New girl! 
stargirl073
20 y
2,250
Hi!!
I am new here and am starting a 21 day water fast! DOes anyone have any advice for me for going this long? I've done other fasts for shorter periods of time, but never this long. HAs anyone done it before? how much weight did you lose?
Thanks!
- Re: New girl! hopinso
20 y
2,846
R
This is a reply to # 683,648Advertisement
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”I was surprised by the effectiveness of it, and I wasn’t hungry.”
Unfortunately, most people who embark on long water only fasts with no preparation fail because their bodies are so full of toxins that they become ill. Water Fasting is a serious discipline that must be treated as a medical procedure with proper pre-fast preparation, attention to what is happening to the body during the fast, and coming off the fast in a safe and careful way. Do not simply stop eating and expect the weight to quickly and easily fall off. Two books that are suggested for study on Water Fasting are The Miracle Of Fasting by Paul and Patricia Bragg And Fasting and Eating For Health by Joel Fuhrman M.D.
If you insist on going on with a prolonged fast you can expect to lose 1-2 pounds a day at first, although weight loss will slow down as your metabolism slows down too. You can also expect headaches, joint and muscle pain, abdominal cramps, skin breakouts, a white tongue and bad breath. Some people also experience hair loss. All these are signs of the body releasing toxins. Its a good thing, but if the symptoms become unbearable, or you experience rapid or irregular heartbeats, please stop the fast slowly and safely.
Read some of the posts in this forums for possible alternatives to prolonged water only fasting done solely for the purpose of losing weight. I'm sorry to sound discouraging, but I feel that all people anticipating a prolonged fast to lose weight need to be informed. There is good information n this forum although much is probably not what you want to hear.
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- hopinso... #19465
20 y
2,175
This is a reply to # 683,649I would just like to say that while your caution is appreciated I'm sure, I DO know several people who have gone on prolonged Water Fasts and have lost a substantial amount of weight. If you stop eating, you lose weight. That's that. Maybe you didn't have positive results on one of your fasts, and that's why you are trying to discourage everyone else...
- Re: hopinso... #18626
20 y
2,287
This is a reply to # 683,650No, that's not why you're receiving the cautions. Prolonged fasting as a weight loss method is only about 5% effective. It leads to a yo-yo effect. It will slow your metabolism so much, that you must be on a strict diet for 6 weeks after the fast until the metabolism begins to pick up. Think about this, you fast for quick results, but you still have to diet afterward to maintain the loss.
In the meantime, anything over 10 days without doctor supervision has the potential for illness and complications, especially electrolyte depletion.
There is a fast, much less dangerous, and easier method. Eat every other day. Fast every other day, and on the fasting day you can eat raw fruit. This will keep your metabolism up, you'll probably lose as much or more weight. Plan a good nutrition program using the books hopinso suggested.
It's not "that's that" I'm sorry to say. There is a lot biologically that has to be understood. I have done prolonged fasting and if you have, you know how slow your metabolism gets. You're sending your body a starvation method. While great for healing and rejuvenation, a prolonged fast is not the best choice for weight loss. Check some of my previous posts, previous posts by hopinso and mikeritr for more info. I wouldn't even attempt a fast without consulting the two books above. They give you the physiological information to make an informed choice.Advertisement
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”I was surprised by the effectiveness of it, and I wasn’t hungry.”
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- Re: hopinso... Jevo
20 y
2,109
This is a reply to # 683,651When did this place stop being an intelligent source of LEGITIMATE information for LEGITIMATE fasters, and become a gathering place for self-conscience girls who want to lose weight fast?
- Re: hopinso... #18626
20 y
2,731
This is a reply to # 683,653Many of us have tried to discourage those who want to use Water Fasting as a weight loss tool, but the majority of the people come for weight loss. It has to be admitted that nearly all fasting books, including Fuhrman and Bragg, do address weight loss and support in some fashion the use of Water Fasting for weight loss. It comes down to either supporting the people who come for weight loss, and giving input, or sending them to the diet board which is very inactive. These people seem determined to fast, so all we can do is what we're doing. It may be that many will read, develop proper nutrition, and become life-long adherents of fasting. Or perhaps, at some other point in their lives they'll return if health problems develop. I think supporting and educating is legitimate, and it's not like there isn't enough space here for us all. This board is not exactly burning up with posts.
