Can I fast?

[Lilly2010]

I'm 5'7" and 125 lbs, im skinny so i wanna make sure im safe when i fast. I wanna fast for 2-3 weeks until my acne scars are gone. I read how alot of people noticed acne scars going away after 14 days. I'm going to be water fasting, but if i'm skinny is it going to be bad for my health?
:confused:

[sport]

Have you fasted before.
I think that 2 to 3 weeks is too long to water fast for a beginner.

[michigan roman]

i dont know , i only fast by info ive read and have no medical schooling

but raw greatly improved my skin in about a year and im way older than
you so itll be faster for you

and even juice fasting is going to help , it doesnt have to be all water

and ive done around 25 fasts past 5 years and imo one fast isnt
going to be a miracle , itll take a healthy raw diet long term . along
with fasts thrown in not just to help flush out pollution but to also
help one with appetite control

and heres an md into fasting , ive read his opinions for several years
and see him as a solid thinker and totally legit healer that has a
passion for his work . links :

heres his facebook :http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Ben-Kim/172806806738

heres a article on juicing by him :



http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdrbenkim.com%2Fjuicing-health.htm&h=a54036XlEOXZN4S8za6gtu4t_nQ

[Stella Green]

I would not water fast for that long. Your skin needs nutrients!!

Juice fasting is great way to go. If you've never done it before, try a couple days first, then see how that goes before you go the whole two weeks.

Also, don't get discouraged!! When you fast, it's normal to detox, and when you detox sometimes you break out (I know from experience). Just stick with it and after the detoxing your skin will clear up and have that awesome glow.

[fastfreedom]

I haven't water fasted before other than a day or so here and there un-intentionally. And I'm not a regular faster. This is only my second fast. But I've been reading for about 10 months learning what I can.

I'm currently juice fasting and I have thrown in a day of water fasting in there somewhere. And I'm skinny. At first when I began learning I was afraid of it not being too healthy cus I don't have lots of fat, but I am definatley harvesting the benefits of a juice fast. And toxins and the little bit of fat I had is definately being removed from my body. Not to mention the benefit to all the organs from getting rest and the tons of nourishment from all the juice I've been drinking.

I would suggest you don't set out a time period and try to stick to it. My suggestion, IMO, is to let your body tell you when to break your fast if you plan on going as long as you can to become as clean as possible on your first fast. Basically I'm trying to say, if you fast for 8-9 days and your body moves out of a state of fasting and begins to move into a mode of starvation....end your fast instead of trying to stick out another week. Fasting is healthy....starvation is destructive.

A couple indicators I know about that idicate the difference between fasting and starvation are to watch your tongue and to wait until you feel true hunger. Both can be googled.

But the tongue color and true hunger are said to appear together. It's rare that one appears before the other but never the less it can still happen. With your tongue just wait until it turns pink. Just keep an eye on it and you'll see what I mean. Right now my tongue is covered in a fuzzy coating that will change colors as different toxins are removed. Typically it looks like a white fuzzy coating. Last night as I was shining a light on it it appeared to have a greenish color to it.:p

It's said that the fuzzy coating indicates the body is removing toxins. And when there are no more toxins for the body to consume and remove then the tongue will become totally pink. And that's when you end your fast if you haven't done so already. Otherwise if you try to keep going just to say, "I fasted for x days", then it could be detrimental to your health.

There's nothing wrong with easing into fasting either. My first fast I did the master cleanse and went 11 days. I still had a fuzzy coated tongue when I ended the fast. Then of course I fell back into eating whatever there was to eat.:rolleyes: And now I'm fasting again some 4 months later.:D

[Lilly2010]

I haven't water fasted before other than a day or so here and there un-intentionally. And I'm not a regular faster. This is only my second fast. But I've been reading for about 10 months learning what I can.

I'm currently juice fasting and I have thrown in a day of water fasting in there somewhere. And I'm skinny. At first when I began learning I was afraid of it not being too healthy cus I don't have lots of fat, but I am definatley harvesting the benefits of a juice fast. And toxins and the little bit of fat I had is definately being removed from my body. Not to mention the benefit to all the organs from getting rest and the tons of nourishment from all the juice I've been drinking.

I would suggest you don't set out a time period and try to stick to it. My suggestion, IMO, is to let your body tell you when to break your fast if you plan on going as long as you can to become as clean as possible on your first fast. Basically I'm trying to say, if you fast for 8-9 days and your body moves out of a state of fasting and begins to move into a mode of starvation....end your fast instead of trying to stick out another week. Fasting is healthy....starvation is destructive.

