generally speaking i believe we can learn a lot from them, their inability to do something doesn't necessarily make it wrong for us. After water, nothing is digestively more simple than juice and immediately after a fast, digestive simplicity is key, the simpler the better.

But... if one was going to break the fast with whole fruits i completely agree that papaya and watermelon would make excellent choices. Nevertheless, whole fruits will require careful moderation, something that can be exceedingly difficult emerging from a fast where appetites have on occasion been known to rage ferociously. Such caution need not be practiced with juices which makes them far and away the safest choice.

[Optimistic Journey]

This type of fast definitely has it's benefits. Some people find however, that without substance, they may end up antsy and irritable. Did you find that you had these symptoms?