Are you raw fooders doing this? What are your experiences? I am on my second day of my juice fast and I must tell you I feel horrible. I am sure it is the toxins.

I have been experimenting with raw foods for a while now, but I just couldn't seem to commit. This is my final effort. I was thinking that a fast would help me overcome some of my addictions to cooked and processed foods.

Any ideas, what I should expect?

Thanks!

Sonora

Umm, I'm no bona fide raw foodist (I'm about 50%, which is good enough for now) but possibly you are feeling crappy because you're not eating?

Umm, I'm no bona fide raw foodist (I'm about 50%, which is good enough for now) but possibly you are feeling crappy because you're not eating?

Very possible. They say that when you don't eat your body gets the chance to unload stored up toxins in the body. This causes you to have headaches and all sorts of other things.

Sonora

I fast once a week, every monday, been doing it for several months. It really helps clear the mind and certainly physical benefits have been amazing.

What is this diet you refer to? Just raw vegetables, nothing cooked?

sorry to sound like a noob, but can you tell me how you fast? i want to try. do you just drink water and not eat anything?

I fasted a few days this fall, but I'm not sold on the benefits of fasting quite yet. I did get a few books and researched it, as I do think a regular detox is helpful.

There are different types of fasting, varying on what you don't eat (or do eat) and how long. Some recommend supplements, some advise against them during your fast. The detox I did I fasted two days, then the next five days ate only brown rice and raw fresh veggies. The first day was easy, the second day was terrible. I hate not being able to think (as I read and program alot). I'm sure people that are more into fasting/detox will be able to provide more info.

I generally avoid all food every monday, but just drink tons of green tea, and sometimes a bit of juice of some sort.

I fast several times a year. I've done short fasts (24 hours) on up to 7-day fasts. I drink water, fruit juice, vegetable juice and green tea.

Yes, you will feel nauseous at times during a fast, because your body is trying to cleanse itself and rid itself of toxins. The more you fast, the more you get used to all this, and your body will adapt. Often, you'll start out feeling really bad when you begin a fast. But, after the 2nd or 3rd day you start feeling pretty good and even energetic. Getting past the 2nd day is usually the hard part. After that, the rest is a breeze because you will lose your appetite.

Overall, I find fasting to be very worthwhile, and that's why I do it several times yearly.

What do you do for fuel? What if you work out? Does it affect your concentration or make you drowsy? I know this is a way to detox, but have also heard of it being used for weight loss. Is there a difference, and does it work?

What do you do for fuel? What if you work out? Does it affect your concentration or make you drowsy? I know this is a way to detox, but have also heard of it being used for weight loss. Is there a difference, and does it work?

Fuel? This is why juices are preferred, and not just water. Juices have a lot more nutrients/carbs than water, and provide more energy. Water will certainly keep you alive, but won't provide much in the way of energy. Be sure to use pure juices without added sugar, otherwise it may cause havoc on blood sugar levels and promote hypoglycemic "highs & lows".

I perform normal everday activities when I fast, such as exercise, going off to work, etc. Once, I ran a 10K race on the 5th day of a fast. Keep in mind I've been at this several years, and my body is acustomed to it.

Yes, fasting is also good for weight loss. There are reports of people who were obese and lost a great deal of weight fasting. The only concern is some people, when they go off a fast, start to eat too much because they feel starved/deprived. Self-discipline is a deciding factor on how long the benefits of fasting will stay with you.

I fast not so much for weight loss but as a reminder of how lucky I have it. This started when I was doing a lot of work with the homeless and I use it as a kinda reminder (abiet a lame one) of how it feels to be hungry.

I find definitely energy is tough to find, but not even so much energy as power. I train (martial arts) almost 7 days a week, and on the day of the fast while my mind may be clearer, and I may have good energy, i definitely feel as if there is no power behind my punches and kicks. Dunno.

cactus, I'm exactly the opposite, oddly enough. When I fast, I feel more in touch with the center of my mind and of my balance, and I do some of my best training then. I do tire a bit more easily, but on the other hand I'm so lost in the moment that I don't even notice till I'm done training anyway.

