Wanting to start a water fast!

karawilliamson93

Hey guys i've never done a water fast before but i really want to, to lose weight. If I go on a water fast then go back to eating like i do now, would i gain back all the weight i lost? i already drink a lot of water (about 3 liters a day) if i did a water fast would i have to drink more? how long should the water fast last considering it'd be the first one i've ever gone on? what are some benefits and how could i prevent hunger pangs? (message me because i dont know if i'd get notifications for this or not)

digitalblack

Hi!

To start, I'd suggest doing a short water fast first. Like 3 days. That's when you'll get the worse of the hunger. Once you've been through that once or twice, the 3rd time isn't so bad because your expecting it.

3 litres a day is enough for a water fast, all my research indicates you don't need more than the 8 glasses suggested normally, but you may find that you are very thirsty and want to drink more. I honestly don't know how much water I'm going through (I'm on day 8 of my water fast), but it's a lot.

Will you gain weight back if you eat the same? That depends on how you are eating. If you binge eat after a fast, yeah, probably. You will definitely gain some back after fasting regardless of how you eat. I did a 4 day fast. I lost 10lbs, then gained back 3. Net of 7lbs lost in a week, so that's not bad. Most people find they don't lose much if anything the first day, then day 2 is an insane loss (I lost 5.6lbs in a day), then it slowly levels off to about 1lb/day for men, 0.5-1 lb/day for women.

Benefits? Depends on how long the fast is. Weight loss (obvious), I think gained willpower/confidence in your mental strength (I can not eat for days!). Cleans you out a bit for a 3 day fast.

For longer fasts (15+ days) you see all sort of people saying things that were cured. Clearer skin, allergies done, leukemia gone, metabolism resetting, spiritual awakening, old injuries healed, back pain gone, etc., etc. I don't know if I believe them all, but it seems the body has an amazing ability to heal itself when you take a large portion of it's systems offline (everything to do with digestion).

To prevent hunger pangs? The worst hunger pangs are in the first 4 days. So if you're doing a 3 day fast...your kind of screwed, your going to be hungry more likely than not. Some people seem to be able to go into it knowing they are not going to eat, and so they don't get too hungry. One trick I read recently that might work (but haven't tested): Eat nothing but fruit for 2 days before your fast. Then drink a glass of orange juice for breakfast the first day of your fast, then go for a 90 minute walk. The theory is that you will have nothing in your system that will produce glucose for long periods, you drink the juice to get enough energy to make it through the walk, but then you walk to burn the juice and any glucose that may be left off. This, in theory, is supposed to switch your body into ketosis within 24 hours (instead of 72 hours). I do not know if it will with the hunger.

I hope that addressed all of your questions. If you have any more, feel free to ask.

madagirl81

Is this group still active? I want buddies to start a fast, im 140 pound 35yo female at only 4'11" so I'm desperate