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SherryA 04-13-2006 02:20 AM

for the last three days
 
I've been fasting. I'm amazed at how much I love it! I feel wonderful, strong, healthy, mentally alert, and the weight is dropping off beautifully.

Family wants to know when I'm going to start eating. I'm not sure I want to. I was reading several websites today about the benefits of fasting and I was impressed with the things they said. Obviously it is a controversial thing. One of the things the sites brought out though that I thought was interesting is that the fathers of medicine (the Greek guys) (3 of them) advocated fasting as a very healthy way for the body to heal itself.

I don't have anything to heal except for too much fat and maybe some arthritis (said it would help that too). So I'm really tempted to see how long I can do this without it affecting my energy levels too much. So far it hasn't at all.

Scale read 245 Monday morning and this evening it reads 238. I know a lot of that is water weight and I know a lot will return when I go off of this. I know too, that this isn't a sustainable way of eating for life. But my dieting efforts had slowed to a stop and I needed something to work. I was getting very tired of relosing and regaining the same five pounds.

SwimGirl 04-13-2006 02:32 AM

I actually agree with fasting, cleansing, all of that.. I don't think our bodies can fully handle some of the things we put in them. That said, you can do this for 3 months, thats how long my boyfriends mom did it (she had a few things to heal though), eventually she just stopped because she wanted to eat again. Unfortunately, she didn't wean into it, and gained 90% of it back. I think its a great tool, but shouldn't be used for weight loss specifically.

I wish you well with your fast.. keep the energy up! And add food in slowly.. fruits.. veggies.. etc!

-Aimee

Leenie 04-13-2006 08:43 AM

I agree with fasting for a day or two. But I also think you should take your vitamins and drink loads of water.

Fasting for 3 months unless your doctor recommends it, is not safe IMHO. My doctor had me fast for 3 weeks back in October and with the shock / trama of my body losing the weight fast, I am NOW losing alot of hair because of it. I mean scary amounts of hair. I can see a bald spot starting on the top of my head and its all because of the rapid weight loss.

For detoxing or religious reasons, I think its okay, but for any other, you might want to think twice.

JMHO and experience ... :)

teahoney 04-13-2006 09:13 AM

I have considered fasting because lord knows I've eaten enough for five lifetimes already. But what kind of fast are you doing? Some say they are fasting but still eat fruits and veggies or its juice (which I'd probably prefer) but just wondering exactly what you are doing.

SexyRevealed 04-13-2006 09:22 AM

I've considered fasting as well. I will do one (either a fast or a cleanse) when I quit smoking (soon!). Were/are you very hungry?

midwife 04-13-2006 09:47 AM

I know people who have fasted for religious or cultural reasons. That being said, I have to admit I laughed out loud at your reference to Greek Physicians...I wouldn't necessarily follow their medical advice. Come to think of it, I wouldn't follow the advice of MDs even in the last few centuries, except for Semmelweis (SP?) who realized that if surgeons washed their hands between cases, fewer people died.

I agree we need to eat less, but be careful fasting.

junebug41 04-13-2006 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SexyRevealed
I've considered fasting as well. I will do one (either a fast or a cleanse) when I quit smoking (soon!). Were/are you very hungry?

I rarely do a water fast, mostly juice fasts. And even after 2 days I'll incorperate raw veggies and fruits. With a water fast the hunger goes away after about 2 days. It can be a really great experience, but you have to be careful. You do feel like you could just never eat again, but your body just can't sustain itself with little or no food for very long. I suppose thats part of the mental empowerment, but you must be careful!
A lot of it gets passed off as silly science, but I was really affected (for the better) by an experience I had and it was all unintentional.

But if you're going to go more than a few days, please talk to your doctor.

nelie 04-13-2006 10:01 AM

I tried to do a liquid fast once that my friend gave me. (Basically a herbal supplement to drink while you fast) I felt sick, dizzy and nauseous. It is the same feeling I get if I don't eat before I exercise.

In college, it was different though. I had a few months where I didn't feel like eating. So I didn't eat. I lost about 20 lbs. I knew if I started eating again though that my body would want food again and I had to go visit my parents during the summer. My mom wouldn't put up with me not eating so I started eating again.

