Thread: 30 Day water fast

Hey DG. I'm glad to hear that you're trying hard to be healthier. I haven't been below 200 pounds for a number of years (though I seem to carry it well, more or less), so honestly I know how it feels. I was up to 244 before I went on Weight Watchers last August (2008). I stopped sticking to the program for a while, and while my weight hadn't gone down much, I still feel that I eat a lot healthier.

Fasting can be useful. I've used fasting as a spiritual discipline from time to time, but it can also be useful in realizing just how you don't need to eat all the time. I understand where you're coming from, but I hope that I can offer some advice. Please don't take this as an attack because this only comes from caring.

30 days is a LONG time in terms of your body. If you don't get some form of sustenance, it essentially starts to eat itself. I've met a couple of people who have gone on a fast for 40 days, but they did consume beef/chicken broth from time to time to make sure that they really weren't going to have serious problems. They'd fasted before in shorter increments so that they knew what to expect. They did their research (and I'm assuming you've done some research yourself from what you said). I'm not trying to discourage you from fasting, but especially if you haven't done it before and don't know how you're going to react (physically, mentally, emotionally), be VERY careful.

As far as having an issue with eating a lot of fast food, there are some very simple things you can do about it. Take gradual steps. Depending on where you go, try to order healthier items off of the menu. Order less off of the menu. Order smaller portions. Limit yourself to how many times you can go each week or give yourself a weekly/monthly allowance of money that will go towards eating out.

As far as not being active, I know how hard that is. I have such great intentions, but getting myself off of the couch can be the most difficult part. Try taking walks, especially if you have a friend who can go with you. If there's a place close by that you usually drive to or your parents take you to, try walking there every now and then instead of driving. If you can afford it and have the time, take some sort of class. Try something new. You may enjoy it! Having a partner to hold you accountable will help you most of all, though, as you can just say "Not today..." because there's someone else waiting for you and vice versa. You could also try setting yourself a schedule, saying that you're going to exercise for a half hour every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, or something like that. Make a routine out of it, and again, find someone who will check up on you to see if it's working.

The thing with fasting is that I feel that a number of people consider it a cure-all for weight loss. I saw that you're doing it for "detoxification" and sure, your body would have a lot of time to get rid of the junk in your body, but at the same time, you're not doing much to actually make yourself more overall-healthy. I don't want you to think that when you start putting on a few pounds that you should stick with water for a while. Again, I don't want to sound like an "anti-anorexia preacher," but I just want you to be very careful. If you find yourself becoming weak, your emotions seem out of wack, or you're having trouble focusing, please stop. Take it easy for now and work your way up to a longer fast if that's still how you feel. Otherwise, try eating in more if you can and just spend an extra minute thinking about what it is you're putting in your mouth.

I hope this was helpful.

Will you not be consuming any sort of nutrients or vitamins? I think there are safer ways to do a detox/fast.

Also, while I admire your ambition, I think it would be safer to do a shorter one first. Do a one-week fast. Then, take a couple of weeks of healthy eating to recover. Then, do a 2 week fast, and repeat. THEN, you can spring for a month, but I'm still concerned about the safety. What are the details of this fast? Is it really just water, or is it more like the master cleanse (water, lemon juice, cayenne and grade B syrup)? I still think the MC is unsafe, but you're welcome to dabble. Just start smaller.

Very very bad for you. Don't do that. If you have no protein in your diet you'll bruise, you also need vitamins. So either take a supplement or eat something.

Originally Posted by ninja9578

Very very bad for you. Don't do that. If you have no protein in your diet you'll bruise, you also need vitamins. So either take a supplement or eat something.

Yea I will take a supplement and you are right, but starving yourself
is very different from a water fast Here's an article I've read comparing
the two. Oh yea and my water fast officially starts tomorrow (Friday,October,9th,2009)


Article Here

Originally Posted by ninja9578

Very very bad for you. Don't do that. If you have no protein in your diet you'll bruise, you also need vitamins. So either take a supplement or eat something.

Fasting is actually good for you.

Going to lose a lot of weight there. Supplements would be good, yes, lest you wish to suffer scurvy.

Thirty days is going to be a while, by the way. I hope, for your sake, that you are successful.

30 days is a lot. If you're new to this you should start at 3-5 days at the most.

yea, I've already done a bunch of 3-5 day fasts to test how my body reacts in the absence of food. I'm giving it a couple more days of condieration before starting

Have you ever thought of trying the Lemonade Diet? It takes about a week, then you can start fresh and eat healthy. I'd think it's safer then just downing water for a month.

Originally Posted by hellohihello

Have you ever thought of trying the Lemonade Diet? It takes about a week, then you can start fresh and eat healthy. I'd think it's safer then just downing water for a month.

Yes, I have fasted a bunch and the lemonade diet is my favorite. If you don't get glucose your body starts digesting the proteins of your muscles. The metabolized waste is bad for your kidneys and you can get kidney troubles. Plus your blood sugar will be zero which will be bad for you and hard if not impossible. Like fainting and stuff. The lemonade diet is easy and safe. Mostly water with a few tablespoons of lemon juice and a few tablespoons of REAL maple syrup and some cayenne pepper. Everything you need and nothing you don't need. You will lose the weight, you will feel great, and you will be high without being dizzy or weak or anything

I'd like to do something like this, but my parents wouldn't let me.
So, I figure, when I'm at school, my parents can't tell if I eat lunch or not. And I rarely ever eat breakfast anyway.
So what If I just skip breakfast and lunch each day, drinking water throughout each day of course, and then eating supper at home?
I'd have to eat pretty regular meals every weekend though.
Would that be enough to really make a difference?

