My theory is that if I endure this fast, then when I ease into eating again my stomach will have shrunk, thereby feeling full quicker than normal, and reducing caloric/fat intake. At that same time, I'm hoping I can stick to a healthier diet in general.
Hey, if your goal is weight loss, allow me to share a few words. Apart from being a fitness nut, I was studying to become a fitness trainer, so I know a thing or two.
Fasting will almost always result in a reduced fat metabolism (i.e. the rate at which your body burns fat) because the body anticipates that you're not going to feed it, so it holds on to the fat you have tighter than when you feed it normally [1]. So, fasting can actually work against you when it comes to weight loss.
This reduction in metabolism can be countered by exercising while fasting. As you exercise, the body anticipates an increased need for energy, so its metabolism is raised.
So, fasting is good for weight loss only if you do something kind of risky - exercise while fasting, to keep your metabolism up. I say it's risky because you may have dizzy spells if you overexert yourself. However, if you know your body's limits, it is doable (I've done it plenty of times).
In other words,
fasting by itself can actually have the opposite effect when the fast comes to an end - i.e. weight gain (due to the reduced metabolism). Plus, let's face it ... the day you end your fast, you're going to hold the McDonald's employee at gun point, ensuring he brings you your 8 burgers and 3 large fries before serving anyone else. You may lose 2 lbs over your fast, only to gain 8 lbs in the 2 days after the fast. So, it may not be a good long-term strategy to fast like this. Which brings me to the one sentence you least want to hear - there are no easy shortcuts to weight loss that completely circumvent exercise and a significant overhaul of your daily diet.
So, the bottom line is - if weight loss is your end goal, I doubt that fasting like this (without a complementing exercise regimen during and after the fast) is going to help, esp. long term.
Feel free to PM me if you'd like to talk more about it. Feel equally free to ignore me. If you can tell me what kinds of foods you like, I could give you a few simple suggestions to make your diet more healthful while still keeping the foods you like so you don't feel entirely deprived.
Footnote [1] - This makes sense if you think about evolution and survival - this is how our ancestors' survived when they had to wander the forests for days without a meal ... their bodies held on to and used the fat reserves when there was no intake. For them, survival was the main objective, not weight loss, so their bodies were "tuned" for survival. This is the #1 underlying reason why we today have obesity - because the body's natural instinct is to hold on to fat for survival. The body doesn't know that we have a fridge full of food. We have to force it to shed that excess fat by exercising (or by dieting).
