14 replies to this topic

[luv2increase]

I'm just wondering who here fasts every once in a while or at all for that matter. Please, if you fast, post your experiences with it. If you don't, explain why you don't, or why you believe it is unnecessary.


Thanks!

[shadowrun]

I fasted in early March after reading about it here on this site. I also looked into a few books on the subject.

I water fasted for 36 hours and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Mostly it was boring and I never realized how much of my day is really occupied with getting, eating or preparing food. I tried hard to occupy my mind with other activities but towards the end I started day-dreaming about food quite a bit. I ended up with a sick mascohistic fascination with the food network. I couldn't wait to sleep so I could eat in the morning. When I woke up I really wasn't hungry.

I was hit with a few physical abnormalities throughout that day - The books I looked over stated that I might experience a few odd physical sensations during the fast but that fasting with water for a few days will in no way kill me.

My assumption was that people who ate like crap or were less healthy would experience these odd sensations...My list of issues are below

- 3-4 times I got slammed through the day with massive hunger pangs. They made me feel weak and people said my face looked drawn and pale during these bouts.

- I will relate that ended up crapping about 4 times that day! I don't think my water intake was much more than usual!

-Twice for about 10 minutes I felt really sick in my head...Like I was getting spacey and had a small headache

-Once my skin got really flushed and my face looked like I had little acne dots all over it. It went away after about 20 minutes.

- I started to smell and my skin felt sticky towards the end of my fast

- After my 3rd cold sweat I took a shower... Maybe i'm crazy but there was a grayish tint to to water coming off of my body and my skin felt...filmy

Despite the symptoms I stayed with the fast and when I woke up the next day I looked much leaner and sleeker, my eyes were bright and my skin especially seemed vibrant.
My first meal off the fast was an apple...It was the tastiest apple i've ever eaten in my life. Suffice to say I had an extreme appreciation for food that day.

I really liked the fast, when it was over it felt like my body did some housecleaning. I figure a few fasts can't hurt and especially with all the positive information about calorie restriction its good for me.

I've had about 6, 36 hour fasts since march - I really don't experience bizarre symptoms anymore. Sometimes I get a headache or I look flushed for a few minutes but as time went along I think my body has become more accepting of it.

[luv2increase]

Thanks for your story shadowrun!

I have never tried a water fast before, but I am sincerely considering it.

I have done a 3 day juice fast, a 5 day juice fast, an 11 day master cleanse, and I'm currently on my 2nd day juice fast.

All I'm taking this time around is 3 lemons a day, purified water, distilled water, and 2oz X 3 of Flora brand flor-essence detox tea like stuff. I feel very well currently. I plan on just going 3 days, but I may go for 5 days.

I notice a sense of well-being whenever I fast. I also will go through bouts of paleness, dizziness, delusional thinking, weakness, and general malaise.

After the fasts, I feel great! My thinking is clearer, my memory is even better, and my mood is lastingly elevated.

[Athanasios]

I have done a yearly 10 day water fast for a few years now. I started when I was pre-diabetic and generally unhealthy. When I was unhealthy the fasts were hard but as my health markers settled to where they should be the fasts became easy and almost symptom free.

I tend to think that the after-the-fast-good-feeling is alleviation of food allergies and extra biological rewards for eating.

[luv2increase]

I tend to think that the after-the-fast-good-feeling is alleviation of food allergies

I think you are right about this. Have you ever had a food allergen test where they test your blood against a long list of foods etc..? Do you think there is any truth to the Blood-Type Diet which basically believes that different blood types are allergic to different foods?

[Athanasios]

I have never had a test done because those knowledgeable say that keeping a food journal is more effective because of a lot of false readings with the blood tests.

[shadowrun]

luv2increase - Go for it!

I highly recommend it for anyone. I feel freakin awesome afterwards.

[eldar]

I do 24h water fasts every other day. I never feel hungry and actually feel generally better and more alert while fasting.

[ajnast4r]

ive done juice fasting for 4-5 days at a time, and am a firm believer in the positive effects of occasional fasting.

i dont see why anyone would fast on only water... i think fresh vegetables juices & green tea is ideal, considering the huge role their phytochemicals play in human detoxification mechanisms.

anything more than occasional fasting, or extended periods of fasting... would be a pretty bad idea unless there is some sort of illness involved.

i've given serious thought to making every sunday a fasted day.

I do 24h water fasts every other day. I never feel hungry and actually feel generally better and more alert while fasting.

doing that for extended periods of time would be very close physiologically, to starvation... and is probably a very bad idea.

Do you think there is any truth to the Blood-Type Diet which basically believes that different blood types are allergic to different foods?

i think its a little more more complicated than simple blood types... but i think there definitely is (grouped) biochemical individuality, and that different people have different subtle physiological reactions to different foods. that whole idea is the basis for ayurvedic medicine... and given the outstanding success rate of what little ayurvedic science has been but up to modern scientific scrutiny, i think they were on to something.

[Mind]

Besides CR and detox effects, are there any other reasons why fasting would increase longevity?

[ajnast4r]

Besides CR and detox effects, are there any other reasons why fasting would increase longevity?

decreases insulin resistance / increases insulin sensitivity.

that & the detox aspects are the biggies.

[spacey]

Would there be any adverse effects from juice fasting for 48hrs as a 16-year old?

[eldar]

I do 24h water fasts every other day. I never feel hungry and actually feel generally better and more alert while fasting.

doing that for extended periods of time would be very close physiologically, to starvation... and is probably a very bad idea.

The whole concept of intermittent fasting is based on this and it is supposed to give similar benefits as CR, so no I don't think it is unhealthy at all. In fact, quite the opposite.

[luv2increase]

Would there be any adverse effects from juice fasting for 48hrs as a 16-year old?

There would be if you are on prescription medication. Don't do it without first talking to your doctor.

[electric buddha]

I went a week with water and one tablespoon of maple syrup at noon just to see what the experience would be like. Near the end, all my dreams were of eating and they were some of the most amazingly vivid I've ever had. It's been a couple years now, and I'm still struck by it. There were occasional near blackouts filled with images of food as well. I learned that I'm really, really, happy to live in a society where most of us, at worst, live on bad food instead of no food at all.

Other than a newfound appreciation of pizza, and the dreams of pizza, I don't really feel like I got anything out of it other than alleviated curiosity.