question about fasting

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Versha19
Versha19 Posts: 20
in Health and Weight Loss
I have read before that it is healthy to fast once a week in order to cleanse your body or even to fast for 3 days in order to rejuvenate your body? I just wanted to know others opinions on this before i try doing either. Thanks for your help in advance!!! :happy:

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  • TheKitsune6
    TheKitsune6 Posts: 5,798 Member
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    Starving yourself will cause your metabolism to shut down. It will slow down any weight being burned and once you do eat again your body will quickly store it as fat in preparation for the next famine it's worried may come.

    This is a result that every animal experiences and in the wild it prevents species from dying everything a little hardship is encountered. Not many animals have the same weight problems we do, afterall :)

    Take care of your body. Love it, nurture it. If you starved your cat or dog you would be punished for neglect. Don't do that to yourself. Eat healthy food (on a regular basis) and your body will cleanse itself. Any rejuvenation felt from starving yourself would be entirely mental.
  • benchiru
    benchiru Posts: 12
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    I have fasted before....juice fast for 10 days....I felt different after my fast. More energy, sharp, totally brand new.....awesome feeling. I have tried it again but did not go past day 2. The first 3 days are awful. I researched a lot before fasting and all I could get is that it is beneficial and helps the body renew itself. After trying it, I liked it and will do it again sometimes. I also water fasted for 3 days and it was very harsh....all I could think of and see is food all around me. The juice fast was smoother and manageable.

    My doctor told me that I am crazy though; that fasting is an insane idea.
  • Versha19
    Versha19 Posts: 20
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    did you also lose some unwanted excess water weight and the bad stuff that builds up in your body??
  • benchiru
    benchiru Posts: 12
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    I did lose a lot....15lbs during the juice fast and 9 lbs during the water fast. The problem I encountered was breaking of the fast...the stomach has trouble adjusting.

    I think it is a good idea to cleanse the body but not for weight lose.
  • rachel5576
    rachel5576 Posts: 429 Member
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    you can do a juice fast for a really long time. I usually feel great when i juice fast no afternoon lows, energetic all day. You can lose a lot of weight fasting for just a few days but be warned its usually water weight and will most likely come back as soon as you start eating normal again. A water fast is harder to do longer than a day because the detox symptoms can be so hard to deal with,headaches, nausea, shakes etc.
  • Versha19
    Versha19 Posts: 20
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    how do you properly do a juice fast?
  • RachSuzanne
    RachSuzanne Posts: 74 Member
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    I did the Master Cleanse Juice Fast. I liked it, but MAN, was it a test of my will power (I worked in the food industry at he time.) I lost 12lbs and kept it off for 7months. Like benchiru said, the first 3 days are HORRIBLE! But I had a friend, who does the Master Cleanse regularly doing it with me. So, we shared with each other how we were doing and what was going on.

    Be warned! Do not do a Master Cleanse during the cold seasons. Do not do a cleanse like this if you have recently been ill. After day 2/3 you'll want to have some extra time in the morning.

    You can buy the book at any bookstore or online. I know a LOT of people who have done/do it on a regular basis.

    Oh, and like benchiru said, this is not a weight loss thing. This is a body cleansing thing.

    Good Luck!
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    First off, fasting to "cleanse" is not possible. The liver naturally "cleanses" the body and does not need any potions, juices, or less food, or anything of that nature. So you should probably put that out of your mind, because it does no extra good.

    However, Intermittent Fasting serves a different purpose. Much research has been done on the metabolic surge that IF can give you. I've done a lot of research on it, and I participate in IF once a week usually. I love it. Here is an excerpt from a document online:

    Using Intermittent Fasting in Your Lifestyle
    In reality, IF can be applied in many different ways (as most of us are not going to want to fast that often). Using intermittent times of no food intake along with reduced calories on those days can give people many of the health/weight loss benefits without needing to give up food for a whole day. It also allows more flexibility into how it can be used depending on the person’s goals, activity levels, food choices and schedule. I mean who wouldn’t want to eat in a way that could potentially give you:

    •Reduced blood glucose and insulin levels (markers of improved health)
    •Increased fatty acid oxidation
    •Maintenance of lean mass (muscle)
    •Reduced inflammation
    •Reduced oxidative damage
    •Increased cellular stress resistance (esp of heart and brain)
    •Decreased risks associated with degenerative diseases of aging (cancers, heart diseases, diabetes, Alzheimers)
    Although the best part that myself and many others love about using an IF approach, is that the “freedom” you get from not being a slave to eating all the time. When I want to eat, I eat…and I eat well! I really don’t snack as my lifestyle is now about eating meals or not. I eat plenty of calories/nutrients and am not starving myself. Plus I don’t have to spend extra money on bars/shakes and other processed foods just to try and get something in me every couple of hours.

    Ok, so that's just a tidbit of info. You can find a lot of info from reputable sources out there if you want to research it.

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