Anyboy ever do this for any reason?

I'm in a positive frame of mind and I want to take this opportunity to cleanse my body and get intense spiritually during this time period.

I been reading up on some things.......anybody ever fast? Religious fasts? Health fasts? Cutting weight for sports? Detox?

Share some knowledge and experiences if any.

Any extream is bad Eny...

Eny, I have "juice fasted" a few times for periods ranging from 3 to 10 days. I find it excellent for mental and physical well being. For some a juice fast might not be considered stringent enough, but I think it's the way to go as it keeps vitamins and minerals flushing through your system while still allowing the toxins and bulk to pass.

By "juice" I mean that I have an electric juicer and I put all kinds of fruits and vegetables through it and drink it. Call it a liquid diet if you like, but these are fresh juices teaming with nutrients, enzymes, etc, not bottled juice/sugar-water which has all the life boiled out of it. The other thing I'll make is vegetable broth soup. The juices get you a bit racey, but the broth really calms and settles you down. You also want to drink a spoonful of psyllium seed in juice two or three times a day for fiber to keep your bowels moving, which is an important component of the detoxification.

The one thing you need to know about fasting is that the first 3 days or so suck because 1) you are breaking your addictions and the body rebels (for me it's headaches and tiredness from giving up coffee; but for others it's alcohol, dairy, nicotine or carbohydrate addictions) and 2) some feel you take a hit from the toxins as they are "brought to the surface" and exit the body.

That's why 3 days is the low end for my fasts - it takes that long to get to the good side.

After 3 days though you start feeling really good and you feel like you could keep going for a long time. Unfortunately, some social occasion entailing eating and drinking would always be looming in the near future which would compel me to break the fast. And you want to break your fast cleanly and slowly. Like don't plan on breaking a fast with a burger. You'll want to break it with like one piece of bread, or one fruit, or a few nuts, or best of all are all those veggies from your broth that you had been avoiding during the fast. Oh, that first bit of soft overcooked potato is to die for. Suddenly the simplest of foods taste so damn good. Your first day or two off the fast should be quite sparse.

But yes, it can lead to feelings of clarity, elation, euphoria, increased energy, etc, and some weight loss. I've lost 10 lbs on the 8-10 day fasts, but you know it's harder to keep it off than to lose it. All I can say about that is exercise is the best way to keep it off, but who am I to say? But I'm working on that too.

Definitely give it a go, but maybe take off a few days from work, especially at the beginning. The first 3 days are the worst of it. Oh, and the other trick is (obviously) not to hang around other people while they eat. You really need to be ready to socially "retreat" a bit. And I've never been so lucky, but maybe get a friend or family member to come along for the ride. Moral support could be a big help. The problem is if they quit you might too. I usually fly solo and the wife knows she's on her own for meals while the fast is on.

Lemme know if you have anymore questions.

There is a diet thru Bally's that is not religious but is very healthy and you drop alot of weight. Alot of body builders do it before competition. I have heard it called the six pack diet. Essentially it cuts out salts and sugars. If you do it and stick to it and do 20-30 minutes of cardio daily you will lose about a pound a day. The diet is designed to be done for a month but I did it for two weeks and lost 12 pounds. The weight stayed off for about 20 months and never totally came back. The diet is easy as far as menus go but is hard to stick to if you have any sort of a night life. Essentially, you have oatmeal without sugar for breakfast, you can have raisins with your oatmeal. You have two portions during the day of grilled chicken ( prepared with spices that contain no sugar or sodium), and a cup of cooked rice. The chicken should be about the size of a deck of cards. You have a third portion of chicken and rice for dinner and add a frozen or fresh green vegetable to this portion. You also are supposed to have a salad later made of romain lettuce and other fresh vegetables, other than carrots. The dressing is one teaspon of olive oil and two teaspoons of balsamic vinegar. You can have as much salad as you want. The diet is easy, healthy and works. You are supposed to space your meals out thru out the day to balance your metabolism. If you last the two weeks you are supposed to switch from grilled chicken to grilled orange roughy. I did not make it that far and you have to determine if you want to keep losing weight. You will not be having alcohol or any bad foods for the entire time you are on this diet if you stick to it. It is not a hard diet to plan for menu wise but it cramps your social life. You also need to drink plenty of water. I believe that it is recommended that you drink close to 2 gallons of water a day. Other than coffee or tea, you will only be drinking water.
This info is provided only because you have the best fantasy basketball league I have ever been involved with.

Regarding the chicken and rice diet. You need to take a multivitamin and at least 500mg of vitamin c daily.

Good stuff fellas......thanks for the support also.

Anybody here study/practice Islam? I've always respected the fast associated with Ramadan. Its a daylight fast of food, drink and sexual intercourse. Lots of rules, prayer and discipline.

