7 day fasting safe?

netstar45

I was thinking of fasting for 7 days. Is this safe? I have 75 lbs to lose. I am 235lbs and my goal weight is 170lbs which is a healthy weight for a 5'11" male. Or should I just do 24 hour fasts. Some say extended fasting is safe for obese people like me, like a bear hibernating;others say it's dangerous. Some say my metabolism will go up when my body realizes how much fat I have, others say my metabolism will go down. How to fast safely? I'm really confused! Edit: my goal is to jump start my weight loss and get rid of food addictions and reset my mind. At least that's some stuff I read on Google. Not sure if it's true or not.

jennifer_417

It's probably not harmful in the long term, but it's really awful as a weight loss technique.
First, it's really unpleasant, second it's likely that you'll eat all the things when you come off of the fast, finally, it doesn't help you learn the habits you'll need to keep any weight off that you do manage to lose.

Muscleflex79

what exactly do you expect to accomplish by starving yourself for 7 days?

kommodevaran

It's not so much about safety. It's definitely not about metabolism. If your body is confused (it isn't btw), not feeding it will not make it realize anything.

If you can't stop eating too much, how realistic does not eating for a week, or even a day, really, sound?

Eating enough, but not too much IS challenging, it's very easy to eat too much, and it's easy to think that not eating at all is the solution. But it's not. Feeding yourself regularly and reliably is important, it takes discipline, and it's the only thing that works, if your goal is a healthy weight, fitness and overall good health.

manderson27

There is no need to starve yourself for 7 days. It might give you short term weight loss but it will be mainly water weight and you will just put it back on when you eat again.

Best advice is to put your stats in MFP to lose 1 or 1.5 pounds per week and eat to the calorie allowance you are given. If you stick to this you will lose weight at a sustainable rate without having to starve yourself.

Dont fall for any fad diets or extreme eating regimes they really dont work in the long term.

Some people do have success with Intermittent fasting but that doesn't mean they dont eat just that they choose to eat their calorie allowance during a certain time. You can use the search funtion to look into that way of eating. Lots of advice on here if you search for it.

Good luck and eat safe

stanmann571

It doesn't quite rise to the level of unsafe, but it's certainly unwise and unnecessary.

What is your goal? Do you really think that 7 days of fasting will turn the tide for years of weight gain?

kenyonhaff

I essentially did that when hospitalized for gallstones. I don't recommend it at all.

Also you won't learn how to eat right for you so the weight will be unlikely to stay off. Isn't that your goal?

RoxieDawn

How does one get the idea that they need to fast for 7 days? I look at it this way, what will actually happen to my body when fasting for 7 straight days and just how uncomfortable and miserable is this and what will this actually accomplish? and then what will happen after the 7-day fast is over and resume eating again?

Why not just stick to a reasonable calorie deficit everyday? You avoid avoid uncomfortable and unnecessary fasting, teaches you how to eat and lose weight in a sustainable and healthy manner and you will learn to make new and better habits leading to successful weight management long term, etc.

That said there are Intermittent Fasting Protocols you can do and will followed appropriately might bring you success, just consider long term eating strategies (the 16:8 is something you can follow long term for example)
- The 16/8 Method: Fast for 16 hours each day, eat during 8 hour window..
- The 5:2 Diet: Fast for 2 days per week (low calories (500) for 2 days a week and maintenance calories the other 5)
- Lean Gains
- and several others

stanmann571

Ultimately, Fasting for longer than a few extra hours a day, is a spiritual and not a physical discipline, and there are very few documentable measurable health benefits.

Rocbola

Don't fast to lose weight!!!! Fasting has medical benefits, if you are interested in that, seek out a facility that specializes in DOCTOR SUPERVISED fasting, such as Truenorth.

If you want to lose weight:
1) develop lifelong healthy habits. Things like daily vegetable consumption and exercise.
2) don't be in a hurry. Long term persistence is key; there is no speedy way to get to where you want to be.

stanmann571

Rocbola wrote: »

Don't fast to lose weight!!!! Fasting has medical benefits, if you are interested in that, seek out a facility that specializes in DOCTOR SUPERVISED fasting, such as Truenorth.

If you want to lose weight:
1) develop lifelong healthy habits. Things like daily vegetable consumption and exercise.
2) don't be in a hurry. Long term persistence is key; there is no speedy way to get to where you want to be.

No it really doesn't.

amyteacake

Fasting for such a long period of time isn't necessary - unlike it is for medical reason such as gallstones etc - and it would do more harm than good. It could end up confusing your metabolism, not to mention how exhausted you will be from not eating at all. It also doesn't teach you any healthy habits that could help keep weight off, quick fix diets don't work and a seven day fast isn't safe. A seven day fast may jump start your weight loss, but there is a high chance you'll put the weight on again as you've not given your body any food or the nutrition it needs.

If you are interested in losing weight then I would advise talking to a doctor/nutritionist. A seven day fast isn't a good idea. Maybe give intermittent fasting a try rather than going seven days straight without eating. (I don't do intermittent fasting but I have heard good things about it)

MegaMooseEsq

I know it can be hard to believe when you’ve been gaining weight for some time, but the human body really is a lot smarter than many people give it credit for (medical conditions being complicating factors, of course). If you eat less than you use,
over an extended period of time, you will lose weight. You don’t need a jump start or a detox or anything like that. Figure out how much you are eating now, and then figure out how to eat less in a way that is reasonably comfortable, and thereby sustainable. Be patient and keep trying. You can do this.

Rocbola

thecharon wrote: »

what medical benefits does fasting have? detoxes the liver?

Check into the peer reviewed scholarly articles regarding medically supervised water only fasting for more info.

stanmann571

Rocbola wrote: »

thecharon wrote: »

what medical benefits does fasting have? detoxes the liver?

Check into the peer reviewed scholarly articles regarding medically supervised water only fasting for more info.

LOL, how about you post some.

lulalacroix

I don't see the point of 7 days of torture. I remember attempting a 3 day juice fast so many years ago. At the end of day 2 I caved and ate fast food. I was never so happy to eat a burger.

Why not just learn to moderate your eating by eating the amount that mfp recommends? It would be much less torturous.

vingogly

netstar45 wrote: »

Edit: my goal is to jump start my weight loss and get rid of food addictions and reset my mind. At least that's some stuff I read on Google. Not sure if it's true or not.

Jump start my weight loss: Although the initial loss might initially motivate you, what are you going to do when the weight loss slows down after a couple of weeks? What do you believe is the point of jump starting? If you're determined to keep the weight off for life, focus on lifestyle changes you can maintain for the rest of your life rather than "jump starts" and "diets".

Get rid of food addictions: There's absolutely no such thing, and no such thing as a "detox" from food. If there's a category of foods (like ice cream or chips) you have a hard time eating in a controlled manner, don't keep them in your house.

Reset my mind: I have a Master's degree in clinical psychology and a lot of post-graduation continuing education, and I have absolutely no idea what this might mean. If you have distorted beliefs about food and an unhealthy relationship with it, not eating for seven days is NOT going to replace the distortions with realistic beliefs, or change your relationship with food.

Stick to your caloric budget, log everything you eat, be honest with yourself, be patient, and you'll eventually reach your goal. For the behavioral part, you might want to check out the Beck Diet Solution which is based on a solid cognitive behavioral approach (created by Judith Beck, the daughter of the guy who invented cognitive behavioral therapy). She has a book and workbook available on Amazon; here is the website:

http://diet.beckinstitute.org