What Can You Eat On A Clear Liquid Diet
Also, most water-fasting protocols have people eat specialized diets before and after their fast. Some researchers ask people to consume only raw fruit or steamed vegetables for at least two days before their fast, which may help prepare the body for the experience. Another recommendation is adopting a similar refeeding diet following your fast, which may help your body reacclimate to food with minimal side effects . Its not clear whether these measures are necessary if people are attempting short-term water fasts.
Water Fasting May Worsen Several Medical Conditions
Although a water fast is relatively short, there are a few conditions that may be aggravated by water fasting.
People with the following medical conditions should not water fast without first seeking advice from their healthcare provider:
- Gout. Water fasting may increase uric acid production, a risk factor for gout attacks (
Summary
Although water fasting may have some health benefits, it comes with many risks and dangers. For example, water fasting could make you prone to muscle loss, dehydration, blood pressure changes, and a variety of other health conditions.
Like other types of fasting, water fasting can help you lose weight.
However, it comes with plenty of health risks.
If you want to reap the benefits of fasting but also want to lose weight, intermittent fasting and alternate-day fasting are probably more effective approaches.
These fasts provide similar health benefits but can be followed for much longer periods, as they allow you to eat food, decreasing the risk of nutrient deficiencies .
Summary
A water fast can help you lose weight, but other types of fasting can offer you the benefits of fasting and weight loss with fewer risks.
Do Not Attempt Water Fasting For 3 Days If You Are Unwell
This is pretty much self-explanatory. Your health should always be your number 1 priority, no matter what your goal is. No weight loss is worth the risk of harming your body. Fasting for 3 days is not easy and should not be underestimated. Therefore, under no circumstance should you risk your health for a water fast. Wait until your health has been cleared by a doctor to attempt this.
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What Are The Benefits
- Fasting leads to more reduction in belly fat versus body fat
- Reduced weight 3-9%
- 4-8% reduction in body weight with alternate day calorie restriction
- Subjects lost 2.5% of body weight and 4% fat mass on average after 21 days of alternate day fasting
- 2.6% of body weight lost over 12 weeks
- Body weight reduction of 2.5 kg and belly fat reduction of 0.7 kg
- Water fasting reduced weight beyond the initial fasting period
Urine And Blood Tests
Before the first and after the eighth day of WF, blood was drawn from the cubital vein under laboratory conditions and urine samples were collected to determine specific gravity and pH. The concentration of sodium , potassium , total calcium , magnesium , protein, urea , uric acid , protein and creatinine was determined in the serum and urine samples collected during the 24-hour collection.
Additionally, the osmolality of plasma and urine, the plasma concentration of -hydroxybutyrate , serum concentration of glucose , pH and urine specific gravity were measured.
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Adaptable Metabolism Is Required
I had covid twice, and both were cleared without any medical intervention. Even In the first one, I just stayed locked up for a week and resumed my activities right after, thanks to our wonderful gift of the immune system.
My foremost goal was to have a metabolically flexible physical self and reflect my best self in this dimension. My gut tells me that it is better if I try a variety of eating habits depending on the country I am in, season, my feelings at that moment in life, different diets such as the 16/8 method, The 5:2 diet, Alternate-day fasting, eating meat for a while then being a vegan for a week, keto diet and so on. I keep changing how I eat so I can handle long days of fasting. Sometimes I eat several meals a day and still be able to regulate glucose boost right after eating that pleasure food and again be able to lower the blood sugar level instantly. Technically I am on a journey to stretch and strengthen my metabolic muscles as Bruce Lee did to his physical body. For this reason, I do not have a specific diet in my life, and I don’t recommend one. Actually, When people start eating healthy, they say they are on a diet.
Not eating meat for forty consecutive days would waste away, whereas eating meat for 40 consecutive days may harden the heart.
Why Do People Fast
Fasting is nothing new. It has been around for hundreds of years, even before it became popular for fitness and health reasons. Some of the reasons why people fast include:
1. For religious or spiritual reasons. People of various religions fast. Although the rules of fasting in, for example, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism differ, they all include certain periods of time when a person should refrain from eating or keep a certain type of food off their menu for various reasons. So, eastern orthodox Christians fast during specific seasons of the year followers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fast for 24 hours every first Sunday of each month, which is similar to a Muslim fast known as Ramadan.
2. As a way to lose weight. As was already noted in the first paragraph, it is only natural that when you stop eating you start losing weight. This happens because your body runs out of energy that it used to get from food and begins to use stored fat as its main energy source.
