Today I started fasting again. I'm soon going to sleep, I've been out with a friend the whole day and she kept eating and drinking the whole time but I still didn't give up! Actually, I didn't even feel hungry. Sometimes it's more of a battle with my own mind than with my body.. because I feel fine without food.
I've fasted before, for a week at a time and then I stopped because I was scared to go on. I didn't have any friends who supported me and I didn't even know it was healthy! anyway, now I've done a lot of reading and hopefully with some support from you, I will complete a 40 day water fast.
My brother also supports me, which means so much to me.. but my mom, well.. I don't really want to tell her. I don't want to tell anybody except my brother because I feel like he's the only one who understands.. eventually, I'll tell her but not now.. but she cooks all the time! so how can I keep it a secret from her?
Ugh yeah, I hate being around people who eat while I'm fasting lol Good luck to you and don't let anyone discourage you from fasting because it's the best thing you can do for your body. Best of luck to you tomorrow on your day 2
Thank you so much for your support! I'm not doing well today.. I'm feeling a little dizzy and I haven't been able to drink water at all. I don't know why.. I just don't like the taste of it.. usually I drink so much water! I guess my only obstacle for not finishing this fast is my own mind. I keep thinking of foods I would love to eat right now and all the food commercials on tv doesn't make it any easier :)) but this time I really need to finish.. I don't want to give up! because I could just eat all the food that I'm craving now, after the fast. It can wait.. a beautiful and healthy body can not! I have to get it now :))
I recently completed 11 days of an intended maximum 21 day water fast.
For me, day 2 was the roughest in all, with headaches, muscle pains, etc. This may have been nicotine withdrawl as I used the fast to quit smoking too. I also had to work with and around food, alcohol, and tobacco.
I personally didn't tell my parents until I was about a week in
--this is helped by the fact that I am on my own, I don't know your age, but you sound young and as if you still reside with your parents, nothing wrong there, it helped me though simply having one roommate who didn't give me much flak--
and by then too dug in and dedicated to break it off on anyone's objections. And trust me, the more people know, the more will object, but most of them don't know f***all about fasting and either care about you and think the best way to show that is by trying to break you down instead of supporting you or are acquantainces/randoms who think that their opinion is solicited and valued. Both types will pass judgement without doing research. Some may even try to tempt or taunt you with food. Simply ignore all the malicious ones and pacify the ignorant ones who simply care but know nothing of what they criticise( it is unfathomable to most people that simply because they are incapable of functioning without skipping a meal, that others are).
As far as the craving go, for me they did get more intense the first 4-5 days or so, but levelled off and eventually almost ceased. Oddly enough, the cravings became almost sexual-like fantasies of my favorite foods, but these can be dealt with, with fierce dedication(I still had to taste stuff for work, then spit-rinse-brush) and by staying away from temptation when it's too much. I will say day 11, then cravings/food fantasies returned with a vengeance and I can say I'd never felt sure a psychological desire and longing for food. That was also the day I had to start refeeding, but that was because I fell and almost passed out and I could not have that at my job, much less at home or behind the wheel of a car. I've heard others mention that day 11 was tough for them, including my father and uncle, who've both gone longer than me.
I did overlook the fact that I should only drink with thirst and drank as much distilled water as I wanted(up to 6/7 liters a day), with occasional seltzer water to sooth the worst of the heartburn(very low sodium seltzer water, NOT club soda or sparkling mineral water). I also downright arrogantly ignored the fact that water fasting and relativly tough/hot physical labor are an undesirable and plain possibly dangerous combination which I guess slows the rate at which your body detoxes. That reason and that I didn't take enemas were why my dad gave me a lot of flak about it.
Anyhoo, I'm rambling, good luck and hopefully something in my own experience can help/bolster yours. Good luck.
Congratulations, 11 days is a long time, you did so well! Did you also quit smoking? I appreciate it so much that you shared your experience with me, it encourages me to go on.. yes, I still live with my family, I just turned 17.
