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Fasting Megathread

My concern is more about the fact that fruit juice - by itself, removed of all the pulpy fibre goodness - is very high in sugar, and very low in much else.

...your method seems cool, though. I can imagine that watered down juice wouldn't be too bad. Might stop my nausea as well!

daysonatrain - yeah, I get nauseous when I skip too many meals (a day and a half is usually my limit before I start 'vomiting' thin air), very weak and shaky... I think I've always had blood sugar problems, though - not sure about hypo/hyperglycemia. I might need to try a fast that keeps my blood sugar levels steady.

Thanks for the advice, guys. And if you lay your hands on any more useful information, please send it my way?
 
the few times i've done a total and complete fast (not like Ramadan), i've done so on water and fruit (usually an apple or orange like deja). i've never had problems with it, but i also changed some of my activities too -- i wasn't biking 20 miles to school every morning, i took the train instead, etc. are you pushing too hard? i can't think of what else to say, but until you figure out whats making you sick you should hold up, you could do some very bad things to your body that way.
 
^ Thanks for the reply :)

I have serious post-nasal drip, some shitty sinus problem I can't seem to shake. That causes nausea and stomach problems, which are not helped any by an empty stomach. I wouldn't ever carry on with this shit feeling like this, haha. I think I'll cut down my daily food intake even more slowly, and see how that goes. I might try to do a water-and-little-bit-of-fruit fast, like you.
 
A couple years ago I did the lemon juice/cayenne/maple syrup for two weeks. Amazing mental clarity, more free time when you aren't preparing 6 meals a day, greatly improved memory. Downside is that you obvious can't do anything physically taxing. Another negative aspect is the transition back to food: unless you ease bad very slowly, you're going to get sick from all the shit that's in food.

I just eat unprocessed, mostly raw food now and I feel good all the time-- no need for fasting.
 
Hahaha, another downside is that I would have to import maple syrup to South Africa for two months' worth of pocket money and freelance writing money... for only enough syrup for a 10 day fast.

We have that delicious mystery we like to call 'maple-flavoured syrup'.

Bahaha.
 
Changed said:
I just eat unprocessed, mostly raw food now and I feel good all the time-- no need for fasting.
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Do you really think so? I've been toying with the thought of fasting, but because I get so irritable after only a short time without food (five or six hours), I don't know if I could handle (or if those around me could handle me!) a fast for any length of time. With that in mind, do you feel fasting is really unnecessary for someone who eats mostly real, whole foods? I mean, the most processed foods I eat (aside from pasta and rice) are cereal (even then it's the stuff in the "health/organic section," not the normal cereal aisle) and hemp milk.

Put my question in bold in case people don't feel like reading through the rambling.
 
^ I was/am very much the same - I used to get ravenous, crazy, I used to foam at the mouth and feel like ripping the heads off anyone I came across if I even skipped so much as one meal... But cutting down on meals slowly but surely has cut out that irritability. I went from three huge meals with about six sandwiches in between every single day, with all the snacks my heart desired. Now, I've cut down on what I eat every day - quite drastically - and all it took was a little getting used to.
 
Oh, and on your bolded question - I don't really have the answer. The practice of fasting is so heavily contested that some argue fasting is never necessary or beneficial, some feel that it is always... Both sides have quite convincing arguments, but I honestly have no idea!

As far as the argument for fasting goes, a lot of it is about your body being able to divert energy from digesting food to making itself healthy again (not making any claims here) so if you follow that path of logic, then it's all about the not eating and not all about what you eat. But then again, there are others that claim that it is all about the junk food we eat.

Oh my bejesus, I'm just confusing myself here! Sorry!
 
I have been having a lot of problems with fasting - I make it a day, but the next morning I wake up shaking, sweating, and vomiting. I also have a lot of trouble with mucus (like a post-nasal drip) making me nauseous when I fast.
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As your body begins to break down fat as it's primary fuel source, it has to expunge the freshly released toxins that were stored there. If you are feeling this sick after 24 hours of water fasting it is likely because you have a lot of very bad toxins in their (i.e. have eaten quite poorly in the past/are out of shape/etc.). What you can do to prevent this is start off with a juice fast or even raw food fast before transitioning into a true water fast. Also a juice fast means no preservatives or sugars of any kind added, just liquefied fruit and veges.

