Fasting 101 Please

[Teraw]

I keep reading about the new fasting challenges, but I would like to know about the actual benefits. What is it like, how do you feel (during and after), and is it necessary. I am 100% raw. Maybe I still need to clean! Tell me your preference fruit juice, greens, or water. Are these better than the master cleanse? I tried that once and couldn't stomach the salt water flush. I was SAD then 2, so IDK!

[oai]

There are various free fasting e-books on soilandhealth.org you may be interested in, & I highly recommend for reading while fasting. :) Also, freedomyoufasting.com is the first site i went to for basic 411 & motivation. :D

As for my own experience, I've done MC, juice fasting & water fasting, in that order. :p My personal preference is the water fast.

MC fast -- I felt too deprived. I felt sick after the salt water flush. I also felt it was too expensive for the misery I was experiencing, hehe.

Juice fasting -- It was okay. I didn't have to cook or uncook which is always a plus. ;) I did feel like it took way too many fruits to get one descent cup out. I was crying over the loss fiber. XD

Water fasting -- I'm bias. I love it. I would have way too many good things to say about it.

Here's my experience from both my 2-14 days water fast. Yes. I did it 2x and am now on my 3rd, b/c i tweak a lot... besides just drinking water is... i tweak with things like exercise, work load, etc... while fasting. T

Water fast #1: I walked at least 2 miles a day. I socialized a lot. I think my crush might've dumped me, lol. I went to school, studied, worked & teached. There were a few days, maybe 2-3, I had to sit down, b/c I felt low in energy. After the fast, everything tasted so good! I lost 20 lbs. I felt good, but damn, since everything tasted so good, I raw veganed it out like a pig, hehe.

Water fast #2: I didn't work. I didn't move. There were a lot problems w/ fam. As compared to first fast, I got along w/ the fam. W/ this one, there was a lot of stress w/ fam. Most of the days... I couldn't move. I moved for maybe the first 2-3 days, & the rest... I could move 1/4 a block. The fast was that intense, b/c I was resting this time around. I also errr... expelled some kind of critter in the toilet with a head, legs... the whole shabang, hm... very scary. After the fast, again, everything tasted good! I usually don't like watermelon juice or smoothie, but wholy molly, it tasted good! The only thing is i would get full with just a smoothie of 1 fruit for a couple of hours, & that continues until now.

So much to say! That is my experience so far. Soilandhealth along with freedomyoufasting have so much info. Also, there' the fasting thread, & everyone shares their personal experiences there.

[RawHeaven]

So hey Oai, do you think you fared better on your water fast when your exercised or the one where you rested? I plan on resting more this time around and conserving my energy for the detox etc. LOL at the critter in the bowl.

[RawHeaven]

I keep reading about the new fasting challenges, but I would like to know about the actual benefits. What is it like, how do you feel (during and after), and is it necessary. I am 100% raw. Maybe I still need to clean! Tell me your preference fruit juice, greens, or water. Are these better than the master cleanse? I tried that once and couldn't stomach the salt water flush. I was SAD then 2, so IDK!

I would say first, read all you can about fasting. Here is some helpful info to get your started. Dr Herbert Shelton did a lot of work with fasting - interesting info.

http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/020127shelton.III/020127.toc.htm


The benefits for me have been tremendous.

I started with the master cleanse in spring 2007 after having never fasted before in my life. I was 40-50 lbs overweight and was dealing with a number of health issues related to my leg. I did a 30 day cleanse and released most of the weight and started eating raw foods.

I completed 4-5 MCs I believe and got cleaner each time. I ate raw foods in between cleanses.

It has been a 20 year process for me. Eliminating certain foods & lifestyle habits, replacing others, moving from SAD to vegetarian to vegan to raw vegan etc. Same thing with fasting - it's a progressive journey. Cleansing to juice feasting to juice fasting to water fasting. I know without a doubt if I attempted to water fast 20 years ago or even 2 years ago I wouldn't haven't been able to do it. I would've probably gorged on food after 24 hours because of how toxic my body and organs were at the time. Now I really enjoy water fasting. Not just for the physical benefits but it also clears my mind and raises my energy vibration.

I would say you're probably right on with your intuitive feelings about how to proceed. I would start with short juice fasts and work my way up if I were you. Eat 100% raw foods and alternate with juicing. When you become cleaner, try to go for extended fasts. You can also just dive right in and start with a 10-21 day juice fast or feast and see how you feel. But I think you answered your own question my dear. Start slow. This is just my opinion. Please listen to your body too!

[RawHeaven]

Teraw, remember that breaking the fast is the most important aspect of fasting which I why I suggested reading up on fasting before actually beginning one. It's good to know what to expect and to be able to read your body - when it's ready to stop etc.

