help!what is the secret??

[lisamarieraw]

well i broke my fast...i can't seem to go more than 2 days (i did 3 once) what is the secret?? i can't imagine doing 100 days. why is this so hard??? i am very frustrated and DEPRESSED today!!! i have been doing this cycle for 2 months or so where i go 2 days then i can't, then i try again, 2 days later i can't...or i juice during the day then i cave at dinner...what am i doing wrong? should i maybe stop trying to fat and just include juice and eat all raw but eat? and when i break my fast i BINGE sometime son raw food sometimes not...but i know this is sooo bad for me. i am not trying to loose weight but i want all of the health benefits from fasting...mental/emotional/spiritual and some superficial like glowing skin/energy/sparkly eyes

[Nubianess]

Hello Lisa,

I know how you feel, ive been there a few times. What I do to motivate me is to make myself a mini chart with a box for each day of my fast and then I cross each day off every morning. You get a sense of acheivement when you see the little crosses lining up.
I also make myself a list of the reasons im fasting, and read that everyday. sort of like a misson statement. Also reading about other people's fasts helps me stay on track.

Willpower alone will not get you there, you have to dig deeper,, Give yourself a strong enough REASon WHY you are fasting. Releasing negative experiences and behaviours are usually a good enough reasons. Im sure we all have a belief or behaviour we want to release. Its also a good way of connecting with your inner self, so that could be a motivation especialy if you have some big decisons to make or you feel like you are stuck in a rut.

Another thing. Never give up. Pat yourself on the back, 2 days is better than no days!
Its self critisism that causes you to binge, also if you have a tendency to binge before fastng, fasting could make this worse, so make sure that you dont have trigger foods around if thats a problem for you.

Be nice to yourself and build up slowly. MAybe 2 days is where you are at now. The trick ive found is that If i can survive the first 3-4 days, my appetite completely dissapears, You could eat in front of me and I wont feel hungry or like I want to eat.
Next time aim for 3 or 4 days. then work up to 7 days and then 10 days. Thats what Ive done. My first fast was a 3 day water one, then 5 days, then 7 days, then 10.
Having a fasting buddy or telling someone else you are fasting helps, because You feel accountable to them in a way.
Good luck! Feel free to chat to me anytime:) xxx

[freelive]

Exactly! Maybe your body wants to do just 2 days at the time. For me it is usually 7 days. My mind wants to do longer fasts, but on the seventh day I start craving foods, so that is how long is enough for now. If I try to push and go longer, than I have hard time breaking fast sensibly.
Love yourself!

[EZ rider]

Will power alone will not get you there, you have to dig deeper.
I totally agree with this. You need a measure of control but its got to be based on a reason to do it.



Its self critisism that causes you to binge.
My experience has been that its physical. Once you open the door to eating again then it gets hard to control it and a binge results. Its like starting to cry. Once the tears start its hard to shut them off until they are all flowed out.

[margoss]

I don't think I could do 30 days...agree with pp. Decide to do 2 days, if you feel up to the next, do it. This way there's no pressure on you. When I water fast, I can't go any place..to tempting & I know it. When the 24 hrs are up, I'm ready to eat...counting down & have my food ready.
We're each different. Some days & weeks are better than others.

[rawrawks]

Give up saying its hard. Depressed and frustrated and disappear the word CANT....thats a stop word for sure.

I can fast and I will be successful. It is easy to give my body a break with fasting.

[lisamarieraw]

thanks so much for all your replies...
I think making a chart would be a great idea...but maybe for me I will have 3 categories each day for like morning/afternoon/night to help me celebrate and feel successful for each small accomplishment. I also want to log what kind of juice I have specifically as I feel like that may reinforce my doing this. A list is also a great idea!! I was reading this book, Staying Healthy with Nutrition, that has a good chapter on fasting and all of the immense benefits. I was planning on writing a list of all the benefits from this book....and add my own personal reasons. maybe I'll keep this list with me and on the fridge and promise myself I will at least read it through before I break my fast. And nubianness you are so so so right about criticism being the cause of binging. I am working on being more gentle with myself.