SherryA 04-13-2006 10:29 AM

I'm doing a water fast. It is the easiest (I believe) because your hunger disappears. The site said "for most people" after 3 days, but for me it is always gone after day one. There just is no urge to eat, no cravings, no raging hunger anything. It is like a habit that you still have to be conscious of because you can accidentally eat just out of habit, but it isn't like your body is demanding food. It switches into fat burning mode and you don't need to continue getting your energy from food.

The sites I saw said some interesting things about what the body does during fasting. It said that it goes looking for energy and burns up diseased and unnecessary tissues first. Like tumors or "farbuncles" (whatever those are) and fat.

Supposedly when you start to really get hungry is when you need to start eating again. It suggest using self control and taking in just juices and fruits first etc. I'm not to that point yet.

I'm not sure how scientific the site was, but if what it says is true, it could be very beneficial health wise. Of course for everything you read, there is 2 or 3 that will say the opposite, so I'm not particularly recommending it. I'm no doctor and so don't know. I do know that people have practiced it throughout the centuries, so there must be some healthy benefit to it in some ways or why would it have endured?

Oh and Tiffany? The site actually recommended fasting to help quit smoking.

Sandi D 04-13-2006 10:44 AM

Sherry,
Lets us know how your doing>?
How long are you going to do it for?
When I was younger ok alot younger, I did 4 1/2 days. My biggest problem was I wasnt hungrey but I felt lost not going thru the motions of eating
good luck
sandi

nelie 04-13-2006 11:23 AM

Sherry, did the site address muscle loss? From everything I've always read is that the reason you should only aim to lose 1-2 lbs per week is that is the most your body will let go. Of course the heavier you are, the more fat your body is willing to let go which is why a loss of 3-5 lbs per week for someone who is extremely overweight is ok. After that though your body will start consuming muscle as well. Of course this is just in normal dieting, I assume the same would be true if you are fasting. Your body has your fat as fuel but it also has your muscle. I'm sure that is why long fasts aren't recommended.

Nori71 04-13-2006 11:30 AM

Interesting stuff. I know nothing about fasting, but more than likely I wouldn't be a good candidate since I need my coffee each morning. Plus, I like to eat every day.:D And if I don't eat within a couple hours of waking up I feel soooo terribly sick, crabby and unable to think straight. Didn't you feel sick at all? Good luck, Sherry. And any others.

Glory87 04-13-2006 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SherryA
Family wants to know when I'm going to start eating. I'm not sure I want to.

This is possibly the scariest thing I've ever read on this site.

SherryA 04-13-2006 11:53 AM

Sorry to scare you. Of course I will start eating again. I just intended to do it for 2 days originally and now I want to continue for awhile. I will start eating again when I get hungry. Which is supposed to be the time when you need to eat again. From what I understand your body gives you signals and the return of hunger is the one you must watch for. Since I have no hunger at present I want to see if I can continue. But I probably won't go until actual hunger. I'll just go by my energy levels. If they stay high enough that I can do my regular routines then I will continue, if not, then I will break the fast.

The site says that your body gets all the protein it needs, that it metabolizes diseased and unhealthy tissue and gets all the nutrients it needs from itself. Doesn't say that it metabolizes muscle. I obviously don't want that to happen.

I've been on Atkins and have used the ketostix to measure fat burning. The stix are dark in color so I know I am burning fat.

And no I haven't felt at all "sick". Probably the transition from Atkins to fasting prevented that. Sometimes during a shift from burning glucose to burning ketones (fat cells) causes a headache for some people, (during the first day), but I was already there because of being low carb already so no headache or anything

activeadventurer 04-13-2006 12:05 PM

The previous qoute kinda put my antenna up too but then I have been an under as well as overeater. I once decided in early March that I wouldn't eat again until April. For me, definitely not healthy.

I think fasting is a very individual thing. I used to have a physician from India where fasting is very prevalent. He often recommended that people fast for short periods of time but he also told some people that they should never fast for even a day (like me). Just like any other diet I don't think that one size fits all.

All I know about exteded water fasts is that when Cesar Chavez (a civil rights leader) fasted in protest for an extended period of time ( I am thinking just under 4 months) he had internal organ damage which later contributed to his death.

Sherry, I would really listen to the concerns of your family and definitely get medical supervion if you plan to fast much longer. While stalled weight loss is discouraging, you are not what you weigh, that number doesn't define you. You define you. Wishing you the best along your life's journey.

Denise


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