You might want to eat very healthy for the week leading up to your fast - I know you stated you wanted to start tomorrow on the fast. By eating a raw diet and/or juicing, you will jump start the detox process.

Without knowing what you've been eating, it's hard to say why you are getting headaches but that is very common during detox.

If you've not water fasted before, 40 days can be quite a stretch. Mouseclick has lost 80 pounds in 7 months by doing 10 day water fasts. I personally have lost 19 pounds in 9 days on a water fast.

Hello FastAuggie,
You will lose more weight in the early stages of a lengthy fast if you are extremely overweight to begin with, sometimes as much as 3 to 5 pounds & more per day, but as the fast progresses this will settle down to about one pound per day, but can be more with moderate exercise. Losses could be as much as 40 to 70 pounds or more in some cases on a 40 day water fast.
However, you are advised to take your fast one day at a time and not set an arbitrary number of days, as developments can determine its termination.

http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/020127shelton.III/020127.ch17.htm


Fasting will not make your hair fall out unless you have an underlying medical condition that is currently causing it to occur.


These are some of the benefits of a water-fast according to thirst..........


#1. It cleanses your respiratory, circulatory, digestive and urinary systems, destroying impurities all over the body and eliminates uric acid deposits.
#2. People detoxify and heal more quickly with Water Fast than with any other fast. This is because with water fasting, your digestive passageway and organs are able to rest completely, allowing for all of your energy to be used for cleansing and repair of damaged tissues.
#3. It restores your body balance by eliminating wastes.
#4. It has been found effective in the treatment of type II diabetes.
#5. It has been found to be one of the most effective treatments for obesity.
#5. Water Fasting is beneficial in epilepsy, reducing the length, number, and severity of seizures.
#6. It is effective for treating both osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis .
#7. It improves poor immune function during fasting.
#8. Water Fasting increases your cell-mediated immunity and immunoglobulin levels.
#9. Water Fasting decreases your antigen-antibody complexes, and enhances natural killer cell activity.
#10. It increases your life span.
#11. It helps you in weight loss.
#12. Water fasting promotes detoxification.
#13. It gives your digestive system a much-needed rest.
#14. Fasting promotes the resolving of inflammatory processes, including painful inflammatory syndromes such as Rheumatoid Arthritis .
#15. It quiets allergic reactions, including asthma and hay fever.
#16. It promotes the drying up of abnormal fluid accumulations, such as edema in the ankles and legs and swelling in the abdomen.
#17. It corrects your high blood pressure to a safe range within two weeks without drugs. And the blood pressure will remain low after the fast if you eat correctly and live healthy.
#18. Water Fasting helps to overcome bad habits and addictions. It rapidly dissipates the craving for nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, and other drugs.
#19. It restores your taste appreciation for wholesome natural foods. People say that their taste buds come alive after fasting and that food never tasted so good.
#20. It is exceptionally beneficial in chronic cardiovascular diseases and congestive heart failure, reducing triglycerides, atheromas, total cholesterol, and increasing HDL levels
#21. Going on a Water Fast gives you the motivation and enthusiasm to make a fresh start and commit yourself to a new and better way of life.

However, for any serious health condition you or anyone else is advised to seek professional guidance/supervision as a precautionary measure.

Regards

Chrisb1.

Hi Fast Auggie,

Raine and Chris have given you some good tips. I calculated your Body Mass Index at
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/
and it is 43, this is very high. I congratulate you on the choice to do something about it. In 6 months time you can be a completely different person, living life to the full, look attractive, sexy, and feel great. Also you have come to a place where the journey itself can be enjoyable, because you will find lots of support here.

The good news is that this was my starting BMI too, in November 2007. I am now around 30, and having a bit of a break before I finish the job. I have kept that weight for a couple of months now, without really trying. This is because fasting has changed my attitude towards food. As I type my mouth is watering for a delicious Cripps Pink apple, whereas before it would be for several bags of crisps, because the salty taste would make me want to eat more. I am going to get an apple from the fridge... mmm, what a way to start the day, yum yum! Thank you, god, for Cripps Pink apples! Here's a link to my weight loss.
http://www.tickerfactory.com/ezticker/weight_loss.php/wjfZGk0


Anyway, there has been debate here on hair loss when drinking distilled water, I think Chris is right, but during fasting I just drink tap water, I have never had any hair loss.

My first fast was 27 days, I wanted to lose all the weight there and then, but I was advised by Fonty that I have to refeed for as long as I fast anyway, so I later reduced the period to around 10 days. I found 7-10 day fasts much less boring, and I tailored them to fit in with my social life - holidays, meals out, parties etc.

You will find some opposition from friends and family, I think for two reasons. One they will not understand fasting, and two there may be some jealousy, be it concious or unconscious.

It sounds like your mum may be looking after you just a little too well. Do you live with her? This is going to have to be tackled somehow. Either she should be made to understand that fasting is safe and will improve the quality of your life, or you have to get away from her and not tell her. You are 21, you can make your own decisions in life on this, and I guess what you do depends on your personal circumstances and how you relate to your mum. Ask for help here on how best to deal with this, give us some more feedback on it, what you think her reaction will be, and so on.

You also need to relax when fasting, don't get stressed out. It's a mistake to think you need to exercise when fasting.

You are also lucky, being 21 your skin should be nice and elastic, and should tighten up nicely. It is reported that the fasting process helps this.

So, keep us posted, and I really look forward to reading your success story in 2009, and how much better you feel coming up to Christmas. Go for it girl!

I have went from 265 pounds to 164 as of today with diet change and periodic fasting. I have done several 10 day fasts and am currently on day 7 of a 30+ day fast.

Just make sure that you are very educated on what you plan to do, read every bit of info you can find, and invest in some good books on fasting, it is definately not something to take lightly. But it is worth it.

Set up a free account at
http://www.FitDay.com.
This will help you as your begin your transformation.

Also, I cannot recommend highly enough getting a proper set of scales. I've got a Homedics scale that does everything short of launching the space shuttle -- weight, BMI, bone density, etc.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=14755357&RN=444&