- Re: hopinso... hopinso
20 y
2,170
This is a reply to # 683,654I agree with in in theory. I just want people to be informed. Its so easy to stop eating, drop a few pounds, then resume eating with the old patterns still in place, then even more weight is gained. Fasting is a great tool to be used in an overall weight loss program, but rarely will it be the only answer. I will do my best to help and encourage anyone who wants to try fasting for any reason, but I will not lie and pretend its easy and risk free.
Still I am tired of all this fussing and fighting; so I'm signing off on this subject.
- Re: hopinso... hopinso
20 y
2,170
- Boo, Jevo. #17922
20 y
2,168
This is a reply to # 683,653Advertisement
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”I was surprised by the effectiveness of it, and I wasn’t hungry.”
When did this place start being full of bitter, self righteous people? Get down from your soapbox. Talk like that is not productive at all and you should be ashamed. Not everyone who wants to lose weight is a 'self conscious girl' --or-- a man! Wanting to lose weight is a great thing. If more people paid attention to their weight and actually did something about it, national health would be much better and insurance costs would be lower. You should welcome anyone who comes here for information on fasting, no matter what the purpose. If you don't agree with their reasons for fasting, you can disagree RESPECTFULLY like Hopinso does. He tells people that it isn't a good idea to fast just for weight loss, tells them why, and then offers a better solution. That's a very responsible way to behave and I commend him for it. Resorting to snobbish insults and jabs only undermines the forum and if that behavior continued unchecked, pretty soon you would be here posting back and forth only to yourself.
-S
- Re: hopinso... #18626
20 y
2,731
- Re: hopinso... Jevo
20 y
2,109
- Fasting quotes ! hopinso
20 y
4,060
BSA Educational
This is a reply to # 683,650"Fasting is, after all, a scientific method of purifying the body, and should be done scientifically. In my opinion, 60-70% of the so-called "healthy" people of today, and 85 to 95% of the seriously ill people would die from the effects of loosening the tremendous toxic poison they have stored in their bodies, if they tried a long fast, say of 21-35 days." Paul Bragg N.D., PhD; page 55 of "The Miracle Of Fasting"
"One cannot simply rely on how much body fat a person has to decide on how long to fast that person. Even obese individuals can develop signs of starvation while still overweight if their muscle reserves fall to dangerously low levels while their fat reserves are still adequate.....Cardiac failure could occur in patients who no longer have skeletal muscle reserve and who continue to fast." Joel Fuhrman M.D.; page 210 of "Fasting and Eating For Health"
Fasting should be taken seriously. It absolutely should not be entered into with the attitude of "if I don't eat for a couple of weeks, then I'll lose a lot of weight and my life will be better". I'm sorry these warnings are taken to be negative thinking. But I cannot in good conscience recommend anyone jump into a prolonged, unsupervised fast with little or no preparation just to lose a few pounds. On the other hand, with patience, preparation and a proper attitude fasting is a great method to employ as part of an overall health plan including safely losing weight.
CAVEAT EMPTOR- Re: hopinso... #18626
20 y
2,116
This is a reply to # 683,656Advertisement
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”I was surprised by the effectiveness of it, and I wasn’t hungry.”
Totally agree. I'd love to see the reports back on those who have embarked on these long fasts. I doubt those without extensive experience and detoxing can make it a week without getting so ill they have to break the fast. Better I think to follow the diet of Fuhrman or Bragg and Braggs 1 day, then 3 day, then 7 day schedules over several months.
The Caveat is important. You can hurt yourself.- Here's an idea Stargirl073
20 y
2,248
This is a reply to # 683,658Here's a quick idea for everyone. Before any of you start to judge me about why I am fasting, why don't one of you ask me about it? Not one of you bothered to ask me or conncern yourselves with any intentions of my fast, you just quickly made an assumption that I was only doing it for weight loss. I am a little offended by that. First of all, the name calling can definitely stop. I'm not a "self-conscious girl" and I resent being entitled with something by someone who is too ignorant to know anything about me and it was completely uncalled for. I hope you feel better about yourself for passing along a completely irrational judgement on somebody who came to you for support.
