So, I have some time off coming up in a few months... and I was thinking...

It would be a SPECTACULAR opportunity to do a water fast!!

Basically, I will have nothing but peace and quiet for three weeks. I can rest/sleep/meditate all I want. NO interruptions. NO work. No activities. NO responsibilities. It would be absolutely the perfect setting for a water fast.

But... I have some concerns. I have experience water fasting--I did about 36 hours once, and something awful was released from my bowels that smelled like burnt hairspray. Good times.

I've done 10 day juice and mono-eating fasts many times and feel comfortable with the 10 days. I've also been raw for over a year (WOO HOO!!!).

My biggest fears about the 21 days of only water are serious detox (the first time I ever tried a master cleanse, I quit on the 4th day due to chest pains--that was a long time ago when I had an awful diet, but the irrational fear still lingers), and insanity.

Will I simply go insane while attempting to totally deprive myself of food, juice, or ANY kind of stimulant? Will I roll around and howl and gnaw off my arm? (I am not joking about insanity. Sensory deprivation is a serious way to confront one's self, and I plan to totally hermit it out while I do this.)

Soooo... any advice on long term fasting? Did anyone ever have similar feelings like this? Is it dangerous to dive into a water fast like this? Has anyone ever just jumped off the deep end into a water fast? I have never really done a serious water fast before. But it will be a long time before I have such an opportunity like this again. It would be perfect for some R&R... break into a new level of health and have some deep soul therapy.

what happened



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2008 08:41AM by la_veronique.

Phantom,

I have no experience with long term fasting the longest I have done is a 3 day fast this summer and actually today I am on day number 3 of a 7 day fast. From my research it appears that the second day is the worst and after that the hunger subsides and can actually be a pleasant experience. In my opinion you shouldn't be fasting if the experience makes you to roll around and howl gnaw off your arm Keep in mind that no matter what fasting is a stress to the body and if there is no particular reason you are doing this for such as healing or weight loss I would just stick with fresh raw vegan diet. Rawfoodexplained.com is a good resource on fasting info.

i've heard of this guy named dr. bass that fasts.. and he's very old and extremely experienced

i think it's like
www.drbass.com or something; there might be some information on fasting on his website.

For me, small gradual steps are more beneficial rather than fasts. I have heard fasts recommended for healing, but not for weight loss (slows down metabolism, so that rebound weight gain occurs).

Not saying any of this is true for you, but I know for myself that if I make similar plans of an extreme regimen like that, I run the danger of over exerting myself and it can turn into a 'gnawing off my arm' experience. It's winter and dark and grey, so if it were me and I had a similar opportunity to take care of myself for three weeks without interruptions, I'd do a juice feast, daily meditation and exercise practices and get out into nature, do journalling and something creative, as well as connect with positive people. Keeping it light and doing things slow for me have a more profound effect rather than any extreme, short term measure. For me it's also important to be able to incorporate parts of it into 'regular' life after the fast/feast/retreat.


More power to you, whatever you end up doing.

I've fasted since I was 16, I'm 25 now...I don't know why I started, I just like to test myself I guess

I've done two 28 day fasts over 4 ten day fasts and then innumerable shorter fasts...

I remember at the start of my first 10 day fast, I went insane I was in total control of my body but out of control of my mind. I was completely and utterly obsessed with food, I literally was thinking about food 24/7...That's about as insane as I got. You'll probably come up with many amazing recipes that you would have never thought of while not fasting...You won't start trying to eat yourself, you won't want to eat your dog or postman for that matter also...

You might get stomache cramps, this is experienced by a lot of people, including myself. When I first started fasted, I experienced stomache cramps many times a day, now I never get stomache cramps while fasting.

It should be interesting for you because you've been raw for a year...I was on SAD diet before and after on most of my fasts. I wasn't that informed when it came to fasting...I am actually going to fast this weekend after several months raw.

The most dangerous thing when fasting the dizziness...When I first fasted I felt extremely dizzy, if I were to stand up too fast, I would literally faint. It would take several minutes of deep breathing before I could stand up. This is supposedly down to a lower blood pressure...After many fasts, I don't feel dizzy so much, it's almost gone.

You will probably feel very weak, but that doesn't mean you are weak...You actually increase your strength while fasting IF you keep active. The most attractive thing to do is lay in bed all day but if you do this, you'll probably find that a lot of muscle will have atrophied. This is not due to the fast, this is due to the fact that you are trying to conserve as much energy as possible so you are not actually using those muscles...I'm going to incorporate fasting into a strength building program after Christmas.

Lastly, if you do a 21 day fast your tongue will get very sensative and if you eat fruit which is too acidic, you will burn your tongue (so I've found out) quite badly. I've never seen this addressed by fasting books but only through my own experience. You might think of a yellow mellon as quite a mellow fruit but it's way too acidic for me to break it with, grapes are way too acidic...I think bananas and water mellon are probably the best things. Nuts are also too acidic but I don't know if they will open wounds like a yellow mellon, they just aggrovated it, also some innocently looking veg like spinache can be quite acidic (or alkalinic) too. I would keep on taking the very light fruit, cuecumbers, lettuces and things and then move slowly onto more acidic things. If you start to feel your mouth burning, do yourself a favour and stop, even though it may be delicious, you will regret it

I have no idea what it will be a like for a person who's been raw for a year, you might already be quite clean, your not jumping in at the deep end at all (I am the master at that and am alive to tell the tail)...However, If you don't fully detox on this fast, it might be a possiblility that you get sick straight after, this happened to me a few times and I put that down to the waste running through my system and also the re-direction of energy away from clearing that waste and onto digesting food again.

Best of luck to you, it's an amazing thing.

Here's a good book which you might want to read while your on your fast...

[www.soilandhealth.org]

Thanks, everyone.

