Fasting and Cleansing

Fasting has been shown to help with "refreshing" mitochondria in the body, but I am guessing OP is buying into something she read about unknown "toxins" accumulating hidden within the body (AKA cleansing).

OP: fasts do nothing special, especially short term. The only thing it would be good for is a mental boost (a placebo, in effect).

I was hoping to get my mind and body feeling better so I can lose weight the right way, but right now I am really depressed and not motivated at all so I thought if I could lose some weight fast it would help me feel better and get me going...

When fasting, you will lose mostly water weight, just as you would if you simply started being in a calorie deficit. You always (or most people) lose the most in the first week of eating at a deficit.

Just start. Figure out your TDEE and eat at a calorie deficit. When you can consistently eat at a deficit, move on to meeting your macros (protein, fat, carbs). Once you've got these 2 things under your belt, work on micronutrients.

Just start and don't quit.

This...

I was hoping to get my mind and body feeling better so I can lose weight the right way, but right now I am really depressed and not motivated at all so I thought if I could lose some weight fast it would help me feel better and get me going...

Even if you only lose water weight and just put it right back on? I would think that would be more depressing.

Also, not eating is pretty depressing to me.


Why not just try to stick to a moderate calorie deficit, do some exercise (because it's a mood/attitude booster, yay endorphins!), and have a little patience?

And this...

I was hoping to get my mind and body feeling better so I can lose weight the right way, but right now I am really depressed and not motivated at all so I thought if I could lose some weight fast it would help me feel better and get me going...

When fasting, you will lose mostly water weight, just as you would if you simply started being in a calorie deficit. You always (or most people) lose the most in the first week of eating at a deficit.

Just start. Figure out your TDEE and eat at a calorie deficit. When you can consistently eat at a deficit, move on to meeting your macros (protein, fat, carbs). Once you've got these 2 things under your belt, work on micronutrients.

Just start and don't quit.

There really aren't any specific health benefits to fasting and some of the programs out there are downright dangerous.

If you need a mental kickstart, why not try something else. A 30-day workout pledge, 7 days of hitting your macros, 13 days without snacking while you're watching TV, 22 days of cooking homemade meals, or whatever it is that works for you. The point is to find something to reset your habits while replacing them with healthy habits instead of the nonsense cleanses promise.

I'm starting a short-term Protein Sparing Modified Fast today. It's designed to maximize fat loss. It's an extreme diet, but sometimes an extreme diet is what I need. As I've never been anywhere near clinically overweight and am healthy, I trust my own experience.

I have girlfriends that do them every time they fall off the wagon...

Then they just are hungry and devour everything.

The initial loss is probably exciting, but why not just take the slow and steady race and keep the weight off!!!!

Fasting has been shown to help with "refreshing" mitochondria in the body,

Has your mitochondria ever felt, ya know, "not so fresh?"

LOL..seriously, almost choked on my coffee reading this!

Sometimes my mitochondria do get that itch...

But as far as cell regeneration in regards to fasting, this happens on the microscale between meals and fasting only serves to extend this period (not activate/deactivate it). However, more than likely, like most "benefits" of fasting (or meal timing) the effect is probably just more all at once (as opposed to more overall--which means it is less at other times). Which means a net effect of 0 (or close to).

OP: fasts do nothing special, especially short term. The only thing it would be good for is a mental boost (a placebo, in effect).

Once you have the basic information and resources, much of weight loss is psychological. If a short-term fast causes you to lose a little weight and puts you in a positive frame of mind for continuing or maintaining, that is not a "placebo" effect.

In addition, many people do Intermittent Fasting all year long.

There really aren't any specific health benefits to fasting and some of the programs out there are downright dangerous.

You should watch the videos or read the book by Michael Mosley on this subject. He has a medical degree, interviewed the leading researchers in the field for the BBC, and does Intermittent Fasting himself.

I have no problems with Intermittent Fasting and have practiced 16:8 myself at times. But it's quite a bit different from anything called a cleanse, which seems to be what the OP was asking about.

Fasting has been shown to help with "refreshing" mitochondria in the body,

Has your mitochondria ever felt, ya know, "not so fresh?"

lol

Stoooooooooooooooooooooop.

Even time I've fasted, I've only rebounded to eat way more.

I have done a medically supervised cleanse: no dairy, no animal flesh, no gluten, no fruit..strictly steamed veggies and vegan protein powder for about 10 days. I lost 4 lbs, it seemed to knock back my cravings for sweets and salty snacks.

I was a vegetarian when I began, and I"m now about 80% vegan (some dairy in coffee) and about 80% gluten free.

If you're going to take this route, do it short term and invest in some research. Dr. Mark Hyman has a good book titled : "The Ultasimple Diet", which is a well balanced approach.

My cleanse was through Northwestern University Medical Center's Integrative Medicine Center and the supervising physician had also worked at Cancer Treatment Centers of America. Our group got together 3x a week and we had our physician's e-mail
if we had questions. I'd just suggest that you not just get some off the shelf cleanse, but see if you can find a medically supervised one at a major hospital.

I lost 3 lbs (I'm 5 ft 8 inches, vary from 140 to 145 lbs), and for me it was less the weight loss (though I'll take it!) than I had fallen into the habit of a lot of snacking. When you have kids, food is always around and it is way to easy to eat everything that is left over!

Post holidays,when I feel that I'm slipping back into bad habits, I'll do a 3 day cleanse of vegan protein powder and steamed veggies with lots of filtered water. It doesn't "jumpstart" so much as refocus me.

Even time I've fasted, I've only rebounded to eat way more.

It depends on how you define "fast." Most people who are fasting for weight loss are not eating nothing. Rather, they're eating very few calories, for example, 500 calories for women. I've always read that it is not medically necessary to cleanse the body, but if eating a limited but healthy diet for a period of time helps someone jump start or refocus (I don't think the terminology matters) their approach to weight loss, I commend it.