Fasting

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  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Hi there is a group on here for one meal a day eaters it's called OMAD revolution. You might find it interesting & helpful. I have started water fasting over the past month ( meaning I consume nothing but water for 24 hours) on most days. I then sit down with my family to eat a large meal in the evening. I've lost a stone so far. ( Yes I know most of this is water weight) So my review of water fasting which was your original question. I love it! I love the feeling of self control, I love eating that one really delicious fulfilling meal a day. I love that my social life eating out with friends hasn't had to change & I love seeing the pounds drop off. I know it's not for everyone but I wish you good luck & do what feels right for you. :)

    I don't think that's water fasting. That's a form of IF, with a small eating window. Water fasting is actually eating nothing for a period of time, whether a day (a whole day, not eating dinner) or longer.

    Like I said upthread, I think it's harmless and can have some benefits depending on why you do it, if short term like a day. I think doing it much longer would be a bad idea. Neither IF nor water fasting helps with stress or "detoxes" you IMO, but I personally like the idea of IF. (I am more attracted to the 5:2 model than the eating window, but different versions work for different people. IF isn't "water fasting," however.)
  • coseytoes107
    coseytoes107 Posts: 3 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Hi there is a group on here for one meal a day eaters it's called OMAD revolution. You might find it interesting & helpful. I have started water fasting over the past month ( meaning I consume nothing but water for 24 hours) on most days. I then sit down with my family to eat a large meal in the evening. I've lost a stone so far. ( Yes I know most of this is water weight) So my review of water fasting which was your original question. I love it! I love the feeling of self control, I love eating that one really delicious fulfilling meal a day. I love that my social life eating out with friends hasn't had to change & I love seeing the pounds drop off. I know it's not for everyone but I wish you good luck & do what feels right for you. :)

    I don't think that's water fasting. That's a form of IF, with a small eating window. Water fasting is actually eating nothing for a period of time, whether a day (a whole day, not eating dinner) or longer.

    Like I said upthread, I think it's harmless and can have some benefits depending on why you do it, if short term like a day. I think doing it much longer would be a bad idea. Neither IF nor water fasting helps with stress or "detoxes" you IMO, but I personally like the idea of IF. (I am more attracted to the 5:2 model than the eating window, but different versions work for different people. IF isn't "water fasting," however.)

    Now I'm confused. Why are they 2 different things. I see them (in my case) as both the same. Only consuming water for 24 hours then a meal can be described as IF or a water fast. Or am I missing something?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited July 2016
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Hi there is a group on here for one meal a day eaters it's called OMAD revolution. You might find it interesting & helpful. I have started water fasting over the past month ( meaning I consume nothing but water for 24 hours) on most days. I then sit down with my family to eat a large meal in the evening. I've lost a stone so far. ( Yes I know most of this is water weight) So my review of water fasting which was your original question. I love it! I love the feeling of self control, I love eating that one really delicious fulfilling meal a day. I love that my social life eating out with friends hasn't had to change & I love seeing the pounds drop off. I know it's not for everyone but I wish you good luck & do what feels right for you. :)

    I don't think that's water fasting. That's a form of IF, with a small eating window. Water fasting is actually eating nothing for a period of time, whether a day (a whole day, not eating dinner) or longer.

    Like I said upthread, I think it's harmless and can have some benefits depending on why you do it, if short term like a day. I think doing it much longer would be a bad idea. Neither IF nor water fasting helps with stress or "detoxes" you IMO, but I personally like the idea of IF. (I am more attracted to the 5:2 model than the eating window, but different versions work for different people. IF isn't "water fasting," however.)

    Now I'm confused. Why are they 2 different things. I see them (in my case) as both the same. Only consuming water for 24 hours then a meal can be described as IF or a water fast. Or am I missing something?

    IF is eating with semi-fasts--either intermittent days of low (not no) calories, like 5:2 or ADF (alternating maintenance days and 500-600 calorie days), or eating windows: eating within a period of time or only one meal a day. Either way you are still eating every day, so not really fasting, despite the name.

