Hi I'm Serina. I'm new to this forum. I have a few questions. I would love to recieve e-mail updates on my phone for when people post or reply to my posts.... does anyone know how to do this?

Today is my first day of my fast. I have never gone on a fast that lasted longer than a day. I tried the 24 hour water fast and that didn't seem to bad. I'm jumping right in and commiting myself to a 20 day juice fast. I quite smoking, recently also. I smoked cig. for almost 7 years straight. My reason for the fast is to cleanse myself. I figured it was the best time since I just quite smoking. I am really hoping to get some support from this forum since I am a beginer. I lost 7 pounds already from just watching my weight but with this cleanse and my new found appetite I hope to get done to my ideal weight. I will try to keep posting about my fast if there is an interest. Have a great day and good luck to everyone else!!!

Fast as in no food fast? If that's the case I wouldn't recommend. Maybe a raw foods cleanse, but no food for an extended period of time is not good on your body.

Congrats on the 7lbs!!!!!

3FC is a site that supports healthy methods of weight loss. What you are attempting isn't in that category... You won't find much support here for that.

Instead, why not consider a program that will give you proper nourishment while you lose weight? It might be slower than you would like, but you'll be more healthy on the other side, and better able to maintain your new, smaller size.

Many programs can accomplish this, from Weight Watchers to simple calorie counting. Look around, read some stories--you'll see that the 3FCers with the most success have done it the slow and steady way!

Jay

Serina, congratulations on quitting smoking! That's a huge step toward a healthy lifestyle! Like the other posters, though, I would caution against a fast. Fasting is a temporary gimmick that only wreaks havoc on your body. The best way to cleanse your body is not by denying it food, but by giving it what it needs to be healthy and cleanse itself. That means eating cleanly --lots of fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, fish, etc., and nothing too processed. By doing this, you'll not only allow your body to "detox" but also lose weight the healthy way.

I agree with the other posters. I lost over 100 pounds but did it the slow, healthier way. The only time I ever "fasted" was when I had salmonella poisoning and couldn't eat for two weeks. I lost 17 pounds but it all came back on as soon as I started eating again.

Congrats on the quitting smoking. I've also done that and know how hard that is!

A 20 day juice fast ?? This is not a healthy way to lose weight and the loss will only be temporary. You won't find many people in these forums that would support such a diet.

wow, 20 days is a long time. If you want to juice fast the recommend time is 2-3 days. Fasting can help shrink your stomach and get you in control, but for 3 weeks without a doctor seems risky. There's the Hollywood 48 hour diets in places like Walgreens and beachbody.com sells a 2 day fasting formula.

Instead of fasting for 20 days, you can use those days to get you into the "swing" of healthy eating. Which is something you can do for a LIFETIME, not just a mere 3 weeks.

Chances are you'd definitely drop some pounds in that time and be well on your way to a new and healthy lifestyle. A new and healthy sustainable lifestyle.

Think longterm solution - not quick fix. Which in the end is never really a "fix" at all.

I agree with the other members. I've been there, done that, but not for 20 days. They do have detox products that you can take 3-7 days, but usually you eat fruits/veggies and cut back on the meat. I would talk to a doctor before doing any fasting, or at least read a lot about it first to get an idea of what you're getting into. When you fast, you tend to lose water weight and sometimes even muscle, and generally you can't do much in way of exercise while you are fasting. You will lose weight temporarily, but you will probably gain a lot of it back when you go back to eating again. I agree with the others that you should try a short detox program and then just make healthier choices when eating (using portion control methods) and start an exercise program if you haven't already done so. Congrats on quitting smoking and the loss you have already achieved, and good luck in your future loss!

I hope this isn't a horrible answer, but I think fasting for cleansing purposes is good. That being said, 20 days is way too long. You will make yourself ill. I've done my share of fasts for long periods of times and it is murder. Be prepared for lightheadedness, dizziness, extreme weakness, shakiness, and possibly fainting. You'll also have massive diarrhea if you do a juice fast for that long. Not pleasant at all. If you want to cleanse, a 3 day "fast" consisting of fruits and vegetables will do nicely. I'd also suggest consulting your Dr. to make sure you don't have any hidden problems that can be exacerbated by the fasting.

I'm still going to have to disagree on the fasting for cleansing purposes. I've seen no research done to back up the idea that a juice fast is necessary to clean you out. The body is really very excellent at cleaning itself out and if you just eat WELL, or "cleanly," lean meats, vegetables, fruits, whole grains... That's so much better for your body, in my opinion, and you will feel cleansed instead of weak. Juice fast is mostly sugar and your body really needs fat and protein and fiber and on and on..

Plus, you would be in danger of losing muscle weight due to not getting the nutrients your muscles need, and probably restricting calories. Not to mention all the sugar crashes.

Just my 2 cents.

Exactly, fasting doesn't really cleanse anything. It merely denies your body the nutrients it needs to do its job, part of which is cleansing itself!

Detox is a myth. The body naturally detoxes itself. A fast won't cleanse you. You'll just feel like crap.

As someone above said, a juice fast is just sugar. You'll get crashes from it, it might mess up with your blood sugars and it won't provide enough nutrients for you to survive on. Plus you're likely to gain back any weight you lose, and the low calories will put your body in starvation mode.

It's a bad idea.