Water Fasting

[NanoSour]

Taking a page out of Imoldnu's playbook, I thought I throw this topic of discussion out there.

Seems one of the more recent health trends is water fasting. I've been doing quite a bit of research on the benefits/risks of water fasting and it seems the scale falls on the side of pretty significant benefits. Don't want to bombard you with too much information, but here are a couple of good videos on the subject.

Eat, Fast & Live Longer HD - Video Dailymotion

After watching these, I decided I would give this a shot. I'm a 50 year old ER and in relatively good health. Pretty similar to the host of the second video with pretty much the same concerns. I'm currently on day 2 of my fast and will try to make it to 4 days. I will say that day one was not difficult at all; however, in preparation for my fast I weened myself off of coffee and carbs for 4 days prior. My only symptoms 36 hours in are a couple of periodically occurring, very minor head aches and a dry tongue. Surprisingly no hunger pains are big cravings. I even sat at the family dinner table last night after not eating for 24 hours. I will say the cinnamon chicken smelled delicious. But I'm an oak.

At this point, I'm not sure how long I'll continue the fast, but I'll keep you posted. Wish me luck.


Nano

 

[David1961]

Thanks for the post and I look forward to reading your updates.
I did a juice fast about 10 years ago (I was about 43). I actually found the first day to be the most difficult - it was very tough getting through that day and going to bed hungry, but the next day was much easier. I lasted 2.5 days and was amazed that I was not near as hungry as I thought. Really did not eat much when the fast ended.
Please keep us posted.

 

[athena53]

I've been doing my own version of 5:2 fasting for years. Two days a week I restrict my calories to about 1,000 per day. That's pretty much all the fruits and vegetables I want, meals of salad or stir-fried vegetables in broth or a light sauce with a few noodles, and a dish of plain Greek yogurt with honey (I add my own) at night. I also have a glass of wine.

Most people who do 5:2 fasting stick to 500 calories on those 2 days but I work out every day and want to keep up my energy levels. I'm also happy with my weight so I don't need to cut way back.

You'd think that on the other days I'd pig out but I don't. I get used to mild hunger pangs, and to snacking on fruits and vegetables, so it's changed my eating habits the other 5 days, too.

I prefer this to more drastic forms of fasting that are unsustainable.

 

[sailor]

Last year I decided to try fasting and I did not eat for about 40 hours.
After first few hours I did not even feel hunger.
What surprised me the most was great mental clarity, which unfortunately I used for work
I tried to repeat this few times with shorter fast periods, but never really got it again - so maybe it was a coincidence.
This tread makes me want to do it again - fasting sounds like a really good idea after raiding kids Halloween candy stashes

 

[razztazz]

I must admit I didn't watch the whole video. Turned me off at "S.O.S." and "Vegan". That aside though, I know there is a benefit to regular/recurring fasting. My normal daily calorie intake is something like 1100-1200 calories. The only time I get close to 1500 is on days (maybe 4 or 5 per month) when I go off Low-carbing and treat myself to something with noodles. Do I even need to worry about fasting? Seems like I am on a no sugar, low salt, and very low fat diet nearly 100% of the time anyway.

Last month I had a colonoscopy. The part I was dreading the most, even more than the purging and the possibility of pulling a Joan Rivers during the procedure, was the fasting and hunger. I was surprised that even when I was very hungry it was not all that difficult to avoid food. I noticed while walking to my car maybe 2 days before the procedure that while I was saying in my head: "Boy I sure am hungry" I also noticed a spring in my step and what I'll call an "energy vibe" that I would not have suspected one would have while "starving".

Just a few days ago there was an article (can't recall where I saw it. Yahoo news.. maybe you saw it too?) that said a regular (it recommended once per week) 16-20 hour fast was good for a whole lot of things e.g. cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, blood sugar, HGH etc. I almost always do that anyway. Early dinner ~4:00pm, Breakfast 9:00-10:00 am next day. So, I don't know where I place on the spectrum of fasting benefits. Seems to me anything more than 48 hours would be unmanageable and eventually deleterious. Not to mention most people can't handle that on a weekly basis.

