Hi Healthy,

"I have completed 2 long fasts (20 days) both times and a couple short 5-6 day ones before and also in between the long ones."

nice.

"I have lost about 40 lbs and pretty much kept it off."
I am 5’10” and started off at 215 last august and now am down to 173 and have pretty much maintained here (+/- 5lbs) for a couple months now."

really fantastic.

" Since my first long fast in Aug/Sept I have not had consistent BM and my colon I think is really clogged or something…it really messed my system up in some way I think. Or un-messed my system and now I don’t know what normal is. Well I am constantly feeling bloated and I don’t eat an un healthy Diet now."

After bringing your digestive system into a deep slumber, i wonder if you went too quickly into solid foods. I believe what you are describing is exactly caused by eating foods too soon that your body is not ready to optimally digest. I'm beginning to feel this is my mantra, but since i can't know if you have read this in other posts, a good general rule in breaking the fast is a day of juice fasting for every 4 days of water fasting, in your case 5 days of juice even before eating raw fruits. Then a day of predominently raw fruits and vegetables for every 4 days of water+juice, in your case 6 days of this. That first couple of days of raw fruit, i would take it very slow, probably drinking mostly juice those days and easing into very small portions of the fruit, very gently challenging your digestive system to take on something more difficult.

As a person with a recent history of "consipation", you would probably do well to extend the "easing out periods" even longer, perhaps doubling or tripling them. Sometimes i have found myself in a hurry to get to where i can eat chicken / fish, etc but really we should very much relax about this and enjoy each stage for what it is, doing our bodies a big favor by not rushing into foods that are far more digestively challenging than we are ready for.

"and the colon area of my stomach really hurts, when I press I can feel build up in there and its painful to press hard on."

i don't feel enemas would be the long term solution, but i do believe the occasional enema could get you through some of this discomfort. A longer term solution might include backing up to the level your body can handle.. perhaps raw fruits and vegetables, or perhaps a diet very high in these (50-80% perhaps) until you get back to normal. Another very important factor is the restoration of our intestinal flora (acidiphilus, bifidus, maybe bulgaris)... and a high fiber diet for these friendly bacteria to feed on in your colon.

"Did I mess up my system forever??"

I highly doubt it.

"Is this really common??"

I bet it is in fasts (especially longer ones) that are not patiently, gently eased out of.

"Does this have anything to do with my fast???"

most likely.

"Should I go to the doctor?"

let's see what chrisb1 says first :p. Also, if you fast again and ease out very gently, build up a wonderful level of healthy intestinal flora, your problem might be solved. I would personally very much want to take this opportunity during your fast to also thoroughly cleanse you colon. In addition to clearing out the back-up, this cleanse will make your colon function more optimally as well.

"I gain weight so easily now. Is my metabolism still crazy from those 2 long fasts?? Or is it the small ones? "

It is said that our metabolism slows to 80% and that we need 4-6 weeks to be back to normal, so this could be one factor. I am not sure how long of a fast is being referred to, but possibly, possibly this is true even of the 5-6 day fasts. Could even be that for a 20 day fast the return to normal metabolism takes even longer.

"Are long fasts better or the short ones??"

In my opinion, generally speaking (and with the proper caution), the longer the better. Deeper cleanse, better results.

"It seems kinda pointless to me to do a fast for less than like 2/3 days because as soon as you have gotten your body into ketosis you break your fast??"

I feel the same way. For me if i am going to go 2-3 days, i want to go at least 7... partly because i feel i am coasting at that point, having made it through what is for me the hardest part... though i do believe a person can get a wonderful cleanse in even a 2-3 day fast. A lot of good is accomplished in a very short time, but if we continue further, we accomplish that much more.

"It just doesn’t make sense but I am wondering if the shorter fasts (2-3 days) really accomplish anything."

In my opinion, again, they accomplish a lot compared to no fast at all.

"but I don’t want to screw my metabolism up forever."

From all i have read, the slowing of the metabolism is temporary. Other factors can help you to speed it up again including exercise and certain foods.

