Fasting for Weight Loss

"For the past 10 years I was not able to lose weight at all. I never thought a fast was something I would ever do. But as I got healthier I found myself wanting to do it. When I did it, it felt like my insides were being washed clean and rejuvenated. My weight loss after this fast was steady for about 6 months without a plateau." Julie M.

Fasting for weight loss can be an integral part of your natural weight loss if it is done to detoxify your interstitial fluids and fat cells and allow your glands to heal and gain strength.

But fasting for weight loss should NOT be taken on as a calorie reduction strategy.

As you may know from my consults and the rest of my site, I am quite opposed to using calories as a primary or main evaluation tool for food choices. I believe it is one of the worst and most misleading measurements that not only stops you from gaining optimal health but can also drive your health down to the ground and make you age faster.

Much of what I do is to teach clients and visitors about the health of your cells, the health of your nervous system and also the health and balance of your glands.

In this regard, fasting for weight loss is, for some people, an ideal step to take to gain a resurgence in cellular and glandular health.

A great book to read on the scientific studies regarding this is Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s book “Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor's Program for Conquering Disease”

I don’t advocate fasting for weight loss to everyone. But, in terms of resetting the metabolism by building up to the fast and what is done after the fast, can practically throw the age of metabolism back a few decades in youth.

Yes, I know that some of you know people in certain cultures see that they fast annually for religious or cultural reasons and they do not lose weight. Yes, you are right. That is why ANYTHING I recommend is based on a full contextual program for you. A fast, like exercise or supplements is part of a whole picture for you. They are not fasting for weight loss. Fasting for weight loss is a different game altogether.

Having said that, let’s get into the subject of fasting.

What is Fasting?

During this period of time the body goes into a self-cleansing mode where matter that is not needed for metabolism is eliminated from the body. In other words, it detoxifies the body and it’s various cells.

Fasts done the right way, will result in as much as 40 days on water without any deficiency of protein and micronutrients.

There will be an initial catabolism of muscle tissue and fat tissue but after a while muscle tissue will resume its original size and weight while fat continues to breakdown mainly to eliminate toxic residue, which is mostly contained in fat tissue.

A. J. Carlson, Professor of Physiology, University of Chicago, states that a healthy, well-nourished man can live from 50 to 75 days without food, provided he is not exposed to harsh elements or emotional stress. Human fat is valued at 3,500 calories per pound. Each extra pound of fat will supply enough calories for one day of hard physical labor. Ten pounds of fat are equal to 35,000 calories! Most of us have sufficient reserves, capable of sustaining us for many weeks.

Essential to a fast done for the purpose of health and detoxification is rest and hydration. Starvation is the absence of food WITH stress (physical, mental and emotional). In this condition the body, due to stress and the constant surge of cortisol and acids, breaks the body tissue down at a very rapid rate. The stress also prohibits the parasympathetic system from being dominant. The parasympathetic system is what is in charge of regeneration and healing.

Your body uses many forms of elimination. Exhaling, urinating, defecting, sweating, shedding skin and hair, etc. When these ordinary pathways to elimination are blocked or ineffective, other forms of elimination are used or worse no elimination occurs.

Other forms of elimination are: mucous, boils, vomiting, diarrhea, oil through the skin, shedding skin as in dandruff, chaffing, rashes, etc.

When they can’t be eliminated, the body will find a way to remove them from vital organs to protect it such as channeling it into fat cells, over or undergrowth in the body, joints, blood vessels, etc.

So the first stage comes from the over accumulation or supersaturation of toxic material and material and chemicals that cannot be metabolized (which then becomes toxic) at a rate that is faster than the body can eliminate it. I’ll repeat that so that the simplicity of toxicity can be revealed.

Toxicity comes from the over accumulation or supersaturation of toxic material and material and chemicals that cannot be metabolized (which then becomes toxic) at a rate that is faster than the body can eliminate it.

Fasting for weight loss, done responsibly and with guided counsel will rebalance the above condition and desaturate the over accumulation of toxic matter in the body and allow it to eliminate them.

When the body attains this super-saturated state, the body systems get “backed up” it is like a toilet that cannot flush and gets backed up. Or a car that has a poor exhaust system. There is a general slow down and breakdown.

This results in STRESS being placed on the body systems and organs. The toxic backup has to get filtered through the liver. The liver filters the fluids and hormone precursors for other glands like the thyroid, adrenals and ovaries. They start to push harder. You digestive system starts to work harder, your kidneys start to work harder.

Just like any other living thing, they get burnt out.

This is the precursor to disease and all outward manifestations of poor internal health.

