I was a typical sad eater until june when I went compleatly raw and lasted for 6 monthes until I fell of the track during the holidays. I was having difficulty getting myself back to eating raw so I started a water fast. I have been fasting for seven days now and feel great. Are there anyone who have water fasted sucessfully for a length of time? I have read some articles that say it is dangerous to water fast due to the toxic dumping so I am starting to get afraid. I want to continue this water fast because I am seeing some results like my teeth are not hurting so much and I am hoping my blood preasure will stabalize. I have a kind of rash on my right hand that has been there for years and it is starting to heal. I can see my gums around the teeth looking more pink and healthier. I don't have to wory about weight because I am very over weight and have plenty of reserve fat to sustain me for a while I just need to hear other peoples experiance withwater fasting.

Dr. Joel Fuhrman has a book called Eating and Fasting for Health and Wellness, it is the only book on therapeutic fasting by a medical doctor and a really great resource.

I am a little concerned that you do not have the proper nutrient reserves to fast for extended periods, since you have fallen off raw. I can see detox being pretty severe as well. Why not break the fast, practice eating healthy again, and then do another fast (when you are in a better situation to do it for longer)? Being able to maintain your healthy through general healthy eating is most important, and it's okay if it happens through gradual shifts. I wish you luck.

I don't understand about the nutrient reserves. Do you really think that is a problem? I did have headaches and sore throat and horse voice but overall I am feeling o.k. Will this eventually make me real sick? I am going to drink just water for three more days just to see because I keep feeling better each day.
I need more input from all of you
Thanksrost

If you were on a healthy diet before you water fast, you will have a good reserve of nutrients in your tissues, so you will be fine not eating for awhile. However, if that is not the case, you don't have nutrients already and you're not getting nutrients (because you're not eating)--this can do permanent damage to your tissues (essentially, starvation), and you might not know until too late.

A water fast is strong and I would rather not risk any problems. Everything could be fine, but it depends what you're willing to risk. Maybe keep doing regular short fasts (like 3 days), but not longer ones?

Just my opinion, and of course, everything could be fine. But why not prove that you can maintain a healthy diet first? If you fast and then go back to the old ways, the fast won't be of any good. I see your reluctance to stop, really I am more concerned about afterwards. Fasting is easy. *Breaking* the fast is hard--if you are very hungry and start bingeing, it will be very damaging.

Let us know how it goes.

When I Water Fast, it's more like a Water Flush. I use a sheet of paper and drink 16 ounces of water every hour, checking them off with a pencil as the day progresses. It's amazing how the hours fly by. Use your imagination no matter what you do......WY

hey there WGYogi, i once drank so much water that i made myself quick sick. i was throwing up clear water and peeing what felt like gallons every 10 minutes or so. while i do appreciate a water fast and think your body will tell you how it's doing if you listen, i also think there is something to be said for trying to maintain an electrolyte balance during a fast. a pinch of salt, a squeeze of lemon, some juice (maybe celery). something.
as with anything research first and see how you feel as you progress.

Thank-you rost, for your concern. That is one of the things I have recently read about and also the quick toxic dumping. I do intent to stop by drinking juice and slowly eating raw foods. I think I have learned enough of a leason on eating the sad diet after going through the holidays.
Thankyou-yogi and its real good to see you back
Thank-you coco I found some information on water fasting on several sights and was convinced this would right my body chemistry from going off the raw way. I also have high blood preasure and read that water fasting is the only method of righting ones self in that. I have several bad teeth and I can see a healing in my gums and I feel so good. I do have sighns of a uper respetory cold and a real croak in my throat but everything else is going good. Some how I don't have to much fear of overendulgance after this fast. As an added bonus I am dropping pounds I am very over weight but my main reasons for fasting were for health rather than weight loss.
Whatever input I get from you all is felt like support Thankyou all so very much
love to all here
Pam

You do have to be careful with water...coco is right. Too much, and you can actually flood your brain and possibly die. (I mean really ALOT of water that you drink quickly). I've experienced something nearing this, drinking a lot of water at once, and feeling actually DRUNK. But of course, this should not keep your from drinkng enough.

measure twice, cut once.

"In Watermelon Sugar the deeds were done and done again as my life is done in watermelon sugar." ~r.brautigan

I make paintings

It sounds like you are doing really great then, and I love that you said your motivation was pure health. If you can feel your centeredness, I don't doubt it for a minute that this was the right decision for you. A water fast is strong, but it can also be inspiring and powerful because of that. Peace.

Well I see my 'Water Flush' idea wasn't very Popular. I got a Negative from coco, and shaine agreed with her.
What I meant was, that a fairly clean and healthy body can occasionally flush with Water and be healthier for it. I Water Flush quite often and feel better. An unhealthy Body, with poor Diet, should not Water Flush....too much Danger of excessive Fluid Retention.....WY



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2008 01:01AM by Wheatgrass Yogi.

