Firstly it's a genuine question - there are enough mad hatters on this forum for at least SOMEONE to have had a go at it (we're not talking religious observations here, just as a general topic of interest!) - or am I taking the crazy thing to a new level even for here?!!! Secondly I guess I'm just looking for a bit of moral support, since I thought I would give it a go, and I am two days in - and I'm starting to get hungry and in spite of drinking water, and a couple of mugs of black tea ( which is apparently okay - I just need to stay under 50 calories a day). My mouth is like Gandhi's flipflop right now. Apparently the hunger pangs go away in the next day or so, and the mouth thing is a symptom of my body starting to detoxify itself. The plan right now is to go for 7 days without food and see how I feel, and extend it out as long as I am comfortable (and healthy - I'm not going to do the whole forty days in the wilderness thing!) My motivation for trying this is several things. Primarily to do a 'reset' on my metabolism. I've also stopped smoking while doing this - I'm more likely to reach for a pouch of baccy than food, so it gives me a warning if I start backsliding. Secondly I want to decontaminate my body and purge my body of all the crap I've been shovelling into it for the last 46 years. After day 3 or 4 my body will start doing a proper clean up of itself, heading into a 'fat burning' mode which actually starts not on the lardy bits on the outside but with consuming the excess fat being carted around in the bloodstream and padding out around the internal organs. This won't do me any harm. Thirdly, I want to reduce my weight a bit. At 100kgs or so I could probably do with losing a stone or two, but I'm not overly fussed about that bit for its own sake; but my knees will thank me in the long run so of or them I will endeavour to adjust my diet a bit after the fast, so I don't put it back on. Anyway, I'll add to my meandering thoughts as and when.
That's one hell of a shock to your system. I'd be more worried about your body retaining all it can believing itself to be under attack rather than burning off fat it thinks it may need. One of the most effective diets is after all to eat very small portions at four hourly intervals - the body gets used to the idea of regular input and uses up the spare it has tucked away for a rainy day as it doesn't think it needs it. Have you considered doing a 5-2 fasting programme to start with instead?
I did look at various options - including the 5/2 and even the 1/1. I started trawling for information and came across the 7 day fast, which many people 'practice' for by doing a couple of 5/2s beforehand. I tend to throw myself into things wholeheartedly, and by all the accounts I've read, the first two or three days are the worst while your body adjusts to not having food and after that the delirium sets in.... ....more seriously though, my thoughts were that if the first two days are the worst part of Fasting, and after that other processes in your body from evolution kick in, let's find out where it takes me! In the first world it's a problem that most people of our generation won't have had to deal with, but as a race we are genetically disposed towards eating in times of plenty but we are also fairly good with not eating much when the going isn't so great. Board games were around in ancient Egypt and when the harvest was bad they would only eat every other day and play board games on the off days to reduce the hunger pangs. LOL right now my stomach is churning around like a cement mixer but I'm not feeling starving hungry like I would expect to have been. I guess it's an academic exercise for me as much as a practical cleansing one. I've felt as hungry between lunch and supper as I do right now. The hunger is still there but it's not like it's gnawing away at me.
Christ giving up smoking and food at the same time ..... Just hope nobody pisses you off then! I have never fasted, but as one who enjoys a Pie I did go on a plan called Lighter Life back in 2006, this replaces any normal food with shakes/soups/food bars that contain very few calories but all the vitamins and minerals you need (apparently?). My weight had reached nearly 19 stone, I did 3 months on this & got down to 15 stone, I didn't feel good while I was on the plan but it got the job done. Since then I have increased in weight a couple of times but normally my weight settles at about 16 stone by the sensible 'eat less, move more' theory & at 6'3 I carry it OK. I know you have said weight loss is not your primary reason for doing this but it is inevitable that you will lose some as well as detoxing. You're right in that once you get past the 3-4 day mark the hunger pangs get less provided you drink at least 3 ltrs of water a day, I would be careful though as putting only water and black tea into your body is not gonna make you feel great as fasting means you are getting zero vitamins or minerals (except whatever is in the water).
I don't normally smoke more than 4 or 5 a day, and it was more of a 'social' thing than a need for a fag. I left my baccy and lighter at home today, and ran into a buddy whose lighter had run out.... and for the first time in ages I didn't have one to hand! I'm wondering whether to take a half multivitamin every day, or stir a smidgeon of marmite into a cup of hot water just to make sure my body has a bit of extra resources to use which won't affect the overall process.
Still tough fighting two cravings at the same time, I gave up smoking 25 years ago & was a bad tempered git for months!