My fast is more spiritually motivated than anything. As I said I am feeling a lot of positive energy right now and would like to channel it positively. To me fasting at this time seems like a good idea. I will attempt to "juice fast" and take in liquids and abstaining from sodas and coffee. I'm gonna buy this detox tea I used to drink(I'll try to see if I can post a pic of it later) and still supplement bcaa's, a multi vitamin, and protien shake. Its not a true fast but I'm just exploring at this time.

I would appreciate any knowledge and personal experience on Ramadan and its fast. Here is one of the links I been reading today: http://www.islam101.com/ramadan/ramadan.htm

Also if you guys practice any other religions where you may fast at times, please share some info.

Btw fyi, Isiah Thomas is a flamin ****sucker. Thank you.

I'd just like to add to this discussion. Personally i cannot truly fast as i am a diabetic and my blood sugar goes crazy even if i skip 1 meal. However i have done a great deal of research on fasting and here are some things:
After 2nd or 3rd day of true fasting(nothing but water) the body goes into a detox mode. The digestive system starts to work the opposite- expelling stuff rather than absorbing. There are groups out there that believe that we get sick because of excess flegm and while fasting thgat stuff has a chance to exit the body. these guys swim in lakes during the winter and do all sorts of crazy stuff in subzero temperatures and don't get sick. Their philosophy is that we catch a cold cause of excess flegm and we expell it by catching a cold. Fasting is another way to do it and we get rid of a massive amounts of of that stuff while fasting. Once u have no xtra flegm your body literally has no reson to catch a cold so they are able to do some amazing things if they fast consistently. They even collect the urine and let it evaporate after a week or so of fasting just too see all the gunk that leaves our body.

The personal testemonials show thats its at least an incredible way to get rid of ulsers since the stomach stops producing acid together with some other factortors that come into play while fasting. Supposedly u'll never catch a cold if you fast and also a great way to get rid of one( cold or common flue) is by getting rid of as much flegm as possible( blowing the nose and spitting it out as well when u do get sick). There are other benefits to fasting as well many of which only a handful of ppl are able to reach.

One of the most important things during a fast is refraining from any negative thoghts and emotions. When u fast your senses are hightened and any negativity as well as positive thoughts are multiplied. Its also an ideal time to pray and meditate since we are more receptive and it carries xtra meaning when u fast. Overall it has incredible benefits even for ppl that are not professionals at it. So if you are planning to fast be strong and try to gather as much positive energy during that time as u can. Also, fasting will not rob you of much energy(suprasingly) so u can work and do your daily activities as normal- as long as u are not gonna go for a marathon run :)

Another thing.

In 1860, Joseph Lister introduced the idea that infections were not caused by internal "miasmas" but by external micro-organisms. Lister's ideas have been credited with the invention of antiseptics (Lister was the first to use bromide in a hospital setting) and bringing hospital deaths down by 90%.

So, Ramtour, Im sorry to say but your phlegm theory sounds like complete crud. Mucus is a natural bodily lubricant, and its when the mucus is fighting micro-organisms in your body that it gets all green and snotty.

Posted by EnySpree:

Posted by martin:

oh my, sometimes these off-season OT topics bring out some interesting stuff.

I'm just trying to keep this sight from dying of boredum. The guys here show time and time again that they know a lot about a lot of things and can engage in conversation without threatening to explode in an flaming bitch out all the time.

Oh yeah.

So Eny, where all this positive energy coming from? Is it cause we haven't heard a peep from Isiah?

Wow - I had no idea so many people on this site were into fasts and spiritual things.

I had done a number of fasts years ago for detox. BLUESEATS is right on with his descriptions. I would re-read it and follow it. Fresh juice is an excellent way to go. It gives you basic nutrients and natural sugars and helps flush out the toxins. In addition to the juices, drinking lots of water - real spring water, bottled, also helps flush out the toxins. And coming off of the fast is key. Come off slowly.

If this is your 1st time fasting then maybe 3 to 5 days is enough, followed by 2 days coming off with broth, etc. So that is a week total. Then light eating. Don't go out for pizza and beer. And VDesai's advice to stay away from fried foods is also a great suggestion. Eat properly (and I prefer organic foods when possible) and you wont have to detox so much.

Heavy exercise during a fast should be avoided. But walking for an hour in a park, forest is fine. Doing other light activities is also fine. Try yoga (asanas) during the fast. They should be done gently, not like exercising. I do yoga(asanas) and meditation (Transcendental Meditation) daily and that is also great for spiritual growth. Mind and body are interconnected and both have to be cultured.

Again, for the fast - re-read BlueSeats. Give it a try....Good Luck.

[Edited by - markji on 08-06-2008 08:47 AM]

For thos eof you that want good health and a lean looking body without fasting or juiceing yourself to death, I reccomend you buy "The Men's Health Hard Body Plan"