The glands, that are almost completely responsible for the direction of how your body is built every moment of everyday, can simply fail.

So when fasting for weight loss, a fantastic amount of stress is taken off the body systems.

In the body, the first stage of fasting for weight loss cleanses and removes large quantities of waste matter and digestive residues. The first few days of a fast can be rough due to the quantity of waste passing into the blood stream.

The tongue becomes coated and the breath foul as the body excretes waste through every opening. After the third day of fasting for weight loss, there is little desire for food. The second stage is the cleansing of mucous, fat, diseased and dying cells, and the more easily removed toxins. As the fast continues, the cleansing process becomes more thorough.

The last stage is the cleansing of toxins that have been accumulating in your cellular tissue from birth, and the microscopic tubes that carry vital elements to the brain.

Cleansing of the last layer is only possible through a combination of juice fast, water fasting, and a healthy diet high in raw foods. To overcome a severe disease like cancer, it is important to continue through a series of fasts, to the point where the full scouring action of catabolism removes the disease from the tissue.

During extended fasts and fasting for weight loss the body removes: dead, dying and diseased cells; unwanted fatty tissue, trans-fatty acids, hardened coating of mucus on the intestinal wall; toxic waste matter in the lymphatic system and bloodstream; toxins in the spleen, liver and kidney; mucus from the lungs and sinuses, imbedded toxins in the cellular fibers and deeper organ tissues; deposits in the microscopic tubes responsible for nourishing brain cells and excess cholesterol.

Nearly everyone who fasts and does fasting for weight loss discovers the same thing, that when they fast they actually have no hunger and more energy than they normally have. It is indeed liberating to find out that if we let go and trust that we will be taken care of.

Fasting for Weight Loss - Benefits

Increased Awareness

The other very important aspect of fasting for weight loss is that your self-awareness will be elevated. If you are sick and depressed, then this might be the most important thing you can try in your healing program, because it gives you immediately an energy boost and increased awareness which might allow that you see things more clearly, allowing you the first step out of your sickness and onto the path of recovery.

While fasting for weight loss you become more aware of your body process, your life and with everything you are doing. It becomes a period where you can evaluate all that you're doing more objectively, and you naturally have more time for contemplation because you aren't using time amassing, preparing, eating, eliminating and cleaning up all which is used to prepare food.

You become more aware of what your body likes and doesn't like when you start to eat again. You gain self-confidence in your ability to control your life process, to set a goal and carry out an intention.

Fasting for Weight Loss Enhances Mental Acuity

Perhaps the most instructive testimony as to the acuteness of mental powers during fasting comes from Dr. Herbert Shelton who supervised the fasting of more than 40,000 people over a period of fifty years. His message is that the freer the body is of toxic materials flowing through the blood and lymphatic system, the clearer is the ability to think.

These facts are due to physiological causes. Large amounts of blood and nervous energies have to be sent to the digestive organs to digest a meal. If these energies are not required there, they may be used by the brain for better thinking. This increase in mental acuity doesn’t usually happen until after the first few days of a fast, because the body is busy cleaning out excess toxins and substances and so the first few days can be a period of depression, with headaches and various pains as this process is underway. This makes the first stage of fasting for weight loss difficult but after the body has thrown off it’s load of toxins, then the brain is fed by a cleaner bloodstream and the mental powers and clarity of thought are extraordinarily increased and the other senses also become more acute. 

One’s mind becomes clearer and one’s ability to think and solve intricate problems is enhanced. One is simply more alert, and one’s mind seems to open up into new fields. The mental and physical senses are heightened, and often there can be a feeling of euphoria, especially during longer fasts. Some, for the first time, will experience emotional stability. The reasons for this are multifold - the elimination of the emotional dependence on food, exclusion of stimulating foods like caffeine, processed sugars, recreational drugs, tobacco and trans-fatty acids, all of which can have a devastating effect on delicate emotions.

Dr. Ehret stated an amazing fact at the turn of the 20th century. He said that, for a water fast to awaken the higher mind functions, it had to be longer than 21 days. Fasting has a history of awakening intuitive senses, creativity, and deeper spiritual questions in those with enough determination to get past the 21 day mark.

Fasting for Weight Loss - Healing 

During a fast, a metamorphosis occurs. The body undergoes a tearing down and rebuilding of damaged materials. For this reason, fasting for weight loss is famous for its ability to rejuvenate and give the body a more youthful tone. Why does fasting for weight loss have such a powerful effect in healing the body? Fasting dissolves diseased cells in a systematic manner, leaving healthy tissue thus increasing the overall balance of healthy cells in the body.

