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Have you ever fasted before?

Loves2spoon

Loves2spoon

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 3, 2010
1,081
34
California
I thought I would try it the other day and I made it 26 hours without food. Just drank about 2.5 liters of water. I was reading about the health benefits of a water fast to help detox your system. Are there any negatives besides being hungry? lol

I'm healthy and eat 6 small meals a day, workout 6 days a week but I just eat the wrong foods sometimes and want a fresh start.

Should I take a multivitamin while fasting for 24-48 hours? I usually drink 3.5 liters of water a day, during a fast is that enough, or too little?

Any input you guys have would be wonderful. Thanks
 
I've gone longer than that without thinking, it really starts to make your mind deteriorate due to a lack of blood sugars after a while.
 
Fasting diets to "detox" your system are fads. If you want a fresh start, just stop eating the junk food and only eat the healthy stuff. Over a couple days, your body will naturally purge the "toxins", but you won't be experiencing the highs and lows of low blood sugar or loss of caloric intake followed by the spike of when you start eating.

i have seen too many people I know who try these diets and feel like crap during their fast. Interesting thing is, they repeat these things every few months.

In short, just change what you eat and let your body do the rest.
 
I dropped down to 1 small meal a day last week just because I was so busy, whilst it wasn't fasting it really affected my mental performance. I was listening to a podcast about cults, it mentioned how some cults are run in a totalitarian regime and it got me thinking "so you're not allowed to drink alcohol in a cult?".

Dropped everything and went to a restaurant :eek:.
I got too sluggish, physically and mentally. I was uninspired and started to lose motivation.

Food is brilliant. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
 
Roric said:
Fasting diets to "detox" your system are fads. If you want a fresh start, just stop eating the junk food and only eat the healthy stuff. Over a couple days, your body will naturally purge the "toxins", but you won't be experiencing the highs and lows of low blood sugar or loss of caloric intake followed by the spike of when you start eating.

i have seen too many people I know who try these diets and feel like crap during their fast. Interesting thing is, they repeat these things every few months.

In short, just change what you eat and let your body do the rest.
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This. Fresh fruits & vegetables, unprocessed lean meat, fish, carbohydrates (whole grain when available). Balanced portions, regular meals. Way better than a fad 'detox' that does nothing and makes you feel like crap.
 
I once fasted for 3 days, just for the kicks. After those 3 days, I was extremely weak and tired. I wouldn't recommend it.
 
I was reading about the health benefits of a water fast to help detox your system. Are there any negatives besides being hungry? lol
Click to expand...

Then you were reading an opinion piece without any medical/scientific validity.
 
Mord said:
I've gone longer than that without thinking, it really starts to make your mind deteriorate due to a lack of blood sugars after a while.
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Agreed. I have gone about 2 days with out food, and toward the end my brain was mush.
 
Yep, every year for one month I fast from sunrise to sunset. It's called ramadan :) And were in it right now. About 9 or 10 days left.
 
Nabooly said:
Yep, every year for one month I fast from sunrise to sunset. It's called ramadan :) And were in it right now. About 9 or 10 days left.
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A fast in your terms, perhaps.

From Wiki:

In a medical context, fasting may refer to (1) the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight, and (2) to the metabolic state achieved after complete digestion and absorption of a meal.

Several metabolic adjustments occur during fasting, and many medical diagnostic tests are standardized for fasting conditions.

For most ordinary diagnostic purposes a person is assumed to be fasting after 8–12 hours. Many of the metabolic shifts of fasting begin as absorption of a meal is complete (typically 3–5 hours after a meal); "post-absorptive state" is synonymous with this usage, in contrast to the "post-prandial" state of ongoing digestion.

A diagnostic fast refers to prolonged fasting (from 8–72 hours depending on age) conducted under medical observation for investigation of a problem, usually hypoglycemia.

Finally, extended fasting has been recommended as therapy for various conditions by physicians of most cultures, throughout history, from ancient to modern.
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I can see why someone would do it, either for religious reasons or not, but personally I've never done it.
 
When I was about 8 years old, I had a sore throat so bad I wouldn't eat (it hurt to swallow). After about 2 days, I collapsed while out shopping with family - just fell right down on the sidewalk. They took me to Hardee's where I scarfed a burger and fries - food never tasted so good.
 
If you want to lose weight or something like that, make it a lifestyle change. These temporary diets are extremely unhealthy. Food contains nutrients that are crucial for your body to keep going. Healthy people eat quite much, but healthy stuff.

Your car won't go far without fuel, will it? :rolleyes:

Also, people often eat A LOT after the fast so going from another extreme to another is even more dangerous. If you don't have a reason for your fast (e.g. lack of time or other reasonable excuse), I wouldn't do it. Come on, you only live once. Food is one of the best enjoyments of life :p
 
My ex boyfriend of 4 years was Muslim and I did it twice with him for support. It was good - I felt so healthy afterwards. But it restricted me working-out during the day due to the fact I couldn't have any water or anything to cool me down.
 
Hellhammer said:
If you want to lose weight or something like that, make it a lifestyle change. These temporary diets are extremely unhealthy. Food contains nutrients that are crucial for your body to keep going. Healthy people eat quite much, but healthy stuff.

Your car won't go far without fuel, will it? :rolleyes:

Also, people often eat A LOT after the fast so going from another extreme to another is even more dangerous. If you don't have a reason for your fast (e.g. lack of time or other reasonable excuse), I wouldn't do it. Come on, you only live once. Food is one of the best enjoyments of life :p
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I completely agree Hellhammer, but I guess if people want to do it they'll do it.
 
Roric said:
Fasting diets to "detox" your system are fads. If you want a fresh start, just stop eating the junk food and only eat the healthy stuff. Over a couple days, your body will naturally purge the "toxins", but you won't be experiencing the highs and lows of low blood sugar or loss of caloric intake followed by the spike of when you start eating.

i have seen too many people I know who try these diets and feel like crap during their fast. Interesting thing is, they repeat these things every few months.

In short, just change what you eat and let your body do the rest.
Click to expand...

Thanks for saying that. If you want to detox, just quit eating crappy foods. Focus on raw foods, fruits and veggies etc.
 
I was once a youth leader for a youth group doing the 30 Hour Famine. Sadly, I couldn't quite do it -- I had to sneak into the leaders-only break room for a granola bar and other small snack items. Even though the kids were fasting from food, they were still encouraged to drink water and fruit juice.

The kids had a big sleepover in the local church and watched movies and played games, so it didn't feel like a big onerous thing. The organizer of the event had a bit of an ironic streak, though -- the following day (about hour 24 into the fast) she had the youth do a community service project -- by assembling a bunch of bag lunches and then bringing them downtown to feed the homeless people.

Also, the other day, I had a 9:00am dentist appointment to fill in two cavities. Normally when I do early morning dentist appointments (usually just for cleanings), I skip breakfast and eat after it's over. Unfortunately these cavities were large, and between the freezing and the fillings, I was left in great pain... I couldn't eat a thing until dinner time. So I guess that counts as an almost 24-hour fast.
 
Fasting to detox your system is equivalent to not filling up your car to clean the fuel system. It just doesn't make a lick of sense.
 
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