Water fasting

[TinyBubbles]

Anyone done it? I've gone 3 days without eating before and it was surprisingly easy, I wasn't hungry at all. I'm tempted to try for a week. Apparently it's really good for stimulating healing of various minor internal diseases, clearing up toxins, etc.

 

[PintoBean]

Be careful, this isn't healthy. Overhydration can be a danger.

 

[flower]

Nope... But I've wanted to try it someday, also juicing.

 

[Eventhorizon]

I do not knoknow about fasting. But I do know that if you are on a diet where you count calories you can get to a point where you no longer lose weight when you should be. They say...you need to have one day where you ingest a huge amount of calories. ..like an entire large pizza. Apparently your body is tricked into thinking you have access to all this food again and throws caution to the wind and starts burning fat again.

Every month and a half to 2 months..

 

[invisible]

please dont think that i am trying to shut down this discussion, because im not. BUT, my OPINION is:

Spoiler

doing things like this is also really really good for stimulating eating disorderly behaviour. in fact, this IS eating disorderly behaviour.

eat healthy foods regularly and get good exercise. the body is an inherently flawed mechanism and we need to just try to do our best to have a healthy routine.

there is no such thing as a "pure" body. the line between things that are "toxins" and things that are not "toxins" within the body is impossible to define.

an ultra wised up friend once told me: an eating disorder is NOT a holiday. she knew what she was talking!! these are words of deep wisdom!! just dont go there.

be healthy. love your body the way it is. you are perfect the way you are. just think about it.

 

[SpecialEdition]

A water cut is absurd unless you are trying to make weight for a competition that requires you cut a lot of weight in a very short period of time. You can water log your body and cause severe damage to it if you are not exceptionally careful.

I think fasting is natural and is something that people should be doing more of (even if it's just intermittent fasting) but unless you really understand the behind the scenes of what it means to consume a lot of water and not eat, do not do it unless you want to put your health at risk.

 

[myself]

No reason to fear the water fasting! It's natural, one of the best things one can do for themselves.

Just be sure you know how to properly break the fast.

Never come off a fast with dense, cooked, or starchy foods.

I'd recommend watermelon or a veggie broth.

If coming off an extended fast, take extra care to break the fast properly.
Do some research. It's an exciting undertaking I think.

Whatever your reasons for fasting may be, some people just wont get it.

Y'all should know though, properly done, fasting is an excellent means of healing, cleansing, resting, rebooting.

Fasting with Distilled Water is preferable. Research benefits of Distilled Water. (Lots of disinformation out there on DW, so it's kinda tricky to navigate that one.)

Reverse osmosis filtration is the next best thing, but DW is superior IMO. Just be sure to fast with pure water, as best you can.

Chlorine is common in tap water, but can be boiled off. Other chemicals cannot be boiled or filtered off, but steam distillation and a carbon filter will take care of everything.

I'd recommend getting your own distiller. Can find a great megahome distiller on amazon for $200.

 

[invisible]

what precisely is meant by "healing" in this context? is anyone aware of any articles published in peer reviewed clinical medicine industry journals documenting double blind studies of say superior wound healing in water fasting individuals over non fasting individuals? or is this the sort of healing that is sometimes described as "clinically insignificant", "alternative", or "faith-based"?

 

[SpecialEdition]

No reason to fear the water fasting! It's natural, one of the best things one can do for themselves.

Just be sure you know how to properly break the fast.

Never come off a fast with dense, cooked, or starchy foods.

I'd recommend watermelon or a veggie broth.

If coming off an extended fast, take extra care to break the fast properly.
Do some research. It's an exciting undertaking I think.

Whatever your reasons for fasting may be, some people just wont get it.

Y'all should know though, properly done, fasting is an excellent means of healing, cleansing, resting, rebooting.

Fasting with Distilled Water is preferable. Research benefits of Distilled Water. (Lots of disinformation out there on DW, so it's kinda tricky to navigate that one.)

Reverse osmosis filtration is the next best thing, but DW is superior IMO. Just be sure to fast with pure water, as best you can.

Chlorine is common in tap water, but can be boiled off. Other chemicals cannot be boiled or filtered off, but steam distillation and a carbon filter will take care of everything.

I'd recommend getting your own distiller. Can find a great megahome distiller on amazon for $200.

Hi myself,

Agree with you on a lot of aspects of fasting. Maybe people over-do it on the water though and do not understand the correct balance with water, electrolytes, etc. I think fasting is a great tool... It puts the body in ketosis, gets the body more efficient at burning its own fat for fuel, increases mental clarity and helps re-set the body.

