hello,

I have been juice fasting I think for a month now. I don't know why I started. It wasn't really a choice I made it was more like a choice my body has made. I have tried juice fasting in the past for various reasons in times where i was like i am going to fast, but it has always been very difficult for me. this time it has not been difficult for me at all.

fasting has caused a bit of conflict in my life. Not in a bad way by any means in fact i am very grateful for the experience. it has caused me to step back and look at my life which i feel like if i hadn't given myself that opportunity it would have caused more trouble in the long run. It was a good time to fast for me.

I got very sick (for me. i don't usually get sick ever) while fasting. I had a sinus infection which was difficult for me. also, my skin has taken a turn for the worse. I am a person who never breaks out, and now it is like I am going through puberty again. It has started to clear up a little bit. Though, I cheated today, and I went and got a facial. I don't know if that is bad though because at the same time I wanted it to clear out on its own so I can see how my body is cleaning itself out instead of thinking it is clean when it is not really clean sort of thing.

Even still the facial didn't so so much noticible difference. I was expecting different results (never had one before i figured i'd look like a whole new person no blocked pores or anything lol).

I have been resting a lot. More now then at the beginning of the fast. Energy I have not noticed a big burst of energy or anything like i have in the past while fasting. I am actually feeling more tired as of late. However, I have noticed more of a balanced energy overall. more calm. more centered. more clear. as a young person these feelings don't come often to me. I'm very grateful to of had this experience.

my life has slowed down considerably during this time of reflection. during fasting i got incredibly unfocused and went through a very strange time, and now my focus is beginning to come back and things are becoming a little more clear, and i am starting to feel better and more balanced. more cleaner for sure.

the reason i am posting this is because i would like some insight and advice to those who have more experience fasting. I have never fasted for this long before.

i am not sure when to break the fast, or how long i am safe for fasting. i heard about someone on these boards ending up in the hospital? I am only 23 years old with no health conditions that i am aware of. i don't know how big of an issue this is.

there is another reason that concerns me about fasting so long though. it is my metabolism. i don't want to slow it down so much as i have probably slowed it down considerably while fasting for so long. maybe for some of you a month is not that incredibly long, but the longest i have gone before this has been 10 days which has been extremely difficult in the past. this month has not been difficult at all.

i have not lost that much weight. it's only been about 5 lbs or so. this is also odd for me because usually fasting in the past i have lost tons of weight. losing weight was not the point of the fast so i'm not dissapointed or anything (i'm a healthy weight), but at the same time i do not want to gain the weight back.

i have not been exercising that much. only some gentle yoga. i'd like to begin exercising a lot more though and gaining muscle. this is another reason why i'd like to begin to think about breaking the fast. at the same time i don't know if this is what my body wants yet to break the fast as my skin is not completely clear yet, and i have not regained all my energy so i don't know if i'm totally clean, and if that will be a problem when breaking the fast?

when i do decide to break the fast, what is the best way to ease back into eating? i was thinking about only doing blended foods for a couple weeks before considering eating anything solid.

also, how will i know when i am ready?

is it just one of those things? like my body will tell me if i listen type deal?

i don't feel hungry or really miss eating that much (for the first time in my LIFE i haven't been ruled by my stomach... before i always ate when i was not hungry). at the same time i get a little tired of making all the juice.

the increased sensitivity is a double edged blade. i feel a lot better now though that i seem to be more in control and stable. lots of emotional things this last month... it's been amazing and difficult but in a really really good way. i am so grateful.

what are the best foods to break the fast with also?

also, one last thing...

what is the best way for elimination? what would you recommend? i have been interested in the "clay," though I am not quite sure how to use it. can anyone please give me insight on that?

thank you so much for your help in advance. i am very interested in what the people with fasting experience have to say about this... particularly WY because he is the person i heard about with the clay in the first place.

IMO the answer to all of those questions is the same. Listen to your inner coach as it has your best interests at heart. Listening to my body signals is how I always do my water/juice fasts and other lifestyle decisions. That way everything happens just at the right time. Happy trails.

I dont understand why fasting long term is unhealthy,
Why cant we live of juices ?

How many calories have you been having each day ?

Paulie

btw when i said i never break out, i meant like that i never have acne because my skin gets a rash sometimes if i eat conventional produce. that usually happens on my arms though not in my face. i use the same term "break out," but i mean it in different ways. i only wanted to clarify this because i have talked on other posts about "breaking out."

Also I did not feel like I had any particular reason to fast in my mind, and I did not intend to do it. In retrospect this past month has seemed like much longer then it has been because emotionally I have been through a lot, and it has been very introspective. Now I see and it is a lot for me to take in. I think I am having a breakthrough.

I am not sure how many calories I am taking in each day. I don't count. Every day is different. I am drinking mostly waters, lots of orange juice which I think that has a lot of calories but i could be wrong, and green juices like spinach, arugula, those purple things... spring mix greens also, and chards mostly... usually i will mix the green juice with some carrot and or apple. oh and celery, too sometimes. I don't really feel very lightheaded like i have in the past while fasting, but i do feel tired, but not lethargic or sluggish really just that i want to sleep a lot. i don't feel weak, but at the same time have less energy then i feel a person should in a normal state.