~Mollie~

there are many kinds of fasts, though the ones that i do are generally no food, juice, etc. i just do water (hot and cold water). I usually do "day fasts" 24 hr fasts, and longer when i have the opporutnity.

in most cases, if you juice fast, you get enough nturients and sugars to go about your daily business. i don't recommend working out on a fasting day--even a juice fasting day. Any other sort of fasting day (water fasting for instance) i would recommend a day of relaxation, gentle yoga and breathwork, as well as meditation, reflection, etc.

i used to write a lot on how to fast and why. there are gerat health benefits, but your body gets those every nite as you sleep. the main reason to do a longer fast (that i've found) is for spiritual reasons. Otherwise, what you do in your sleep is enough to do the healing through fasting.

but, each is different. :) be well and happy!

cactus, I'm exactly the opposite, oddly enough. When I fast, I feel more in touch with the center of my mind and of my balance, and I do some of my best training then. I do tire a bit more easily, but on the other hand I'm so lost in the moment that I don't even notice till I'm done training anyway.

~Mollie~

Mollie -- its not so much the energy but the power. I just don't feel as though my punches carry anywhere near as much power... I end up feeling very light :)

Mollie -- its not so much the energy but the power. I just don't feel as though my punches carry anywhere near as much power... I end up feeling very light :)

When I used to fast, that was what I liked about it. I would frollic around feeling 20 pounds lighter, and I'd usually get an energy rush a few hours into it. Of course, there were also the times when I'd feel absolutely demolished (usually in the heat of the summer), so I wouldn't even go 16 hours. The longest I ever fasted for was about 36 hours, when I was moving- I was too stressed out to eat, but I chugged down a 12 pack of diet cokes in the two days, so I didn't exactly detox. But the moving- I had to exert a lot of effort, carrying heavy boxes up and down the stairs multitudes of times, and I somehow had the strength. I identify with what you're saying, though, I know that if I were to fast now I'd feel light, but I'd feel too light- like I'd be blown away in a strong gust of wind!

I'm interested in fasting again, but I think it'd be harmful for me rightnow. I workout every other day, usually half an hour or more of intense interval cardio and at least a half hour of weights, I'm thinking that even on my rest days I need calories to help build muscle and fuel my metabolism. Oh well, maybe when I have a lazy week ahead of me I'll do a 24 hour one or something.

To me it feels more like all the junk (toxins, bad karma, whatever you want to call it) that was holding me back falls away, and I come about as close I ever do to true power. I become more grounded and my center of balance drops and everything just starts to flow together. It's really cool, now that I think about it...

~Mollie~

Dammit, what would I give for a cup of veggie chili right now... aaaaaugh. The self-torture!

What if you normally get light headed and cranky if you don't eat every few hours? I wonder how that would affect fasting, because I chug water all day as it is.

you'll get light-headed and cranky after a few hours, and then a few hours later your mind adjusts to it. I did a 7-day fast once (Baaaad, bad idea, but still) and after about day two I didn't even notice I was hungry anymore. Your body and mind can adjust to just about anything if it needs to. As far as water goes, fasting doesn't necessarily mean not drinking, unless it's a religious fast in some cases.

~Mollie~

the thing about fasting is that you need to practice it and not worry about if you "succeed" in a certain number of hours of whatever. If you're hypoglycemic, you may want to consider "not" fasting.

a day fast is a nice choice. This is the practice at ramadan, as well as in many religious traditions. You eat before dawn and after sunset. during day light hours, you do not eat. There are some caveats such as pregnancy, hypoglycemia and diabetes (and other health problems)--these people do not have to fast (or not as long).

i do not recommend fasting for weight loss. It could too easily lead into an eating disorder (heck, all fasting could), and therefore the most care should be taken in understanding why you want to fast.

If you want to clear your body of toxins, i recommend a fruit fast. You can do all the work your normally do (and more) on a fruit fast. start by eating fruits, veggies, and a light protien source at regular meals for 2 days. THen cut out the protien source on say 3. cut out the veggies on day 4. on days 5, 6, and 7, eat only fruit (remember tomatoes, olives, and avocadoes are fruit). on day 8, add in watery-heavy veggies. on day 9 add in other veggies, on day 10 add in your protien sources.

Usually, after this ten day process, you'll be toxin free. Likewise, you'll be able to do whatever you normally do (activity-wise) on this cleansing diet.

Also, a juice cleanse works well too. you slowly move from regular meals to meals with more fruits and veggies to meals of all fruits and veggies to meals of fruits and veggies 1/2 of the time and 1/2 of the time juice meals, then all juice meals for a number of days, and then back to the 1/2-1/2, then back to meals of fruits and veggies, then back to meals of whatever you like plus fruits and veggies. you can do this over 2 weeks or so.

