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Fasting

  
  

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Ticker
18:55 / 28.12.06
I was just talking to a pal about this and how the salt water flushes only seem to really work during Master Cleanse and water fasts.

Some folks like brushing their teeth, I'm not surprised some like salt water flushes (or swooshes as my pal calls 'em).

Do you take any supplements during your fasts or use bentonite clay?
 
 
setsuna
20:59 / 28.12.06
I didn't take any supplements this time around, but I've taken a liquid B-complex and Vitamin C on water fasts (but not on any particular authority - just seemed like a good idea at the time. For all I know, I wasn't supposed to.)

I've never used the bentonite clay. Does that work pretty well? I came about this close to doing a liver flush this past week, but ended up chickening out. I'd like to hear some good accounts from people first, I think.
 
 
EmberLeo
10:28 / 29.12.06
This is fascinating and sounds like it would be a very healthy thing for me to try sometime to re-set my metabolism. But it sounds like the sort of thing that doesn't mix well with a stressful schedule.

How much do those of you who do this feel a need to set aside time where you won't have to do your usual daily tasks like work and school and such?

I know if it's religious/spiritual/magical, it may correlate to special time set aside for reasons other than mental or physical health, but I know that I do VERY poorly emotionally and mentally if I don't eat all day, so I would think I'd have to clear my schedule of anything that required I be nice or smart...

--Ember--
 
 
setsuna
11:33 / 29.12.06
For me, it requires two days of downtime to get started, and I think the general rule or thumb is 2-3 days. You just have to get over that hump, but it's not fun - body aches, depression, massive food cravings, headaches (especially if you're not weaned off caffeine - you'd really want to do that first).

But once my body adjusts, I feel amazing. You may actually find it easier to cope with stressful situations, because your thinking is very sharp, and a lot of energy normally devoted to digestion is suddenly available.

But it really just depends how long you want to go, because at some point you will hit another 'detox wall', for lack of a better term. For me, those require rest and fluids, meditation and a little gentle yoga.

This time around, I was able to drive and do some light aerobic exercise from days 3-7, but everyone's different, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. For a first detox or fast, it might be best to have your schedule cleared as much as possible for the duration - if not, then certainly for those first 2-3 days.
 
 
Ticker
12:33 / 29.12.06
If you read through the whole thread you might get a better range of ideas on the process.

However the way I advise people to approach it is on two tiers. The first allows for an active schedule including driving and that's a raw vegan cleanse. Consume only fresh fruit and veg preferably in juice form (smoothies are less intense as the fiber remains in the drink). You can eat or drink as much you like to stay active an d keep your blood sugar stable. Because I have a circulation disorder I often also go on a raw milk fast with alloted amounts per day to keep my blood sugar stable.

The second tier requires a level of responsibility to the self and the community by recognizing you are engaging in a sacred cleansing process that *will* affect your ability to safely function. Many people feel an increased level of awareness and energy doing an intense water (I include the lemonade/Master Cleanse fast in this even though it impacts the sugar levels differently). However the internal perception of clarity the fast can bring is just that, internal. It's important during fasts to have someone who knows you well and understands fasts keep track of your status to ensure you really are doing okay and taking care of yourself. This is especially true for first time fasts or lengthy ones.

I believe very strongly that driving while on a strict fast does not treat the process with the degree of sacred intent it requires. While the perception of mental clarity and reflexes maybe present the detox process and the shifting blood sugar levels can dramatically and suddenly change producing a range of reactions including vertigo. For myself I view driving on a strict fast to be akin to DUI and for the sacred respect for myself and other living creatures will not do a strict fast if I must drive. It is easy enough to segue from a water fast up a few notches onto veg broth or veg juice if an emergency arises that requires driving. Then you can return to water.


Having an experienced and knowledgeable person help you devise a fast and cleanse program really makes a difference. Having someone you can talk to to bounce pains, aches, dizzy spells, weird toilet events off of is extremely helpful. Also not all of your community wants to hear about what you *cleansed* out of your self and into the toilet.

I like the Psyllium and Bentonite (P&B) shakes to really scrub out the gut. My first fast some years ago included raw veg juice and potassium veg broth along with massage and P&B shakes. I segued onto the cayenne lemonade for a few more days. To get the mucus plug out I also did a course of morning enemas, both topics which are certainly best discussed amongst the interested.

The biggest mistake people make is breaking a fast poorly. It is said any fool can fast only the wise know how to break it. This is incredibly important after a strict water fast as your digestive system has shutdown. Consuming regular food will make most people extremely ill at this point.
 
 
EmberLeo
19:36 / 29.12.06
Mmm, yeah, my suspicion is confirmed that this isn't one of my options right now.