I did a 10 day and a 12 day water fast last year. My friend did a 41 day water fast. My friend was bed-ridden about three days when he was severely detoxing.

For me, I was most weak and tired. When one is really unencumbered, one gets stronger on a water fast. See Arnold Ehret's "Mucusless Diet Healing System".

The only way to get drugs out of the system is to do a 10 day distilled water only fast. I had taken prescription medications in the past and knew that I had to rid my body of them. So, I stuck to it. I will likely do another 10 day water fast in the near future as it has almost been about 6 months since my last. I hear that one should typically do a couple of these a year.

Good luck. Therese

I do agree yogi, water is so good. Our bodies need it and to flush out all those toxins. Thankyou again for your words, I do respect what you have to offer.
thank-you life101 I sure hope to not be bed ridden. I feel like things are going well so far. My voice seems to be less and less horse My teeth are showing sighns of healing I have been moving my jaw a lot today because it seems things are loosing up in there. I have a skin rash that the doctor only gave cortizpne cream for and it has been on my hand for over four years and it is seeming to clear up. Whatever is happening inside me I don't know but I hope to find somewhear to check my blood preasure. I am feeling supriseingly good I still have to cook for the family but thats o.k. I may change over to green juice but right now I want to heal some more. Thanks for your words it is encourageing

pampam Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I do agree yogi, water is so good. Our bodies
> need it and to flush out all those toxins.
> Thankyou again for your words, I do respect what
> you have to offer.

Thanks Pampam. I'm sorry to hear that you're
trying to stay Raw while cooking for your family. It's
difficult enough without that. I'm pulling for you to succeed......WY

Wheatgrass Yogi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well I see my 'Water Flush' idea wasn't very
> Popular. I got a Negative from coco, and shaine
> agreed with her.


oh no, i do agree that a water flush is a powerful thing. but i think that such a powerful thing might be best if attended or advised by a health care practitioner at least until one is comfortable with the signs and symptoms of the experience and can gauge how it's progressing with reasonable accuracy. funky things can happen during a water fast, it's heavy cleansing for sure. it's not something that i'd do unattended actually, seeing as how i nearly killed myself.
a juice fast is slower but easier to do and harder to mess yourself up with. maybe i'd do one day with only water but no more than that.

coco Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> oh no, i do agree that a water flush is a powerful
> thing.....it's not something that i'd do unattended
> actually, seeing as how i nearly killed myself.....
> maybe i'd do one day with only water but no more than that.

You didn't tell us how long you had Water Fasted
before you OD'ed on Water, or how much you were drinking. I don't
think one needs to undergo a Supervised Fast unless there is a
complete lack of knowledge and/or discipline. No one knows your
Body like you do.......WY

well, can't say as i agree with that entirely. sure, you can know your own body but fasting is therapy and therapists are useful tools for doing things right. i also wouldn't pull out my own tooth or give myself stitches but that's just me.

i poisoned myself with water NOT during a fast, just during a hot summer night out dancing and sweating and having a good time, i also had a tickle in my throat that was soothed with the cool water. i drank SO much water over a few hours that i did, in fact, make myself very sick. just a night out, not even a minor fast.

I'm right behind coco--I didn't mean to shoot you down WY! I also was not fasting when I got intoxicated with water. I've never done a water fast. Just sharing my experience/concern about an overdose of a good thing. I've been noticing your comments WY, and I have all respect for your voice.

measure twice, cut once.

"In Watermelon Sugar the deeds were done and done again as my life is done in watermelon sugar." ~r.brautigan

I make paintings

I have heard of water overloading and it can be damageing for a person. As for the need for a therapist for a water fast, I would love to have counsol during this fast however the money is not there for me to pay the high fees I have seen some of the charges are up to 600 a month for a person to supervise a fast. If I had that kind of money I would certainly go to a dentist and have my tooth pulled. I did not go into this water fast unknowingly but sometimes one needs more personal information. So far I am feeling fine. I feel a healing in my body and that can't be a bad thing. My voice is getting better and my overall energy level is adequate. I do wish I could rest but I cant seem to just sit as I have so much pent up energy. I have to pace myself though and not allow to much exertion.
I dream of avacados and oranges and dandilion greens but I may go off this water fast to a juice fast for a while before eating solid raw foods.

shaine and coco I do appreciate your words of caution and advice. I am just not in a place I can afford a doctor I am on my own just trying to "be my own doctor" in a way and listen to what my body needs.

Yesterday my jaw was feeling looser and my right ear began to hurt a bit. My right lower molar is showing signs of healing yet sometimes it still has puss. My other tooth is doing much better and the pain around the gum area is not their any longer. I still have the rash on my right hand but somehow it is looking a bit smaller It looks like a dry flakey callous the size of a nickle.
I do appreciate your words of wisdom thank-you so much
pam

i think it's excellent that you're reaching out here for advice. it sounds like you're doing good, if you do feel the need to slow things down a bit you can always drink some juice. you don't "need" a therapist to help you through this, you certainly can do it on your own if you feel confident.

life101 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For me, I was most weak and tired. When one is
> really unencumbered, one gets stronger on a water
> fast. See Arnold Ehret's "Mucusless Diet Healing
> System".