I've almost finished the second day of fasting. I felt so dizzy the whole day and tired so I went to sleep and I dreamt that I was eating! It has never happened to me before, I never dream of food. It was very strange and it felt so real.. I dreamt I was eating hotdogs with lots and lots of ketchup and mustard and I rarely eat that type of food. I felt so disappointed but then I woke up and I realized it was just a dream.
School starts on monday and in a way I'm looking forward to it so it can keep me busy and it will make time go by faster.. but I have a small problem, I'm going to have gym at school.. which means I'll have to run and do a lot of those hard workouts, I don't know what I'm going to do..
This is quite a dedication to undertake at such a young age. I personally thought I was a bit young to do so, but I've finished growing, so I thought what the hell, why not...
The shame is that you will be around people your age and many of your contemporaries will have no concept of what you are doing. You may be ridiculed, mocked, and taunted. This makes me applaud your situation even more. One small benefit, is it got really easy to allow unsolicited, ignorant criticism roll off my back after a few days, because I got to a point where I simply didn't care.
I think at your age, you should let your parents know what you are doing, merely so that if anything does go wrong, such as, god forbid, you go into some kind of shock, they will know what is going on, instead of having to guess. As it were, I'm sure they'll notice something amiss, what with weight loss, skin color, sudden increase of pimples, all due to detox/fasting. I would also recommend carrying a travel toothbrush and a tube of paste and brushing your teeth, mouth, and tongue as needed, as your breath will start to downright reek as early as... well now.
I would sit the more levelheaded, reasonable parent down, or have a sibling with similar sensibilities do it, maybe if they have a better rapport with your parents. I would also recommend having a lot of research at hand about this sort of thing, as there will probably be a battery of questions and you may win support and approval by showing that you've prepared for this and done your homework instead of diving half blind into what is potentially a lethal thing... Not trying to scare you, but it is...
You need your family and friends in your corner during this time. The coaches at school can be told you are fasting for religious reasons, you can tell them you are a member of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Janaism. I believe all of these major religions has some sort of fasting associated with them, heck you could probably even say you are a practitioner of Santeria if you will. The thing is, most government run organizations(public schools, not private) are extremely careful not to "discriminate", by stepping on their students toes, when their students are practicing a part of a religion. So, even if you don't have a religion, you could always say you do. Politely inform your coaches/gym teachers that you will be unable to perform the more physical parts of exercise due to a water fast you are untaking for ::insert religious reason here" They don't even need to know how long. Tell them it is indefinite but will not exceed 50 days(40 for your face and at least 10 to refeed after). Ask them if it is acceptable to merely walk a lap around the gym or do stretches during this time, instead of your typical physical activity.
Also, just a heads up, this thing of ours that we do(I feel so deliciously mafiosi just writing that last line), it has some occasional complications, such as cold flashes, vomitting, diarrhea, etc. Be ready for this kind of stuff and remember that once you've had your last BM, what may feel like some gas passing, isn't always; especially once you've started refeeding, especially with juice, for me, but luckily I was at home and able to reach the head before I disgraced myself. Just letting you know...
Good luck and I wish you the best in this thing that we do...
It means so much to me to get all this support here and I feel more confident and secure when I read everything. Thank you and good luck to all of you.
I'm almost done, I'm going to bed in a couple of minutes and tomorrow is my third day. I'm really nervous, I've fasted before and the third day has always been so hard. Boris, I am religious and we do fast but we're allowed to eat anything as long as it doesn't contain milk, eggs, cheese, meat or anything that comes from animals. One of the most important fast in our religion is before Christmas and it lasts a whole month.. but we also have to fast every monday, wednesday and friday. I will talk to my gym teacher so he knows.. and I have already told my brother I'm fasting and he is very supportive. Thank you so much for everything!
