# Fasting



## urbanfarmer (Sep 24, 2003)

What if a person just quits eating, and takes in water only for 2 or more weeks?

Would that destroy their brain cells? Anyone here done this? If you have, did your health improve?


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

I would think that if you give up food for a couple weeks, you run the risk of seriously imbalancing your trace minerals and your general health. You may even find you loose nothing because your body will go into starvation mode and start hanging on to your fat stores. You are far better off to eat healthy, increasing your exercise, walking is fine and although it might take a bit longer, you would be far better off. Most weight loss success stories are the result of behavior modification rather than starvation or brutally restrictive diets.


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## okgoatgal2 (May 28, 2002)

i agree w/wr. i don't think, based on what i know of human physiology that it would be a healthy thing at all to fast for 2 weeks.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

When you do a long fast like that, you are supposed to do NOTHING. You don't go to work, watch kids, watch tv, etc. You do nothing and let your body heal. You also would do it under supervision. You would start by fasting for one day, then two days a few times, then three days, etc. You need to work your way up to it.


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## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

If your going to fast, you should do it for a cleanse, or spiritual reasons in my mind. If you want to cleanse, there are several herbal cleanses that require a fast. I have a pesky galbladder, and the galbladder cleanse requires a 3 day fast on apple juice only. 
So, what I am saying is, sometimes a fast can help your body. study it, know why your doing it and how. If you need to clean out toxins, it can be a good thing. You will feel really really bad the first few days, when your body is trying to dump all the toxins. If you are in the custom of eating a lot of processed or fast food, a fast would be a good idea (if you have studied it up first) and then after the cleaning out of your body, dont go back to the chemical laden foods. (read, stay away from cokes, candies, processed foods, fast foods) Start feeding your body fresh fruits, fresh veggies, organic meats, whole grains, unbleached/processed stuff, closer to natural and organic if possible. Use the processed foods as a last resort. Let a coke or candy be a treat, once every few months. 
You will find out you feel better, the processed stuff will be gross after you get used to natural foods, and as a bonus you do loose weight.
think of it as a detox. 
A small fast won't usually hurt you. I have done many.
The longest I have done is 7 days, and that was for spiritual reasons, it is a whole different ballgame!


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## comfortablynumb (Nov 18, 2003)

fasting to loose weight is very counterproductive.

eat less and exercise more. if you fast with just water for more than a day your blood chemistry begins to go wacky, your metabolism crashes and well....

its just a bad idea.


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## WindowOrMirror (Jan 10, 2005)

fasting is an excellent way to get in touch with God again, to pray, and to remember how much we need Him (more than food). When I fast I use water and juices (along with some vitamins) to keep balance and to purify my body (detox). Three days at a time normally is enough to detoxify and to refocus on Him.

fasting will not - repeat - not help you loose weight unless you do it severly and to your detriment. The body will try to "eat" your muscles before your fat if you shock it with weeks of fasting.

Whoot, you want the same feeling with better effect, eat nothing but salad and juice for a few weeks. You'll maintain balance, lose weight, and feel like you want to east everything that moves. Oh, and your stomach will shrink!

R


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