As far as the argument for fasting goes, a lot of it is about your body being able to divert energy from digesting food to making itself healthy again (not making any claims here) so if you follow that path of logic, then it's all about the not eating and not all about what you eat. But then again, there are others that claim that it is all about the junk food we eat.
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Regarding fast food and toxins, when you loose weight fat cells aren't actually being destroyed for energy, they are just shrinking as ummm... energy is sucked from them. The energy that is begin sucked out also contains toxins and as they are released they are removed from your body through your pores, breath, urine and bowels making you healthier. You will find after a few days of a water fast your breath stinks, your skin is oily, your pee is still concentrated and most water fasts recommend enemas.

Furthermore along these lines is that your body is smart enough to attack cells which contain more toxins first. Fasting occurred and was highly recommended all the way back to ancient times (bible and stuff). Human's are also the only animals who will eat when sick. These both support not eating as helping your body recover. This is why terminally sick people will go on 40 day fasts until they find "true hunger". The idea being that when starving, your body will eat cancerous bone cells before healthy bone cells thereby curing you.

This is all the water fast fanatics speaking not me.

Personally I will go for a day or two without eating occasionally but its more for clearing my mind and getting a feeling of control over my body than any physical health gains.
 
Here's an article that may be of some interest to all of the fasters out there :)

http://www.ergo-log.com/bhb.html

If you follow a low or no-carb diet your body starts to make more of a compound that is strikingly similar to the drug GHB. This explains the feelings of euphoria that some people experience when on a low-carb diet. The Australian molecular scientist Andrew Brown puts forward this theory in the Medical Hypotheses journal.
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(with thanks to rm2x for forwarding me the link)
 
Hrm... I think I'm going to have to try fasting in January. May seem silly to set the date so far away, but 1) I won't have school and 2) the person I live with won't be home for a week.

You guys all gave such helpful and interesting information. :)
 
Yeah, it's really important to set the right time - especially far ahead, so that you can prepare yourself mentally and physically. You'll have to limit your activity (so no school is great). I have also found that, in the beginning of a fast (I haven't ever gotten past it :( ), my concentration goes out of the window and I have trouble focusing as well as sleeping.

Is the person you live with opposed to your fasting?

EDIT: But I have heard it said that your concentration and sleep will come back after a little. So, hopefully that's true!

Also, even though you are limiting physical activity, spending time in the outdoors is great for me, personally, because I tend to be sucked into endless loops of anxiety and depression without the mood-enhancing and stabilizing qualities of food... And nature, the fresh air, plants, long walks all elevate my mood. Just a personal observation.
 
Assassin of Youth said:
Yeah, it's really important to set the right time - especially far ahead, so that you can prepare yourself mentally and physically. You'll have to limit your activity (so no school is great). I have also found that, in the beginning of a fast (I haven't ever gotten past it :( ), my concentration goes out of the window and I have trouble focusing as well as sleeping.

Is the person you live with opposed to your fasting?
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She is greatly apposed to any deviation from the SAD (Standard American Diet). I went Vegetarian and she was pretty pissed but wrote it off as a fad. Five years later when I went Vegan, she wrote it off as a fad. If I dared utter the word "fasting," she'd probably want to get me mentally evaluated. I live with my mother in case you haven't caught on, lol.

But yeah, that's why I'm gonna plan it for a time when I don't have school and when she's gone.

And hey, the worst that happens is after a day (or a couple hours, lmao) without food, I start feeling shitty, so I eat something. *Shrug* Can always try again. If I never try, I'll never know.
 
True, but I do suggest the proper preparation and the determination to follow it through. Read, read, read, read, and don't do anything your body tells you is wrong.

Moms... I went vegan, and after three months she said that I was causing her to become a.) broke and b.) sick and tired. So I had to eat properly again as she was the one buying my food and making it (mostly)... Which I'll respect. It's her money, her time, her house.

Now, I'm at university. I live in residence (not sure what it's called outside of South Africa) and I have to eat in the dining hall, which doesn't even recognize veganism as a legit lifestyle choice. And their vegetarian menu is based on the idea that "nothing can go wrong if we use as much pasta, pumpkin, and processed cheese as possible - what are you complaining about, it's vegetarian!".

Well. In December, I am moving into a flat with my boyfriend in preparation for our next academic year at university that starts in February. He is vegetarian, but I have already set plans in place to finally be able to live the life I have chosen instead of what has been prescribed to me by others. Plus, I'll be paying my own way (mostly) and at least 12 hours away from my mom's house. Yay!