You must mean the Advent or Philip's Fast, depending on which part of the Great Schism you fall. Excellent. Catholicism/Orthodoxy is a widely respected religion that is only basically known to non members. You can tell your coaches that as a practicing Catholic/Orthodox Christian, you are fasting to be closer to your Lord and that as part of your fast, you must abstain from all types of physical arousal, whether sexual, digestive, or overexertive and you pretty much have carte blanche to fast away as you wish and are legally protected.
Unless, I've totally missed something and it isn't a Christian fast, but I believe Ramadam this year is going right now, so that rules out Islam and as far as I know, the other major religions don't have a four week(or forty day) long fast right before Christmas. Sorry if I'm off though. Happy Fasting.
Oh and Boris the Pillager is an old boxing nickname. My name is Yevgeniy, but call me James.
aah ok, James. Yes I'm orthodox. Our fast is not as hard as Ramadan, I mean we're allowed to drink water... we just have to be vegetarian for a period of time.
I was wondering, does anyone take vitamins or iron or anything like that while they're fasting? Because I'm not sure if I should take it.. is it good for me? And this is now my third day, I'm excited to see how it's going to be.. has anyone else experienced that their heart is beating faster when they are walking and doing that kind of things?
I didn't take anything myself, but I'm not deficient at all and from what I understand, you don't really need them. I know people recommended I did(read= positive and negative critics of fasting, read= ignorant unwashed masses), but I ignored them. Whether it has any bearing on how your fast goes, that would be a question for Mighty Sun Tzu or Chris or perhaps just any faster who is more experienced than me with the concept. As it were, I think I read something that either they don't absorb without food or that you really need them to work through food, or both.
You had asked earlier if I've managed to stay off cigarettes. I have since I started the fast, which means I haven't smoked or really wanted to much since I started my fast.
Ok, thank you. I don't usually take vitamins and I don't really want to start now.. wow really? that's amazing! I know some people who tried to quit smoking for so long but they just gave up, it's very hard.. I'm happy for you :)
I was right! Today is a very, very bad day. I feel so hungry.. and dizzy. I dreamt again that I was eating and I keep thinking of foods I would love to eat now. When I'm not fasting, I usually eat healthy.. It's just that I eat too much chocolate :)) and lately I've been drinking a lot of coke too and I just eat because I'm bored.. and I've done this for so long, it's like my mind think it's normal now.. and I keep seeing food commercials which makes it even harder! But it's fine, I know that I really have to finish this time. I'm doing this for myself and I keep thinking of how happy I will be when I finish fasting.. I would feel more in control of myself and I would feel stronger mentally and so healthy and happy! I'm really excited! and this time I really don't want to give up. Thank you very much to all of you for your support! It helps so much!
I get a little anxious when I think that school stars tomorrow, I'm scared I'll feel too dizzy and that I won't be able to do anything! But at the same time, I feel like it's only going to make time go by faster.. I will have to wake up at 6:30 in the morning and I'll get home at about 4:30 pm from school. I just hope that after.. maybe 10 days I will feel better and I will forget I'm fasting.
It should get easier, but part of it is totally mental. Sheer will and determination.
I have quit smoking, but I have wanted to the few times I've touched alcohol since I ended fasting. That will be my biggest problem. Drinking without smoking. I haven't been hammered yet since I stopped fasting, so we will see if I am able to resist the temptation when that comes about. I'm just going one day at a time with not smoking, because I've quit for long periods of time before (8 months, 50 days, 1 month, 3 weeks), so we'll see if I can stay the course. I most certainly hope I can.
I've kinda replaced one addiction with an old one though. I've been running up a storm. This morning was 7 times in 5 days, but I need to take it easy and rest maybe 2 days before the next run, I had to cut this last run short because my bad knee started giving me signals that if I kept it up, I'd be limping for 2 weeks. I used to love running around, football(both American and international), ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and all that jazz, and used to be able to do it when I smoked, but sometime around 21, I couldn't smoke and run anymore, so I stopped running... Hoping to keep to it myself.