"I hate gaining the water weight back afterwards is there anything I can do to not gain so much back afterwards??"

In my opinion, no. Part of what a Water Fast does is temporarily release a lot of our water primarily through the elimination of "water retaining sodium" (normal levels and otherwise). Part of what eating does is bring our sodium levels (and in turn our water levels) back to normal.

"When I do the 5/6 day fasts I lose about 10 lbs and then gain 6 or 7 back immediately…is this normal??"

In my opinion this is not only normal, but something you can bet on and win every time. I have fasted for 7 days 20 times or more with very similar results. I plan on about a half pound per day of "real" weight loss (predominately fat) plus that from any exercise which for me is perhaps another 0.3 pounds per day (2 hours of brisk walking per day). The crazy excess loss is always in the form of water that will be back.

The only partial exception to this is: if we had an over-abundance of sodium in our bodies pre-fast and upon our return to eating, maintained this sodium at optimal levels, the "excess water weight" we lost in the fast would not return. But the normal levels would be back and in my experience there has always been plenty of this.

"And…last but not least, this is the one I need the most help with… What should I be eating afterwards and in between because there is so much conflicting advice out there and everyone has a different opinion of what healthy is so…what works for you??"

If you mean immediately following the water fast, especially a fast of a 20 day duration, as i stated above i believe there is no suitable substitute for raw juice. Even "high water content", raw juicy fruit is in my opinion far too "heavy" at that stage. If you had ten grapes throughout the entire day and that was all, perhaps not then, but who can break a fast and have so little? not me ;). The juice stage serves also as a precaution as you can hardly have too much of this too soon in terms of overloading your digestive system... but it would be easy to have too much fruit and vegetables too soon.

"Is low carb better?? What about completely vegetarian?? Vegan?? What are our bodies made to handle and how the heck do I get my hands on the RIGHT information?? I want a lifestyle not a diet."

A lot of opinions out there, even dietary experts are on opposite ends of these debates, so yes it is hard to know what to believe.

Personally i believe low carb makes a lot of sense, especially in terms of weight loss, but i have only just begun to learn about it. It will be interesting to see results of long term studies as this "craze" really only arrived in the 90s. I have read even on body building sites personal experiences of people who swear they perform better on low carb, once they have acclimated to it (ie: their bodies they say have become far more effective at thriving in fat burning mode as compared to carb burning mode). I want to learn a lot more about this, but i sense it is promising.

Vegetarians and vegans swear by their lifestyles, but personally neither is for me, though i do believe in a lifestyle that would include 50% of my intake from live (and thoroughly cleaned of pesticides, etc.) fruits and vegetables.

"I have gotten to 158 after my last fast and then gained 7 back in water weight…then just have started gradually gaining more again. HELP!!! I am really frustrated and I don’t feel like I am doing any of this right. I am kind of discouraged and I don’t know where to start. Any help is much appreciated."

A fast is a great place to start. For me it has always been a way to very firmly and agressively set the wheels in motion towards my goals, to re-establish great habits (eating, exercise and otherwise) and to eliminate bad ones. A clean, fresh start with so much promise for a wonderful future.

Hello,

First off, let me offer Kudos for trying to get a handle on your health and being open and looking for solutions. This is a great start.

My #1 recommendation has to do with looking at your diet. Fasting can be a springboard into a healthier lifestyle but until you work out your diet issues, you'll keep having these problems. As you may have read, I've become a big fan of Dr. Fuhrman as he ties together all the theories I've come to after years of readingn about this stuff and puts it together comprehensively. Plus he helped me understand some wonderful things I didn't know, such as a way to get rid of cravings - the #1 reason why I kept losing my way on diet. The most success I had in diet change was by fasting 1 day weekly to help me reset when my cravings returned.

Eating a high nutrition diet will take care of the weight gain, the metabolism and the constipation! Your bathroom issues will clear up, no doubt. Check out the Diet and Nutrition forum. For about 3 weeks, myself and about 4 other people have been actively involved with trying Fuhrman's plan, so you can read our experiences, go to Dr. Fuhrman's website. He has a book called Eat To Live that details his plan.