A couple indicators I know about that idicate the difference between fasting and starvation are to watch your tongue and to wait until you feel true hunger. Both can be googled.

But the tongue color and true hunger are said to appear together. It's rare that one appears before the other but never the less it can still happen. With your tongue just wait until it turns pink. Just keep an eye on it and you'll see what I mean. Right now my tongue is covered in a fuzzy coating that will change colors as different toxins are removed. Typically it looks like a white fuzzy coating. Last night as I was shining a light on it it appeared to have a greenish color to it.:p

It's said that the fuzzy coating indicates the body is removing toxins. And when there are no more toxins for the body to consume and remove then the tongue will become totally pink. And that's when you end your fast if you haven't done so already. Otherwise if you try to keep going just to say, "I fasted for x days", then it could be detrimental to your health.

There's nothing wrong with easing into fasting either. My first fast I did the master cleanse and went 11 days. I still had a fuzzy coated tongue when I ended the fast. Then of course I fell back into eating whatever there was to eat.:rolleyes: And now I'm fasting again some 4 months later.:D

Thats really interesting, my tounge right now has fuzzy white stuff on it and the tip and sides are pure pink, so I have to water fast until my tounge gets the color of the tip and sides of my tounge (pure pink) ?

[Lilly2010]

thanks for replying everyone! I didn't mention i have been raw for about 7 months and ate cooked food only when i went to family parties so occationally i would have to eat cooked food (persian food). I have fasted many times throughout my rawness? Lol just here and there for a day or 2.

[fastfreedom]

You don't have to fast until it's totally pink. It's just that when it turns totally pink it's an indicator that the body is done fasting and about to enter starvation mode.

Here's a good link. I haven't read through there in a while but if I recall it has quite a bit of good info.

http://beyondwellbeing.com/herbs/tongue-diagnosis.shtml

[GoodCat]

This is just my limited experience with fasting and my tongue... When I did my 28 day fast, I had times when my tongue would be white and fuzzy, and then it would pink up... a few days later (maybe 3-4) my tongue would get a little white-ish again. I went through cycles. So... just my experience.

As for your question... I would do a juice "feast". You would still get calories and nutrients. You will loose about 5 lb. from your stomach and intestines emptying, but in two weeks you shouldn't loose much more then that is you take in enough juices. After you start eating again, you should gain that weight back (about 5 lb.)

Just a thought
Cathy :D

[Lilly2010]

You don't have to fast until it's totally pink. It's just that when it turns totally pink it's an indicator that the body is done fasting and about to enter starvation mode.

Here's a good link. I haven't read through there in a while but if I recall it has quite a bit of good info.

[http://beyondwellbeing.com/herbs/tongue-diagnosis.shtml

Thanks so much for that info! I found out alot of usefull information...but im really curious about how you can tell the body has NO toxins at all?
Since a pink tongue isnt neccessarily the sign of a clear body, bc if u fast again, your tongue becomes white and gets rid of more toxins...Is there really any sign on your body that can tell u if you have NO toxins at all?
Is it even possible to have no toxins in the body?
I'm 18 so does this mean it would take 18 years to get rid of toxins :eek: I hope not! :confused:

[Aleesha Sattva]

first time i've heard that a pink tongue means no more toxins and you should stop your fast. LOL i won't be subscribing to that train of thought. i'm like cathy... my tongue goes pink and then white and then pink... i don't even bother looking it anymore to be honest... i just fast cause it feels good to fast and the toxins go when they choose.

i've fasted for 84 days (that's my longest fast) and i didn't find true hunger or go into starvation mode... i know others who have fasted for 150+ days... and they didn't either.

and even after all the fasting i've done... i still release... i still detox...

as for the OP question... can she fast. if you are healthy and want to water fast, so ahead. i personally don't recommend it cause it's super important to break a water fast very very gently... and most people don't break a fast gently. they get that first bit of food in their belly and they clean out the fridge!

doing this with a juice feast or fast isn't good... but it's reaaaaaaaally not good if you've been water fasting.

also, most people have little to no energy while they water fast. you need to be able to lay around and sleep most of the day. when you juice fast (or feast) you have lots of energy most days. you'll have a few days where you want to just rest, but for the most part you'll have energy.

also... if you want to heal something... juice fasting on green juices is the way to go. greens are healing, fruits are cleansing.

i certainly don't know everything about fasting... doing research is the way to go in all things and this isn't any different. read, learn... then read some more. there's so much info out there. find what resonates with you and leave the rest.

