Re: watch out for the adrenals

I'm sorry you had that negative experience of fasting. But I still say you are generalising because of it. I have done a 10 day and a 30 day fast while working a stressful full time job. During those fasts I was a karate instructor and continued to teach and participate in strenuous instructor classes each week, only standing aside in the last week of it as after nearly four weeks of not eating I felt it best not to risk passing out doing a full workout. I only did what I felt it safe to do. Maybe what the advice given to pregnant women is worth listening to here: continue doing exercise up the level you have been doing it prior to becoming pregnant but no more.. and only as long as you feel safe doing it.
As for the stress, fasting had me feeling more at peace at work.. the stress was still there but it had little chance of sending me over the edge during those fasts, whereas at a later time it did exactly that. Getting the motivation up to fast is not something to waste in my opinion. Once I have the motivation, taking into account what I can know of the immediate future and avoiding the worst of life's stresses during that time, I will grab hold of that motivation and hold on to it and cherish it. My life is never fully without stress but my fasts have never agravated my stress levels, quite the opposite they are good for it.
The same goes for the advice of being prepared. In a perfect world we could all prepare for our fasts perfectly, or book in to a retreat and allow time to prepare, fast and recover before returning to the 'real world'. But the fact is that fasting is a method of healing that works on just about anyone, any animal for that matter, and at an instant's notice. The best way to fast is to fast when you need it, and maybe it would be better to spend a week or two preparing perfectly but that motivation is the key, and for me at least it is so far best for me to focus on getting through those first few days of fasting and continue on, not motivate myself for another week or two beforehand while still eating and prone to little stresses that encourage me to overeat, maybe killing the fast before it starts.
Again I am sorry you have suffered. But I still disagree with your premise that fasting is a stress on the body. It is only that through necessary cleansing at times and it is just as often accompanied by an incredible release of energy.
And I am not sure what has caused the problem with your adrenals but I don't trust one doctor's opinion that it was caused by the fast. In my experience doctors will very often NOT know the cause of such things and will quickly latch on anything different to put the blame to. In this case it is your fasting, it could just as easily have been blamed on veganism or vegetarianism and an excuse for the doctor to get someone to start eating big juicy steaks again.

Good luck in your recovery #85645

Andrew. Tweet