That's a Great Point, and a Great Book. Ehret
presents such a simple, but Powerful, message. You have to be
careful about identifying what is Mucus Forming and what is
Mucusless if you follow his advice.....WY

shaine Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm right behind coco--I didn't mean to shoot you
> down WY! I also was not fasting when I got
> intoxicated with water. I've never done a water
> fast. Just sharing my experience/concern about an
> overdose of a good thing. I've been noticing your
> comments WY, and I have all respect for your
> voice.

Thank you so much Shaine. We never know where
a Brother, or Sister, is on the Path. One kind word from
you, or me, might make all the difference in the World.....WY
P.S. Being a Handyman, I appreciate your "Measure Twice, Cut
Once" quote.

pampam,

I have waterfasted for 12 days, and I have supervised others who have fasted longer (one more than 30 days). When I water fast, I only drink about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water a day. I drink when I am thirsty. I have seen people drink a lot of water, and I have seen problems with that (getting sick, etc).

Its great that you are feeling healing going on. One of the most important aspects of water fasting is resting, getting as much sleep and rest as possible. If possible, it would be best to be in bed all day, so your body can focus all of its energies on healing.

Sounds like you're doing very well so far pampam!

Just thought I'd echo Rost's advice about breaking the fast. Even if you don't think now that you'll be very hungry, once you break the fast, it's often pretty typical to suddenly feel ravenous! Forewarned is forearmed!

Going to juice might be a very good idea as a way of slowly readjusting your appetite as you go back to eating again.

The down side of going to juice from a water fast is that a water fast usually results in a stool in there that's full of toxins, wanting to come out. The juice might cause more toxins to be released, without providing the broom effect of whole chewed food to sweep it on out, and that could result in feeling constipated or headachy or whatever. If that happens, you might consider going to whole chewed foods (fruits or veggies).

However you break your fast, and IF you do get hungry when you break it, try really, really hard not to eat anything starchy or any nuts or seeds on the first day. That's because starchy and nutty stuff can get stuck with all the mucous in that first toxic stool and prevent you from @#$%& it out. If that happens, it could cause a lot of problems.

I think Ehret recommended that you eat just fruit until after the first stool.

If you break your fast well, you will feel powerful and wonderful the next day!

Nice going pampam on your water fast!

Thank-you all for the words of wisdom here, and the support. I am going to prepare to stop this water fast. I will ease off by drinking juice but I am not sure if I should drink orange juice as somewhere I read that orange juice was not the best to drink but there was no explaination given as to why. I was thinking of drinking the lemon juice like I did for the first three days of this fast. I do understand that I will have a strong urge to eat everything but I will only juice my food at first. I am not sure if I should put some pulp in the juice for roughage though to aid in expulsion of toxins in my intestines.
What are the thoughts here on this????
Overall I feel o.k. I have a ringing in my right ear that is annoying. Yesterday I really had no strength to do daily tasks for my family, I barley had energy to cook their dinner. I was grumpy to boot. This fast has healed many things but mostly has rebooted my brain to continue eating raw foods. During the holidays I fell off track in my raw journey and was having a very hard time getting back on track. I may continue to juice fast for a while before eating solid foods. The only thing about juice fasting is it is very costly because of using so many vegitables. But perhaps that will bring on some more healing in my body.

pampam Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank-you all for the words of wisdom here, and
> the support. I am going to prepare to stop this
> water fast. I will ease off by drinking juice but
> I am not sure if I should drink orange juice as
> somewhere I read that orange juice was not the
> best to drink but there was no explaination given
> as to why.

There is documentation of people living and
healing on just Oranges (Grapes too). I would say any
Fruit that appeals to you should be the one to use. I'm
enjoying Grapefruit Juice these days because my Tree produced
a good crop this season. I have one more Juicing and it's all
gone. I'll be going back to my old standby, Carrot Juice.
Pampam....Keep us informed about your progress......WY

Oranges sound so good to me right now .

Pam, I've been thinking of doing an orange juice fast for a long time now. If you decide to switch to an oj fast let me know and we can do it at the same time.

Love,
Prism

I had some lemon juice with warm water and sipped it slowly. I can feel the juice running through my body feeding all the cells.
Prisim, I May go on a o.j.fast Perhaps I will get a whole box. I have not juiced any oranges yet. They are sitting on the counter just waiting for me. mmmmmmm

juice them along with as much of the white part as you can in a regular juicer instead of a citrus juicer. the pithy white bit is full of good-for-you things.

coco Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> juice them along with as much of the white part as
> you can in a regular juicer instead of a citrus
> juicer.

Coco.....I'm not understanding how you're going to
juice the white pith.
I love my Breville Citrus Press. It's an engineering marvel.
Easy to clean too......WY

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