3. As a form of a detox plan/diet. Popular detox diets include juice or smoothie diet i.e, the celery juice diet, liver cleanse, the lemon water detox, and colon cleanse .
4. For its perceived health benefits. Besides its weight loss effect, short-term fasting has shown to have other health benefits, which will be discussed in detail further along in this article.
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Initial Good Results Without Water Fasting
My nephews comment struck deep. Time to stop pretending I wasnt overweight and improve my fitness. Being over 110kg I wanted to lose weight and quickly.
Water fasting wasnt something I knew about yet, but I still got great results from traditional methods. I set an ambitious goal of losing 10kg in five weeks, so 2kg per week. So I started eating healthier and exercising more.
I managed to achieve my goal, losing 10kg in five weeks.
Going from no exercise and never eating healthy, to exercising and eating healthy, does produce quick results. And five weeks wasnt too long, so I was able to be strict with myself.
Being incredibly proud of the results I had achieved, I was expecting encouragement from everyone close to me, but it never came. Not a single person noticed that I lost weight quickly. But I was happy with my results, so that didnt stop me.
I extended my goal for another five weeks to lose another 10kg.
I struggled to reduce my weight in the final two weeks but was successful again. My strategy was starting to falter. In the end, I achieved my initial goal as well as the extended goal. Over ten weeks, I had lost 20kg and felt amazing.
Now all of a sudden people started noticing, everybody noticed. The encouragement I was expecting earlier started coming in thick, and it felt great.
I settled into the new me, exercising a little, and eating healthier than before, staying around 90kg. But then the weight loss urge returned, and I wanted quick results again.
Water Fasting Before And After Pictures
After fasting for almost a month, the changes I notice were incredible. The first and most impressive physical change I spotted was the brightness within my eyes, which lead to many compliments on a daily basis, as well as a decreased sensitivity to sunlight. I also managed to shed a lot of unwanted pounds during my fast, and I feel as though my body has been sufficiently cleansed. My skin feels incredibly smooth, and some scars have slightly dissipated. My hair feels far healthier than it did before fasting, and my teeth appear much whiter than they once did. Both my hair, and my teeth, feel stronger thanks to water fasting. I have also noticed a lack of body odor. I refrain from washing with soap, yet produce little odor. Ive also notices increased proficiency in bowel functionality.
I am yet to recover all of my strength, but my energy levels feel spiked, and I feel no hindrance on the level of activity I am able to exert. I wake up feeling refreshed and extremely positive. Overall, I feel more comfortable with my physical appearance after the fast, especially my skin and eyes. I also feel more confident, energized, and happy overall.
The above information is the experience of someone whos seen great results, but not everyone is the same. Here are more water fasting before and after pictures and the advice they have.
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Uplifting Stage Last Days
40 days water fasting benefits start here. The genuine return of natural hunger occurs once you get close to the day of 40. You start feeling hungry again. That means resetting is done, and you need to return regular eating stage.The Breath, which has been offensive during all or most of the fast, becomes sweet and clean. The Tongue becomes clean. The thick coating that remained on it throughout most of the fast vanishes. The temperature, which may have been sub-normal or above average, returns to precisely normal, where it remains. The pulse/BP becomes normal in time and rhythm. The bad taste in the mouth ceases. Salivary secretion becomes normal. The Eyes become bright, and eyesight improves. The excreta loses its odor. The urine becomes light. The primary indication that the fast is broken and a sign to stop water fasting is the return of hunger all the other symptoms are secondary.
What Does Water Fasting Involve
Water fasting is the process of consuming only water. As mentioned, water fasting is used to detoxify the body it may also be practiced for religious reasons and requirements. It is important to remember that prolonged periods of water fasting can lead to serious health implications.
1. Decide the Duration
2. Planning
3. Rest
When fasting, you may have feelings of tiredness and loss of stamina. Ensure to rest often and try to not overwork yourself.
4. Drink Plenty of Water
Ensure to drink at least seven 8 oz. glasses of water each day. This can be spring bottled water, or tap water.
Notes and Tips:
- Alternate Between Juice and Water Fast
If you wish to fast for an extended period of time, replacing water with juice is a great way to ensure your body is being delivered essential nutrients during the fast.
- Break Up the Fast with the Right Food
If you feel the undying urge to eat solid food, ensure to break your fast only with easily digestible foods. This means the avoidance of processed foods in favor of fruits and vegetables.
- Avoid Intense Exercise
Heavy exercise is best avoided during the fasting process. Light forms of restorative yoga may be practiced instead, or light walks. Light exercise will help with the overall detoxification process, as well as help to build strength.