I think that affirmation is GREAT. As soon as I said it aloud I felt like I can do this. I felt even as if it was silly to believe I couldn't do this. I can fast and I will be successful. It is easy to give my body a break with fasting. It IS easy to give my body a break with fasting. I am going to write that affirmation on my list of reasons to carry around with me.

Something that helped me go from 1 day (even getting to a full day was hard at first---I would just juice during the day for a while) to 2 days and then to 3 was writing in my daily food/exercise log at the beginning of the day FASTING TODAY Day 2. It was like I was creating that before my day even really began. I guess also reminding myself that getting to 3 days was a series of attempts. And I did get to 3 days when I thought that was not at all feasible.

Ok I am going to apply this great info and let's see if I can go longer than my last record of 3 days. I am going to intend to do 4 day in from of you all. Thank you all; I feel blessed to have your support and I can feel that I do.

I can fast and I will be successful. It is easy to give my body a break with fasting.

[spicyfull]

Sure you can do 1 or 2 days.........but it take at least 3 or 4 days for your Body to make the adjustments to the New Regiment. Start your Fast on Days when you are Free from Worry, a Peaceful enviorment, have all the product, Water or Juice which you will need.

For instance, if you are working and you have a Friday Holiday, I would Fast Thursday, while working........Friday you're off for the Holiday and then you have Saturday and Sunday. Come Monday you can return to work and be able to handle Fast.

So, if you desire, keep trying and YOU WILL SUCCEED.
READ and READ and then READ it again...ALL you can about FASTING and RAW.

[lisamarieraw]

SPICYFULL! Your post just really put me in a good mood… I think seeing "keep trying and YOU WILL SUCCEED" written like that was just what I needed. I HAVE been feeling like a failure but as Nubianess said berating myself does derail me totally and lead to binge eating. I had read something in a deepak chopra book referring to this exactly. It just came out in my mind miraculously. He describes an artist working on a masterpiece. He goes on to say in order to get the end masterpiece result it will take that artist many sketches. Does she/he consider each sketch a failure?? Of course not! Without each sketch the masterpiece would never be. This really resonated with me at the time and is again.. This is obviously something I need to implement in my thinking. So I am grateful for each fasting sketch! What a difference in my mindset from what I posted a few minutes ago. Thoughts are so powerful. Thanks again

[streetsurfer]

I used quickfasting.com to educate myself. Although I had the basics of fasting and had done several 1,2, and 3 day fasts before, what I learned therein, really made my last four day fast a breeze. The things I learned that helped me most, were what to eat prior to and after the fast to help avoid complications.

I imagine that it is harder on a juice fast than a water fast. You aren't allowing your digestive system to shut down fully on juice, although it is taking a huge load off your digestive system. Maybe try a water fast to see what it is like to get past that hump where your stomach no longer desires food (betwen the two and five day mark, IIRC).
There's no hurry for you to get past the couple days. Take your time and treasure the progress you make with each fast, no matter how long they are.

[lisamarieraw]

Take your time and treasure the progress you make with each fast, no matter how long they are.[/QUOTE]


take my time and treasure the progress made with each fast, no matter ho wlong they are. this is key for me. thank you

[Aleesha Sattva]

for me, when i fast... i find posting here really assists me. i also surround myself with whatever i need to fast. i have books, the bathtub nice and clean and ready for me, a meditation space... when others are eating i go for a walk, do some rebounding, go into the tub and meditate... whatever i need to do to get out of the 'eating atmosphere'.

when i want to break my fast i ask myself if i really want to break it just to have to go through day one and two again... or do i want to continue. most times i really do want to continue and so i do... i simply force myself to do it. i don't allow myself to eat.

cause really fasting or 80 days or 5 days is pretty much the same... you have to want to do it, you have to want to do it... you really do have to want to do it. cause if you don't want it... you won't bother.

(((hugs))) an affirmation on your bathroom mirror is nice as well!