Anyway, lots of options. Not exactly "fasting" in the "traditional" (or spiritual traditions) sense, but nonetheless, it is considered a fast. :)

zoebird, your comments have been very helpful, it sounds like you know alot about the topic.

As for fasting to lose weight, in my experience and other friend's online, it's easy to lose alot of pounds but they seem to come back on as soon as you start eating normally again. So I never recommend people trying to lose weight to fast, they should learn proper eating habits first.

I've been studying nutrition, so I'm just summarizing what "Understanding Nutrition" textbook by Eleanor Noss Whitney states about fasting (I tried to keep it short and concise):

~~
The brain needs glucose constantly, fasting affects your brain's energy (brain and nerves prefer energy in the form of glucose and usually consume 2/3 your total glucose each day, about 600 calories). When this energy isn't available the body turns to its own tissues for other fuel sources, so after a day or so it turns to vital protein tissues. If body protein loss were to continue at this rate, death would ensue within three weeks, regardless of the quantity of fat a person had stored. So other desperate bodily measures are taken to fuel the brain, but most areas of the brain still rely exclusively on glucose so body protein continues to be sacrificed. Some brain cells can get fuel from ketone bodies, this is called ketosis. (Ketosis also causes loss of appetite, so in another thread where the person was worried about having lost her appetite, she might have had this condition. But any kind of food restriction leads a person to adapt by losing appetite.) Metabolism slows and loss of fat falls to a bare minimum, less in fact than would be lost on a low calorie diet.

The body's adaptations to fasting are sufficient to maintain life for a long time; mental alertness need not be diminished, and even physical energy may remain unimpaired for a surprisingly long time. Still, fasting presents hazards.
~~~

Stupid question here
After starving/fasting your body into defensive mode (after a couple of days or a week).........when you finally go back to a normal diet doesn't you body then hord all/most of the food you consume, therefore don't you start to put on a good deal of weight because of the slow in your motabolisim?

That's true, sorrow. When I fasted for just 36 hours I lost 4-8 pounds, which was all back once I actually drank a real liquid (diet coke is a diuretic) and ate something. It's not at all a realistic means of losing weight, though it can be used to help you shrink your stomach and avoid overeating if that's a problem. It's not that your stomach actually shrinks, it's just that you become used to it having no food, and once you begin eating again you have less desire to stuff yourself silly (after that initial rush of "OMG FOOD!", anyhow, and even then you can't usually eat as much as normal).

sorrow:

it is both true and false. WHen you do a fast (which you do every nite when you sleep) it allows the body to repair itself. Taking a digestive break for longer than you sleep can be a good idea as well, allowing the digestive system to reallign.

It takes more than 36 hours or a week for the body to click into a hormonal starvation mode. most fasts aren't long enough to do this (water-only fasts). Fasts that include fruit and fruit juices don't do this, because they do give the body a sense of consistantly recieving food and therefore using it effeciently.

what the body needs is food at regular intervals. A series of day fasts--such as ramadan--works and doesn't send the body into the starvation/storage mode because you recieve meals "like clockwork" and then allow the body to fast in between. You may notice that things such as ramadan tend to happen in winter months (in it's original climate) when days are relatively short. So really, the fasts do not run much longer than your sleeping-fast. Likewise, during these times, people are implored to work, but not to do excess work (such as work outs), so that one doesnt' overtax the body and send it into a starvation mode.

So, the combination of regular food and reduced activity makes it possible for the body to maintain itself (not go into that 'starvation mode') and still heal during the fasting time.

When you look at longer fasts that are fruit/juice fasts, these are basicly "lighter foods" in quantities that are able to maintain one's health. Depending upon the quantities, one could sustain there activity levels for quite a while--a number of days. But, it is also recommended during these fasts that activity levels decrease so that the body can heal. Here again, we have the combination of regular intervals of introducing nutrients and reduced activity.

The difference with starvation mode is if one is increasing activity and decreasing the amount of food they consume over a long haul. If you do a "fast" for say, a year, and during that year you take up competative swimming (which you never did before). it's likely that your body will go into starvation mode if you're not gaining enough calories over the long term.

But, again, fasting isn't great for weight loss. It is great for cleansing, it is great for spiritual development and clarity. it is great for some gastric healing. but, not great for weight loss.

For weight loss, quality food sources, plenty of calories, and plenty of activity are the keys. :)