--Ember--
 
 
Ticker
19:46 / 29.12.06
I do think fasting as a gesture of grief is one of the easiest one day rituals we can all do. Sometimes we need a way of expressing that this day is not the same as other days and for myself I find taking only water on the day of a death to be highly helpful.

It feels like a gesture of solidarity with the deceased and it makes participating in the later funeral feast sharper. The food and the life force it represents, the action of savoring the colors and texture, all of it becomes more intense after a fast.
 
 
setsuna
15:38 / 30.12.06
self I view driving on a strict fast to be akin to DUI and for the sacred respect for myself and other living creatures will not do a strict fast if I must drive.

You're right, xk, and I should probably expand on my driving comment. (And I had to put in for moderation on my post, since I mistakenly said I was driving on day 2, and I was so very not. On the second day, I was on the couch with an ice pack moaning like I had the flu. Which will teach me to post while half-asleep.)

I was able to drive, so long as it was a short trip and I'd had a glass of lemonade just prior to leaving. That was able to keep my blood sugar steady for about two hours. I was really pretty impressed with the Master Cleanse - I found it induced a very grounded sense of serenity. My thinking was very lucid, but in a calm, one-thought-at-a-time sort of way. It was almost a high, but not in the spacey sense. It felt as if my focus was enhanced, but granted, these windows were pretty narrow and seemed to be directly tied to my blood sugar.

And I also agree that inward perception may be different from outward abilities, so ideally, one should avoid anything that requires fast reflexes. Various life duties can get in the way of that, unfortunately - in my case, in the form of two young children who required a little grocery shopping. But water fasts are a whole other state of mind, especially when the spiritual factors are considered, and I wouldn't attempt anything that involved risk during one of those.

Even so, I think I was still taking a risk to some degree - probably more like driving while sleep-deprived than sloshed out of my mind - and it would be irresponsible of me to recommend it for someone else. Don't know that I can justify it in my own case either, even though I think I've sort of tried to here, except to say that for a short trip down the road and back, I felt as good as I usually do driving.
 
 
Ticker
16:31 / 03.01.07
It's day 3 for me of the lemonade cleanse though I realized I use way less maple syrup than other folks do. Mine is sort of a lemon flavored cayenne water.

Skin brushing, potassium broth, P&B shakes, salt water flushes, epsom salt hot soaks are a few of my favorite cleansing aids. I just had a double shot of wheat grass juice to prep for a meeting this afternoon as otherwise I'm a giant spacemuffin. Two more days of the lemon water cleanse and then two days of just water before ramping down to a raw food diet next week.

There is simply no way I could drive right now as it would be like doing so after drinking 4 rounds. I can work though I wouldn't want to do an epic data migration right now. I'm use to fixing things late at night after the pub so that probably helps.

Interestingly enough I've gotten into several conversations with people who are attracted to fasts/cleansing and yet are totally freaked out by the need for emptying the colon, even by salt water flushes let alone 'the enemas'. Peristalsis is an important cleansing step in the normal function of the body. If waste stacks up in the gut toxins accumulate and badness sets in. Seriously if you can't handle drinking salt water or enemas than just do a raw veg cleanse so the fiber in your meals keeps everything healthy.
 
 
Ticker
15:27 / 06.01.07
Day 6 and there's nothing in me but squeaky clean guts as evidenced by the salt water flushes.

I ran into a spot of trouble on the 4th day when my cycle kicked in a bit unexpectedly. After discussing it with a some veteran fasters and doing a bit of research I upgraded from the water fast back to juice. Turns out the hormonal shift greatly impacts the fast and it plays havoc with blood pressure, sugar levels, and general ability to function. It's why most religious fasts have protective opt out clauses for bleeding women.

So the 5th day saw me on two glasses of juice as well as water. My thought processes are severely affected by my low energy and I've had to elect read-only on several threads due to spacemuffin status.

A fast with the goal of physical cleansing is profoundly different for me than a fast for spiritual focus. The supplements, check-ins, and toilet vigils are a far cry from the serene bliss of a holy fast. In an ideal world having accomplished the former I'd now focus on the latter and shift gears. It would be wonderful to have next week off and attend to prayer and communing. As it stands I have to begin to break my fast to increase my energy and processing speeds for a work project tomorrow.

I'm going to use the next few hours for a brief taste of the ideal and then segue from juice to raw salad. Some self control is required not to rush back into eating but to savor the sacred gift. I was reminded while sipping/swishing* my juice yesterday how profoundly sacred every bit of nourishment we receive truly is. From the sparkling water biting into my tongue, to the sweet wash of gem colored juice, to the much anticpated crunchy texture of crisp vegetables, the fast has reminded me that nourishment is not the gluttonous frenzy my culture advertises. I'm really looking forward to teasing pomegranite seeds out of the fleshy rind and admiring the garnet fruit smells and all.