I've read a lot about the benefits of a once-a-year fasting just to keep things clean. I do want to do it for healing--I have something weird going on right now with the glands in my throat (I have for about a month, on and off), and I'm hoping that will clear itself up. Something is seriously out of whack with my sleep patterns, too. Hopefully I won't lose any weight.

Winter seems like a perfect time to hibernate... =)

Best of luck phantom!

You could also do neti pots and oil pulling while fasting. Both of those have done tremendous things for me n regards to clearing things out. If you google them or check out neti pots on youtube you will get plenty of resources.

Hopefully I won't lose any weight.

Phantom, weightloss is inevitable and this is something you might want to consider. I tend to lose around 2 lbs a day on short fasts. Of course some of it will be gained back but your body will depend on stored materials so in 21 days I would expect losing a significan amount of weight (my guess around 30lbs depending on your current weight/height.)

Irena, 2 lbs. a day?! On my last 10 day mono-melon stint, I didn't lose any weight, just became non-bloated. I'm 5'7'', 110-115 lbs.--to drop 30 would be insane. O.O How long does it take you to gain weight back after a water fast?

Cocoa_nibs... neti pots... they look intimidating.

Phantom,

On the melon fast you were probably getting the required amount of calories so your body did not need to use any stored stuff. Remember, even if your metabolism slows down during a fast you still neeed to use energy/calories so inevitably you will be losing weight. Water fast is a completely different from water fasting even juice fasting. With juice fasting I tend to lose about 1 lbs per day. I gain some of the weight during the first week after I break the fast but even with a 3 day fast if I don't go into a binge I would end up with some overall lost weight.

Now on the other side some people that have trouble gaining weight might fast in order to gain normal weight eventually but still there will be initial weight loss and the weight gain to follow comes as a result of the body healing from whatever was going on that kept the person underweight.

Phantom,

It doesn't look like you have any excess weight so you will not probably lose 30 lbs. Still you will lose significant amount of weight.

Yes, I tend to lose over a pound a day maybe even a pound and a half but I gained it back quite quickly...Your intestines will feel very empty and your breathing will change to slow and deep.

In a 21 day fast, you won't be a skeleton or anything, people will only notice because your stomache is really flat and that you will automatically be trying to conserve energy in your every move, this seems to you look thinner somehow, you'll understand when you experience it You can snap out of the energy conservation mode easily and people will probably not notice.

I used to go quite pale and someone even thought I was a drug addict





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2008 09:20PM by Kombaiyashii.

As you fast toxins are dislodged from the digestive system and are also dumped there from the body at large. An occasional enema would be wise to clear this out. And an excellent option is to follow with a wheat grass juice implant (~ 8 oz). It not only is very cleansing; it gives the body a substantial amount of nutrition in the process, enough to calm the desperate feelings of panic that can develop when nutrient levels in the blood fall below critical thresholds. Hold the implant for about an hour (? maybe longer) so the nutrition can be absorbed. And it's still a water fast because you're not eating the juice (I rationalize). You can also just take the wheatgrass juice implant without having an enema first since it is a water fast and you're not sending anything down thru the system.

Hello... you should be sure to pay attention to your body... i read once that you have to know when to recognize feelings of starvation... because though you may think you are doing your self some great amazing healing and cleansing you actually might be doing damage. 21 days of just water to me seems a bit extreme to me...especially with your size and it being winter... if you are in a warm climate then you are ok... if you are in a cold climate then i'd urge you to do a mono diet or juice... or the Master cleanse... i did the mc for 21 days and had great success especially where the swollen glands were concerned... I wonder if you just do water if your body will also react on an instinct to keep things in on such an extreme fast... you want too release the toxins not keep them in... the wheat grass sounds like a great idea... and the enemas are a good thing when fasting... On another note... you say you want to keep a very hermitic life style... i think just as a precaution you should let someone know what you are doing and have them check in on you regularly... you never know... or maybe you could simply call or text and say hey all is well... every night or morning... I don't want to add to any fear... but it seems a good idea just in case...

I also agree with a gradual approach... what if you started with a mono diet... for 2-4 days then juiced 2-4 days then water for 8 or 10 days... then juice again then mono diet... this way the water wouldn't be so shocking... and you would already be used to not having so much caloric intake... and you would still be cleansing...

and one last thing... you have trouble breathing when you fast? So do I... especially with the water fast... i did one for 3 days... and my chest hurt quite a lot...i wonder what that is... i thought maybe a detox... but really be sure you pay attention to your body... you want to help it not hurt it...

many blessings on your journey...

love laugh and dream
g

for free scientific information about fasting available on the web go here:

[www.soilandhealth.org]

then click here:

"I agree to respect the library and the copyrights within it: Take me to the library. "

then here:
"Alternative Medical Therapies"


then scroll down & click here: ( and you can download a pdf file of a great out of print book )

"DeVries, Arnold. Therapeutic Fasting. Los Angeles: Chandler, 1963.
A complete, sensitive and intelligent survey of fasting and of fasting literature. Arnold DeVries was an American researcher, writer and hygienist, who already in the 1950's changed from a fruitarian (Fountain of Youth, 1946) to a paleolithic understanding of what constitutes optimum human nutrition (Primitive Man and His Food, 1952, Elixir of Life, 1952). Therapeutic Fasting, 1963) has been one of his most popular and widely used titles. Downloads as a single PDF of about 275 kb. Thanks are owed to Dr. Bass of the International Natural Hygiene Society for providing this excellent book. OUT OF PRINT."

then scroll down and you will find a "gold mine"
the books of
Shelton, Herbert among many others

I am completing day 7 of a fast. I wish you luck with your adventures. There is no need to fantasize about food. It is a good time to relax, rest, feel meditative, and heal. Good Luck.