For all of you who actually care about helping others with fasting, here's a little background on why I would want to do a longer fast. I fast for the first three days of every month and have been for 2 years. So I've done this before and I know how. I also have been a healthy vegetarian for 10 years and at one point was vegan for 2. I'm not overweight, my goal is not to lose "unwanted pounds" as you all have accused me of wanting to do, although the weight loss is a benefit and is commonly supported in most fasting communities. I have determined myself to do a longer fast because I recently moved to Italy to study politics and philosophy and have been experiencing a desire to learn more about myself and push myself outside of my comfort zones and see where it takes me. I already HAVE healthy eating habits and I am in as much shape as all of us are where we could all stand to lose a few pounds. Obvsiouly that is A benefit, but not the greatest I am searching for. The point of me wanting to fast is to get myself into better emotional shape and refresh some aspects of myself that I don't take much time to do on a regular basis when I should. I am fasting for many different reasons, only one of them being weight loss.
So there. now you know. I'm not a self-conscious girl who wants to drop s a few pounds, I'm a very self-aware woman who is looking to grow and knows that fasting helps me with that.
I appreciate all of your advice but not the judgements that so uneccessarily accompanied them.
I'll take my fast and my desire for fasting companions and support to somewhere else.- Re: Here's an idea hopinso
20 y
2,147
This is a reply to # 683,662Sorry you were offended, but you specifically asked about weight loss in your question both on this forum and the General Fasting forum. I didn't see anything about self discovery or any other issue. Yet I admit, we did jump to the obvious conclution. In your favor, your clean diet will make your prolonged fast much easier, but there is a world of difference between three days and 21 days. Please be careful doing an unsupervised fast for that long.
Sometimes being supportive means pointing out potential dangers and drawbacks. It would be irresponsible not to give warnings as well as encouragement. My advice still stands that everyone should begin their fasting experience well informed, slowly and with caution.Advertisement
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”I was surprised by the effectiveness of it, and I wasn’t hungry.”
- Re: Here's an idea jstableford
20 y
2,352
This is a reply to # 683,663Hi - I'd be very grateful to receive your experience (before and after) your own extended water fast, duration, symptoms, reasons and gains - if this isn't too intrusive. I'm interested because I'm on day 20 of Water Fast (intending 21 days). I've been very lucky to have no very troublesome symptoms. I'm naturally curious about afterwards - length of time to fully recover strength, experience of returning to eating. You seem pretty knowledgeable but say nothing of your own experiences. (I am new to this forum, so maybe I just haven't been around for that particular post.) Books are great (and I read a great deal prior to this fast) but there are so many conflicting opinions that at some point you just have to bite the bullet and go exploring! Jane
- Re: Here's an idea hopinso
20 y
2,133
This is a reply to # 683,715At this point you have supassed me in length of any fast, my longest has been 15 days. I have some serious health issues and don't feel ready to do an extended fast right now, in fact I really don't intend to go more than 7-10 days on water only. I'm in that "Catch 22" situation right now, I want to fast for healing and pain relief, but can't because of extreme pain (I'm trying not to use any medicines, but sometimes have no choice), fatique, and weakness. I am employing a cleaner diet, occasional fast days, which I hope to make every other day, and taking natural anti-inflammatories, primarily turmeric. Actually, I would love to hear more of your experiences.
From my more limited experience, the only advice I can give is to be careful when coming off the fast. Its easy the first few days when you are easing back in using juices and broths, but there's something about that first bite of food. Suddenly eating becomes the most important thing in the world. Its very easy to undo all the benefits of a fast very quickly if care and discipline is not used when breaking fast.
By the way, although I am not an experienced long term faster, I have been doing 1-5 day fasts for over 25 years. I am a strong believer in regular short fasts,but also want to experience a longer fast. Please post more of your experiences.Advertisement
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”I was surprised by the effectiveness of it, and I wasn’t hungry.”