My point is, it's not always failure if you have to stop something like a fast before your original goal. Like a lapse for me is not necessarily a relapse and even a relapse is not necessarily a failure. You just take this thing one day at a time, listen to your body and act accordingly. Discomfort, negative symptoms, and mental/physical food cravings are all part of a normal fast. My dad went 28 days and claimed to be physically hungry every day of it. However, if things get to be a bit too much, then you've gotta ask yourself if staying the course is worth the consequences. For me, it wasn't, but for me possible consequences involved changing a keg and keeling over alone in the beer cooler on a busy night and busting my head wide open; laying there bleeding for god knows how long while the staff inside ran their asses off and only peripherally wondered where the hell I was.
Yes, I can't even imagine how hard it must have been to fast while working.. I was lucky because on saturday and sunday I just stayed at home, in bed and I was very relaxed. Today I had to go to school and I woke up at 6. I wasn't feeling very good this morning, I felt nauseous and I felt like I was going to throw up. It was awful.. now I'm home and I already feel better. I'm sorry if I discourage some of you to start fasting.. I know I've complained too much. I keep thinking of all the bad things but there are so many good things too.. for example, I feel more in control and disciplined.. I also sleep so much better! Even though there is noise coming from the neighbors, it doesn't bother me, I just keep on sleeping, I love it..and I feel so much more relaxed and I feel like I have more time.. and I feel strong, I don't feel like giving up. It's so nice to get skinnier every day without doing any kind of exercises.. I like working out but sometimes I'm not in the mood or I don't have time..
last fast was so much harder, I was feeling cold all the time and I was very scared.. I didn't know it was healthy..my heart was pumping too fast, so it scared me even more. I didn't have any support either.. James, I can't thank you enough :) and I hope too that you will stop smoking.. actually, I'm sure you will :)
Nyet, sweetie. You don't discourage people, but by your testimony of what you go through, you inform prospective fasters. This was my second fast of any length and I did the first one blind of any guidance or research, refed very poorly and probably nearly killed myself without realizing it. I did it a bit differently this time.
Remember, my original plan was to go 21 days. The last one I did, I planned for maybe 5 days and I just so happened to go 8. That one seemed easy, but I cheated by chainsmoking whenever I felt uncomfortable and smoking marijuana. This last time, I did it to beat smoking. 21 days seemed quite a stretch to not eat, and to also abstain from my other favorite vice, which is the drink, while trying to beat the vice that has held me down these 11 years. It was people like you struggling with their fasts and posting their discomforts and troubles that allowed me to think with my stubborn, Russian, self-bravado that I could do it. Part of it was the research I did, part of it was this mental innate, jump in the deep, cold end mentality that once I get my head around, I do.
Perhaps the only thing that kept me from going the 21 was the prudence that maybe some of my age or experience or research in the subject of fasting gave me. I realized that it would be dangerous to go further for me for the reasons I've listed above. As hard as day 11 was before I started refeeding, I could've made it through and would be finishing my original goal in just under 24 hours as I sit here and write this.
Still, 11 days has given me much that I did not know about or expect. I've not smoked and barely wanted to since I started fasting(well maybe the first day or 2). I have drank relativly very little compared to how I used to drink and do not really miss my old drinking habits too much. I do miss the alcohol tolerance, I had 9 beers and a shot Thursday, which wouldn't faze me a month ago, and I was drunk. I've been running, without hacking up a lung, which I haven't been able to do in 2 years. Barely a week after my fast and I've run so much, that I have to be prudent and cautious with it for the next few days so I don't injure my bad knee. I've kept my diet in check too, because I've decided that since I'm so close to my long lost abs, I might as well go for them. I also feel good these days, in an overall mental sense. Nothing all that great is going on. Work is atill work, with all the drama and long hours and nagging customers that that brings. I've still got bills to pay, but above it all, I feel good.
