Questions On 3 Week Fasting

[Stardom744]

Hi, my name is kevin. I am in south korea right now at this fasting/yoga house. Prior to fast I ate like a pig and now need to start fasting. I weigh roughly 190 to 200 pounds. I need to lose 10 to 30 pounds.

What I do everyday is work on the computer, drink water and do 1 1/2 hour walks to the mountain or beach area.

Then I continue working on the computer and sleep if I get too tired.

Questions are :

If I am fasting, do I need to sleep or just continue water fasting? And does drinking too much water make you gain weight?

Its been 2 days and I saw my weight go up and down but I only drank water or is it because I take hot showers ?

[kat]

Originally Posted by Stardom744

Hi, my name is kevin. I am in south korea right now at this fasting/yoga house. Prior to fast I ate like a pig and now need to start fasting. I weigh roughly 190 to 200 pounds. I need to lose 10 to 30 pounds.

What I do everyday is work on the computer, drink water and do 1 1/2 hour walks to the mountain or beach area.

Then I continue working on the computer and sleep if I get too tired.

Questions are :

If I am fasting, do I need to sleep or just continue water fasting? And does drinking too much water make you gain weight?

Its been 2 days and I saw my weight go up and down but I only drank water or is it because I take hot showers ?

Take care of yourself! A 3 week water fast will slow your metabolism, and make you lose a lot of lean muscle mass. You'll regain the weight again quickly, and you'll have a significantly harder time losing it (you'll also tend to gain more weight, as you'll have reduced your basal metabolism).

A 3 week fast to lose 10+ pounds is NOT safe, and not smart.

Aim for losing a pound a week, via -sensible- diet and daily exercise. At 2 pounds a week, you'll already be losing lean tissue, such as muscle, which is not good. More than that is plain unhealthy, unless someone is grossly obese, which you aren't.

You still need to sleep while fasting. Showers should have no effect. Weight naturally fluctuates; water is heavy.

I'd recommend seeing a dietitian or similar, since you obviously want to lose weight, but have a number of downright dangerous misconceptions.

[Amadeus]

I think you'll find the answer in this thread.

Water Fasting

[John Hill]

Drinking water frequently throughout the day does have the effect of helping to speed up your metabolism slightly. Water fasting can be beneficial for a couple of days but any more than that your body will actually hold onto the fat and use your muscle tissue as a source of energy since it contains necessary amino acids for proper body function.

Long term water fasting is just not healthy and not ideal for losing fat. Here is a guide to the best way to burn fat, if you can stick with this program you will lose fat and do it in a healthy way.

John

Attracting People.com

[joshbickford]

I'd highly recommend adding fruit juice, veggie juice, and Gatorade or a similar type drink to your diet.

I'm 20 days into a 40 day fast right now, and I've found when my blood sugar is low my hands get numb, and I get very tired. By drinking juices and Gatorade, as well as taking vitamins I actually feel better than normal....

I'm not sure, but when I was preparing and learning how to fast it seemed that water only fasts weren't ever supposed to last more than 7 days...I could be wrong though.

[ginkgo]

It is important to get all the sleep you need during a fast. You should only drink as much water as you need so you do not overwork your kidneys. Drink when thirsty. This site on Lemonade Diet and Fasting has quotes from 17 MDs about fasting. It has the New England Journal of Medicine telling how fasting is good for weight loss.

[bdp]

Stardom,

You must do some research before you do an extended fast, or you may risk your health. That said, most of the people replying to your questions are misinformed. The book "Fasting and Eating for Health" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman has everything you need to know. Here are some answers to your questions:

After your 2nd day of fasting your body will be using fat, not muscle. The body isn't stupid; it has fat stores specifically for situations like this.

Water fasting results in rapid weight loss; expect 2 lbs a day, 1 of those being fat. You will not gain back the lost fat if you adhere to a strict, healthy diet after your fast. Otherwise, you will gain all of it back and then some (because your metabolism will be slowed for a while). I recently did a 5 day water fast to detoxify my body, and I lost 5 lbs of fat that has stayed off.

For an extended fast to be beneficial and safe, you must rest and sleep as much as you can. After a few days you will likely be too weak to do much of anything.

Drink tons of water to help your body detoxify.

Avoid hot showers or baths, because they can dehydrate you.

In conclusion, you shouldn't do a water fast until you read that book by Dr. Fuhrman. Another way to detoxify and lose fat is a juice fast of some type. The site mentioned by ginkgo is a good resource.