- Re: Here's an idea jstableford
20 y
2,332
This is a reply to # 683,716Thanks for replying, Hopinso. Thanks for your advice about coming off the fast and I will be careful. I wonder if you would mind sharing whether you have found fasting to increase your pain/diminish your natural painkilling ability? At the end of my fast I am experiencing neck pain. I am in two minds as to whether this is due to diminished endorphin response or some kind of healing effect (I have a long-term chronic neck problem, kept in check by meditation and low stress lifestyle). As for symptoms I have experienced, I haven't really, except for slight nausea early on (upping water intake helped this), some breathlessness in week 2 and foul taste, beside the neck pain mentioned.
- Fasting and Pain hopinso
20 y
2,293
This is a reply to # 683,719Hello, My problem was originally diagnosed as compressed vertebra in my neck with a secondary injury of a herniated disk. Recently, I was also told I had fibromyalgia, possibly as a result from the nerve inflammation from the original injury. I confess that I have not yet sought a second opinion on this, but since all the symptoms fit I think fibromyalgia is a distinct possibility.
In the fasts I've done since the onset of the pain, I found the pain intensified the first few days. I did read where it is very common for injured joints and areas where bones have been broken to become very painful during detox. Perhaps from scar tissur being reabsorbed? Ater a few days the pain would deminish. In my best fasts, I would get this incredible feeling of well being. However, I did one twelve day fast I was doing a modified version of The Master Cleanse (I cut the amount of Maple syrup to a fraction of the recommended amount) I plunged into a deep depression, one so profound I ended the fast several days earlier than planned.
I never experienced a return of pain later in a fast. It may be from either a chemical imbalance that affects the creation of endorphins and other pain control chemicals, or it may be you were reaching a deeper level of detoxification and either scar tissue or inflammed tissue was stirred up during catabolic breakdown. I am very interested in how your chronic pain will be affected by the fast. Although I have many reasons for fasting, pain relief is the #1 reason.
By the way-you are an example of how to fast properly. I know I sometimes sound negative, but I just want people to do their fasting in a safe and healthy manner. I confess to doing many foolish things in my younger days because weight loss was my first priority.In the long run it was detrimental because with each failure I ate more and gained more. While 21 days is a long time to fast unsupervised, it worked for you because your body was clean enough to deal with the detoxifying aspect.Advertisement
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”I was surprised by the effectiveness of it, and I wasn’t hungry.”
- Re: Fasting and Pain jstableford
20 y
2,165
This is a reply to # 683,721Hi, interesting what you say about your pain. I'll keep you posted on what happens with mine. It may be accessing some old problem, because I do not these days normally have pain, even though the slight deformity at the top of my spine is still there and must represent some kind of permanent damage (I don't go to doctors so have no opinion from them, although about ten years ago I was told my neck was like the neck of a 70 year old woman by my physiotherapist - I was 34 then). My lack of pain (up to this fast!) has been purely due to relaxation and increase of natural painkilling brought about by meditation. It's kind of you to say I'm a good example of how to fast. Actually, I felt a bit naughty about being unsupervised, but thought I could get away with it. I had a fallback plan - one of my Reiki students is a nurse and she lives over the road from my clinic and works at a doctor's surgery just down the road. She was always prepared to see me at a moment's notice and offered to do routine tests, etc. I did not take advantage of this, but always had the reassurance that I could if I wanted to. I had one or two moments of fear during my fast, but overall because my motivation was a feeling of internal guidance (subtle but unquestionable to me) I mostly did not experience what I believe would be very detrimental to a fast - the stress of fear and negative feelings. My husband has been supportive, without making a fuss and my students and clients are more fascinated than horrified. The only negative responses I had were from a couple of colleagues and one doctor who works with my student, who said that my body would use heart muscle. I had to believe that my body would be a bit more intelligent than that. Being a practising holistic therapist, I believe in homeostasis and in a way fasting is a useful experiment in testing this. You may be interested, coincidentally to the fast, a friend phoned me to ask if I would be a case study for a student studying to be a personal fitness trainer. I said yes, and this comes up on Thursday (the fourth day after fast ends). It will be interesting to see how 2 hours of fitness assessment comes out (I will let the tutor know I've just ended a 21 day fast).