* swishing juice allows your saliva to mix and begin the digestive process.
 
 
setsuna
17:48 / 06.01.07
I was reminded while sipping/swishing* my juice yesterday how profoundly sacred every bit of nourishment we receive truly is. From the sparkling water biting into my tongue, to the sweet wash of gem colored juice, to the much anticpated crunchy texture of crisp vegetables, the fast has reminded me that nourishment is not the gluttonous frenzy my culture advertises.

That's a really lovely sentiment, and I noticed something like that too. I also noticed how little it actually takes to feel 'full' and nourished. Our culture is absolutely using food to fufill other needs - needs it can't even begin to touch. Fasting does an excellent job of reminding us of that.

And I found I couldn't really go back to meat after the fast, so I finally decided to switch to a vegetarian diet.
 
 
Hrodwulf
08:29 / 13.01.07
Well, there is a lot of good stuff here. I've just broken a 4 day water fast, sitting here drinking fresh juice. I was initially inspired to do a 3 day water fast from fellow thai-boxers in Thailand, were many used to do 3 day water fasts every 3 months. Reading up on it beforehand I just said fuck it, and started fasting from a really unhealthy diet. It's been great.

As previously posted the two first days can be rough, but by the third it's quite okay. I decided to do an extra day just for the possible extra detoxification. Unfortuneately my schedual doest allow me to do more at this time, but next time I'm definitely gonna aim for 10 days, as I didnt have any problems with 4.

A lot of good advice here. Only things I would add is that according to many sources you should seperate between water and juice fasting. Either NO carbohydrates or ENOUGH(but just from healthy sources).

Apparantly if you water fast your body go into protein sparing mode, the digestive system takes a break and attacks the unhealthy tissues(fat, cancerous growths, bening tumors,etc) in the body. If you suddenly mix in a cup of juice here and there, i.e. a little energy but, not enough the body gets confused, the digestive system kicks in again, and it might start breaking down good tissue(muscles, internal organs can become under strain). Sounds rational to me.

And as previously posted, break you fast properly. I've read that juices the first day, maybe a whole fruit in the evening, cooked veggies the second, and then gradually go back to your regular food(If you want too.)
And also, I've read that water fasting should not be done too frequently. Let there be atleast a month between water fasts(this would depend on how long you fasted tho)

Next time I'll do the proposed cool-down with veggie eatin' before the fast and perhaps try the colonic irrigations. Andyone have experience with it? I'm sceptical about the possibility of flushing out the good bacterias in there as well. Do you guys take any supplements to rebuild or what?

Cheers, and sorry for the grammar. Firstly I'm above such paltry things, secondly I'm norwegian
 
 
Scrambled Password Bogus Email
09:28 / 13.01.07
Yes, you should rebuild with probiotics (NOT acidophilus)...(Bifidobacterium breve etc...the closest to what's in breast milk...).

Congratulations, btw.

Watch out for those 10 day beasties. Change your life.
 
 
Hrodwulf
10:31 / 15.01.07
Thank you. I'm thinking about documenting my next fast(10 day I guess) in a couple of months. Got a doctorfriend who can do bloodsamples for nutrition, etc. just for seeing the clinical view on what my body is doing. And then publishing the journal in the local youth-driven newspaper. We'll see.

Interesting side-effect of my 4-day fast: I read you could reset some of the systems in the body.
I.e. my taste buds.
I'm completely unable to drink the coffee that I've been guzzling from our crap coffe-machine at work for the last 6 months.

Boy, things can taste good!
 
 
Ticker
13:22 / 15.01.07
yes I had to downgrade my curry spice level the first few days after breaking my fast. Was a bit of a shock to the waiters at the local curry joint!

For myself after this last fast I have to say the lemonade/master cleanse mixture just doesn't do it for me. It has too much sugar and doesn't keep my blood sugar levels stable the way fresh veg juice/raw milk does. For myself the juice to a pure water fast works better. I wonder if it has to do with what Hrodwulf is saying about switching on the digestive system by mixing them.

Some of my friends swear by colonics but there are no reputable therapists near me for it so I stick to enemas and salt water flushes.The faster I empty my gut out the faster the detox discomfort seem to disappear.