The result is a thorough cleansing of the tube, membrane and cellular structures. There is a remarkable redistribution of nutrients in the fasting body. It hangs on to precious minerals and vitamins while catabolizing on old tissue, toxins and inferior materials.

Each cell of your body is a complete living entity with its own metabolism. It needs a constant supply of oxygen and sufficient nourishment. When due to nutritional deficiencies, sluggish metabolism, sedentary life, overeating and consequent poor digestion and assimilation of food, lack of fresh air and sufficient exercise and rest, our cells are deprived. They start to degenerate The normal process of cell replacement and rebuilding slows down and your body starts to grow old, its resistance to disease will diminish and you become ‘sick’. 

Animals will naturally fast when they are sick or injured, and when we are ill, our hunger diminishes. If we get out of the way and allow nature to take its course, we will find that we can heal from any problem. Since the dawn of recorded time, in fact since before the word "doctor" came into existence, priests provided sanctuaries where people could go to fast. Whereas modern medical practitioners admit that they have no cures, only drugs that mask the symptoms while causing yet other symptoms to appear.

“I had a medical practice for 20 years in NYC, supervised hundreds of long fasts, and I found that the physical healing or weight loss was but a pleasant side effect. What really happened is that the person got in touch with their higher self, their true self, and came to the experience that healing can take place at every level, simply by letting go and allowing Mother Nature to do her work.” – Dr. Rai Casey

Results of Fasting for Weight Loss

• Mental clarity is improved and brain fog is lifted.
• Rapid, safe weight loss is achieved without flabbiness 
• The nervous system is balanced 
• Energy level and sensory perception is increased. The longer the fast, the bigger increase in energy and vitality. You normally need less sleep.
• Organs are revitalized 
• Cellular biochemistry is harmonized
• The skin becomes silky, soft, and sensitive
• There is greater ease of movement
• Breathing becomes fuller, freer and deeper
• The digestive system is rejuvenated and becomes more effective; the peristaltic action of the intestines (the cause of a natural bowel movement) is stronger after fasting.
• Fasting retrains your tasting sense back to more healthy food as acute sensitivity is restored. 
• Fasting can increase confidence in our ability to have control over our lives and our appetite, and that our body is self-regulating and a self-healing organism capable or establishing balance when given the possibility to do so.
• Normal metabolic and cell oxygenation are restored.
• Detoxification - as soon as the body realizes that it's fasting it will begin to eliminate those things that cause disease, such as fat cells, arterial cholesterol plaques, mucus, tumors, stored up worries and emotions.
  
  

Fasting for Weight Loss - Juice Fast

A juice fast is the primary type of fast I use for clients.

Foods can be extremely healing. Foods alone can heal the body. Foods that are alkalizing, raw and containing high moisture levels provide all the benefits of a fast BUT also provides dense nutrients into the cells in the most easily assimilable form.

Without going into a chapter in electro-chemistry, these foods have the unique ability to look for toxic matter and bind to them and because they are in liquid form, assist in moving the toxins through elimination channels. Fasting for weight loss tends to connote all that will not be allowed or what a person will be deprived of. Fasting for weight loss with a juice fast with very nutrient dense foods, provides more nutrients to their cells in one day that their old diet did in two weeks.

Fasting for Weight Loss - Preparation

Preparation is the key to success and a good experience and in my practice, I get most people to take baby steps towards a week or two week fast. It is a matter of getting them used to a certain level and routine of eating and living.

Then change it to a lighter and less taxing diet. They receive relief from each stage and many feel they want more. By the time we get to a diet almost completely raw, they are in a completely different physical state as well as a completely different mental and emotional condition.

I always want a person to win and feel relief more than they feel taxed. It is impossible to be perfect and there are always going to be times of discomfort. I just try to get a person to organize things so the discomfort is minimal.

So preparation is not just about what you do in the kitchen. It is a mental and emotional preparation as well. My success with clients has come primarily from giving them success by setting a goal that is achievable and not overwhelming. Then a new goal and then another. Each goal attainment provides relief and benefit to the client that is stable and consistent. Before they know it, they are ready for a fast.

So fasting for weight loss should not be only about will power or forcing ones self to suck it up.

Frequency of Fasting for Weight Loss

This is up to the individual and their coach. I do a fast a day out of the week. Sometimes two days. I use weekends. I stay home and end up just drinking juiced vegetables.

If you ever see me in person I do not look like the prototypical faster. I have a muscular, athletic build and I lift heavy weights. These minor fasts accelerate the anabolic functions of my body and help assimilate the proteins and nutrients needed for muscle growth.

