it seems it would be easier to fast in a controlled enviroment.

like a fasting retreat, also seems like a scam...

has anyone ever done this, and where?

I've always wondered that myself. If the body can do everything else on its own (especially as boasted by natural hygienists), why is unsupervised fasting an *ABSOLUTE* no-no?

Granted, I have never fasted for more than ten days, so I can't speak personally for lengths of time beyond that.

I can see where support and guidance would be helpful for the average person, but I don't see how it would be a case of FASTING RETREAT OR DIE. (And never underestimate the power of the internet, though you should take it with a grain of Celtic sea salt. ^.^)

Unless you're trying to fast to autolyze a malignant stage IV tumor--I can see where a retreat would make sense in extreme situations like that.

It would also be wonderful to take the vacation at a resort, err, retreat in a tropical setting (I've seen ones like that online), but again--I fail to see how that is INTEGRAL to the process.

If I can't take control of my health and my life with my own hands, even in the freezing winter of industrialized North America, something sounds kind of scammy to me. One of the most empowering epiphanies I've had on the raw, is that my life is utterly my own. I am my own doctor, my leader, my master. There is always something intuitively shady about "only being able to better yourself through the hands of someone else"--be it priests, doctors, salesmen, counselors. No! It's always up to yourself to throw away bad feelings, bad habits, even after being shown the way by ten thousand sagacious people.

Hmm. I hope I articulated that properly, it fired me up a bit. >.> A retreat would be lovely (if they weren't $$$), but to say a fast can ONLY, ONLY, ONLY be done properly at a retreat has made me raise an eyebrow. That attitude strongly prevails in a large portion of the natural hygiene literature available, and it's the only thing that makes me question its premise.

When summertime comes, there's nobody saying you can't pack your bags and a tent and spend a night or two at a nice, quiet, nature-packed campsite and fast with nature for free. =) Or minus camping fees...

phantom:

<<When summertime comes, there's nobody saying you can't pack your bags and a tent and spend a night or two at a nice, quiet, nature-packed campsite and fast with nature for free. =) Or minus camping fees... >>

i'll never get in your way

i promise

I don't think it's necessary to go to an expensive retreat to do a longer water fast, you can do it at home. However, for an inexperienced faster or someone with serious or life threatening health issues to try to do a long fast alone is risky. If you read Shelton's books you'll see that he was from the supervised fast retreat school of thought. In my opinion that came from his medical background and the fact that he was dealing with a lot of seriously ill patients. That's probably why most of the fasting literature promotes professional supervision.

In my experience a support group is an integral part of the fast allowing the faster peace of mind that they will be cared for. For me, it looked like several people who could check on me daily in person or by phone and assist me with things I could no longer do by myself. Two people in particular had experience with long multi-week water fasts and we had an agreement that they could stop the fast at any time. I've never felt my mind and body so quiet and still for as long a period of time as during that fast. There was nothing else to do but just let it all go and be in the experience.

> why is unsupervised fasting an *ABSOLUTE* no-no?

It is not an "Absolute" although it is important.

I almost killed myself. I was reading Herbert Shelton and other Natural Hygiene books and decided to do a 3 day water fast. I tried to go to work on the 3rd day and almost fainted while traveling to work.

I felt pretty good on day four so I kept going.

On Day 8 of the water fast I decided I was ready to break the fast with a blended Ann Wigmore style Energy Soup. It tasted so good, I was chewing and eating the best food on earth.

Two hours later I was doubled over in pain. My digestive tract couldn't handle the food. I ate too much of the wrong kind of food. It was the worst pain I ever felt.

My digestive tract was really messed up for the next six months and I couldn't figure out how to fix it. I was in really bad shape.

I also lost a ton of weight. I started out at 6 foot 2, weight of 140 pounds (my normal Underweight) and I went down to about 120 pounds. I was a skeleton.

I was eating 80-10-10 for months after the fast and no matter how much I ate, I couldn't gain back enough weight. I hit a plateu at about 128 pounds.

My friends and family were about to check me into a hospital a couple months after my fast because I looked horrible. It was bad, and scary.

I was stubborn, I was saying "I am a fruitarian, 80-10-10 is the best way to eat and I am determined to stick to it", but I didn't really understand what was happening to me.

I will never do a long water fast again unless I have strict supervision, and only if I am nutritionally prepared. I occasionally do one or two day water fasts, these are easy and safe. Three day or longer can be risky.

Now I do 3 day Juice Fasts. These are much safer, you are getting all your nutrients, and you can still work and play while on juices.

I fast on juices one day every week. A few times a year I will go longer, 3 or 4 days. A one week juice fast can be good but only if you are prepared and confident.

I Love Fasting, both water fasting and juice fasting. It is the best thing you can do to improve your health. Just be sure to read your books and prepare before doing the fast.

Fasting is the easiest thing in the world to do, Breaking the fast is the hardest thing in the world to do

Good luck!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/2008 04:46AM by Bryan10.

Any recommended reading on fasting??..

Short term??..Long term??..Water??..Juice??..Other??..

Bruce

The classic on water fasting is "Fasting Can Save Your Life" by Herbert Shelton. This is a short easy read. Online you can read Herbert Shelton's Fasting and Sun Bathing.

Bryan10, did you ever get back to your normal 140 weight?? Sounds like a tough experience for ya. I know I've made past mistakes that I pay for till this day myself. You do learn alot though at any rate, trial by error.

Joel Fuhrman's Fasting and Eating for Health is a fantastic resoource, he cites medical studies that look at therapeutic fasting. It explains why they recommend longer fasts be supervised; shorter fasts can be done more frequently and unsupervised.

wow, so much good response,

hi uti!

anyways, i did not think that a fasting retreat was the absolute correct way,

i just thought that it would be easier, and not able to cheat, if in a controlled enviroment,

where fasting was the utmost goal of the day.

at home, of course i am my own leader, but come around 6pm, and true hunger strikes,

and there are no "fasting coaches" to make sure that you dont break down and eat.

thats what i meant.