I've been reading some medical articles regarding the quackery with colon cleansing. I'm curious about the claims that the mucous plug passed is merely a cast of the intestines made by the supplements taken during the cleanse. Next time I do a cleansing fast I'm going to try it without the bentonite and psyllium husk and see if there is a difference with what is passed out of the gut. It wouldn't surprise me if it is a cast but considering what it pulls out with it I'm not sure that's entirely a bad thing.

I do find the fasts are really useful in resetting eating habits and general body awareness.
 
 
Slate
05:56 / 31.01.07
I have been water fasting now for 2 days after 2 days of nothing, but this comes after 2 weeks of weaning myself off a lot of crap food, loads of booze, too much pot and a few hundred cups of coffee(at least 6 a day).

I have lost about 5 kilo's so far over the 2 weeks, now I am waiting for ketosis to start. Before the fast about 2 weeks out I only ate 1 meal a day as opposed to many small meals, it was just 1 small meal, well small by my standards anyway, and was pretty much always only protein. I think I will not fast anymore than 5 days as I am riding my bike to and from work and I love food too much. This thread has been a comfort. It's smell reminds me of lavender.

I guess my inspiration for fasting was that:

a) I am a fat bastard and

b) I have just watched the movie "The Machinist" and have become fascinated by fasting and sleep deprivation. Christian Bale is fucking amazing in this film, amazing.

It started 3 weeks ago after a whole week of near insomnia of about 3 hours sleep a day which I am at a complete loss to explain, work stress is the only factor I can think of? I'm doing double shifts at work and getting about 4 - 5 hours a night and strangely I don't feel like shit at all. I feel good. I usually need a lot more or I get aggro but I think I am getting more focussed, lots of wins at work with problems that have been previously out of reach. Oh yeah, I also find myself finishing other peoples sentences?
 
 
Ticker
11:31 / 31.01.07
howdy johnleespider!

well the changes of not drinking coffee, not eating shit food, and hopefully hydrating more as a replacement would account for many of the benefits you're seeing.

However riding your bike on a water fast is very dangerous as one can never be sure if one's bain is suddenly going to fog up while trying not to get smushed by oncoming traffic.

Do you have access to a juicer or juice bar that you could segue your water fast to juice fast?

Also please remember when we fast our bodies begin a famine cycle and when we return to food our natural reaction is to store more of it. It's very common for people to see dramatic weigh loss on a fast but unless they change their diet after breaking the fast often the weight will return quickly.

good luck!
 
 
cliffchuff
12:38 / 03.02.07
Thank you so much for this thread, its reminded me of some important lessons. i was introduced to lemon/water/cayanne/maple syrup as a fast aid many years ago and undertook a five day fast with no preperation or dietry knoweledge, just a simple desire to experience. Something I notice hasn't been discussed in this thread is the insight denying yourself food gives to the psyche, i found societies obsession with food very interesting, simply walking around London and being aware of my relationship to the inages and smells of food was a lesson i would love to pass on to my kids who think they will die if they wait an hour for a meal!

I was doing manual work while fasting which wasn't a good idea and breaking is an art to be sure.

i have been toying with some form of fast for months and this thread has prompted me to set a date and do it, I gave up caffine for new year and am five weeks alcohol free (4 years tobacco)

thanks again
 
 
Ticker
13:54 / 03.02.07
yay for you!
 
 
Leigh Monster loses its cool
16:44 / 14.02.07
i read a few articles on the internet by people who are convinced that juice fasting is superior to water fasting. (like this one )

i'd like to try a short fast, but i can't afford a juicer and a ton of fresh fruit at the moment, and the articles i read are all dead set on live juice. does anyone here have a strong feeling about this one way or another? a water fast would be much simpler just in terms of the resources I've got, and even if it's more difficult will-power wise, I'd rather do that than a juice fast if drinking regular supermarket juice is going to be detrimental somehow.

also, if you're doing a water fast, is it ok to take regular multivitamin pills while you're doing it?
 
 
Ticker
17:01 / 14.02.07
you have to drink live fresh juice or else you're potentially putting fluid that requires more work than will benefit to your body. No bottled/canned juice on a juice fast. I lend my juicer to friends maybe you should check and see if any of your might have one?


Juicing is actually really cheap supply wise as organic veggies are less expensive than say your average American meal. I can get a 1 pound bag of organic carrots for under a dollar most places. Cost of about 5$ in carrots and ginger a day. It's a lot of juice.

During water fasts it is important to get good quality water as well. Tap in most places is filled with nasties. Well water is ok but verified spring is ideal.

I still find the biggest difference between water fasts and juice is energy level. On juice you're still getting 'food' it's just not solid. Either of these styles are fine for a day it's when you start getting into multiple days or weeks that you need to consider changing your daily activities.

I suggest you examine why you want to fast and from there navigate the options.
 
  

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