Fasting

[magical1]

I have been juice fasting since Sunday night and I wondered if any others on the board fast??

I'd love to hear your experiences... why you do it, how regularly, what type of fast do you do, what benefits you get from it....

It's my first one and something I have been a bit chicken to try. I did experience some discomfort on the first day ie headaches, sore liver, extreme tiredness. I went to bed last night early and had the most incredible sleep. Today I haven't had any slumps in blood sugar like I did yesterday and my headache has gone. I would like ideally to continue for ten days but I will play this by ear as the time passes. I'm ok at reading my bodies signals so I am keeping a close eye on myself.

[Lexie]

I like to fast now and then--water only.

I do it for the detox and clarity it gives me. The first 11 days can be rough, especially with the nausea and headaches, but after that I'm well and full of energy.

I fast for 2 months at a time usually. I'm planning another after my DD weans and I get these wretched amalgams removed. I mean to do it more often, but too much has been going on in my life, so it's been about 3 years since my last fast.

[magical1]

Wow that is a loooooonnnnngggggg time fasting! What foods do you eat when you go back to eating and how do you feel?

Do you take any supplements at all?

I'm very interested.

I'm feeling great third day in.. Mind you I am having the most glorious juices! Headaches are worst at night time. Wake up in the morning feeling brilliant and I don't normally so I can really feel it.

[Lexie]

hehe It is long. At the start though, I don't tell myself how long I will fast. I believe the body tells you when to stop. That's when hunger returns.

Honestly, I don't go through the broths and stuff that I'm told to. I just don't eat as much. Right after a fast, everything tastes so...alive I think it the best way to describe it. I always like that part. My body seems to work right again. I can enjoy the food I'm eating, I can eat reasonable portions because my hunger no longer seems insatiable. I find that the energy and well-being from the fast lasts for months. I guess until the toxins start to build back up. (I so can't wait to remove these fillings and start chelating!)

Don't take supplements usually, no. My naturopath had me on a regimen for my endo that last time I fasted, so I took the herbs he gave me, but only half the dosage. He said a normal dosage isn't all absorbed because it has to compete with food--which is why he had me taking my vitex first thing in the morning, before any food gets in. So since I wasn't eating food, and water wouldn't be competing with the herbs, only half the dosage was needed.

Headaches are a sign of detox. :) Nausea too...hated that part, but what helped me was smelling curry or coffee. So I kept a bottle of coffee in my room and took a whiff every time I felt really pukey. I don't know if it'll be different on a juice fast, but early on, you can taste the metals in your mouth. You might smell them on your breath too. I've read that the toxins are drawn out from the organs and broken down in the stomach by the bile and what you're smelling is the result of that. It's a pretty putrid stench...yuck.

[magical1]

Thanks for that. I haven't experienced any nausea yet... just the headaches but they come and go. Very tired though. How did you function for all that time? Did the tiredness abate?

Mind you I am probably a bit more active than most. Perhaps a good idea would be to sit and contemplate for a wee bit rather than chuck metal around at the gym. Good time to take up meditation I have heard.:blink:

[Lexie]

Oh, fasting is definitely time for relaxation. Your body is doing a lot of work just detoxing and repairing itself.

The tiredness stopped by the 12th day. I woke up with so much energy, it was irritating. I was hopping on the treadmill 5-7 times a day for 30 minutes trying to work it off. Nothing heavy, just walking--not too slow, not too fast. But the energy just kept coming back and I felt like I was pretty much bouncing off the walls. I was losing my mind.

I think juice fasting might be a slower process than water fasting because the body still has to digest the juices whereas water doesn't require all of that. The positive side to that is it doesn't hit you quite as heavily. And those first 11 days are so so rough on the water fast. But I love how I feel once the majority of the gunk is gone. :)

ETA: Thinking back, the only time my energy was that intense was the last time, and I was quite a bit heavy. I did lose about 1 pound everyday, so the energy may have just been from my fat stores. Before that, my weight was normal and I never lost more than a few pounds over the entire fast. My energy was good, but not insane.

[magical1]

Feeling great again today. Just went for a walk and felt amazing. I had watermelon, rock melon, apple juice for breakfast... My blood sugar seems to be really settled now, despite the intake of natural sugars.

