So on Halloween, I made the conscious planned decision to eat whatever I want and not worry about calories. Then the day after, I binged like no other which was completely unplanned. When I weighed myself, I had gained 4 pounds from all the binging. So I did some research online about fasting. I really wanted to do a one day fast in order to clean out all of the sodium, fat, and sugar from my body. I felt like I needed to completely fast because I knew that if I ate like a I regularly do (about 1700 calories) then I would probably binge again, because I was going to be hungry no matter what from all the stomach stretching of my 2 day binge fest.
So for my one day fast I ate:
B: oatmeal ( about 150 calories)
S: banana with almonds and peanut butter (200-something calories)
L: vegetable soup (around 250 calories)
S: carrots with ranch (around 60 calories)
D: steamed broccoli (I'm not sure how many is in that)
It came out to be around 670-700 calories. This is fasting for me, because like I said I usually eat around 1700 calories. I also drank SOOOOOOOOO much water (basically drinking around 16 ounces every time I felt hunger pains, which was often) and green tea.
The one day fast turned out to be a HUGE learning experience because:
-I learned that I take advantage of the food that I eat.
- I learned to appreciate food much more for nutrition, and just how needed it is.
-I learned I should need food for hunger, not want food for taste.
-I learned that I put sooooooo much crappy junk food into my body that I do not need AT ALL
-I learned that I should be eating food that is much more nutritious AND tastes good
-I learned that I eat way too much stuff that I do not need to eat
-I learned to eat what I need, and not to just fill my calories with junk
I would DEFINITELY recommend a one day fast to anyone who has been feeling off the wagon, or anyone who has been feeling like they are half-motivated, or half a**ing their diets. Basically if you need a good kick in the rear to re-motivate yourself, or if you need a new outlook, I would definitely recommend a one-day fast. If you do, I would recommend doing it on a day where you don't really have any huge responsibilities or leaving the house to do because you will be feeling tired and having less energy from the lack of carbohydrates and protein.
The research I did recommended only drinking liquids and raw fruits and vegetables. I had to alter that because I didn't have much raw fruits and veggies on hand. Next time I will be following this though.
I have decided that I will definitely be trying to do a one day fast once a week, probably on Sunday. I have also decided to give myself one free day a week, followed by the day of fasting to cleanse my body out. This is really good motivation to stay on plan all week because I know that I can eat whatever is tempting me on the free day.
My mother every once in a while FASTS fasts. Like.. drinks lemon water with cayenne pepper for a week straight along with vitamin supplements, just to cleanse her system or whatever. I tried it. I didn't last a day. I feel physically nauseated when I don't eat. Like I'm gonna throw up stomach acid, since there's nothing else in there.
I like your fast better. And to be honest, I think it's a good idea to every once in a while have a day where you eat what's necessary, not what you WANT to eat. I WANT to eat one (maybe two...) of each menu item from McDonald's at once... but when we talk about what's NECESSARY... not the same thing.
Plus, on days when I eat really light, I always wake up with this renewed sense of thinness. The bloated wow,-I-ate-an-entire-bag-of-chips-and-half-a-pizza-last-night feeling goes away and leaves you feeling more refreshed. As long as people see it as a one-day thing, and not their new permanent diet regime... kudos!
Even if it is a purely pshycological cleanse, if it helps you get back on track then it is worth it. To each their own.
On a separate note, I am glad that you posted this thread. I have been thinking about this, because last week I binged and went up about 4 lbs. I am back down 3, but am having trouble getting back into the swing of things with my diet. Once I get started then I am good to go, but taking that first step is a trick for me. I think that I am going to try this tomorrow. I have some veggies on hand that I love, so I will try just water and veggies. I hope this gets my mind right again. I am not doing this for the deficit of calories, but to prove to myself that I am in control of my actions (evercise) and what I put in my mouth.
One is that I don't necessarily disagree with fasting as a PSYCHOLOGICAL incentive. A lot of people *feel* like they've "cleaned out" or made a fresh start if they fast - whether it's a full no-food fast, or a juice and raw veggies fast, or whatever version they are inclined to try. I do believe that whatever helps you mentally be in the right place to make healthy choices is a good thing.
However ...