There are other doctors and alternative health folks who advocate a similar high nutrition plant based diet - I happen to like the way he sums it all up. There is a great post by MouseClick on this forum with videos.

Good luck!

Hello,

Fasting is always good for you, but be careful to time ample time between your fasts for your body to recondition itself to to normal eating again. After a fast your metabolism is slower, thus alot of people gain weigh fast if they do not eat properly after as fast, sometimes prompting them to fast again to lose that weight to correct it.

It is great that you have lost weight and kept it off, that is always a milestone. Congratulations.

I had constipation in the past before I stared fasting, and I know from reading it is a sign that your body is not getting a well balanced diet in order to keep the waste flowing smoothly as it should. For example, if you just eat chicken and mash potatoes, it is balanced enough, or if you eat just cheese, etc.

Especially after a fast, your digestive tract is very slow and is trying to start functioning again so it takes time and a lot of will power to eat the right foods and small amounts in a balanced group to get it back to normal.

An enema will help with the discomfort and dispell something, but it won't correct it completely. You just have to give it time, which correct eating and not going back to processed foods and such. It is very much like letting your car sit for a year and jumping it and driving away, it is going to be sluggish and possible having problems starting again, so you have to baby it a little bit, give it some oil, put air in the tires, check the radiator fluids, to make sure it is all balanced to travel. Your body is very much like that after a fast, you have to baby it a bit for a while longer. The longer the fast, the more time you must take to recondition your body and baby it. Believe me, after a 55 day fast, you can't imagine how long it takes to get a body back to normal, but in the long run, it is worth it.

Your metabolism slows when you fast, anytime you fast, so if you fast alot, you will gain weight easily due to that. that is why sometime when people fast, they go back to eating the same amounts and the same stuff before the fast and gain the weight they lost plus more.

You won't mess up your metabolism forever, it just takes along time to it to get back to normal and sometimes people are very impatient and do not wait and just go back to their old lifestyle.

Yes, gaining about 6 to 7 pound of that is what was in your intestine as well as the water in your body so you can't control that. That is why people lost so much in the first days, because it is what was remaining in the body that had not been expelled in some way, but once you start eating again, it will come back. It is very normal.

You such research this yourself, because you might not be satisfied what others tell you. I usually when I break a fast, start with orange juice and then I continue to make fresh juice with my juicer, as it usually has plup in it and it conditions my stomach a bit and it is very health because it is live juice, vitimins and stuff in it. Not pasterized as you buy in the stores. If I don't do that, I eat melon, and cook veggies until they are very soft and I can digest them very easily. I try to stick to only fruits and veggies and maybe after a week or two, try a piece of chicken or fish. It just depends on the person, that is why I said you need to research and figure our what you want to do and you should do and I recomend that you read up on how to break your fast properly.

I suggest you read some books about fasting. The only one I can recomemded beacuse I have a couple of his books is Dr. Shelton. I can't remember his first name at the moment because I can't find any of his book, and I am currently on a complete water fast, and I wanted to read them. Pooh. Reading will help you. Reading is knowleged and knowing about it will be half your battle, as you are doing this. Arm yourself with Knowledge. :o)

Good luck, if you have any question, please feel free to email me if you would like.

God bless,

Sacristia

//www.curezone.org/blogs/f.asp?f=1760

Hi Healthyfasting,

I myself have had something partially similar happen to me. I wasnt very hungry about a month ago so I decided that my body was communicating with me not to eat... After a few days of this, I began eating again (raw food) and my body completely rejected the food. Of course I didnt know what was going on because I had never read anything regarding fasting. I went to doctors and had tests done and the doctors put me on crazy diets and told me scary things. I read some fasting books (the best thing to do if you are confused) and now I know that this is a common accurance if you break your fast too quickly. Every book I read says that the breaking of the fast is MORE important than the actual fast.

Good luck. :)