I just read on another post on this board someone who ended up in the hospital from fasting. herbalgerbals or something. I don't know their situation or what happened. I think they were water fasting which is not what I am doing, and i also think they were having some sort of serious medical illness they were trying to heal, which I don't think I have any. it made me slightly nervous is all hearing about it. I think it would ruin the beautiful experience if all of a sudden i got in pain and ended up in the hospital. =)

can a person live off of juices healthily long term paulie? I am not challenging you i am just curious if you have any insight. i don't know the answer. is there at some point that a person needs fiber to live? my mom always told me in the past when she saw me juice that a person needs the fibers. I know... you know how moms are they know EVERYTHING , but she just said that they need the fiber to clean out the intestines. is there any truth to that?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2009 08:57AM by ILoveJen.

Im not suprised you are feeling week, drinking mostly waters and then orange juices.
Wouldn't MOSTLY green juices be what you need ? greens and lots of celery and cucumber and green powders, that sound way more healthy to me.
I bet your not giving your body the minerals and proteins it need.

I don't see why we can't live of juices, fresh juices do still have fiber, carrot juices and if your adding green powders makes the juice quite thick or bitty, is that enough fiber ? i would also add hemp protein powder just a scoop each day, theres fiber in that and also complete proteins and EFA's, sounds like a healthy thing to add to a juice, if your gonna be living of it for a while.

Im no expert on juice fastng, i do have a lot of juices and am goinf to be juice fasting as of today or tomorrow, i might not eat or drink anything today.
Juicing in the way i stated above, i don't see why we couldn't live a very healthy life of off just juices. Could be wrong

I used to water fast quite a lot in my younger days, and built up to a 40 day fast on tomato juice only. I didn't really feel the need to break it at the time, but my goal was 40 days so I stuck to it.

But just because we don't feel the need to eat, or break a fast doesn't mean we shouldn't. Once you suppress the desire to eat, the body stops putting out those signals. So you can listen all you like, but your body won't tell you it's hungry,

We may be able to live off just juice, but our physiology is designed for more solid foods. So it's logical that that is what we should do to maintain our inner and overall health.

The aim of fasting is for cleansing and healing. Beyond that I'd call it starving, so take care.

Cheers geo

hows it starving ?
If your body is getting all the minerals vitamins and as much protein and fats as a normal raw vegan diet, hows that starving ?
I thought it would be real good for you because your body isn't having to work very hard to digest the food.

[juicefeasting.com]

may answer a lot of your questions.

A fast is water only. No food. A juice diet is not a fast.

Juice is a fractured food. You're missing out on the fibre that provides a buffer for the sugars. Also, some minerals will be lost in the pulp.

Juice has certain benefits, but there are many reasons as to why it is not a good idea to live for a prolonged period on juice only, despite what the promoters of 'juice feasts' may say. Time precludes my going in to them, but hopefully someone else will contribute here.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2009 07:16AM by debbietook.

debbietook:

in your opinion do you think a "juice diet" is not beneficial at all? do you have any experience with "juice diet," as opposed to "fasting?"

how long do you consider a "prolonged period," and why do you think it is not a good idea?

just curious what you think and why you would think that. I am not challenging your opinion, I just like to get as many different points of views as possible because I find it insightful. I hope you come back and explain what you are talking about.

cocoa nibs: thank you so much for posting the site. it is very informative.

geo: In your opinion, when do you think a person will know where to draw the line between "beyond" cleansing and healing? Do you think people can fast themselves sick in the head? and if you do think that, do you think a person who is mentally sick realizes that that is so?

Paulie: I am not sure if mostly green juices is what I need. Today I only drank orange juice. Some days I have much more green juice then other days because i crave it on those days. today i did not, and i craved orange. we have an orange tree and it is overflooding with oranges, too. I also drank much more water then usual today. You asked me how many calories i was taking in. even though i am not counting, i would imagine that if i was having mostly green juices then it would not be very many calories at all. green juice is amazing though when the time is right. i feel really good on it. some times i feel like sweetness, and sometimes i feel like... i don't know what taste to label green... ground? yes some moments i feel like neutral grounding. it's not really a taste issue as much as it is a consistency/feeling/energy thing. i don't know if that makes sense, but that is the only way i can explain it.

I am not really having any issues with... i don't know the proper term of what to call what i am doing now... It has been a pleasant experience. I just find it very helpful to get the insight from other people and find out as much info as i can. I respect the opinions of the people on this community. thanks.

Hi again

Well, offically a fast is water only as Deb pointed out, though these days there are all types of 'fasts'.

Re 'starving'. On a true water only fast, when your body begins to feed off muscle tissue, then I would say at that point you're starving.

From what I've read here, if you're juicing heaps of vegies/fruit, like smoothies etc, then you wouldn't starve, but what would happen long term to your intestinal system? It's there for a reason as I said earlier. Would it shrivel up? If you don't use it you lose it right?

Forget all the mumbo jumbo, I believe common sense needs to prevail here. A prolonged diet of just juice is just not natural for the human body.

geo: what do you consider a "prolonged period?"

IMO, I believe a fast is to divert most of the energies that are normally focused on digestion, and are then more readily available for cleansion/healing work. The addition of juice makes the fast easier from a psychological perspective, and also allows the person fasting to function a little better. However long the fast is, is up to the individual.

When I said a 'prolonged diet', I meant where the idea is to go beyond a cleansing/healing fast, and live only on juice indefinately.

Take care, geo