To Fast or Not to Fast (juice or Water)

52fifi
52fifi Posts: 12 Member
Reading various reports on Fasting and its benifits not necessary for weight loss but for detoxing and general health. I was wondering if any body had acutally tried fasting if so and what type, for how long and what was the results.

look forward to reading any response, before I do or do not try it

Cheers

Replies

  • Cla1reN
    Cla1reN Posts: 5
    Go on bbc iplayer and watch Horizon: Eat, Fast and Live Longer

    you will get few answer to your question and a very interesting information :)
  • If you're going to do it, don't drink juices as that defeats the purpose. If you're drinks are zero calorie (or close to) then it's okay.

    But regular juices are full of carbs/sugars/cals.

    & yeh I fast, but I eat everyday (18 hour fast 6 hour eating window personally). I lose weight consistently eating more than I did with conventional meal timings.
  • Derinq
    Derinq Posts: 52 Member
    I did an 8 day juice fast... Was hard on the nerves, lol, as I was hungry for the first 5, lost around 5kg (and kept it off for almost a month now), felt good by the end of it with more energy and an amazing sense of smell :)
    If you want more details, send me a message! :)
  • feast4thebeast
    feast4thebeast Posts: 210 Member
    If you're going to do it, don't drink juices as that defeats the purpose. If you're drinks are zero calorie (or close to) then it's okay.

    But regular juices are full of carbs/sugars/cals.

    & yeh I fast, but I eat everyday (18 hour fast 6 hour eating window personally). I lose weight consistently eating more than I did with conventional meal timings.

    Ditto. I only drink water when I fast
  • I've read from studies that fasting for more than sixty hours (actual fasting with no calorie consumption) will start to decrease your metabolic rate. So if you are going to do fast don't do it for more than sixty hours. Though I wouldn't recommend fasting, water or otherwise just calorie count and exercise.
  • Rese5ft10in
    Rese5ft10in Posts: 7 Member
    People have been fasting for centuries and it doesn't harm the body in any way.

    I fast daily for 16 hours and eat all my calories in an 8hr window. Its called Intermittent Fasting. You can go on Youtube and search "Intermittent Fasting Hodge Twins." Some great info there.

    As far as a pure fast with nothing but water, you can do that. But do your research and know the warning signs. Like I said, people all over the world have fasted for centuries for all kinds of reasons. Get advice from someone who has DONE IT. Not from people who have read an article. A good place to start researching is: "Muslims fasting Ramadan" .

    Iv heard of juice fasting as well. Some great info can be found at "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" If you have Netflix I believe the movie is on their as well. If not you can purchase it from amazon. A guy lost all kinds of weight juicing his veggies and some fruit.

    Good luck on whatever you decided to do!
  • Im trying the master cleanse, well a slightly modified version. Let me know how ur fast goes, I would be interested in ur results.
  • Softrbreeze
    Softrbreeze Posts: 156 Member
    I've fasted as long as 3 days. By the 3rd day, everything I drank went straight thru me so I was running to the bathroom constantly. Prior to that I was fasting about 1 day per week with good results. My fasting was more for religious reasons than health, though I saw some health benefits as well.
  • i've fasted both ways, personally i find that liquid fasting is better for cleansing the body, and water fasting for more than a day or two can be quite inconvenient if you have anything to do because you end up feeling very weak (or at least i do). Be careful liquid or juice fasting though as a lot of juices are quite high calorie, best to either make your own or find buy the more expensive ones with no added sugar or added anything. either way i find both of them really good :) hope that helps
  • yroma
    yroma Posts: 74 Member
    I practice Intermittent Fasting. I became interested in Calorie Restriction--very extreme, only eat enough calories to get through your day. Not that I ever wanted to do that, but I was taking a nutrition class and ended up writing a paper on it. Pretty fascinating benefits for health and longevity. There have been studies on cats and dogs, none on humans as of yet. Personally, I love food way too much to only eat the peel on an apple! Intermittent Fasting, however, is kind of the best of both worlds. You can eat plenty but you squeeze your eating into a smaller window (some recommend for women 16 hours of fast, 8 hours of eating--experiment to find what's right for you). By doing that, you allow your body time to rest, heal, regenerate. When we eat all day long, grazing or small meals periodically, our bodies don't get that rest. We become food factories. Again, no judgments--I know 5-6 meals per day works for lots of people. For me, IF makes sense, it's manageable, I don't feel hungry or deprived (and if I do, I eat something) and it contributes to weight loss. Additionally, I can be obsessed with food, when I follow this plan, I'm often freed up from thinking about my next meal. Lots of great information on the net. Try it, you might like it!
  • I like to do juice fasts for part of the day, but not every day. I look at it as a way to get a ton of vitamins, antioxidants, and concentrated nutrition without taking in extra calories. Speaking as a cardiac nurse, I would never completely fast more than a couple of days for fear of electrolyte imbalances!

    Also, don't expect a "detox" when you fast. There really is no such thing. The body detoxes itself all the time naturally in the liver and kidneys mostly and does it at it's own rate. Diarrhea, lack of energy etc are symptoms of taking in less or no calories, not any kind of detox.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    There is no need to detox your system. As mentioned above, your liver and kidneys do a great job of this on their own.

    Fasting, under controlled conditions and with overall caloric and nutrient sufficiency (by overall I mean over the course of several days) isn't going to be harmful.

    As far as weight loss goes, this is still going to be governed by energy balance in general. If a fasting protocol makes it EASIER for you to consume the appropriate amount of calories and macronutrients, then go for it. If it makes it HARDER for you to consume the appropriate amount of calories and macronutrients, then don't do it.