Hahahahaha. SAD. That is sad.
 
addictivepersona said:
With that in mind, do you feel fasting is really unnecessary for someone who eats mostly real, whole foods? I mean, the most processed foods I eat (aside from pasta and rice) are cereal (even then it's the stuff in the "health/organic section," not the normal cereal aisle) and hemp milk.
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Think about it: you're not putting anything in your body--in the form of food/drink--that is harmful or negative. (I eat mostly raw; I do indulge in a couple slices of cheese pizza a week, but in the end all that is is flour, yeast, water, tomatoes, spices, and cheese).

If you aren't putting shit in your body, you won't feel like shit, thus removing the need for 'health improving' fasting.

Eating this mostly raw diet, my weight holds steady at a healthy level, leaves me with tons of energy to lift weights, swim, run, and bike, and never leaves me feeling tired, bloated, or sick after I eat.
 
Assassin of Youth said:
True, but I do suggest the proper preparation and the determination to follow it through. Read, read, read, read, and don't do anything your body tells you is wrong.

Moms... I went vegan, and after three months she said that I was causing her to become a.) broke and b.) sick and tired. So I had to eat properly again as she was the one buying my food and making it (mostly)... Which I'll respect. It's her money, her time, her house.

Now, I'm at university. I live in residence (not sure what it's called outside of South Africa) and I have to eat in the dining hall, which doesn't even recognize veganism as a legit lifestyle choice. And their vegetarian menu is based on the idea that "nothing can go wrong if we use as much pasta, pumpkin, and processed cheese as possible - what are you complaining about, it's vegetarian!".

Well. In December, I am moving into a flat with my boyfriend in preparation for our next academic year at university that starts in February. He is vegetarian, but I have already set plans in place to finally be able to live the life I have chosen instead of what has been prescribed to me by others. Plus, I'll be paying my own way (mostly) and at least 12 hours away from my mom's house. Yay!

Hahahahaha. SAD. That is sad.
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Best of luck with eating how you want! It can be tough. My mom has actually noticed her grocery bill is cheaper since I've gone Vegan. (Yeah, she pays for my groceries, but only since I quit my job to go back to school.) And yeah, isn't the "SAD," sad? Lmao. I think it's a very suiting abbreviation.
Changed said:
Think about it: you're not putting anything in your body--in the form of food/drink--that is harmful or negative. (I eat mostly raw; I do indulge in a couple slices of cheese pizza a week, but in the end all that is is flour, yeast, water, tomatoes, spices, and cheese).

If you aren't putting shit in your body, you won't feel like shit, thus removing the need for 'health improving' fasting.

Eating this mostly raw diet, my weight holds steady at a healthy level, leaves me with tons of energy to lift weights, swim, run, and bike, and never leaves me feeling tired, bloated, or sick after I eat.
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But, as I've read in a few posts in here, your body hangs on to toxins in your fat and releases those toxins when you fast. I haven't always been Vegan. I've really only been Vegan for less than a year though I've been trying since last Fall. Have been a Vegetarian since '04 but ate like shit up 'til '08. I was what I'd call a "junk food Vegetarian." Lived off of those processed imitation meats like how most people live off of McDonald's.
 
Zero calorie water fasting is an important method for lowering insulin resistance. It's one of the only ways to diminish a lifetime of insulin resistance buildup.
 
addictivepersona said:
Best of luck with eating how you want! It can be tough. My mom has actually noticed her grocery bill is cheaper since I've gone Vegan. (Yeah, she pays for my groceries, but only since I quit my job to go back to school.) And yeah, isn't the "SAD," sad? Lmao. I think it's a very suiting abbreviation.
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Thank you. My mom was just getting fed up with extras she had to buy for me - soy products, etc. - because the rest of my family still ate normally. She also felt pressured to make my meals, even though I said I would do it. She's one of those people who get angry when they feel guilty. Haha.

Coolio said:
Zero calorie water fasting is an important method for lowering insulin resistance. It's one of the only ways to diminish a lifetime of insulin resistance buildup.
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Sorry, I don't know a thing about insulin and am going to sound really stupid in about 0.39 seconds.

Wait for it...

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!

...I mean, what would it mean for a fairly normal person such as myself to be insulin resistant? Benefits of diminishing this?

...I'm really sorry, but my brain has melted from studying Economics all day and I really don't see myself Googling this.
 
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