Most importantly, the fasts help me recover fast from workouts.

Activity Level when Fasting for Weight Loss

Keep it light and rejuvenating. Not intense. I sometimes crackup with titles of videos like “Power Yoga”. It’s like having a title, “High Speed Sleep!” A fast is a time of restoration. Not taxation and stimulation.

Fasting for Weight Loss - Aiding Elimination of Toxins

Fasting for weight loss can be aided by supplements that expedite the actions of the fast.

Fiber Supplementation: The increase of fiber supplements such as psyllium husk combined with

COMMON NAME, SCIENTIFIC NAME
Alfalfa Medicago sativa
Black Walnut Hulls Juglans nigra
Cascara Sagrada Rhammus purshiana
Hibiscus Flower Hibiscus sabdariffa
Irish Moss Chondrus crispus
Licorice Root Glycyrrhiza glabra
Marshmallow Root Althaea offinalis
Mullein Verbascum thapsus
Oatstraw Avena sativa
Passion Flower Passiflora incarnata
Pumpkin Seeds Cucurbita pepo
Shavegrass Equisetum arvense
Slippery Elm Bark Ulmus rubra
Violet Viola odorata
Witch Hazel Hamamelis virginiana
Yucca Yucca schdigera Yucca brevifolia

Neti Pot:
It is common, during fasting, for the nose and throat to pass sticky mucus, clogging the sinuses. White strands of mucus may be found in the stool. You may find that you are more comfortable if you use a Neti Pot to clear the sinus cavities, to prevent getting a cold with the clogged sinuses. You can also drink lemon juice with water to help clear the mucus. 

Showers/Bathing:
Plan to shower or bath daily to aid in cleaning the pores and assist the removal of toxins. The skin is a large organ and many toxins are removed through the pores causing a gummy deposit on the surface of the skin. It may help to brush the skin removing the sludge that is deposited there.

Massaging/Lymph Massage:
Massaging when fasting for weight loss is a very helpful action to aid in detox for two very specific reasons. The more the nervous systems gains balance, the parasympathetic nervous system (the part that promotes healing and regeneration and also the part that has been submerged by poor health) regains dominance again. Massaging assists in this.

Secondly, massaging (especially massaging designed for circulating lymph), assists in the circulation of lymph, which also helps move toxins through the elimination channels of the body.

Hatha Yoga:
This is also an excellent form of exercise and physical activity for the same reasons as massage.

Fasting for Weight Loss

Weight loss will occur on this fast. But the purpose is not weight loss. The purpose of recommending some form of fast for a client is to help their glands and body systems recover. Some key glands are simply under performing. Let me give you an example - after a very long period of high sugar intake, dense starch intake, high greasy food intake, alcohol intake, or even moderate amounts of each but in combination for years (which is common for most modern societies) the liver will get congested and not be able to do what it is there to do.

The liver can be analogized to be the oil filer of the glands and hormones and foods for the body just like the oil filter of your car. When the liver cannot function properly, ALL other glands will under perform. One of them can be the thyroid gland and the thyroid gland directly controls and regulates the rate of metabolism.

This is just one example.

One of the reasons people cannot lose weight permanently and dramatically with attendant boost in health, vibrance and vitality, is because the glands of the body are imbalanced or under-performing.

A person can “lose weight” and still have a slower metabolism. Many, many fad diets simple dehydrate the heck out of people and decrease muscle mass and muscle weight. This is what sets the stage for rapid and dramatic fat gain. The body has lost nutrients and the metabolism has slowed down.

That is why people on these diets do not change their body shape. They may lose weight but their body shape does not change. And their symptoms of poor health increase.

A person whose metabolism gets younger and stronger has a dramatic and profound change in the way the body functions from the inside out. It becomes more resilient, less sensitive to the environment, functionally stronger and with tremendous momentum.

That is what I am going for.

You see fat loss should be simple. You eat better and you exercise more. But so many people are not losing fat and some are getting fatter the harder they work.

The reasons for this is a health imbalance such as low pH, dehydration, lack of oxygenation, and glandular imbalance.

But when these things do not restore or it is taking too long, then I go for detox. The toxins in the interstitial fluid and fat cells stop the glands and organs from healing.

So going through the detox elevates the level of internal health very quickly and raises it to a new plateau.

Then glandular rebalancing occurs almost on its own.

THEN the diet and exercise works the way you thought it should.