[oai]

So hey Oai, do you think you fared better on your water fast when your exercised or the one where you rested? I plan on resting more this time around and conserving my energy for the detox etc. LOL at the critter in the bowl.

it depends on what ya mean by faring better. :) i would prefer the rest with no exercise, b/c the detox is so intense. it's seriously deep clean! the down side is i felt that my body took most of my energy for the cleansing. i slept all day like a baby! :eek: well, minus the eating but also included the screaming & crying... seriously. :rolleyes:

[RawHeaven]

Oh I meant which one did you receive the best results with or resonated with you. You answered my question. Thank you! :)

[oai]

oh ok. you're welcome. :) i find my body cleansed the most while i was resting. it may have cleansed more, if i didn't have family issues as well. i'll have to experiment with that one. i felt the cleanse wasn't intense during my 1st fast, b/c i was on the move all the time. it seems to me that my body used whatever energy it had to provide for my activities instead of cleansing. so maybe it even backfires... water fasting while active. :confused:

[Teraw]

Wow! I love this little society of Rawbies. You guys are so cool and helpful. I haven't read any of the suggestions get, and I already feel inspired. 2morrow I have to get new tires put on my car, so I'm gng 2 print out some info to read. Thanks again!

[Raine]

I'm entering Day 3 of my water fast.

I did several 3-5 day juice fasts with good results. I felt compelled to try a 30-day juice fast because I had read such amazing things about them. WOW! I definitely recommend that.

I have recently felt inspired to try water fasting. My first one lasted 8 days and I was quite lethargic.

The second one was 9 days and I broke it because I had to go to a shoot and needed energy. The second fast was much easier, had good energy, decent sleep, etc. I lost 19 pounds on that fast and kept them off due to refeeding properly.

This fast so far I am feeling neutral in energy, calm, peaceful, grounded. Today was the first time I had some hunger rumblings but I drank water and all was good.

My goal is to alternate between water and juice until the end of the year as there are certain health/weight goals I wish to have addressed once and for all.

[Ilse W.]

Oai,
Thanks for the links to the Australian library site. What a fantastic resource. I'm in the middle of a book. I'm having so much trouble with my eyesight right now, and I appreciate being able to just click the font size up until I can read it without glasses. Of course, it's your fault that nothing will get done around the house for a while :D

[oai]

i will gladly take the blame! ;) yes. it is my fault should the fam. ask, hehe. the best motivational fasting e-book i've read on there so far is "Rational Fasting" by Arnold Ehret. i just find it amazing that books on even raw foods were written at least 50 yrs. ago warning about the dangers of cooked food, & yet there are still a lot of SAD'ers!

since i can't completely rest like on my 2nd fast, i think 36 hrs fast every week and complete rest during that time would be great. i have yet to experiment w/ that though.:) and if one must be active, per my experience, it may be best to go on a juice fast instead of water. so the body can use the nutrients to either cleanse or use it towards our activities. while on water, also per my experience, any energy the body has seems to be conserved for activity and not much is attributed towards cleansing like when one is resting.

[Aleesha Sattva]

i haven't done a m/c... just not interested in it to be honest (at this time at least... never know what tomorrow will bring)

i've done juice fasts, juice feasts, water fasts and green smoothie feasts. which one is best? well they were all perfect and right for that time in my life. each one is suited for different needs.

juice feasting is great for giving you lots of energy to get stuff done while detoxing as you are taking in one gallon of juice and one gallon of water per day. i did a 45 day juice feast.

juice fasting is a nice alternative... less juice consumed (which i personally resonated with stronger than the juice feast) - my last juice feast was 12 weeks. i grew as a person tremendously during this time... i'm not the same person i was when i began that's for sure.

water fasting... hated the first one i did... detox was so severe and my iron levels were low... so major lethargy... the second one i completed recently was 15 days and it was great. i had as much energy as i did while juice fasting... i was very surprised.

green smoothie fasting/feasting... is a great healthy assistant as well. released lots of weight (about a pound a day) and you are so full all the time - i loved it. i did 20 days of green smoothie fasting. my hubby especially loves to do these ones. he doesn't fast otherwise.

so to say one is better isn't really right... they all have their purpose, it's up to what you body needs, how much detoxing you have to do. if you have a lot of detoxing, i recommend starting with something that'll detox slower... no need feeling like crap - especially when there are ways of releasing those toxins so you don't feel as bad. of course if you want to just dive in and have the 'most bang for your buck' experience... water fasting is the most intense fast you'll do, that's for sure.

hope this helps.
:D
Aleesha

[freshlight]

Hey Aleesha,
woa........15days on water? wonderful! What an amazing experience! Did you notice any spiritual changes? My longest water fast took 10 days and it was the most beautiful experience ever. Take care, Eva

[Aleesha Sattva]

well i did the 15 days of water during a 12 week fast... so yes i noticed a LOT of spiritual changes. i am not the same person who began that fast... that is for sure. if you are looking for specifics... go and read my blog. it's allll there!

http://aleeshasrawlife.blogspot.com/

[freshlight]

thanks so much. I definitely will :)