Fasting

I was wondering if anyone had any tips on safely fasting. Durations, tips, safety, benefits, personal experiences. I'm considering trying fasting but I'd like some opinions.

check out this site, yogayak.com/blog....scroll down a bit, this guy documents his water fast, and I found it pretty interesting.

I have never done a fast. What kind of fast are you talking about? A raw foods fast, juice fast, water fast?

 

Well tbh I'm not sure! I suppose I'd like to start with an easy one. I was thinkinh maybe doing a water fast cosit's cheap? :P

well, good luck! I did one for two days, after slowly decreasing my foods to a raw diet beforehand. I started having major pains in my chest and I started panicking thinking maybe I was dying (I probably wasn't) so I ate :)

Are you doing it to lose weight, bc I don't think that fasting is really meant for that. Most people who fast, do it for the cleansing properties that fasting can have.

Check out that site I sent you, and google it a bit. You will find many supporters and opponents of fasting (just as you will with almost anything) but you might be able to find more of the info you are looking for.

Fasting is a weird thing, and if you are looking for weight loss...counting calories is probably the best way to go, by far imo.

you could also search the forums here for fasting, as I know there have been a few posts that I have seen in the past couple months.

I don't really recommend fasting. Normally I only do it if I have a really bad day and eat A LOT for some emotional reason. The very next day I will actually eat  very little, or sometimes nothing at all. It's stupid, I wish I could make myself not do it, but I think occasionally it's not a big deal. There is such a thing as fasting healthy, I do not fast healthy, please don't do what I do. What I do is stupid.

Notreally a weight loss thing cos that would require it to happen over an extended period of time. More like a fresh start. A clean plate if you will?

Hmmm... I don't know if that's such a good idea. I know that if I were to fast, I'd come out of it feeling like I wanted to stuff the unhealthiest foods in the world down my throat.

I'd recommend just changing your diet directly to healthy foods. Maybe try this: a "exercise fast". If you work out, you'll feel good about your body and more motivated to eat things that will benefit it.

Fasting is very complicated and has a lot of side effects. It will cause extreme tiredness, depression, and pain, but the effects are unpredictable because everyone is different. It could even hurt you in the end. Your nutritional goal should be to have a steady stream of healthful foods running through your body so that your metabolism stays consistent and you feel more energetic. I wouldn't recommend fasting as a good way to achieve this.

I fast occasionally for religious purposes. It's not harmful as long as you don't overdo it. I would suggest start with a 24 hour water fast (you're right, water is cheap). I normally donate the $$ that would have gone to food to charity as part of the religious aspect of the fast.

I typically don't heavily exercise on fast days.

3-4 hours is a good duration, maybe 8-9 if you're asleep the whole time.  Fasting longer than that isn't helping your health in any way.

The only time I fast is when my doctor orders it for some reason (like before a blood test).  Fasting for weight loss is not recommended because by definition, fasting is a form of malnutrition and one of the tenets of healthy weight loss is getting adequate nutrition while creating a caloric deficit.  As for the so called "cleansing" properties of fasting, most "cleansing" theory is based on the bogus theory that toxins build up in our digestive tracts and that somehow fasting or some type of cleansing regimen is required to get rid of this build up.  This simply is not true.

Fasting for religious reasons is between you and your creator and I have nothing to say on that subject.  Hopefully your creator wouldn't require that you harm your physical body to benefit your spirit.

I think that a better idea is simply to switch to a healthy diet instead of using some period of not getting proper nutrition to "jump start" your weight loss or to "clean the slate".

It is ultimately your decision, but just consider this.  How does depriving your body of proper nutrition for any length of time clean the slate?  That logic doesn't track for me.

Typically fasting is done from sunrise to sunset.  It's done for religious purposes and the time that would have been spent shopping, cooking, eating, etc. is spent in meditation.  It's more for a spiritual "clean slate" than a clean colon. 

I know about religious fasts, but there are plenty of people here and other websites who advocate fasting for cleansing their body of toxins or for weight loss.  Religious fasts are between a person and their creator and are as morrighu described.  Fasting for other reasons are what I was questioning the logic of.

DO NOT FAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

not trying to scare u off but fasting isnt gonna make u slim. im muslim and fasting never works as a weight loss tool. if ure prepared to go to extremes try a vegan diet. jus water and raw veg for a  week n c how u feel.

if ure body thinks ure starving then it will retain every gram of fat possible.

 i tried a non religious fast n it doesnt work. keeping ur cals to 1000 and having ur normal life does. the more overweight  u r the more weight ure going to lose in the beginnning.  i dropped a dress size in less than 6 weeks!

but u have to gradually include every food in ur diet n exercise a bit to keep the weight off. having a lot of letuce with low fat mayo as part of ur meal is always filling. boring a bit but u get used to it.

I fast once a year for about a day and a half.  But not for the purpose of weight loss, For A Jewish holiday: Yom Kippur.  anyways before hand we drink Morrocon Tea (Black Tea with Mint) and Biscuits, And eat a meal, A healthy one with Morrcon Dishes Like Hraimi-חרימי (Tuna With Spicy Red sauce).  Anyways It feels good, For a day to do this.

Just telling you beforehand:  If you do fast, When you decide to end your fast drink Tea with mint first, Otherwise you'll have weird stomache pains.

That's the very same religious fast I observe, Yom Kippur, plus a few minor festivals along the way. We usually start off the day before with cholent--a beef dish with lentils & lima beans. And yes, we drink peppermint tea to break the fast at the end. It's the mint, I use essence of peppermint to soothe my stomach at other times, too. Just a few drops in a diet soda can do wonders for an upset stomach.

I am on Day 7 of a 10 day fast and I feel fantastic.  Do a little homework on fasts and then decide if it's right for you.  Fasting can cleanse and heal the body and remove toxins before changing over to a healthier eating pattern. Fasting has been used for thousands of years to heal various diseases and conditions, and is even prescribed by regular doctors today.  If you want to fast for more than 3 days, you should do it under a doctor's supervision. 

I will warn you that about 24 hours in you can feel incredibly sick.  I almost gave up on my second day because I was so sick I couldn't even sit up without getting nauseous.  If you stick it out you will get through it and start to feel very energized and your body will move into another phase of healing.

I've lost 13 pounds so far, but I know I will gain some of it back when I start eating again.  I'm doing it because I feel I got off track with my eating and was feeling strong cravings for unhealthy foods.  I wanted to kind of reset my body by cleaning it out and starting fresh.  It has worked great for me.