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I think doing that would just make me hungry and irritable and thus more likely to binge.

I have friends who "cleanse" by restricting their diets to very "clean" foods for a few days. For instance, my friend Jess will occasionally eat only fruits, vegetables, and whole grains - and, of course, drink lots of water - in hopes of cleaning out her system.

Maybe something like that would work for you?

People often fast for religious reasons, but almost everyone I know that has did a two or more day fast has always gained back any weight they lost and it took them awhile to get their metabolism back.

I don't know a whole lot about it. I have done a fast before but never just water.

I have had friends do this. I don't think it is a good idea. I think it will only make you think about food more. What diet are you on? I was just wondering because I can't tell you the last time I have felt bloated (well, except for TOM).
I know that when I am on TOM, I stick to omelets, lots of lean meats, whole grain breads, fruit, salads, and low fat cheeses.

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I think 2-3 days is a long time to go without any source of energy. You might see a dip in weight (though I'm not sure that it wouldn't just rise up once you re-introduced food). But for things like blood sugar - even if you do not have problems in that area - all of us need to continually supply our bodies with food sources for energy, otherwise our blood sugar (glucose) dips and for 2-3 days, that's not very healthy. I've heard of doing all juice fasts - I'm not sure if that's healthy either, but at least you'd be getting something. The vegetales might be ok

I like this idea. I've been eating more calories than I normally do in these past 2 weeks so I think this is a good way to get me back on track again. I'll start it tomorrow (well, right now for me, but I just ate dinner so if i say right now, i don't really feel that it counts lol XD).

Humans do not need to "cleanse" - this is why we have a liver. If you want to fast, by all means do it, but don't buy that talk about cleansing. Personally I feel it is a risky thing to do if one has issues with food to start with.

I don't mean to offend anyone, it's just that this is one of my big pet peeves.

I agree with blondeambition. If you want to "cleanse" your body than do just that dont starve. Its true that our bodies were used to not eating for days, but things have evolved. People no longer have to hunt for food. Why not try a clean eating diet? Pretty much if it comes from the earth you can eat it. If you can grow it, pick it or kill it then its okay to eat. I think you will be doing your body more damage than good if you are doing just for the sake of "cleansing" and hoping to lose a few lbs. I think only drinking water to cleanse the body and fasting are 2 COMPLETELY differnt things. I have fasted before, but it was not to lose or cleanse my body. It was for personal and religious reasons. I say if you are going to do this be very careful and dont get upset if you gain the weight back that you may lose

I just don't think it's a good idea, from my personal opinion.

Afterwards, your stomach will be upset when you try to eat food. you might have tummy problems. And you'll gain it back once you start eating food.

Cleansing is kind of BS, I asked my doctor about it and he said that it's not really necessary, and if you feel stopped up, ask your doctor about other methods like colonics. Or just go vegetarian and limit your dairy which can be hard to digest.

You dont need to give up any foods (or stop eating!) just have a glass of water with lemon first thing in the morning, cut out caffeine and maybe wheat for a couple of days and keep drinking the water with fresh lemon. you can have it like a tea or cold, but either way i find it great for flushing out a few toxins! it makes your skin look great too. or a really good detox juice, if you have a juicer, is cucumber and celery. if you throw in half an apple it takes the edge off...

in order to keep your metabolism functioning properly. Drink pure (fresh squeezed yourself if you want to take the time to do it) orange juice, tea with honey, and add lemon and a few tablespoons of maple syrup to half of your daily intake of water.

Otherwise you are going to be all sorts of messed up and it will take upwards of 8 days to get to where you begin to burn calories normally again.

I'd have to seriously DISAGREE with BlondeAmbition.

With all of the overprocessed and pesticide/chemical-filled foods and just overall junk we put into our body unconsciously our bodies definitely DO need a cleanse every now and again. Now... a fast is definitely NOT the way to do it. But there are other ways.

You can look into Alkaline Cleanses or cleanses from the "Raw Food Diet" I've tried them and my body just feels amazing afterward. But you have to do what is right for your body. Every body is different.

Most "cleansing" and detox methods have been thoroughly debunked scientifically. Many are out and out scams (don't fall for cleansing or detoxing foot pads or foot baths, they're a hoax - you should be able to find the specific details on snopes.com regarding how they seem to work and how they really work).

As for whether we're designed to be able to skip a few meals, possibly, but how many and under what circumstances? That's a much more difficult answer. Many theorize that even very short periods of famine, lower metabolism. That is, it is normal for most critters to eat daily. If they miss too many meals (and how many meals are too many may vary from individual to individual) it's very possible that their metabolism drops in response. The more faux famines you subject yourself to, the greater the chance that metabolism will be significantly affected, possibly long term.

If you're prone to disordered eating, I think it would be wise to consult your doctor or a dietitian before embarking on any fasts.

Really the only thing that people should cleanse is their colons. All of that half and undigested food..... yuck. Just talk to a doctor.