;)
Aleesha

[Aleesha Sattva]

oh and by the way... i highly doubt your acne scars will be gone in a few weeks. it didn't take them a few weeks to form... won't take a few weeks to heal.

[christinajade]

I'm not a faster but I will say that IMO no one can be totally free of toxins in the body unless you are living in a bubble. The air has toxins...I mean, seriously..there is no way your body can have ZERO toxins. :)

[fastfreedom]

I'm glad you posted that Aleesha.:D I've been wanting to ask you how long you go before you find true hunger. The universe must of been listening.:p I've been contemplating this for myself and been wondering if I'll ever find it while juice fasting because I'm supplying my body with so many things it needs. My gut thinking to the pink tongue and true hunger thing while juice fasting is that I'll never reach that state. I think I would need to switch to water to find true hunger. At least that's my gut feeling anyhow.

I've also heard of the tongue going from white to pink then white again. I kinda wonder if pink tongue and true hunger together really only show up while on a water fast.? This is my guess/opinion.

As I have read it from those that water fast. The body goes into ketosis which shows up on the tongue after you begin the fast. Then when the pink tongue and true hunger show up the body goes out of ketosis into catabolism. And I'm not really sure that the pink tongue means no more toxins at all. From what I had read from water fasters, they say that it means there's no more at the moment that the body can process. And it's time to break the fast before the body begins to break down muscle tissue. Again, my gut feeling is that it's more for water fasters to follow this. But I really don't know. It's just what I've read.

My grandpa asked my how long I'm gonna fast and I said, "until my tongue goes pink", then he says, "what if it takes two years". LOL

From Aleesha and Cathy's experience it sounds like that while doing a juice fast I'll never reach that state. And I really don't wanna go two years straight, fasting. LOL Although I would bet that they both would love it.:p

I agree with Aleesha. Read read read. Then read some more.:p I've probably spent more time learning than any highest doctorate degree level out there. I love the internet. And I love to learn.

[Lilly2010]

It actually took less than a few weeks to get my acne scars, it took like less than a day.
But water fasting sounds more healthy to me now. I fasted the whole day today and im still not hungry. But yesterda i ate only bananas the whole day..i usually just eat 2 dif types of fruit a day, im not big on making meals or anything.
I still believe that acne scars would go away after 14 days, ive read so many success stories on it. One of my favorites was a girl that has so much acne and scarring on her face and after 14 days her depression scars were even smoothing out.
I heard that faasting can canabilze scar tssue and your immune system goes t work on the things that are wrong with your body, since it doesnt have to focus it's time on digesting toxins or the food you eat.

[k8sl8]

Just don't set yourself up to fail! There is no way to know that YOU will have the same success or RATE of success as any other person. You may never lose the acne scars and assuming you will in 14 days of a water fast is pretty immature, IMO. Sorry; I tend to tell it like it is, or at least a warning of how it could be.

Of course talk of prolonged fasting seems a bit over the top for me too, so maybe I have a lot to learn.

Good luck if you go for it, but do it for your HEALTH, not your looks. AND be sure you know what you are doing to your body on a water fast. Juice fast or feast sounds a lot more sensible at your age and size.

[michigan roman]

my fave fasting expert

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

[Aleesha Sattva]

It actually took less than a few weeks to get my acne scars, it took like less than a day.
But water fasting sounds more healthy to me now. I fasted the whole day today and im still not hungry. But yesterda i ate only bananas the whole day..i usually just eat 2 dif types of fruit a day, im not big on making meals or anything.
I still believe that acne scars would go away after 14 days, ive read so many success stories on it. One of my favorites was a girl that has so much acne and scarring on her face and after 14 days her depression scars were even smoothing out.
I heard that faasting can canabilze scar tssue and your immune system goes t work on the things that are wrong with your body, since it doesnt have to focus it's time on digesting toxins or the food you eat.

hey it's your body, your life and your fast... have at 'er!

[Lilly2010]

Just don't set yourself up to fail! There is no way to know that YOU will have the same success or RATE of success as any other person. You may never lose the acne scars and assuming you will in 14 days of a water fast is pretty immature, IMO. Sorry; I tend to tell it like it is, or at least a warning of how it could be.

Of course talk of prolonged fasting seems a bit over the top for me too, so maybe I have a lot to learn.

Good luck if you go for it, but do it for your HEALTH, not your looks. AND be sure you know what you are doing to your body on a water fast. Juice fast or feast sounds a lot more sensible at your age and size.

I think i will start doing a juice fast instead. But this is definately not for my looks, I'm happy about my looks but acne scars cause phycological effects that only people like me can understand, people who actually had them..I just want to look like my normal self again.