When you say you binged and gained 4 lbs. Keep in mind that 3500 calories = 1 lb. To gain 4 lbs of fat from a binge you would have to eat 14,000 calories above and beyond your regular maintenance calories for the day in order to gain 4 lbs. Now I know many of us have to capacity to binge pretty heavily, but 16,000 calories (assuming a 2,000 BMR for most of us) is a LOT OF FOOD. I highly doubt that when someone comes here and says "wow I binged yesterday and gained 4 lb" that they *really* ate 16,000 calories worth of food. That's the equivalent of 10 full sized bags of potato chips. Or 15 pints of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream. 16,000 calories is a helluvalot of food. It's possible that someone on a really really really bad binge could eat that much. But highly unlikely for the majority of us who talk about having a "binge day".
It's much more likely that the majority of the weight you gained is water weight and bloating from eating junk that your body isn't used to handling any more - things like salt, grease, fat, etc.
So then when you fast and lose that 4 lbs (or more) the next day, and you say "wow, my fast burned off my binge" you're really fooling yourself. Because unless you're exercising at top speed for 22 hours, there's no way on this green earth you're burning 16,000 calories (again, 3500 cals = 1 lb of fat - you'd have to burn that many to lose 4 lb of fat) in one day. It's simply humanly impossible to burn those calories unless you're an Olympic class athlete in training. What you're actually doing is drinking lots of water/juice during your fast, and flushing out the sodium and the water that you've retained from your binge.
This however: I am not doing this for the deficit of calories, but to prove to myself that I am in control of my actions (evercise) and what I put in my mouth. sounds like a pretty healthy mindset towards approaching a fast.
So ... reality check time. Fasting as a mental and emotional "get back on track"? Go for it!
Fasting as "I'm losing all the weight I gained in my binge"? Playing mind games with yourself.
Next thought is this: You do not need to "cleanse" your body. You don't need to drink 62.7 gallons of lemon water or eat 2 lbs of raw broccoli or gnaw on raw garlic cloves or whatever other fad is going around to "cleanse" your body. Your body is perfectly capable of "cleansing" itself if you just feed it healthy food and treat it right.
So again, fasting as a mental and emotional aid? Rock it.
Fasting to cleanse your body? A mind game.
Like I said ... I have no problem with fasting as a concept to aid someone in getting into the right mental/emotional place to make good choices. The idea of starting fresh and moving forward is helpful to a lot of people. Just please be honest with what you're doing and how it's affecting your body. You'll get to that real emotional/mental place better faster if you do it with an awareness of what you're accomplishing for real.
Finally, I would caution anyone who is thinking about having a "binge day" followed by a fast day to "make up for it". That's dangerously on the edge of the type of thinking that leads to an eating disorder. It is very easy to step over that edge and tell yourself that it's ok to totally binge ... as long as you eat nothing the next day to make up for it ... and then wind up see-sawing back and forth and never be able to stabilize with a healthy diet. I personally think a weekly fast is too often. I would think that a bi-weekly or even a monthly fast would be better. But even if you go with a weekly fast, I would caution against tying it together with a binge day. IMO, that's a road that could very quickly lead to disaster.
FWIW.
.
Last edited by PhotoChick; 11-04-2008 at 12:17 AM.
photochick: maybe I miscommunicated with my choice of words...I definitely did not think the four pound gain was an actual gain...I know it was water weight. I probably only really gained 1 or 2 pounds. I also do not think that the fasting made me lose the four pounds...again it was just water weight from all the extra salt, fat, and sugar. I fasted to try to absorb as much water as I could without adding in any extra fat, sugar, or salt.
And again, like I said, it was a learning experience for all of the reasons I listed, not a way to lose weight fast.
And thank you for your concern, but I am in no way on the road to an eating disorder. I never said I was going to have a "binge day", I said a free day, where I am not constantly counting calories. I am actually offended that you would suggest that. I came here to post a thread about a LEARNING experience, and you suggest that my behavior is indicative of an eating disorder? that's not very supportive. You don't have to agree with my learning experience, or even support it. But making accusations that I am on the road to an eating disorder is a bit extreme. It has taken me 9 months to lose 13 pounds, so believe me I am taking it very slow. Thanks again.
"I would caution anyone who is thinking about having a "binge day" followed by a fast day to "make up for it". That's dangerously on the edge of the type of thinking that leads to an eating disorder. It is very easy to step over that edge and tell yourself that it's ok to totally binge ... as long as you eat nothing the next day to make up for it ... and then wind up see-sawing back and forth"
My learning experience: fasting
And to be honest, I think it's a good idea to every once in a while have a day where you eat what's necessary, not what you WANT to eat. I WANT to eat one (maybe two...) of each menu item from McDonald's at once... but when we talk about what's NECESSARY... not the same thing. 
