So I've been reading a lot about water fasting and it sounds intense but possibly like it could be a really good thing. I just dont want to kill my metabolism. Has anyone tried water fasting before? I am not sure how long I could go--lol but I am curious to see how strong my willpower could really be. I've heard this is a great way to rid excess fat and toxins in the body.
Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

I used to do water fasting for religious reasons, usually during Lent. I found it was quite difficult to do, but it gave me an appreciation for what real hunger feels like, and what people who are truly starving must feel every day.

However, it made me feel like crap. I'd get headaches and get shaky and get super irritable and I would go through periods where I could think about nothing but food... and when it comes to trying to establish healthy eating habits, that's not a good mentality to have. I almost always ended up binging the next day because my body was trying to make up for what I had done to it the day before.

If you want to do it for spiritual/mental/emotional reasons, to try it and see what it's like, then I say doing it once a year is fine. But IMO, a water fast will never work for weight loss, because it's just going to make you "food crazy".

Okay. Which part of it sounds like a really good idea? I can't possibly imagine? I don't know. I kind of need the energy and nutrients that FOOD provides.

Want to get rid of excess fat? Permanently? I suggest reducing your caloric intake and exercising. Creating a calorie deficit. Over a period of time. Not some quick fix that's SURE to backfire.

Getting rid of toxins? I'm pretty sure that's what the kidneys, liver and intestines do, amongst other things that our great body is made up of.

Eating a healthy diet is all that one needs to detox the body and lose excess fat. No gimmicks. No hardships.

Instead of spending time fasting - why not spend time changing your eating habits? Devising a plan that you can live with. Finding new and healthy food options. Now that to me would be time very well spent.

I started doing a lot of fasting about 30 yr. ago. After looking back, I believe that was the beginning of my weight problems. God didn't design our bodies to lose weight he did it to stay alive during famines. Since we don't have those now, praise the Lord, our bodies think we are in a famine when we diet so they slow down and when we can't take it anymore we go back to eating and gain weight. Most of the world thinks this is silly but to me it makes sense. If you eat when you are hungry and stop when satisfied not stuffed your body will finally get the message that you are no longer in a famine and lower your appetite so that you gradually lose weight. It works. Try it.

Yeah. I can't imagine any other reason but religious to do this. I'm totally with Robin on this one (but then again, I usually am ).

I've tried it a couple of times for two days at a time. I got through it by sheer determination, and found that I really didn't lose much a pound or two.I can do that by eating sensibly and counting calories.

I fast once a month for two meals and then eat dinner. It's part of my religion. I wouldn't do it to try to lose weight though. Your body needs food to lose weight.

Yeah. I was just thinking it could be good to try for a day or so though. Maybe I am thinking more of intermittent fasting in that sense, I read a blog about a guy who water fasted just one day a week and said it was great for him. What about just liquid fasting? Idk. Haha my mind is going so fast this morning...
I wonder also if getting all your daily calories through liquids for a day here or there is helpful to any of you in terms of at least feeling better? I am just curious to maybe try something new to spice up my routine a bit =) even if it doesnt mean much weight loss, as long as there are some health benefits than thats really all that matters to me as I continue on this path...

^^^
What Robin said.


I'm not a fan of fasting unless it is for religious reasons. I think it can actually hurt more than it helps.

Remember, you need to do this for the rest of your life. Mixing up your food and exercise can be fun and HEALTHY!

Eat breakfast for dinner or try some new entrees, vegetables, fruits. Eat more often, or less often. If you want a more liquid diet, try making some smoothies so that you are still getting a good balance of carbs/protein/fats (Though personally, I LIKE the act of EATING. I enjoy chewing food rather than sipping it through a straw).

If you want to test your willpower, there are other things you can do rather than deprive your body of the essential nutrients that it needs. Something like this really, IMHO, does no good for the body -- it slows your metabolism, it weakens your muscles, it removes all energy stores from your body, and your brain slows down because it doesn't get the energy it needs. And makes you food obsessed.

The only good reason, IMHO, to do this would be for religious reasons. And even then, these are limited time fasts, such as Ramadan (PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I A WRONG ON THIS ONE!!) where one fasts from sun-up to sun-down, but eats before and after.

I think it would be just as challenging, mentally, to participate in or create your own exercise challenge. This will test your will power and have great physical effects. I am doing a 30 Hot Yoga Classes in 30 Days challenge at our Hot Yoga studio. One class a day for 30 consecutive days. You could find an equivalent challenge (try a boot camp! collect pledges for a 5k run and start training for it! make your own 30 spin classes in 30 days challenge!).

I think this might challenge you equally, and you won't see your metabolism negatively affected and your body depleted...

JMHO

Kira

Some years ago a friend of mine did a "juice fast" and the doctor said all the sugar in the juices he was drinking -- with no protein or fat to moderate them -- tipped him over into diabetes.

I have fasted up to 3 days for religious reasons. I absolutely hate it. The first day isn't too bad... but after that I was completely miserable. All I could think about was eating. When I wasn't thinking about how hungry I was, I was thinking of what I was going to eat when I stopped fasting.

And a caution. My husband has also fasted. He was in his second day and started feeling a little "strange" and sweating a little when he wasn't cold. Since my parents are diabetic, we checked his blood sugar, it was in the low 70s. He was hypoglycemic If he would have persisted, he could have ended up in the hospital or worse. My blood sugar remains normal when I fast, but you don't know what will happen. It is not something I recommend for weight loss. My husband is generally a very healthy person with no health problems at all.