However I think people who want to fast need to understand that if they over-do it on water that it could end up not being very good for them. I think it is over-estimated how much water one should drink even when not fasting.

I hate to see people embarking on a fast and then damaging themselves because they're not hydrating appropriately. I think in many cases a really good broth is excellent for fasting. So nutritional!

 

[invisible]

im sorry all, please forgive me. my emotions get the better of me.

 

[SpecialEdition]

im sorry all, please forgive me. my emotions get the better of me.

It's Ok.

The fasted state of the body can be very beneficial for metabolic reasons but if it is not done appropriately and someone oversaturates themselves with water it's bad news bears. Depending on the length of time and how it is managed if the body goes into a sate of ketosis it has very significant metabolic benefits. But a lot of people cannot handle fasting on an emotional level lol. Food feels good.

 

[Solongo]

I think bone broth fasting is better because of the variety of minerals present in the soup. For water fasting; it is better that the water is not only pure ( free of flouride, chemicals and additives) but also full of minerals. Filtered water does not have minerals. Also filtered tap water still contains flouride which calcify the pineal gland and retard the brain's memory centers. I would never do a water fast for more than a few days for hormonal reasons. People should be aware how their thyroid and adrenal glands react to fasting procedures before trying; especially for females of child bearing age where certain hormones are needed from diets and to maintain fertility. Also extremely unhealthy people should start gently as they will have a die off reaction which appears that they are getting more sicker and this can last for a month depending on how bad the diet and lifestyle was.

I am a fan of intermittent fasting and alternating vegetarian meals and not a fan of extreme methods.

There maybe truth to the relation of water and karma clearing because water nourishes the emotional body that connects to the spiritual. But then again it comes to the quality of water being consumed and the awareness of the individual of their karma (which most don't). However; it is suspect that just drinking water is clearing up toxins because our environment is full of toxins we cannot see and continually come in contact with toxins that are hard to detect. I think it is better to promote digestive health through probiotics to strengthen immunity because it will give the body stronger defense and toxin clearing abilities. 90% of immunity is in the gut; once this is running healthy and functional; the body has it's natural protocols to clear up and rid of toxins faster.

if a person is really concerned about drinking quality water to promote one's health; then they need to invest in a reverse osmosis water filtration system that removes flouride and chlorine and everything else that is in our water these days. The person will feel more alert and mentally alive after drinking as pure water as we can humanely get without having to travel to faraway spring valleys. The effects will be evident after 6 months or more of drinking clean water.

 

[j654dgj7]

Here's me carefully choosing my words (for the third time):

Water fasting intermittently
- with great care for your well-being
- for short amounts of time (less than 48 hours)
- by a person that doesn't have/have had mental health/eating disorders in the past

can be heathy!

For 7-8 months I fasted for longer periods of time, for all the wrong reasons. I could go a week without eating, and finally eat a course of dinner.

The problem with fasting in general is that (for some) it can feel like a rush, and give you a sense of having achieved something that's very good for you. It's a quick fix, in that regard. Keep that in check, and don't let it progress like I did! Set healthy goals, and don't feel bad if you back out. It's not that you're doing a bad job, it's your nature telling you to feed it.

After I stopped fasting, I've lost weight, gained so much self-esteem and I have been facing the world more head on.

No matter what you choose to do, please remember to be careful!!

 

[Faye]

I would be too afraid of messing up my sodium ratio. In Africa, I drank tons and tons of water and ate very little much of the time. It was quite miserable because of the dehydration and illness that resulted in spite of drinking so much water.

At the very least, you might want to ration how much water you drink so that you don't overdo it and consider doing a salt hydration packet on the 4th day or something since you wont be getting salt from other sources.

I also don't understand the point of doing a water fast aside from as a spiritual exercise, and if it is spiritual, why not eat bread like the monastics in most major religions do?

 

[drummergirlbk]

I've never tried fasting, even for spiritual reasons. There's only one thing that keeps me from it...I get hungry

 

[Kgal]

@TinyBubbles & @Kgal,

During the August 8-9 weekend, I made the decision that I wanted to fast on Monday the 10th. I was googling more information about fasting and found out that August 10 was a special fasting day called Ekadashi. Here is some information on it:

Ekadashi means the 11th day after the full moon and the 11th day after the new moon. The human physiology goes through a cycle called a mandala, approximately every 40 to 48 days. In this cycle, three specific days, which may be different from person to person and need not come with equal spacing, will arise when the body does not demand food. If you identify those days in your life and not give the body food – because it is not asking – a lot of your health issues will be handled by that simple pattern.

