Tell Me About Water Fasting

[Reality_is_a_Dream]

I want to go at it for 3 days at a time, but I don't know where to begin. I am only 15, and I do not want to do any damage. But there are alot of benifits to it, many of which I need. 1: To purify. I am a damn American. I live off of Doritos, Ramen Noodles and Red Bull. 2: Weight loss. I have been packing on the lbs lately, and need a way to get a few pounds off. 3: Dreams. The damn cool dreams. I want them, and I hear water fasting is good for vividity and lucidity. So, can you help me?

[DuB]

Just Say No to "water fasting." 1: To purify. I am a damn American. I live off of Doritos, Ramen Noodles and Red Bull. Think about it - how exactly is starving yourself for 3 days going to "purify" or "cleanse" you in any way? I think this notion comes from the religious/spiritual origins of fasting as a form of worship - it certainly has no basis in nutritional fact. Even if it were true, what happens in 3 days when you pick up the Doritos again? You're back to square one. 2: Weight loss. I have been packing on the lbs lately, and need a way to get a few pounds off. Starving yourself is not only an incredibly unhealthy way to lose weight, but it is also ineffective in the long run. If you want to lose weight, you have to make lifestyle changes - changes in diet, exercise, attitudes toward food, activity level, etc. Starving yourself does not accomplish this. Once again, as soon as you start eating food again, you're back to square one. The process of effective (and sustained) weight loss is best viewed as one of making lifestyle changes that create a steady, gradual trend toward weight loss - not as a temporary fix. 3: Dreams. The damn cool dreams. I want them, and I hear water fasting is good for vividity and lucidity. I don't know much about this one, but I would say that putting your health at risk for the possibility of vivid dreams is a very poor trade-off. Once again: Just Say No to "water fasting."

[hellohihello]

We can't go a day without water so you can really damage your body. If you want to lose weights, cut out the junk food and red bull.

[DuB]

Well, water fasting refers to consuming nothing except water. So he would be getting plenty of that. It's still a terrible idea, though. This sort of thinking is exactly how eating disorders develop.

[hellohihello]

Oh : / I took "water fasting" literally. The only thing I could see this working if you put something in the water so you get your vitamins and minerals.

[plg6067]

3 days isnt that long so you should be fine, dont take my word for it though.... I am not an expert

[Invader]

It's not exactly a joyride, but if you do plan on going through with your fast do not expect to be exerting yourself. It's a mental fight, if anything. I can say that being able to control one's diet is one way of approaching real personal discipline, which doesn't mean that starving yourself is diet control, but you'd certainly have to be ready to resist your urges once the hunger really hits. If you do it, post your experience. There are no serious long term health effects unless you're already afflicted with some nutritional deficiency.

[hellohihello]

I'd be interested in reading how it goes Just make sure you do it on a Friday or something. That way you don't need to exorcise and go to school.

[Reality_is_a_Dream]

I am homeschooled, dude. "Starving yourself is not only an incredibly unhealthy way to lose weight, but it is also ineffective in the long run. " It is not really to lose weight, so much as it is to show myself I don't need the junk food and I'd do fine without it. Maybe going raw would be alot healthier?

[hellohihello]

I am homeschooled, dude. "Starving yourself is not only an incredibly unhealthy way to lose weight, but it is also ineffective in the long run. " It is not really to lose weight, so much as it is to show myself I don't need the junk food and I'd do fine without it. Maybe going raw would be alot healthier? If you want to show yourself you don't need junk food eat fruits and vegetables. They taste great.

[Reality_is_a_Dream]

That's why going raw may be better. My cousin (who I live with) is also raw, so I would have help.

[DuB]

Maybe going raw would be alot healthier? It certainly would. You're fortunate to have a friend who already does this - this will make it much easier for you, should you choose to do it.

[Reality_is_a_Dream]

Thanks for helping. It sucks when these people who describe this kind of stuff just tell all the positive aspects of water fasting.

[grasshoppa]

If you can do it for 3-5 days your body will begin to pull the toxins out of your system. I've also read of people curing arthritis and cancer by going on extremely long fasts (40-42 days). Often they have special fruits that they eat for the anti-oxidants like steamed pumpkin and spinach. There is a book about fasting that really got me intrigued about it. I didn't read it, just skimmed through it but there was a lot of interesting things in there. It's called the Tao of Detox. http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Detox-Natu.../dp/0743232100

[DuB]

If you can do it for 3-5 days your body will begin to pull the toxins out of your system. How, exactly? I've also read of people curing arthritis and cancer by going on extremely long fasts (40-42 days). I've heard of people who prayed to God and soon after their cancer went into recession. Is this proof of divine healing? Hardly. Sometimes people just get better. Show me evidence from nutritional experts. This can be tricky because there are some meaningless labels floating around; terms such as "nutritionist" and "doctor of nutrimedicine" are not legally protected terms in most countries (including the US and the UK), and one should be skeptical when considering advice from people who self-apply these labels. Credible sources are registered dieticians (RD) first and foremost, also physicians (MD), and at the bottom of the totem, dietetic technicians (DTR). Typically I leave people to their erroneous, pseudo-scientific beliefs ("Astral projection? Sure, whatever."), but promoting "fasting" as something that is safe and healthy is plain irresponsible, and in my personal view, unacceptable.

[Reality_is_a_Dream]

I am gonna side with the Admin. He is an Admin for a reason. Mind locking this? I got what I wanted out of it, anything else is unneccary and probabaly counter productive.