Anyone have experience/success fasting?

Depends what you mean by success ...

I went through a phase of regular 1, 3 and 6 day fasting.

I lost a LOT of weight

I gained it ALL back when I started eating again.

Depends what you mean by success ...

I went through a phase of regular 1, 3 and 6 day fasting.

I lost a LOT of weight

I gained it ALL back when I started eating again.

When you starting intermittent and alternate day fasting most people have said that it has to become a lifestyle change and not a quick fix. You do lose a lot of weight, but you can not stop the fasting and working out after you see the results.

I've only cleansed once, so not a true fast, but it was for six days and was highly successful for me. I would just caution - 10 days within a month of each other is pretty extreme from what I have read. Many sources I have read have suggested that if you do longer fasts (like more than three days), you should give yourself at minimum three months between such long fasts. So please just make sure you are reading a variety of sources about fasting, I really think two ten day water fasts so close together is dangerous. Be safe!

I've fasted several times for spiritual reasons...the weight loss is a bonus. The last time I did it was a few months ago and after I started MFP. Iy was an adjustment when I stopped fasting but I pretty much stayed on track and kept moving forward on this journey. I haven't done a water only or liquids only fast in a long time but I would not suggest using that as a weight loss tool. I did not start keeping the weight off until I really started focusing on healthy, consistend eating and exercise.

So does portion control and choosing the proper foods, actually making life changes IN your diet....fasting, while mentally challenging still seems a lazy way (aside from religious reasons) to go about weight loss.

Yes, I agree fasting should not be used primarily as a weight loss tool. It may help to jumpstart weightloss and reduce cravings, but without proper research can be very dangerous, and I'll reiterate that even if you use it once to jumpstart, you need to be very careful about doing it again, giving plenty of time in between fasts, so you shouldn't be using it in extreme time frames, like the ten days, to try and drop pounds quickly. As some of these lovely people have mentioned, if incorporated safely as a way of life, it can be very beneficial, but that is a different mindset and should be researched thoroughly. Most people I have known who fast do it with changes of the seasons, as a sort of spiritual thing.

Jones115: I'd be interested to read the studies you mentioned. If you have time, (and I know we all have things to do!) could you point me in the right direction?

The fasting I am referring to is more the lengthy fasts. I don't know much about alternate day fasting. That seems more reasonable and in line with how we evolved--there might have been days when hunters and gatherers went without food. Ten days at a time though would probably be dangerous.

Off to do a little light reading...

Now, I know that people only believe sources that tend to confirm already held beliefs, but this is a good article and should be given some weight. (no pun intended!) This has more to do with long fasts than alternate day fasting as mentioned by Jones.

"The ancient belief that fasting purifies the soul has been extended to the current view that fasting also can purify the body. Fasting maintains and restores health through physiological mechanisms. Included in these mechanisms are shifting physiological effort from food conversion to the elimination of toxins, reducing the immune system's workload, releasing pesticides and other chemicals from body fat, and eliminating the body of nonessential tissue.

It is helpful to look at these beliefs in terms of scientific information about the well-studied sequence of events that occurs when people start fasting. When body weight declines, water and fat, but not toxins, are lost from cells. Toxins therefore are left behind. Nutrients are needed to sustain immune competence, the ability of the body's disease-fighting immune system to make antibodies and other proteins and cells. Immune system failure, not enhancement, occurs when people do not eat enough to provide the nutrients that sustain proper immune function. Instead of reducing its workload, fasting impedes the immune system.

Advocates explain that people feel sick when fasting because toxins are leaving the body. Actually, fasting decreases the immune system's ability to destroy and eliminate toxins. Fasting also causes a drop in blood sugar levels, which causes a breakdown of tissues needed for energy. This leads people to feel sick because the brain and other tissues fail to receive needed sugars, and the body's metabolism is forced to remove the needed nutrients from muscle and liver tissue. At the same time, the liver and kidneys are not able to do their work of handling the by-products of protein breakdown.

Fasting can harm all organs. It is extremely dangerous to health, especially for those who are malnourished by chronic illness, yet some proponents recommend fasting to treat chronic illnesses. The slimmer the individual, the more dangerous a fast will be. The longer the fast, the more life-threatening it becomes. Studies show that when people reach 56% of their appropriate body weight, death occurs. The body cannot distinguish between intentional fasting and starvation.

Solid scientific research does not support the claims of fasting advocates. To the contrary, it contradicts those claims and indicates the dangers of fasting, even with water or juices. Reducing the number of calories you eat while maintaining a normal, balanced diet will reduce your weight. But consuming only water, tea, or juice is harmful, not helpful, to health and should be avoided especially by those who are ill.

Advocates believe that fasting can produce fatigue, anemia, irregular heartbeat, body aches, nausea, dizziness, and other negative effects. They refer to these as temporary problems that precede feelings of well-being, mental clarity, internal cleanliness, and other benefits.

Contrary to advocacy claims, fasting does not and cannot heal medical conditions, assist immune or other physiological function, or play a role in health maintenance. The decreased supply of blood glucose leads the body to break down muscle for energy, causing weakness, depression, fatigue, and sick feelings."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/340628

I fast for 24 hrs every weekend and its not as hard as some may think. Eg. Have lunch saturday at 2pm and then skip dinner. If i sleep late than i can eat sunday at 2. Many of my relatives who are doctors practice this, to give their digestive systems a break. It also saves quite a bit of money fr me haha. Key is to not take it too seriously. Dont think too much about it and if ur really dying, then eat something.

Well, I suppose I'll be the odd duck here.

I have had extreme success water fasting.

I started January 2010 at 205 lb.

I started working out consistently for a month, lost 5 lbs. In February, I did a ten day water fast (this was purely for religious reasons) and lost 15 lbs... and kept it all off. At the time, I didn't know a ton about water fasting, but since have talked to my doctor, researched alot, etc.

I kept working out, but wasn't losing weight as well as I would like so again in June 2010 I did a 10 day fast. I amazingly lost 20 lbs this time, keeping it all off. I was at 160 lb.

Through the last year I have kept my weight about about 155 lb. Losing more through exercise, etc.

One of the most amazing things for me was that during my second water fast my body healed itself of something I had to deal with for two years. In 2008, I fell while hiking and hit my shin really hard. I think it might have hairline fractured or something very slight because from a certain angle if I applied pressure it was paralyzing. But walking on it, running on it, etc was fine. But goodness! Pushing from that very specific angle? So agonizing. At the time I didn't have health insurance and it wasn't a nuisance enough to do anything about it. I know I should have gone to the doctor, but... well, I didn't. Anyhow, during my water fast in June 2010 this completely went away! The weird part was during about day 8-day 9 my leg hurt SO badly in the area where this pain had always been. It would just sting & felt like something was applying pressure. But on my 10th day it felt totally fine again, and still to this day - over a year later - I can apply pressure from any angle and it's fine.

Kind of strange, but definitely intriguing! I'm not saying it's science - I am just sharing my own personal story with water fasting.

I think the thing that helped me not gain weight back is I already had a regular exercise schedule and most important: I BROKE MY FAST PROPERLY, easing my way back into regular diet. You have to give your metabolism time to rev back up again.