This cycle in the system is something that most people can identify if they take away the nonsense of “so many calories, so much protein and so much mineral should be eaten.” If they listen to the body, these three days can be easily identified by most human beings. So it was told that three times in those 48 days, you should not eat. This was said because somebody observed his own system and from that he expressed this. But then people did not have the awareness so they fixed the Ekadashi for not eating. If you look, there are three Ekadashis in 48 days. It goes well.

The reason is because the planet itself is in a certain state on that day, so if we keep our body light and available, our awareness will turn inward. The possibility of opening the door within is more on that day. If you have a full stomach, and you are unaware and dull, you will not notice it. So to stay alert and also to purify the body, you go without food on that day – you ate dinner the previous day and the next thing you eat is dinner on Ekadashi.

If you are unable to go without food – because your activity levels are such and you do not have the sadhana to support you – you can go on phalahara or fruit diet, which is light on the stomach so that your inner doors will open. Forceful denial of food is not the point. The point is to make everything into a conscious process. We do not want to compulsively eat like this, we choose.

from http://www.ishafoundation.org/blog/yoga-meditation/demystifying-yoga/ekadashi/

You can google Ekadashi and find out more information. Here are the Ekadashi fasting dates for the next few months if you are interested:
• 26 August, Wednesday - Shravana Putrada Ekadashi
• 08 September, Tuesday - Aja Ekadashi
• 24 September, Thursday - Parsva Ekadashi
• 08 October, Thursday - Indira Ekadashi
• 23 October, Friday - Papankusha Ekadashi
• 24 October, Saturday - Vaishnava Papankusha Ekadashi
• 07 November, Saturday - Rama Ekadashi
• 22 November, Sunday - Devutthana Ekadashi
• 07 December, Monday - Utpanna Ekadashi
• 21 December, Monday - Mokshada Ekadashi
• 05 January, Tuesday - Saphala Ekadashi
• 06 January, Wednesday - Vaishnava Saphala Ekadashi
• 20 January, Wednesday - Pausha Putrada Ekadashi
• 04 February, Thursday - Shattila Ekadashi
• 18 February, Thursday - Jaya Ekadashi
• 05 March, Saturday - Vijaya Ekadashi
• 19 March, Saturday - Amalaki Ekadashi
• 03 April, Sunday - Papmochani Ekadashi
• 04 April, Monday - Vaishnava Papmochani Ekadashi
• 17 April, Sunday - Kamada Ekadashi
http://hinduism.about.com/od/festivalsholidays/a/Purnima-Amavasya_Ekadshi-Dates_3.htm

I've noticed after doing this, my dreams are clearer and more memorable. I am not as hungry when I am not fasting because my body feels full so quickly from smaller amounts of food. Also, my mood feels untouchable - things that would have made me upset just a year ago seem to just bounce away.

This is extremely interesting information! I have noticed that on some days my body seems to actually reject the food I put it in it and it just "sits" there. Then maybe days later I'm ravenous and go back to eating. Thank you for tagging me.

 

[Kgal]

If you're bored, here is a pretty informative discussion about intermittent fasting - what the benefits are and some different approaches to it:

Thank you!

 

[PintoBean]

Nope... But I've wanted to try it someday, also juicing.

Not trying to be rude, but for the life of me I cannot understand the appeal of juicing. It removes all the fiber that keeps digestion of roughage normal. Also, it's really a very sugary diet. Albeit not processed foods or complex sugars, but sugary nonetheless. My mother did it for years. It effected her teeth badly and was all consuming and wasteful (it takes a whole case of lettuce to get a glass of lettuce juice, pounds of carrots to get a small amount of juice etc. I like my Vitamix for smoothies (kale with frozen fruit, for example), but the juicing thing just makes no sense to me!

 

[flower]

Not trying to be rude, but for the life of me I cannot understand the appeal of juicing. It removes all the fiber that keeps digestion of roughage normal. Also, it's really a very sugary diet. Albeit not processed foods or complex sugars, but sugary nonetheless. My mother did it for years. It effected her teeth badly and was all consuming and wasteful (it takes a whole case of lettuce to get a glass of lettuce juice, pounds of carrots to get a small amount of juice etc. I like my Vitamix for smoothies (kale with frozen fruit, for example), but the juicing thing just makes no sense to me!

I see your point of view. I don't think that juicing is healthy for a long run. It just seems something which I would want to try nevertheless, though (for one week or so, or one weekend only).

 

[Bellosome]

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