Questions about Fasting.

Ok first, If water fasting is there a limit on how much water I should drink through out the day ?
I dont plan on fasting for more than one week being that this is my first time, Its already been almost 48 hours, I am not under any type medical super vision, That being the case what should I look out for as far as something dangerous or harmfull to me?, I have been feeling weak and dizzy, I assume that that is normal.
How long into the fast does it take to start dropping lbs.?, My main reason for the fast is to try and drop a few lbs., Also to prove to myself that I can do it.
Is sleeping alot while fasting a bad thing?, When I wake up at my normal time I feel as if I could sleep for a few more hours.
Is exercising while fasting recommended?, Just Situps, Crunches, Pushups and walks, Usually about 3-5 miles.
Thats all I can think of right now, I'll post back if I come up with some more.
Any replys appreciated, Thx.
[ 01 August 2002: Message edited by: kapheen' ]
[ 01 August 2002: Message edited by: kapheen' ]

DO NOT exercise while fasting. Your body doesn't have the resources for this and your dizziness will increase.
I don't recommend this as a way to drop weight. At ALL. Your body is going to go into starvation mode and when you start eating again, it's going to convert everything you eat into fat in anticipation of another circumstance like this.
As always, the best way to lost weight is to EXERCISE and eat right under a doctor's supervision.

Also, if you haven't done enough research into water fasting to know how much you should drink, you sure as hell shouldn't be doing it.

I have looked for information all over the net, I cant seem to find anything, Cept for a few sites trying to sell something.

I did a 7 day fast w\ twice daily "colemas" while I was in Thailand.
I lost about 10lbs or so, but very little of the weight loss was fat off of my body. The majority of it was impacted "stuff" from my colon. I felt amazing after the week was over. Most people had a day or two where they felt like crap, but they said it was from "toxins" exiting your body.
I agree with Alf, fasting isn't an effective way to lose fat.

You see it's not just to lose weight I have a mild anxiety problem (though sometimes it gets a little out of hand), I was thinking that if I could get through a fast then maybe I could deal with my anxiety a little better.
I constantly tell myself thats its just in my head but that dont seem to help much.
I was thinking that I might feel more in control of myself after the fast.
So any further advice on this appreciated greatly.
Thx.

just get on a meth diet, you'll lose weight in no time

If you're young and healthy, I doubt you'd be in much danger from such a short fast. If I were you (I have no medical knowledge here) I'd just drink when thirsty -- let your body tell you how much water you need, it's good at that.
And it's a poor way to lose weight, according to every medical/dietary authority I know.

kapheen... I don't think that starving yourself is a good way to prove you have control over yourself? That sounds to me like a path to anorexia.
If you're worried about anxiety, it's worth seeing your GP - he/she will be able to give you good advice on how to deal with it.

Kapheen
starving yourself for a week to prove you have control of yourself is complete madness. Not only will you feel weak and lightheaded but you WILL REGAIN ALL THE WEIGHT LOST AND MORE when you start to eat normally again. Why dont you gain control of your life by reversing what you're doing, be constructive, eat healthily, excercise regularly maybe some yoga. All these take dedication and restraint on your part to stick with them no better and satisfying way loose weight and keep healthy and stay in control.

Be very careful!
This could sooo easily get out of hand.
Next thing you know you're obsessed with control.. and BAM!
Annorexia Nervosa..

Nothing wrong with fasting for the right reasons..
but.. analyse your reasons.. OK
*hugs*

fasting isn't the way to lose weight!!!!
your body will go into 'famine mode' and the minute you eat again it will all be stored as fat, bacause your body is trying to protect itself from starvation.
the only way to lose weight and keep it off is by sensible eating. i know i sound like someones mother, but it's true!

Why doesnt this work the other way? Lets say you wanted to lose weight long term. Would eating a ton for a week, and then going back to normal or maybe below normal do this?
When you stop eating for a week, your body saves everything it can in case you stop eating again. So if you eat a ton, will your body get used to throwing out a lot? Just wondering.

^^ if this were true, there wouldn't be any fat people in the world... the more you ate, the more your body would throw away, so no one would get fat.
Fact is, humans are still hard-wired through evolution like any other animal. We store extra calories when they're available because in humans' pasts (we're talking distant evolutionary past), there have been famines, droughts, starvation ... and our bodies' way of dealing with that, just like a camel putting away water, is to store away all the fat we can.
Of course back then, it wasn't so easy to give your body 3500 calories all in one meal.

Thanks for all the replys.
I ate a small meal last night and also one this morning, I'm just gonna continue exercising and eating small healthy meals, Maybe if I can drop some weight that way I'll feel better about myself and hopefully it will help with my anxiety(feeling better about myself and all).
If it gets bad again I'll go see a doc. but untill then it's just something I dont wanna do unless I have to, I'm kinda worried about being diagnosed with something, It's just a scary thought to me.
Anyways thanks again for all the replys !