Upon skyping my friend, a doctor in Ukraine, I've been informed that most people living in America suffer from adrenal fatigue due to poor diet, insufficient rest, and stress. Which makes us feel bad, which leads to poor diet, elevated drinking, drug use-narcotic or pharmaceutical-, elevated drinking, insufficient rest, and stress, which leads to... a vicious cycle indeed. He suggests, because my adrenal glands have taken a vacation, that I feel good most of the time for no reason, when before I would feel bad or just simply... there. If you can understand that.
Anyhoo, the grand point I was making was don't be ashamed of your fast, enjoy it as much as you can and look forward to reaping the benefits. Above all, bitch, whine, piss, and moan as much as you want here, of all places. Most of the readers here have either done a water fast or are seriously contemplating one, which very few of your real world contemporaries would even consider one, without thinking it illogical and insane. We understand here, because we've been through it. We're not just here to post about our fasts, we're here to hold each other up.
I'll bet often times, that the only support a member of this forum has is other members and the words (s)he reads about other people who have undertaken or are currently undertaking something along the same lines they are. Me personally, I had no one in my own life who extended any support beyond detached indifference. Even my parents negativly criticized me when they heard, instead of offering constructive advice and answers--even though my father has fasted before and my mother helped him through it. I had questions that he could have answered that he wouldn't, because he disagreed with my reasons, methods, and age of fasting. Instead, I either learned myself or did research, mostly by scanning the archived pages of this forum. For instance, now that you are on a water fast and I have been through one, I can recommend very low sodium seltzer water and pulling your head back/looking up at the sky or ceiling and breathing very deep to alleviate heartburn which I certainly had a lot of during my water fast. Maybe you'll discover some natural way that can help alleviate other uncomfortable symptoms of fasting and help someone else out.
We are above, a community here and besides the occasional joker who pops up, we are all here for each other, so don't ever feel like you're putting us or potential fasters out by documenting your feeling, symptoms or ever what. One day, another 17 year old might drop by and look for information from someone his/her age about water fasting and you might be in a prime spot to pass some guidance along. Good fasting and take it easy. If it's easy, take it twice.
Thank you! You're always so helpful! But James, I read somewhere that smoking while fasting can be very dangerous, isn't that true? I can't even stand the smell of it right now.. and you were right! I did get pimples.. I'm amazed, I usually never get it, not even when I was 13-15 and everybody else had their face full of pimples. I used to get it when I was religiously fasting, before Christmas.. but it only lasted a few days and they looked just like they do now.. They're not red or anything like that, I actually didn't notice I had them before I stepped into a very bright light.. is there anyone else who gets pimples while fasting? Why did I get it now?
James, I'm so sorry to hear that your parents didn't support you. You went on a fast anyway so they should have shared their experience with you.. it would have been so much easier for you.. and thank you for your recommendation. I will try it. I haven't fasted for very long so I don't have many tips for you but today for example, I felt very dizzy and I thought that maybe it's because I don't drink enough water.. because I don't like the taste of it at all right now.. so I just forced myself to drink it.. and I felt better.
I think that there are so many people who abuse food. They eat because they're bored or because they are sad.. I do that too:)) It's awful! but today I started to get really good ideas of what I can eat after I break my fast.. and it's very healthy too! but at the same time it makes me feel like I'm obsessed with food. I just hope the cravings will fade after awhile, it's really hard for me to keep thinking of food..
tomorrow is day 5! and then I only have 5 more days to day 10.. and then.. only 30 left :)) I'm getting closer! Thank you again, are you thinking about starting a fast again too?
Wow, I'm suprised you go them so soon. Your body must have rightly jumped into ketosis. I didn't get them till the last day of my water fast. I used to have somewhat bad acne as a kid and teenager(started at 9), but that ended around the time I turned 20 and though I'll get a zit every now and then, it's nothing like the severity of which I broke out on my last day. They did go away after a few days though.
Since your body uses virtually every organ to assist in detox and your skin is an organ, that is one of the symptoms that you can tell your fast is working and there is less toxemia in your system.
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1st Day of 40 Days Water Fast 
