Fasting

BigVeggieDream

Does anyone have any experience in fasting? I'm curious what kind of fast you did and your experiences. I've read about the many benefits of periodic fasting, but also it is not recommended in people who are trying to lose weight. I was considering doing a 1 day fast, but I wanted to hear other people's experiences or thoughts about it.

danikanoodles

There you are! Glad the post worked!

I actually saw this in the other group and posted in there but I'll go into a little more detail here(I'll actually make a bigger post about this when I have more time since this is actually a pretty big subject)


I've done a bunch of water fasts and one juice fast. The juice fast was done long before I knew a lot about health and I would never do one again or suggest one to another person besides orange juice mono diets which includes some of the pulp(I'll get into those later).

All of these fasts were done solely to heal illness and not to loose weight. Of course weight loss naturally happens during any fast but should never be the goal of the fast. When weight loss is the goal of the fast it ends in much disappointment down the road.

Short term fasts have very little effect on the detox process. Their main benefits would be to give the digestive system a break. This can also be accomplished by just eating easy to digest foods. Mono meals, eating one type of fruit for a meal or "islands" where the person would eat only on type of fruit for a given amount of days.

Sometimes short term fasts can have other benefits as well. Example: The shortest fast I did was for 2 days to heal a UTI. So some more minor problems can be healed with shorter fasts but are usually the ones that are mainly caused by dehydration.

Long term fasts are most beneficial. They allow the body to go to the deepest layer of detox and really purge out all the unwanted stuff we have stored in the body.

One of the biggest problems I have with fasting, specially for people who don't have a really deep understanding for it is that a fast and specially the shorter term fasts will lead to binges and not on the good stuff. This happens even more when we our bodies aren't in dire need of a fast or when we are already under-eating.

I could go on about this much deeper but I will in a separate post since I'm short on time right now. I really love this subject!

However I will add this and this is extremely important. (I know you're considering a 1 day fast so this is more so for others who might come across this post)

Never go into a fast when there are already medical issues present and you have not yet consulted a doctor(I recommend talking to a doctor of Natural Hygiene). Long term fasts should always be supervised by a doctor. There are many fasting retreats available. Even for someone very healthy they should consider getting a check-up by a doctor and full blood work. Underlying issues not fully present can and do come up during the purging stage of a fast and can be extremely dangerous.

BigVeggieDream

All of these fasts were done solely to heal illness and not to loose weight. Of course weight loss naturally happens during any fast but should never be the goal of the fast. When weight loss is the goal of the fast it ends in much disappointment down the road.

Thank you, I'll look more into. I saw two articles (I'll see if I can find them again) that suggest that consistent short term fasts, 24 hrs. slow and possible prevent neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and dementia. Preliminary studies show that fasting may also kill off cancerous cells, not when you have full blown cancer, but when the cancerous cells are just starting to manifest themselves, long before they are noticeable by medical science. Of course some of these studies are still ongoing, so scientists can't say for certain. Some small studies show that regular fasting can increase one's longevity, though there are other studies that say that is not true, but they did find much lower level of diseases.

My main goal is not weight loss, but to be truthful, that has crossed my mind, hoping that it would be a side benefit. My main goal is spiritual and long term health benefits. Though I have not practiced it, I heard long ago about the mental, physical and spiritual benefits of practices such as meditation, yoga and fasting. So yes my current focus in my life is weight loss, this interest has been here long before.

BigVeggieDream

Here are some of the articles I've read.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-01-16/lifestyle/sns-201301151500--tms--premhnstr--k-i20130116-20130116_1_mark-mattson-calorie-restriction-calorie-intake

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/is_fasting_healthy

Not that I place heavy importance on mainstream news sources, but the fact that they are covering it, shows me that there are people who are sitting up and taking notice, besides the people who are on the alternative lifestyle websites.

143tobe

Danikanoodles, why would you not recommend juice fasting?

My experience with fasting: I've done two 10 day juice fasts, each about 10 years apart, and both left me feeling incredible. The first one was a 300 calorie per day, 3 juices per day (fresh apple, cucumber/carrot, and pure cranberry with water added), which around days 6 or 7 brought me to feelings of complete clarity and a never felt before 'euphoria'. I was working in a health food store at the time and had done some reading on fasting, and that was my own version that I came up with. It took me three tries before I was successful at completing 10 days of this. By the tenth day I was tempted to go on, but by then I think my body was getting sending me signals that it was ready for food. My second 10 day juice fast was more recent, and it included a lot more juice. I basically followed that guy Joe's 10 day plan from Fat, sick, nearly dead. Though I didn't reach Euphoria, I did have tons of energy. I was soo productive. No amount of caffeine ever did that for me. My husband wanted me to go on with the fast (probably because I was so happy and positive during that time), but really I think 10 days is my limit for any kind of fast. I have done a few 3 day water fasts for spiritual purposes, but I never really felt like I got anything from them, which only left me feeling confused and let down. The one day fasts of any kind are the hard ones if you ask me. The first day of anything is always the hardest.

Danikanoodles, since you seem to know some things about fasting, do you know any possible reasons for my first experience of euphoria during that first calorie restricted juice fast? I would love to have that feeling again, To be so happy, just because? Was great. Have you ever had moments like that during your time fasting, or with your diet lifestyle? (or others)

Bloom72, you bring up an important point about Cancer. It scares me a little because my mom has had it twice, her sister died from it, and I had a form of it when I was 22. A big part of why I want to try/find out more about this diet/lifestyle is that I heard it cured some girl of her inoperable brain tumor (youtube). I was thinking at the time that I could never do, or would want to do this diet, but then I just kept thinking about my health, and my kids. I want to be there for them for a long time and if it keeps cancer cells at bay, that would be something worth trying. But you are talking about Cancer and fasting. I have no info regarding that. Would love to hear more though.

BigVeggieDream

Bloom72, you bring up an important point about Cancer. It scares me a little because my mom has had it twice, her sister died from it, and I had a form of it when I was 22. A big part of why I want to try/find out more about this diet/lifestyle is that I heard it cured some girl of her inoperable brain tumor (youtube). I was thinking at the time that I could never do, or would want to do this diet, but then I just kept thinking about my health, and my kids. I want to be there for them for a long time and if it keeps cancer cells at bay, that would be something worth trying. But you are talking about Cancer and fasting. I have no info regarding that. Would love to hear more though.

The science isn't showing that it can cure cancer, maybe at best arrest it's growth. What it may be doing is killing cancer cells at inception, before they begin to form.