- Re: Fasting and Pain jstableford
20 y
2,165
- Fasting and Pain hopinso
20 y
2,293
- Re: Here's an idea jstableford
20 y
2,332
- Re: Here's an idea hopinso
20 y
2,133
- Re: Here's an idea jstableford
20 y
2,352
- Re: Here's an idea #18626
20 y
2,225
This is a reply to # 683,662With all due respect, the only real question I saw in your original post was how much weight you would lose. In addition, an experienced faster, and one who has read even one book or article, would know the answer to that question. There are people who come on this board with all kinds of agendas, and we can only respond to the info we have.
Best wishes on your fast. It sounds as if your are ready for a fast longer than 3 days. I'd be interested to hear how it goes. It sounds like you may have ideal conditions, which you'll need for that long a fast, no work, the ability to rest when needed, etc. An investment in Fasting and Eating for Health by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. who conducts many fasts of 21 days would be invaluable to have by your side during this time, if you don't already have it. The end result weight loss of 21 pounds averages a pound a day. You will regain 5-7 pounds in your bowel and water weight, and still be down about 20+ pounds. A 21 day fast will require at least 6 weeks of very disciplined eating or you will regain weight, most of it fat, because your metabolism will be so slowed.Advertisement
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”I was surprised by the effectiveness of it, and I wasn’t hungry.”
- Re: Here's an idea hopinso
20 y
2,147
- Here's an idea Stargirl073
20 y
2,248
- Re: hopinso... #18626
20 y
2,116
- Re: hopinso... #18626
20 y
2,287
- hopinso... #19465
20 y
2,175
- Re: New girl! jstableford
20 y
2,233
This is a reply to # 683,648Hi, see my post in Ambitious Fasting goals - I'm on day 20 of a 21 day strictly water only fast. Good luck, and I hope other people won't frighten you. It's difficult to say I did it so you can do it, because I don't know your starting weight, general lifestyle and state of health. I had plenty of weight am vegetarian, non-smoking, non-drinking, no caffeine, etc, reasonable amount of exercise. Anyway, haven't found it hard, just got scared for very little reason a couple of times (mostly well-meaning people telling me how dangerous and foolish it was, when they didn't really know much about it). Love, Jane
- Re: New girl! Stargirl073
20 y
2,219
This is a reply to # 683,714Advertisement
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”I was surprised by the effectiveness of it, and I wasn’t hungry.”
Hello Jane,
So how did it go for you? Congratulations on finishing your fast? Have oyu noticed a refreshing feeling in your body? Are you pretty exhausted from it? How about your skin and stuff, it is clear? I would just like to know the details so that if I end up having considerably equal starting points, I can have the results like you. Do you end up losing weight? What eating habits will you have now?Was it as tough as you thought?
Thanks!
Stargirl- Re: New girl! jstableford
20 y
2,355
This is a reply to # 683,783Probably should have ended the fast 2 to 3 days ago. Skin is pretty clear - friends have commented on a "glow". Cheeks have hollowed a bit. Weight loss 21 pounds. I expect to regain around 6-7 pounds very quickly, to replace initial water loss. Don't feel exhausted exactly, but I failed to achieve my target 21 days by half a day - this is partly because I scheduled too much work for the last day. I felt okay when I got in and prepared my room, but my first Reiki client blew me away - nausea and a feeling I would black out - I couldn't cope with the energy overload (hands practically burning client, her head full of colour). I think I have cleared my channel all right, but you need strength as well as clarity to hold Reiki energy! Had to cancel all my clients for the afternoon and return home. I also felt heartily sick of the unpleasant taste in my mouth and felt very hungry (as I have done for the last 3 days). This teaches me that attention really should be given to the natural end of the fast. Anyway, I did this for me and I'm happy with 20.5 days. Maybe I needed a shortfall to keep my ego in check. The first fruit I ate tasted wonderful, really sweet (like candy). My first meal was two plums, my second meal (about 45 mins later) some melon and grapes and half a cup of organic mango and apple. All delicious. Ongoing, I will be vegetarian, not vegan, but with minimal dairy. No, it was not as tough as I thought.
- Re: New girl! jstableford
20 y
2,355
- Re: New girl! Stargirl073
20 y
2,219
- Re: New girl! hopinso
20 y
2,846
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