There is no way I would fast like that even for a day. It sounds like pure Hell. You can just change your eating habits and start exercising. That will be plenty good. Why torture yourself for a month? Is it even possible to live through that?

Well, UM, we're about to find out.

Originally Posted by Fableflame

I'd like to do something like this, but my parents wouldn't let me.
So, I figure, when I'm at school, my parents can't tell if I eat lunch or not. And I rarely ever eat breakfast anyway.
So what If I just skip breakfast and lunch each day, drinking water throughout each day of course, and then eating supper at home?
I'd have to eat pretty regular meals every weekend though.
Would that be enough to really make a difference?

Eating a large meal once a day won't help with weight loss. It would actually be detrimental because your body would store everything it could into fat cells because it knows it won't be getting food for a long time.

Either fast for day or two or just eat regularly. Trying to combine the two will have negative effects.

so...how goes the fast?

Originally Posted by grasshoppa

Eating a large meal once a day won't help with weight loss. It would actually be detrimental because your body would store everything it could into fat cells because it knows it won't be getting food for a long time.

Either fast for day or two or just eat regularly. Trying to combine the two will have negative effects.

Ok thanks, I guess I'll just start exercising more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgNh9mGb2K4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVKeNQU211c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcBgRDKV2Ig

Theses links are a video log of a woman who did three consecutive water fasts for 40 days each!!! Crazy!! The first link is the first day of the first fast. The second link is the end of the first forty days. The third link is the last day of the third consecutive forty day fast! In between her forty days she had a week of eating. You can check out her youtube channel. She documented almost everyday. I think she went about it wrong but she lived and she benefited from it. I think it is a little extreme and fanatical, but hey, that's just me! She also has a video of a month after she came off the last fast. Check it out

Scientists have found that rats will live twice as long if they fast every other day and in between days they eat twice as much food.

Originally Posted by Dannon Oneironaut

Scientists have found that rats will live twice as long if they fast every other day and in between days they eat twice as much food.

WAT.

Huh. Never thought something like this might actually be useful. I guess if I didn't have stuff to do I might give this a try. But, I don't want to risk my work and social life being affected by me starving all day.

wow. im amazed that lady actually lived. out of 161 days, 120 of those she only had water. oh my god.

What. The. Fuck.
You could seriously fuck shit up by doing this
Don't do this. Do not starve your body, at all. Let me put it this way; would you pay an employee who didn't do work at all, other than showing up?
Look, calories ARE NOT YOUR ENEMY. It's just a measure of energy! In fact, you'd want to have the most calorically dense food. Higher density = lower volume, thus a slimmer body. Luckily for your taste buds, fats are the most dense food.
Fat is great for your body: it helps with organs functioning, it provides insulation, even shock absorption. Your brain needs fat to work correctly. Did you know that low fat diets usually make people feel depressed? Yes, fat is your friend. Remember this mantra.
Glucose is your enemy; it spikes your blood sugar level, so your body secretes insulin. This insulin makes it possible to turn the fat you eat into the fat you store. Miraculously, though, when there is an absence of insulin the exact opposite occurs: your body uses up your fat. Thus, stick with low glycemic-index (GI) foods.

Before you listen to anything I say, though, ask a doctor.

OK. So, you want a quick but excruciating method of losing ~60lbs in a month? Not possible, but in 2 months, it sounds feasible. Instead of all this, live on proteins, fats and nutrients. Look at the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet. No carbohydrates, either, if they aren't fibrous. Lastly, and most importantly, do a lot of High Intensity Interval Training.
Basically, you work out for 20 seconds at a regular pace. Then, for the following 10 seconds, you just push yourself to go as hard as you can. Not only will this remove the fat from your muscles, but it will leave your body burning fat for the following ~38 hours. Do this cycle for 10 minutes; if you do it correctly, you'll feel like utter shit.

But seriously, talk to a doctor!

Alternatively, stop with all the fad diets and ridiculous, get-skinny-quick schemes. Way too many people seem to think that going from fast food and sitting on a couch to eating almost to actually nothing will help them.

Just eat healthy, normal meals each day and exercise daily. Being healthy is not a month endeavor. It's an everyday, lifetime one. Just eat healthy food. And this is really not as hard as it sounds. I don't see why people have such difficulty with this. If it's coated in sugar and deep fried, it's not healthy. Personally I try not to eat anything that doesn't have any nutritional benefit. Candy bars, cake, donuts, soda, etc. etc. It's not hard to conceptualize unhealthy food. More processed and farther away from the natural form food is often more unhealthy, but consider each food individually.
Don't measure food or anything either. Unless you honestly plan to count calories your whole life, doing so in a diet will only lead you to not understand how to naturally regulate your weight and leave you yo-yoing back to your previous weight after the diet. Simply eat the healthy food until you are satisfied (and on a diet, a little less). Remember, satisfied does not mean you cannot stand up and your stomach is packed full. Eat when you're hungry until you're satisfied not when you're satisfied until full.

And exercise daily. Run 20-40 minutes a day. If you can't do that, then walk an hour until you can (and add running in there for more and more time). Lift weights too (don't hurt yourself).

etc. etc.

Fasting is an amazing thing to do with your body, but 30 days? You'll be doing some harm to your body that way. I've fasted up to 8 days, and besides feeling horrible, I kept fainting and just couldn't live my life. What worked? 2 days fasting, 2 days RAW food (fruits, veggies, soups, juices. I lost weight, my skin cleared up, even my nails looked better. It was a wonderful experience, and I could still go on with my life