    Water fasting is a full fast, which IF is not -- consuming nothing but water for a period of time, usually a full day or more. So for example, after you stop eating for the day (hypothetically, after dinner), you wouldn't eat the next day (water fasting) and would eat again the following day whenever you normally first eat. So if a breakfast eater, that would be something like 36 hours of fasting. It wouldn't be something you'd do every day or every other day or the like, but an occasional thing. Some people do longer fasts than a day. I don't consider IF eating windows a real or full fast, because you are eating every day in a regular pattern and not cutting calories more than one typically does on a deficit. It's just a different preference in terms of meal timing.

    It's worth making the point, because when people caution about water fasting, they don't mean to suggest that there's anything questionable about choosing to eat your calories in one daily meal. The issue is going without calories for a full day (no biggie, IMO) or longer (where I think it can get problematic, depending on how long).
  • st476
    st476 Posts: 357 Member
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    Honestly I never felt any benefits from fasting. I felt cranky and hungry. The only benefit I got from fasting was being about to eat more food the next day without blowing my deficit. I know a lot of people do say they get benefits from it although I'm not sure what those benefits are. And I know you don't want to hear this but it really doesn't clean your body of toxins. Your kidneys do that perfectly well, and sure you pee it out but you would be peeing it out anyways, fasting or not. I can see how it can make people feel "cleaner" though, just because there's no food in your body so you feel empty and since you pee out toxins (not because of the water fast, but just because that's what peeing is for) constantly peeing would make me think I'm being "cleaned out" too but honestly it doesn't :smile: That being said, there's no harm in water fasting for a day or two. I strongly believe that we weren't meant to eat as much as we do, since back in our hunter gatherer times there was periods of time when people had to go without food. It doesn't seem natural to constantly have an abundance of food the way we do now. Some people fast for 12+ hours (if they sleep a lot) so it's completely fine.
  • almostanangel21
    almostanangel21 Posts: 143 Member
    edited July 2016
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    The people I've known (and, I admit, I participated with) who automatically went on water fasts when the scale wasn't moving fast enough were eating disordered. It was a badge of honor to see how long one could go on just water, no matter how badly it destroyed the body. It worked in the short term, but I also suspect that doing that sort of thing when I was in my twenties is part of why my weight bounced back up so high and I have such a hard time taking it off now.

    There is a difference between science and pseudo science, and it's very hard to tell the difference sometimes; I don't blame you for getting confused. The majority of doctors and nutritionists will tell you that your liver, kidneys, and skin do an excellent job of 'detoxing' you all on their own. People who go on fasts or cleanses will tell you that after the initial headache, they feel soooo much better, they have so much energy and can think more clearly, etc. Having experienced it, I know that's true; I also know the reason. When you're starving yourself, your body initially complains about being malnourished by giving you headaches and making you feel ill. You feel listless and cranky while your body tries to conserve its energy stores. If that doesn't work, your body assumes there's a famine and starts cranking hormones into you that are designed to get you up and moving, looking for a place where there's food - that's the 'high' people talk about. What's actually happening to your body under the hormonal high isn't anywhere near as pretty as advertised.
  • workhardtogethard
    workhardtogethard Posts: 49 Member
    edited July 2016
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    If you want some more info, here's a PubMed link for a journal article from Cell Metabolism. It's fairly recent from 2014 and discusses the benefits of water fasting.

    As for my n=1 with extended water fasting and stress reduction, it mellows me out. Works out great for reducing fear when going to the dentist. :) It's not the main reason I fast (it knocks out my arthritis pain like nobody's business), but being in a state of relaxation is a nice perk. After reading that PubMed article, I'm going to see if switching to a vegan diet afterward will help keep my arthritis at bay for longer.
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
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    WOW???
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    inezbruce wrote: »
    It would be more beneficial for your body and mind if you stopped reading women's magazines and watching infomercials. If you are stressed, find better ways to organize your day, and methods to de-stress.

