Re: To Waterbug, fasting for weight loss

Good posts Mouseclick, Waterbug, Willow and Rainy.

With regard to metabolism during the fast.............

"Metabolism is lowered from one-fourth to two-fifths during the fast. This falls quite rapidly during the first part of the fast until the true physiological minimum for metabolism is reached. From this point on, until the return of hunger, metabolism is maintained at a fairly uniform level. If food is not consumed when hunger returns there follows, soon, a rapid dropping of metabolism to new low, but pathological levels".
SHELTON.

In addition this lowered state of metabolism is a conservation measure by Nature to preserve internal food reserves so that they are prolonged for as long as possible in times of food shortages, and therefore in the prevention of "starvation".
The longer you fast.........the rate of daily weightloss becomes less and less.

BUT, this depends on a few variables such as stress and physical activity (which burns more nutrients) and which will tend to keep the rate of metabolism as normal or near to normal as possible: activity during the fast will burn more calories by maintaining metabolism at the normal or above normal rate, which is why exercise (to a limited extent) is recommended while fasting to lose weight, if that is the intention.
Fonty also agreed with this point of view.

It was the experience of the early Hygienists that long fasts were found to be far more productive and effective in healing and cleansing the body, as opposed to a series of shorter fasts, but I would agree with Mouseclick that a series of shorter fasts are probably the best policy in weightloss, as metabolism has been prevented from reaching too low a level in between.
Long fasts also tend to re-educate the bodys "tastes" with the desire for "clean and nourishing food".

Dr Fuhrman adopts a plant-based diet for some months prior to a Water Fast in the case of patients with heart-disease and cardiovascular health problems, as this will enable them to lose weight and enrich the food reserves of his patients; this would usually avoid the necessity for heart by-pass surgery and other medical complications.

Gaining surplus weight post-fast is avoidable by the bodys demand for less food if satisfied nutritionally, and where "foodless foods" do not, and this keeps the body in an almost constant state of hunger: the end result is that you will eat more, and therefore gain surplus weight. This is a topic I have posted on previously.

Waterbug is spot-on with her assessment by Dr Fuhrman and which is also the experience of Hygienists everywhere.....................

"Also his theory is that when your body doesn't get enough micro nutrients/nutrient rich foods then that causes your body to crave more foods as a way of trying to get more nutrients it needs, so you feel like eating more, and get fat, but when you eat high nutrietnt foods, you end up craving less food so you end up eating less and stay skinny and healthy".

I also cannot emphasize too strongly the vital importance of proper food combining, where the BASIS of this is to avoid the mixture of a protein food with a starch food at the same meal: protein/starch combinations produce putrefaction/fermentation, and alongside eating too much food, is the PRIMARY reason for gaining excess weight.

This way of eating is NOT a diet or "reducing diet", as you can eat more food than would otherwise be the case.............and still lose excess weight, along with other noticeable health benefits such as freeing more energy for other bodily functions.
Digestion is reported to demand more energy than any other bodily task, and where food-combining will greatly minimize this energy expenditure.

Regards

Chrisb1.


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