I’ve done the Dr Michael Mosley 5-2 diet and didn’t lose a great deal of weight and previously did the Carol Vorderman detox (shite, wouldn’t recommend at all) and now me and the missus are doing weight watchers, mainly cos she had a major operation a few years ago which changed her metabolism and the weight has gradually crept on. We started at the end of January and ive lost just over a stone making my jeans fit a lot better and making me feel a lot better. I did it in conjunction with being more active by swimming twice a week. She’s into losing over two stone now and I have to say she’s well into it sorting the meals on the app on the iPad, if I’m honest I don’t think I could be bothered but cos she’s willing to do that I’ve stuck with it and feel better for doing it. It’s not for everyone but it suits our lifestyle now I’m not doing shifts like I was. There are days when I feel hungry fairly quickly after some meals which are mostly veg but the results are worth it, I even cheat a bit and sneak a bag of crisps and some choccy that she don’t know about and the weight still comes off. Good luck with whatever you go for.
Are you working whilst undertaking complete fasting? If so probably not a good idea. Sugar level issues could result in a blackout or worse. Just my view. Not gospel. Good luck!
Yes i've fasted. Twice. Each time before going for a colonoscopy so for about 24 hours. In conjunction with "special" medicine which empties your bowels in super quick fashion. Absolutely loved it ! The first time, I took a pork pie with me to the hospital so that as soon as the job was done I could tuck into some "bad" but tasty food. The second time I went straight to the chippy once I got out of the hospital. So, as you can imagine, mention the word "fasting" and I get a bit nervous.
This is pure Daily Mail territory! The internet is NOT your friend as there is so much spurious tosh. Furthermore huge amounts of ‘research’ is funded by the food industry......particularly the bit of it with the most to lose! If you cut through the c**p the science that stands up best crudely says: ‘Man’s natural state is one of semi starvation and a hunter gatherer lifestyle. That is unequivocally what we have evolved to be. In evolutionary terms we have been farming for the last two minutes of the preceding 24hrs and farming industrially for 2 seconds only.’ Now the curious thing about our bodies is the wholly counter intuitive bit.......we too readily think ‘eat fat, get fat’. Now plainly we need a mix of things in our diet from fibre to trace elements and a wonderful chemistry set we are but in terms of weight (cue dodgy research) the fundamental truth is that we are tuned to prepare for the next famine. Dilli is allegedly highly tuned...... Famines are not growth times but survival times. You need energy to keep going. We get our energy overwhelmingly from carbohydrates. Excess carbohydrate intake is converted and stored by the body as fat which we burn in lean times to keep us going. No lean times = continuous accumulated storage of waistline strategic reserve. Anyone with knowledge of deer stalking or carcase processing will see how kidneys and internal organs are layered in fat and how animals losing condition over winter lose their internal fat stores (mostly herbivores remember, not burger munching dogs) The thing about ‘diets’ is they are normally vehicles to promote books, products etc. and they tend to focus on their unique selling point rather than simplicity......if it doesn’t hurt, it’s not working kind of territory. Bottom line? For the last 150-200 yrs the Western World has beaten hunger and produced a glut of high profit carbohydrate foods. At the top of the tree is sugar - far more addictive than we care to admit along with wheat flour and then potatoes and to a lesser degree rice. If you take apart your Big Mac meal you have a Coke laced with sugar to wash down a bun and potatoes with a few bits of vegetation and a burger. Nutritionally, the problem is the excess carbs and fat if eaten to excess. Biscuits! Buns, Chocolate! Chips! Crisps! (I gather plenty of renal (kidney) specialists are not fussed by salt since it is naturally self limiting in healthy people) So, you don’t need to fast but Dr Michael Mosley’s Blood Sugar book https://thebloodsugardiet.com/ gets my vote. It puts together hard science from the Newcastle Uni research is endorsed by the UK diabetic association and is not far removed from many other diets like paleo to Atkins and Joe whatisface. It explains in simple terms all of the undesired feedback loops of low blood sugar, repeated sugar craving etc., and that simple understanding makes it easy to stick to or even suspend for 48hrs while you enjoy life. Me? I lost 2 stone and 2” off my waist. I have no doubt I was fat inside too. I reckon it was worth about 10 bhp........ Cake? Not good but, hey, just once slice......
Easiest way I lost weight was to go for an hours walk in the morning before eating and only drinking water before leaving the house. Having fasted during the night the body’s only option is to burn body fat to ‘survive’ .