    Please do not undermine me.
    The stress in my life DOES NOT come down to organisation of my day.
    You know nothing about me or my life please don't make assumptions that reflect your own day to day living.
    A method to de-stress could be fasting? People fast for religious purposes, people fast as a form of meditation, people fast to have better control over eating habits, people fast because its a good way in which to clear your body of toxins and give your digestive system a break.

    Not to undermine you, but this is completely false information. Your properly working liver and kidneys detox your body every second. There's no such thing as "detoxing" anything. And technically speaking, the more water you drink, the more you'll be helping your kidneys flush said toxins. So taking a fast from water doesn't make any sense, biologically.

    A water fast is not a fast from water. It's a fast where you consume only water.
  • mom22dogs
    mom22dogs Posts: 470 Member
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    inezbruce wrote: »
    It would be more beneficial for your body and mind if you stopped reading women's magazines and watching infomercials. If you are stressed, find better ways to organize your day, and methods to de-stress.

    Please do not undermine me.
    The stress in my life DOES NOT come down to organisation of my day.
    You know nothing about me or my life please don't make assumptions that reflect your own day to day living.
    A method to de-stress could be fasting? People fast for religious purposes, people fast as a form of meditation, people fast to have better control over eating habits, people fast because its a good way in which to clear your body of toxins and give your digestive system a break.

    No, it isn't.
  • inezbruce
    inezbruce Posts: 110 Member
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    VeryKatie wrote: »
    inezbruce wrote: »
    The quote I posted it something I just pulled up from the internet in response to the comments which posted no facts, reviews, just blunt perceptions of what it is.
    I wanted real reviews/knowledge.

    I would recommend looking up scientific articles on your library databases then. Not asking random people to do it for you.

    I do not understand why people are sonegative on here.
    Its meant to be a community space to support people. Not a way to slate people, there ideas and views.
    Its pathetic.
    As I have said, I wanted REVIEWS on fasting, not pessimistic opinions from people who know nothing about it.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
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    No... Just no.
  • inezbruce
    inezbruce Posts: 110 Member
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    mom22dogs wrote: »
    inezbruce wrote: »
    It would be more beneficial for your body and mind if you stopped reading women's magazines and watching infomercials. If you are stressed, find better ways to organize your day, and methods to de-stress.

    Please do not undermine me.
    The stress in my life DOES NOT come down to organisation of my day.
    You know nothing about me or my life please don't make assumptions that reflect your own day to day living.
    A method to de-stress could be fasting? People fast for religious purposes, people fast as a form of meditation, people fast to have better control over eating habits, people fast because its a good way in which to clear your body of toxins and give your digestive system a break.

    No, it isn't.


    PS yes it is.
    I drink caffeine and smoke daily surely fasting would eliminate these toxins from my body whilst i'm refraining from it. Unless you've done a fast or have any real knowledge keep it to yourself.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    edited July 2016
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    inezbruce wrote: »
    mom22dogs wrote: »
    inezbruce wrote: »
    It would be more beneficial for your body and mind if you stopped reading women's magazines and watching infomercials. If you are stressed, find better ways to organize your day, and methods to de-stress.

    Please do not undermine me.
    The stress in my life DOES NOT come down to organisation of my day.
    You know nothing about me or my life please don't make assumptions that reflect your own day to day living.
    A method to de-stress could be fasting? People fast for religious purposes, people fast as a form of meditation, people fast to have better control over eating habits, people fast because its a good way in which to clear your body of toxins and give your digestive system a break.

    No, it isn't.


    PS yes it is.
    I drink caffeine and smoke daily surely fasting would eliminate these toxins from my body whilst i'm refraining from it. Unless you've done a fast or have any real knowledge keep it to yourself.