I am thinking of one day per week upping my current 16--18 hour fast by adding on a few more hours and calling it 24 hours. That doesn't seem undoable since I'm already 75% there anyway.

 

[CoolChange]

The last time I paid much attention to the subject of fasting, intermittent fasting seemed to show some, but not all, of the benefits of calorie restriction. At the time, I could not find any decent studies that examined the effects of combing these approaches.

It has taken me almost five years to reduce my daily calorie consumption from around 2,400 to under 1,700 (intentionally taking it very slowly). Once I find my daily caloric floor, I may add in one day per week of fasting and see if it makes any impact.

 

[Elbata]

I've done a few fasts. 10 day and 14 day being my longest.

I would consider this place the best place to fast in the country: TrueNorth Health Center

Excellent articles at the above website, I'm assuming you've already found this place. Also Dr Fuhrman's book Fasting and Eating For Heath was my babysitter when I did my first fast of 10 days. Can probably get from local library.

(Just went to watch your posted video. Yes, you definitely know about the True North Health Center.)

 

[sengsational]

Its too bad that the science of nutrition gets confounded by the political agenda of vegetarianism so often.

I kept skipping ahead in the first video until I heard about this guy's water fasting material 30:30 or so. Whenever someone has claims that a process will solve a dozen problems that humanity has been wrestling for a long time, the words "snake oil" pop into my head. It sounded like they charge you a lot of money to lock you up with only water, and you're so damn hungry that you lie about the symptoms that got you there just to get out and have a burger :-D

 

[Elbata]

Wellness Forum Corporate - Columbus Ohio - Dr. Pam Popper Biography I know that this lady stays there when in town. She finds 3 squares and a room is cheaper than staying in a regular hotel.

Though you might know something I don't being you've been there and researched it yourself.

 

[iac1003]

I have done 2 longer juice fasts - 1 for 5 days and 1 for 7 days. And a few smaller 1-3 day ones. Not really hungry.

Water fasting under supervision is supposed to be quite healthy. I haven't done it yet on a regular basis but maybe I will try 1 day a week after I retire from w*rk.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Lakewood90712]

IMO , anything less than 1,000 cal. a day can damage your body.

The body goes into survival mode, and IIRC ,fat is not the first thing it starts attacking.

Just my opinion.

Maybe one of the M.D.'s or R.N.'s can chime in. ?

Calling Dr. Rich in Tampa

 

[6miths]

Its too bad that the science of nutrition gets confounded by the political agenda of vegetarianism so often.

I kept skipping ahead in the first video until I heard about this guy's water fasting material 30:30 or so. Whenever someone has claims that a process will solve a dozen problems that humanity has been wrestling for a long time, the words "snake oil" pop into my head. It sounded like they charge you a lot of money to lock you up with only water, and you're so damn hungry that you lie about the symptoms that got you there just to get out and have a burger :-D

Made me laugh!

 

[NanoSour]

So I made it all the way through day 2, but at the end I decided to break the fast. 47 hours total with nothing but tap water! I never got hungry but I did start to have significant cravings for food that kicked in at around 42 hours; specifically cereal and lobster. Five hours of cravings did me in and I had dinner with the family.

I felt quite good throughout the entire fast with only a minor headache from time to time. Now that it's over my prevailing thought is that I wish I had continued for another day.

Did a lot of research on the "Fast Diet", or 5/2 diet and I think it is something I will try over the next couple of months. In this "lifestyle" I will restrict myself to 600 calories two days a week, and eat my normal diet on the other 5 days. They say I can eat whatever I want on those days, but I'm sure you can't go crazy with junk food.

For those who like numbers, I started last Thursday at 168.8 lbs and weighed in this morning at 162.4. That's 4 days on about 20 grams of carbs/day and a 2 day water fast.

The journey continues.

Nano