Fasting to heal after extreme yo-yo dieting? Bad?

[sbarsotti]

This last year (since January) has been really hard on my body.

I did HCG (worst thing ever) lost 25 lbs and gained about 18 back right away. In between then and now, I've tried some weird things.

Post HCG I tried Dukan. All meat. Made me SO sick. After that, I kind of went nutso... with my body being starved (HCG) and obsessing over calories and food contents and then eating all meat (disgusting)... I started binging (which I'd never done before) and began eating processed foods and whatever else I liked. Bad bad bad bad.

Fast forward. The last two or three months, I've come back to sanity. I've gone back to being the vegan I'm meant to be (have been most of my life) and have been practicing raw foods since. My days vary from 60-100% raw. I feel better, my mind is clearer, and I don't feel out of control or too restricted. Something about the HCG just made me crazy... but the fog has lifted and I just want to be healthy again. And yes, lose weight... but mostly be healthy.

Since returning to veganism and eating raw (mostly) I've lost 0 pounds. For some, I hear this can be expected if there was a lot of healing that needed to be done.

I'm interested in juice fasting for as long as I can stand to both push my body to start dropping the weight and really heal the crap outta myself. Like a clean slate. Just wash everything away... and never look back at crazy yo-yo dieting. (Which I'd never done before this year, btw).

Anyways, I've never fasted. I watched "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and have been intrigued..

But I'm also wondering if it will just confuse my poor body even more? Or would it be a good thing?

And if it would be a good thing.... can I juice fast without a juicer? With only a blender? Like... smoothie fasting....

[Norie]

It might confuse your body a little but probably not as much as all the crazy diets that are out there!

Perhaps try juice feasting?

I think smoothie fasting is an interesting idea... I've never heard of anyone doing it before.... I think the point of juice is that it's easily digested and gets to your cells immediately and when fasting that's really important. That being said, smoothie fasting is still going to be great for you and you'll get more fibre from it than a juice fast.

[imaquillen]

You could always put your smoothies through a strainer to strain out the pulp. Smoothie fasting would still be better than nothing though, IMO.

[siennagray]

Welcome, sbarsotti. I think you should spend some time (while eating healthy) contemplating your options for healing. Try not to focus less on weight loss. If that needs to come, it will come with your increased health. Remember that the most permanent way to lose/release weight is slowly, a reverse of how you gained it. Spend some time reading the fasting threads, including the monthly fasting. I suspect that your body will tell you what route you should take.

I don't know what HCG stands for, but if you are nutrient depleted, I would also suspect that something along the lines of juice feasting would be good for you, to replenish your nutrient stores.

Also, I encourage you to do some reading about fasting, and examine your attitude towards it. I know there are some really great links on this board if you look around. Fasting is a process with many new experiences, and a wide range of emotions. However, if you are secure and trusting in your body, and the fasting methodology you choose, it shouldn't be something that you are just seeing how long you can stand to do it. It should be a process that you trust; and if you listen to your body, it will tell you when it wants to return to eating. For some people this is a short time after starting. For some people this is a very long time after starting.

Also, I encourage you to closely examine whether you are viewing fasting in the same way you viewed the fad diets - as a quick fix that will be a crutch to developing life long healthy eating skills; or as a tool to your total health, and a component of a healthy lifestyle.

I say this not to discourage you, or to discredit anything you've said, but because I think this kind of analysis is important when trying to shift your entire food lifestyle/habits, and I have seen many people on other boards fall in a habit of viewing fasting as a repeated quick fix. I believe that putting deep thought into your actions before doing them can prevent this. I wish you much happiness on your journey to greater health. You can do it!

[MysticTree]

First eat a varied raw diet. Teach your body to function again with a normal eating routine. When you have settled in to a raw routine and your body is healthier then perhaps would be the time to do a juice feast.

[qwerty988]

Hi, Sbarsotti!

I was also inspired to do a juice feast after seeing "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". Like you, I had already transitioned to a vegan mostly-raw lifestyle for a few months before seeing the documentary. I was loving my new way of eating but still carrying around an extra 30 pounds. I decided to consume only fruit and vegetable juices for 30 days to clean out my system, nourish myself, and rid myself of all that extra fat!

So, I jumped right in. I'm on Day 13 today and LOVING IT! I feel amazing, the weight is melting off, I have renewed energy and feel SO SO GOOD about what I'm doing for my body. I feel this was a perfect way for me to transition to veganism.

So I say -- go for it! :dance:

[sbarsotti]

Thank you everyone for your responses!

I won't be able to fully commit to a full fast until the 3rd of the month because of family reunions, travels, party hosting... there's a whole lot happening in the next couple weeks!

I was thinking I might sort of "transition" until then- consuming only veggies and fruits both solid and juiced. It would make social functions much easier and travel easier. After that, once I've perfected juice and smoothie recipes.. (I made a new one this morning!) then I'll move onto probably a two week fast to start.

Juice I made this morning (in blender)
Wheat Grass
Spinach
Green Apple
Cucumber
Chia Seed
Mixed Wild Berries (frozen)
Lemon Juice
Mint

It's actually pretty good... I won't lie!