I can give you some Honest advice here! I have had problems w/Anorexia in the past, and let me tell you, if you can manage to stop eating for a week or two, it is very hard to start again. When you stop eating, as someone else here said, your body tries desperately to hoard everything you eat as fat to save it from the possibilty that you might starve again! Add to this the fact that your hair, nails, skin, teeth, and every other part of your body is suddenly falling out, overly dry, or going to start decaying, and you can see why it is really not an attactive alternative!
All of this said, I want to tell you something else, and I still battle with this! I always see myself as needing to loose just a little bit more weight. I am 5 ft 7 in and weigh approx. 114 lbs at the moment. Being thin is NOT the answer to anything! Inner Peace, and Self-esteem are! Take a class in Self Defense, or Martial Arts! I do this, and the focus, Peace, Strength Helps to keep me balanced. I still have to make myself eat sometimes, and skip eating for days at a time. DO NOT START NOT EATING!!!!!!!!!!!

day_tripper said:

fasting isn't the way to lose weight!!!!
your body will go into 'famine mode' and the minute you eat again it will all be stored as fat, bacause your body is trying to protect itself from starvation.
the only way to lose weight and keep it off is by sensible eating. i know i sound like someones mother, but it's true!

Click to expand...

This doesn't have to be true. Water-only fasting can be a great way to lose weight and start a new lifestyle IF:

1. you come off the fast VERY slowly (for example, only eat plain, fresh, unprocessed veggies for the first 2 days off your fast, then SLOWLY at other foods). If you very slowly leave your fast and enter into a new, healthy diet, then you'll keep most of the weight off. (you'll still gain 2-3lbs after the fast no matter what you do, but you can definitely net lose and keep it off)

2. you fast for more than 5 days. During th first 3 days your body will switch over into "fast mode" (note: it's NOT "starvation mode" unless you're already really thin). "fast mode" is ketosis. This is when your body is burning off your fat like crazy. This is why fasting (water only!) helps you lose weight fast. With Juice fasting, you don't completely go into ketosis. [Juice fasting is actually useless if you ask me.] So you would keept to fast maybe 10 days or so to get significant weight lose.

3. you atually have fat to burn. If you're already really thin, water-only fasting is VERY BAD!. If you don't have enough excess fat to take you through the fast, your body WILL go into *starvation mode* when your body metabolisms your muscles an organs (this is how anorexicx die). However, very few people don't have enough fat to take them through 7-10days of fasting.

4. you're a healthy person with no serious health problems.

5. You drink PLENTY OF WATER and take a vitamin suppliment.

6. you don't cheat on the fast Cheating (even a little) will take you out of ketosis and you're have to start all over again.


I'm not a doctor or anything, but I have studied my fair share of biochemistry. The body is designed to fast. Fasting can actually be good for you if DONE CORRECTLY and CAREFULLY.

jesuslovesraversinseattle said:

I can give you some Honest advice here! I have had problems w/Anorexia in the past, and let me tell you, if you can manage to stop eating for a week or two, it is very hard to start again. When you stop eating, as someone else here said, your body tries desperately to hoard everything you eat as fat to save it from the possibilty that you might starve again! Add to this the fact that your hair, nails, skin, teeth, and every other part of your body is suddenly falling out, overly dry, or going to start decaying, and you can see why it is really not an attactive alternative!
All of this said, I want to tell you something else, and I still battle with this! I always see myself as needing to loose just a little bit more weight. I am 5 ft 7 in and weigh approx. 114 lbs at the moment. Being thin is NOT the answer to anything! Inner Peace, and Self-esteem are! Take a class in Self Defense, or Martial Arts! I do this, and the focus, Peace, Strength Helps to keep me balanced. I still have to make myself eat sometimes, and skip eating for days at a time. DO NOT START NOT EATING!!!!!!!!!!!

Click to expand...

This is why you shouldn't fast if you have an eating disorder and are already thin. Your hair and nails will not fall out during a fast if you have fat burn. Hair, nails, muscle, etc... are all the LAST THINGS TO GO after you've burned ALL of your fat. So if you're overweight, you don't have to worry about these things happening to you if you fast.

When you fast (as with most crash diets) the weight you lose is mostly water weight (which you will put right back on) as well as some fat and muscle. The problem here is, when you get back to your weight (which you will) anything you lost as muscle you will gain back as fat. Whoever said to use meth to help you fast is a fucking idiot (and again, more likely than not, you would just gain the weight back anyway). If you are fasting for religious or spiritual reasons and you have some fat to spare I would recommend limiting your activity. Ever wonder why monks that fast never get deathly ill looking? It's because they sit around and meditate the whole time they are fasting and aren't using up more energy than they have to spare.
Isn't this thread kind of old?

This is from another era, when Health Q & A used to accept threads unrelated to recreational drug use. I'm going to close this.

PM me for any clarification.