Benefits of Fasting

I fasted for 60 days. Only water to drink. Though I did eat, every 3 days, canned green beans and canned asparagus. Lost 40lbs. Felt great too. Kept the weight off too..

a reply to: WP4YT

That's Hardcore

I have fasted for years, I love it. really clears the mind somehow, makes me feel a bit like that guy from the movie 'Limitless' It is not at all easy though, first 3/4 days are hell, especially if you've been on the sugar beforehand, a week of induction style low carb before a fast makes the start a lot easier in my experience.

Beware of eating too much too soon, after you end the fast though, you will be on the toilet all day, and it will hurt!

I have stomach problems similar to IBS too, fasting and low carb diet both help me with that.

You may not want to hear this but many people have reported having many spiritual interventions during times of fasting.

In fact that's probably why it's incorporated I to so many religious and spiritual practices throughout the ages.

So good luck on not being spiritual but practicing self control and participating in religious practice.

originally posted by: onequestion
You may not want to hear this but many people have reported having many spiritual interventions during times of fasting.

In fact that's probably why it's incorporated I to so many religious and spiritual practices throughout the ages.

So good luck on not being spiritual but practicing self control and participating in religious practice.

I guess I'll find out soon enough. There's a practical aspect to most things spiritual and religious, and that's the real reason spirituality and religion have always been relevant in one way or another. Regardless of all the abstraction, for one's beliefs to mean anything they must be relevant to the real world.

You shouldn't take what I wrote in the OP as a slight. My mind just isn't made for much spirituality- whenever I start drifting too high, there's always that grey-suited voice of drab practicality bringing me back down. Sometimes I wish that weren't so, but it can't be helped.

I've dabbled in all sorts of religious philosophies without becoming spiritual myself. As someone else in the thread pointed out, I've borrowed a healthy dose of ideas here from Buddhism, Gnosticism etc.

At times though, I'm tempted to attribute things to Schopenhauer's malevolent universal force. Very pessimistic in an almost spiritual way.

a reply to: Talorc

Fasting for too long is not a good option. I strongly suspect that the initial beneficial aspects of fasting come from the ketosis it may induce.

The human body have a carbs reserve of glycogen in the liver for about 2 days. When spent, body fat will be used to produce energy by making ketone bodies. Then, depending of the status of your enzymes required to use ketone bodies, you may require an adaptation period to allow your body to use this fuel. During that time you may feel like crap... With time, your brain will switch from glucose utilization to ketone bodies and you will become immune to hypoglycemia. Your body will synthetize the glucose it need from gluconeogenesis, so don't listen to all the ignorants that tell you will die if you don't eat carbs...

Cellular metabolism of ketone bodies is more direct and require properly functionning mitochondria, thus making such diet a cancer fighting one (cancer require defective mitochondria). It has antibacterial activity, is neuroprotective and have many other advantages. In fact it is a protection mechanism for the human body when hurt and not capable of feeding itself. Why do you think terminal phase patients, when they stop feeding them, just before their death have a short improvement just before their final moment?

However you will need to acquire medical knowledge as such diet is not without danger. Knowledge is power, continue to depend on the medical establisment or others to care for your health and you will remain a slave.

You seem to want to experiment in self control, ketogenic diet require a lot of self control, imagine refusing pizza, bread, sugar treat, doughnut, cake, pie ...

So did you fast, ad if so, how did it go?

Glad to see somebody bumped this. I missed it. Flag for awesomeness. I've decluttered the house, closets and I feel so much better. Like I've lost weight. Replaced dark furniture with light furniture. It's more cheerful.

I drink plenty of water.
If only I could kick my sugar addiction. It's hard. I'm thin as a reed, and yet, I dream of red velvet cake, Jordan almonds and Reeses butter cups. It's very sad.