You are right about the juice fast being easier. I went on youtube and watched water fasters last night and they do it pretty hard initially and then wham they just seem to suddenly wake up. My intake of toxins would be pretty low generally ie I eat organic, only use natural care products and cleaning products etc. so I didn't feel I needed to do anything too drastic. I am partial to wine and coffee and eat alot of animal protein so thought I'd do this to help my liver and digestion. Oh and I am taking a Liver tonic during and Apple cider vinegar. Do you think if I threw a couple of water only days that would be good??

I doubt my weight will change too much. I'm pretty lean anyway but I've heard about people losing enourmous amounts. Not my aim but if you were looking at doing a detox and lose weight at the same time, it would be a quick way to do it. Would you pile it all back on again quickly? or would you feel so good after the detox that you would have good eating habits?

[Lexie]

I sure wish I had some watermelon lately. I've been craving it... :( Blood sugar is a funny thing. McDougalling didn't make mine soar and yet you don't limit carbs or natural sugars. I remember one McDougaller changing to a fruit-only diet and he said his blood sugar was never better. Funny that. I think the authorities don't have a full grasp on what truly affects blood sugar and why/how.

I had no idea YouTubers were making videos of their fasts...nice. I'll have to go look see! It is kind of like suddenly waking up, yes. :) It's like an overnight transformation. I had a great book on fasting and it was recommended for those who wanted to take a slower detox to try water fasting for 2 days every week. The problem with that for me is I'd be spending those 2 days with hunger pangs and I prefer to get that over with quickly and move on to the next step. I don't want to go through that every single week... I 'm guessing juice doesn't give you the hunger pangs. You can try the water fast for a couple days just to see how it goes. Couldn't hurt!

Since I got PCOS, weight has been almost impossible to lose. I altered my diet over the course of 2 years until I finally slowed the gain. I just could never stop it. I could exercise all day long and actually still gain. I lost 30 pounds on the fast and then continued to lose another 10 after. Then my weight stayed like that until I got pregnant. I could have probably continued it to lose all the extra weight, but my body wanted to eat again, so I can't say no to that. It's the way nature intended it, after all. But it was good to see the weight go. My eating habits are great after fasting. Afraid of piling back in toxins. hehe

I was really glad to feel clean again after all that I went through for my endometriosis.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Lexie, can you put up the book title, and also give an outline as to roughly how it feels in the first four weeks, week by week? did you keep a diary enough to be able to do that?

M1.. what juices are you using through the day, and how do you make them?

[magical1]

As far as juicing goes for me...

I have all sorts of different combos... Carrot, beetroot (which needs to sit for a couple of hours before consuming because of Oxalic acid), ginger

Watermelon, rockmelon, apple, ginger
Apple, carrot, celery
Rhubarb, carrot, beetroot
Pineapple, banana

I have a juicer which is quick and easy to use. Clean up is a bit of a hassle but I just hand wash all the pieces and leave them to dry for the next "meal". I've been having about four large glasses a day. Lost weight super fast which was unexpected. Face looking very hungry :eek:

[Lexie]

Oh, argh, I tried to respond earlier. Having connection issues. Meh!

Anyway, I was attempting to say I'll have to look for the book! If I can't find it, I know someone who has a copy, so she'll be able to tell me what it is.

I didn't keep a diary, but I can tell you what it's like for me. The first two days feel like any other except I'm insanely hungry. I've decided sipping the water all day long instead of guzzling cups at a time works better...especially with these cravings. :) The 3rd day, the pangs are gone. The tiredness begins to come on gradually. So do the headaches and nausea. I don't remember when they peak, but it probably doesn't take more than a day or two. Then this keeps up through the 11th day. On day 12, I wake up feeling lighter, the headache and nausea are gone, and I'm bursting with energy. I still can't do anything too exerting--like running. Everything else is fine. If the sun is shining, I need to make sure I do everything in moderation and drink even more water. Apart from that, it's like any other day until the end of the fast. Once I start feeling hungry again, I know my body is ready to go back to eating, and I start to add a little food at a time. Easily digested stuff. You should find you need no more than half as much seasoning as you're used to. The taste buds are very well rested and working extremely well!

ETA: Here's the book: Principles of Fasting by Leon Chaitow (http://books.google.com/books?id=EiEJAAAACAAJ&dq=Principles+of+Fasting&lr=&client=opera). Looking him up on Amazon brings up all sorts of interesting books and DVDs... I might have to look over some of these.