[azcountryflower]

Just found this site tonight... I've read lots of things... I've reads lots and lots about different diets.

I've REALLY read a lot about fasting... not here but other places. And what I've found is that it's a quick fix but not a solution as you gain the weight back. But WHAT IF you get the quick fix and THEN... you ease back into the "eating world" slowly and learn to eat the right things.

Please post if you've done "successfully or unsuccessfully" fasting in the past or if you're fasting now. Water or juice fasts... I'd love to hear experiences about this.

My story: I grew up very thin... I could eat everything and not gain a pound (yes, I was the girl everyone hated)... then I got pregnant and went from a tight 110 to 183... WTF.... there I was thinking, I could still eat and not gain a pound and be a cute little pregnant person.. NOT!

Anywho... I have 3 children now, I'm 38... after my 3rd child (who's 11yrs old now) I had a tummy tuck and breast aug...

Long story short... I have always been able to maintain 135 - 150 lbs all these years up until last year. I lost my dog and another pet (a capuchin monkey) and I was DEVASTATED. I also lost the love of my mother and siblings (long story on that one, we'll just say I'm the blacksheep of the family)... during this past year, I have gained and I'm having so much trouble getting this crap back off. I HATE being this big. My mother and both siblings are and have always been overweight. I was the only one that was able to look half way decent and now... over depression, I let myself go and ate and just didn't care.

I want the weight off. I can't stand being this miserable. I'm originally from NC but moved to AZ a year and a half ago. I have ZERO friends...

I love this site but I haven't found anyone mention fasting? Is that a no-no word here? Am I on the wrong site? Do I come back once I stop the fast?

My weight----
Yesterday I weighed 181.... today I weigh 178... tomorrow I will weigh 174, I know this because I did a week waterfast before and lost 11 pounds in ONE WEEK. Mind you, I did gain it back... I'm right back where I started... so I'm looking for support...

Any help out there for me???

Thanks for reading!

Jo

[Jennifer 3FC]

Hi Jo, welcome to 3FC. No, fasting is not one of the supported methods of weight loss around here - especially waterfasting. Other types of fasting can be done properly under the direct supervision of a doctor, but overall people just don't do it that way. We do have a diet meal delivery forum that has medifast in it, but that's about as low as we go.

[mandalinn82]

Hi Jo, and

And what I've found is that it's a quick fix but not a solution as you gain the weight back. But WHAT IF you get the quick fix and THEN... you ease back into the "eating world" slowly and learn to eat the right things.

This, in my experience, does not work - your body really will fight you.

Our bodies are designed to fight starvation with everything they have. Right now, you may burn X number of calories a day...let's say 1800. That's how many calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight. So, if you drastically reduce your calories, your body will still burn 1800 calories for a little while. But as it realizes that no food sources are coming it, it'll start burning less (to keep you from dying of starvation). And less. And less. And soon your 1800 calorie a day metabolism has burned down to something much, much slower. So when you introduce food back, even healthy food, you're eating more calories than you burn, and you gain the weight back. This has been pretty firmly established...and it makes sense! Your body isn't going to keep on burning 1800 calories a day if it isn't getting any food, because it wants to ensure you'll still be alive when food starts coming in again Your body starts eating its own muscle (muscle burns more calories than fat does), and that can be bad (your heart, after all, is a muscle). And when food DOES come in, your metabolism is still slowed, and you'll gain weight even on still-low calorie numbers (which again, from a biological perspective, makes sense....your body wants to refill the stores in case of another famine!)

There are plenty of healthy ways to lose weight that don't involve long-term fasting. A more moderate reduction in calorie intake and adding some exercise will allow you to lose weight without wrecking your metabolism.

Fasting is often done for spiritual or personal reasons, and I think short-term there's nothing wrong with that...but for weight loss, it just isn't sustainable.