    If you want to fast, do you. Why do you need validation from random internet strangers? :huh:
  • inezbruce
    inezbruce Posts: 110 Member
    edited July 2016
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    PS yes it is.
    I drink caffeine and smoke daily surely fasting would eliminate these toxins from my body whilst i'm refraining from it. Unless you've done a fast or have any real knowledge keep it to yourself.[/quote]

    If you want to fast, do you. Why do you need validation from random internet strangers? :huh:[/quote]

    Its nothing to do with validation.
    Its wanting to hear other peoples personal experiences and views on how fasting was for them
  • ktekc
    ktekc Posts: 879 Member
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    inezbruce wrote: »
    mom22dogs wrote: »
    inezbruce wrote: »
    It would be more beneficial for your body and mind if you stopped reading women's magazines and watching infomercials. If you are stressed, find better ways to organize your day, and methods to de-stress.

    Please do not undermine me.
    The stress in my life DOES NOT come down to organisation of my day.
    You know nothing about me or my life please don't make assumptions that reflect your own day to day living.
    A method to de-stress could be fasting? People fast for religious purposes, people fast as a form of meditation, people fast to have better control over eating habits, people fast because its a good way in which to clear your body of toxins and give your digestive system a break.

    No, it isn't.


    PS yes it is.
    I drink caffeine and smoke daily surely fasting would eliminate these toxins from my body whilst i'm refraining from it. Unless you've done a fast or have any real knowledge keep it to yourself.

    Pretty sure fasting wont take tar out of your lungs. . .??
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    edited July 2016
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    inezbruce wrote: »
    PS yes it is.
    I drink caffeine and smoke daily surely fasting would eliminate these toxins from my body whilst i'm refraining from it. Unless you've done a fast or have any real knowledge keep it to yourself.
    If you want to fast, do you. Why do you need validation from random internet strangers? :huh:
    inezbruce wrote: »
    Its nothing to do with validation.
    Its wanting to hear other peoples personal experiences and views on how fasting was for them

    Well as you can see you won't hear them here. So why argue a point that you already decided on?
    Edited to fix broken quotes.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    queenliz99 wrote: »
    I have fasted and my review is................meh!

    I'm quoting myself, bad form, but you seem to be looking only for "high fives''. Please try your fast and get back to us regarding your stress level.
  • inezbruce
    inezbruce Posts: 110 Member
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    inezbruce wrote: »
    PS yes it is.
    I drink caffeine and smoke daily surely fasting would eliminate these toxins from my body whilst i'm refraining from it. Unless you've done a fast or have any real knowledge keep it to yourself.
    If you want to fast, do you. Why do you need validation from random internet strangers? :huh:
    inezbruce wrote: »
    Its nothing to do with validation.
    Its wanting to hear other peoples personal experiences and views on how fasting was for them

    Well as you can see you won't hear them here. So why argue a point that you already decided on?
    Edited to fix broken quotes.

    Yes I have made my mind up. It doesnt mean I shouldnt post asking for peoples personal experiences of it!
  • SkinnyGirlCarrie
    SkinnyGirlCarrie Posts: 259 Member
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    I think you need longer than 24 hours to clear out caffeine and nicotine from your system...and not eating and then not smoking on top of that seems like a good set-up for headaches. However, some people like fasting so please don't think I am being negative about that. Go for it, if it doesn't work out you can always just eat something.

    To de-stress have you tried a good workout? One where you are pushing yourself decently hard - for me that clears all thoughts out of my head during the time and then after things always seem more in perspective and less stressful!
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
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    inezbruce wrote: »
    inezbruce wrote: »
    PS yes it is.
    I drink caffeine and smoke daily surely fasting would eliminate these toxins from my body whilst i'm refraining from it. Unless you've done a fast or have any real knowledge keep it to yourself.
    If you want to fast, do you. Why do you need validation from random internet strangers? :huh:
    inezbruce wrote: »
    Its nothing to do with validation.
    Its wanting to hear other peoples personal experiences and views on how fasting was for them

    Well as you can see you won't hear them here. So why argue a point that you already decided on?
    Edited to fix broken quotes.

    Yes I have made my mind up. It doesnt mean I shouldnt post asking for peoples personal experiences of it!

    Well when you post you will get every type of response, and that won't help your stress levels for sure.