- Prepare Your Body
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Dangers Of Water Fasting Without Proper Preparation
Overall, my 3 day water fast isnt an experience I want to go through again.
But the problem isnt the water fasting.
The problem came from my lack of preparation.
Since undergoing my 3 day water fast and having such a brutal experience, Ive now decided I need to build up my general knowledge of health, longevity, and biohacking. Having some basic knowledge in place means Ill be able to continue experimenting without putting my body under such stress.
If you have any knowledge to share with me, please comment below. This way your comment will also help others who are reading this article.
Potential Benefits Of A 3 Day Water Fast
The science behind fasting is in its infancy, but already there are promising findings.
According to researchers from the School of Gerontology and the Biological Sciences at the University of California, fasting for 3 days can regenerate the entire immune system.
The researchers described their breakthrough as remarkable, and were surprised by their findings:
We could not predict that prolonged fasting would have such a remarkable effect in promoting stem cell-based regeneration of the hematopoietic system, said Prof Valter Longo, Professor of Gerontology and the Biological Sciences at the University of California.
When you starve, the system tries to save energy, and one of the things it can do to save energy is to recycle a lot of the immune cells that are not needed, especially those that may be damaged, Longo said.
What we started noticing in both our human work and animal work is that the white blood cell count goes down with prolonged fasting. Then when you re-feed, the blood cells come back. So we started thinking, well, where does it come from?
Prolonged fasting forces the body to use its stores of glucose, fat, and ketones, and it also breaks down a significant portion of white blood cells.
Theres more, according to Longo:
In simple terms, here are the key benefits of a 3 day fast:
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Our 3 Water Fasting Tips
1. Share the Experience and Results
Practice with a friend, group or partner. This means you have someone to share the experience with and they can keep you on track. It is always easier knowing that someone else is going through the same experience and you will both be able to share the benefits.
2. Keep Your Schedule Free
Dont plan anything too strenuous or physically difficult. Enjoy the last 24 48 hours of the fast at home and try not to plan any social engagements around a meal. Instead you could go for a walk or have a cup of tea.
3. Keep Your Mind Busy
Although you dont want to be doing anything involving food, it is a great time to read, study, do some mindfulness or complete those tedious jobs that you have been putting off. You will see that you will have a lot more time in your day, so planning to get some of these activities and jobs done will pass the time quicker.
4. Use Hemp in Transition Periods
Before & after the fast are the key times for getting the most benefits. Food with high fats and low carbs are perfect. Drink hemp seed oil and eat hemp seeds! to explore The Brothers Green product range.
How Can I Feel Less Hungry When Im Fasting
Start your day with a big glass of water. I like to add a squirt of fresh lime and some sea salt for flavor and so it doesnt go right through me.
Then keep drinking water. Lots of it. Since youre not getting any hydration from your food, you need to drink even more than normal.
To add a little bit of taste, infuse it with fruits or add coffee, green tea, cayenne, or cinnamonall of which have hunger-suppressing properties.
And heres a sneaky helpful water fasting tip to feel less hungry: Dont tell anybody who doesnt need to know that youre fasting.
If you tell people and theyre nice and understanding, theyll constantly remind you of your hunger by asking you how youre feeling. If theyre nice and not understanding, theyll try to stop you from killing yourself. And if theyre not nice and not understanding, like my friends are, theyll torture you by eating the most delicious-smelling foods as close to your face as possible.
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Wont I Feel Hungry All The Time
And the lack of hunger you feel when fasting is the most surprising part about fasting .
There are two main reasons why you wont feel hungry: fat and ghrelin.
Fat
Your bodys go-to supply of fuel, sugar, will run out within a day or two of fasting. At this point, and only at this point, your body moves to its backup fuel source: fat.
Fat is something we all have a lot of . As explained in an earlier tip, the average human has 34 pounds. Thats 68 days worth of fuel for your body to feed on. This means that when you fast not only is your body not hungry, but youve opened the doors to an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Ghrelin
The hunger you feel has nothing to do with your stomach being empty. Its entirely mental.
The hormone responsible is called ghrelin. Ghrelin comes and goes in cycles based on your routine eating times. This explains why youre no hungrier for breakfast than for dinner despite the fact that its typically been longer since you last ate.
Fasting screws with ghrelins routine, which is an added benefit of doing it. The more you disturb your ghrelin cycle, the more confused your body gets, and the less ghrelin it produces. This means youll feel less hungry even after you stop your fast.
Im not kidding. Im 63 and 200+ pounds, very active, and I used to always be hungry and snack all the time. But since I got into fasting, I no longer crave food all day long. I still love eating, but I eat when I feel like it, not when ghrelin tells me too.
