good post...questions...

Thank you for all of those sources...you actually quoted some reputable journals/doctors rather than just Shelton. So I'm actually going to give those some thought.

My question is how you feel about someone with history of an eating disorder fasting. How does that person know if they are actually doing it for health or spiritual reasons, or if they are just fueling their past eating disorder?

I don't understand how people can fast for 40 days and feel refreshed, yet people with a fairly new eating disorder don't eat for 12 days and pass out and have to go to the hospital. A lot of times people who are fasting for 40 days also have eaten very little in preparation for the fast. A lot of times there is no difference in the calories consumed for the past month. Why does the person with an ED pass out and nearly die but the person who is fasting for spiritual/health reasons feels BETTER and has no problems with their vitals, etc.?

I obviously came on here very fueled up and probably just looking for a fight so I'm sure (positive) I was not taken very seriously, but I actually did do a lot of research on fasting, this website being my main source to point me in the right direction. Before I agreed with it and afterwards. A long time ago though. My fasts usually started suddenly, with no preparation, and ended with a binge. And then I would fast again for days. And then binge. Rinse, repeat. So basically I wouldn't eat for a week or two, then eat thousands of calories in 15 minutes, then not eat for another week or two. On top of enormous amounts of exercise to "make up" for the binges. This continued for 2 years, I felt completely awful and had a lot of physical health issues. I'm not blaming this on just fasting, obviously it was the combined cycle of fast-binge. And the fact that I binged on foods that were horrible for my body. So basically I had no nutritional value in my diet for 2 years and overworked my body with the exercise. And I STILL wasn't skinny! But I am positive that if I had not started fasting, I would have not started binging. I am positive that my initial attempts at fasting are what started my obsession and my eating disorder.

How is it that some people, even people who have done a lot of research on fasting and its positive effects, end up with an eating disorder because of their attempts while others end up with better health? Clearly positive outcome has happened, I won't deny that...but there have DEFINITELY been instances on here where people have either begun or fueled an eating disorder by fasting. YOU can't deny that one.

How do you differentiate? I don't know if I have ever fasted properly. Even if I prepared myself those few times, it always had some sick underlying ED flair to it. I don't know if I could ever do it right. I would be afraid of the cycle repeating again. I never felt that feeling of being clear-minded and healthy, I always just felt like "haha I am not eating and they are...I'm so superior. I'm going to be skinny. I'm going to be pure. I have control. I do not need food ever ever again." I don't know if I ever really thought I would go into the fast for spirituality of physical health, or if it was always for weight reasons. I wasn't overweight. I didn't need to lose weight, but that always became the ultimate reason. People always mention their weight loss whether that's the reason or not...how is it that others don't become obsessed with the weight loss while I did?

Why is that some people end up like me while other people have successful weeks-long fasts and feel completely better? Have a whole new outlook on nutrition and life and spirituality? Whereas I just fell down the rabbit hole and became very sick mentally AND physically?

I began studying nutrition textbooks as I overcame my eating disorder with the knowledge that people thought fasting was dangerous but the complete disagreement with it, and I was still participating in it regularly (not sure if I really thought it was for health or for weight though). And as I studied the books, I became very concerned with the idea of ketosis. That's where the rift began to form - then I did more research on depriving yourself of food and what it does to the body...but I think it usually came from the anorexia *****NERVOSA***** standpoint so it may have been biased. I researched this for a year hours a day, diligently. (I know that is nothing compared to how much you have researched alternative health but it was still quite a bit of work) But it was quite a while ago and I no longer have the research on hand. If I had the same computer I could whip out dozens of bookmarks and references!

I don't agree that fasting is a cure-all for medical diseases. There has been some crazy shit that has cured a medical disease. Like herpes curing cancer, etc. It happens. More than often that amazing "cure" just relieves the symptoms momentarily though. I do agree that SOME people get a lot of mental clarity from fasting though. But for others (me) it completely f***s them up. I don't get it. No seriously, what is your take on this? Surely you have seen users fall victim to the "fast-binge-fast" cycle before? Tweet