Fasting for Weight Loss - What You Can Expect:

Dizziness
You may experience dizziness, if you do get down on one knee and the dizziness will stop immediately.

Backache
Back pain may increase due to toxins in the lower intestine. The blood vessels that draw nutrients from the colon are very close to the nerves of the spine. Back pain often decreases after elimination of the toxins. Back exercises also can relieve some pain. A cold pack also will help. An enema may be in order.

Bad Breath
Waste passes through the lungs which are an eliminative organ. Brushing the tongue with a tooth brush, using dental floss and rinsing with mouthwash will reduce bad breath.

Canker Sores
These may develop from a toxic buildup in the mouth. Unhealthy bacteria increases between the teeth. The tongue becomes coated with waste. To stop cankers, gargle with sea salt mixed with water several times daily. Dabbing the sore with tea tree oil or vitamin E quickens the healing process.

Cold Virus
Mucoid is the perfect food for viruses. Toxins weaken the immune system. When large quantities of toxins and mucus are in the blood due to a fast, they can cause a susceptibility to colds. To fight a cold, continue fasting to eliminate the mucus. Reduce the liquid intake and drink lemon juice.

Blackouts
During fasting the body conserves energy. The heart pumps slower and blood pressure lowers. Standing or moving quickly from a resting position will cause the blood to flow to the legs. For a few seconds, the brain may not get enough oxygen, causing blackouts and dizziness. To stop a blackout get down on one knee or sit. Lowering your center of gravity will instantly stop a blackout. Blackouts are more frequent during water fasting.

Diarrhea
Fruit juices have a laxative effect that is more pronounced after water fasting. It can be stopped by using the enema. Using psyllium husk during diarrhea will help regulate the system.

Strong Emotions 
Try to journal, EFT, meditate, talk a walk, or rest.

Headaches
Toxins can cause muscle tightness in the neck and shoulders. This can result in tension headaches. Massaging the neck and shoulders will help relieve the tension. The herb Fever Few, which is available in health food stores, is well worth trying.

Mucus 
Drink lemon juice with water, combine with Neti Pot.
 
Muscle Tightness
The muscles may become tight and sore due to toxin irritation. The legs can be the worst affected as toxins accumulate in the legs. A self massage, hot baths, stretching and exercising will help to release the toxins.

Nausea
When waste is released too quickly by the lymph glands, some of the toxic overload is taken by the liver and secreted with bile into the stomach. This causes nausea. Drinking water or carrot juice will dilute the bile and toxin mixture helping to flush it from the system.

Nervousness
The elimination of toxins can irritate damaged nerves. Exercise will relieve tension. Use quarter slices of avocado to slow the fast or drink fruit juice if on a water fast. However, you should note that any food intake may cause one's hunger to return and make it more difficult to stay on the fast, just do the best that you can.

Skin disturbances
The skin may become oily as rancid oils are purged from the body. People with problem free skin may have a few days of pimples or boils. A pallid complexion is also a sign of waste in the blood. When cleansed of mucus and toxins, the skin will be healthy, soft and unblemished.

Tiredness
Tiredness is normal during water or restricted juice fasting. If the tiredness is too much, increase the quantity of sweet juices like melon and carrot juice.

Heightened and Restored Senses from Fasting for Weight Loss

An interesting phenomenon occurs after a fast. The years of conditioning your body to tolerate unhealthy foods is reversed. The body is as clean as a newborn baby. Try feeding a newborn baby Grandma's apple pie.

When the body is full of toxins, its defense systems are not able to operate effectively. After a fast the natural defenses are restored and sensitivity to unhealthy food is increased.

You will feel satisfied with smaller amounts of food and sluggish and tired when overeating. Rich foods, full of fat, salt, and processed sugars will cause nausea, headaches and weakness. A handful of fruit will be thoroughly satisfying. Because the digestive system has to work less, there will be boundless energy to spare.

Why? After a fast your body is clean, and has far less tolerance to the poisonous foods that you were used to eating previous to the fast. Understand, feeling sick when eating poison is a sign that your body is functioning normally.

Fasting for weight loss restores the body's ability to violently react to harmful, health damaging, food. If you really desire, you can desensitize your body by slowly introducing harmful foods back into your diet, but why you should? You better select your food carefully, even though it is not possible to avoid toxins as these are every where. So fasting as a regular cleaning is important and will keep you healthy. 

To Learn More About Fasting in General

I use a specific juice fast for my fasting for weight loss phase in my consults. But there is a website that is quite comprehensive and gives a lot of quality information on the subject of fasting. It is Fitness Through Fasting

Good Luck and I hope to meet you some day.