WATER FASTING: THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

This water fasting page starts a series that will discuss various aspects, including Weight Loss - Water Fasting Tips and The Physical Healing & Health Benefits of Water Fasting.

There is a link at the bottom of each page that will take you from one to the other, so don't worry if you lose your place while you are reading. In these pages you will find information that can help you to better understand what water fasting is all about. It is my hope to give you a foundation from which to start.

There is, however, something that I want to emphasize right from the start:

Water Fasting Won't Produce Lasting Results Unless You Are Willing to Make Permanent Eating-Habit Changes

It takes hard work and dedication to reach our goals in any field. Water Fasting is no different. Yes, the weight loss and health benefits are amazing, and these do materialize very quickly, but first you'll need to go through some discomfort with hunger and detox symptoms. And, again, the most important part of any fast is what you do AFTER it.

What I mean is this:

Water Fasting for many days to return to a diet full of junk is insanity. That is not the type of fasting that we advocate in this website. For LONG-LASTING results, you relationship with food must change.

For The Water Fasting Newbies

Indeed, water fasting is a powerful and natural way to lose weight and cleanse your body of toxins as well as disease. I dare say that it is by far the most powerful source of healing and rejuvenation known to man. That is why I always refer to it as a Fountain of Youth.

Regular water fasting can often foster dramatic anti-aging effects. But it is wise NOT to jump blindly into a fast longer than three days without suitable preparation. If you are a beginner, I suggest that you start with a partial fast. Skip one meal a day - say lunch - and drink a healthy amount of water as replacement.

Do this for a whole week. That alone will give you a good idea of what water fasting is all about. You will be exposed to hunger pangs and detox symptoms. But you will also get to experience the increased energy, mental clarity and sense of wellbeing that fasting ALWAYS provides. A partial water fast will make the detox process less uncomfortable. This type of intermittent fasting is a wise preparation step! I learned it the hard way.

Going from a full-course fatty meal to water fasting is a recipe for misery. Many highly toxic & obese people - like I was - go from never fasting to a wanting to do a long one right away. hey are quickly floored by the severity of the hunger pains and detoxification symptoms. Do a partial fast instead and make it easier for yourself!

24-Hour Fasting

Once you do a partial fast as described above for a few weeks, then start water fasting for short periods of time. Start with a 24-hour fast. Don't think that to attain a benefit you HAVE to fast for months. That is not true.

Fasting for longer periods of time will foster deeper detoxification and, of course, greater weight loss. But ANY effort you can make RIGHT NOW is more than enough to get you started! Little by little you can work your way to longer and longer fasts, if your health so allows it. Do not hurry and please take it easy.

IF YOU HAVE MADE UP YOUR MIND AND ARE READY TO DO A 24-HOUR FAST, FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS:

* Choose the particular day in which you plan on carrying out the fast. If possible, select a day that is NOT packed with activities and engagements. Sunday is a good day. But don't procrastinate. Choose a day and - DO IT! Water fasting while also going through a regular day is not optimal but possible nonetheless.

* Make sure that you have good quality water! While most cities have decent tap water, this is an occassion for you to give yourself the very best. If you don't have a water filter, now would be a good time to get one. Stock up on seltzer water and green tea. Seltzer water works great to soothe hunger pangs and detox symptoms. But stick to plain water as much as possible. Use the seltzer sparingly.

*At least ONE WEEK before the fast, reduce your intake of sugar, fats and caffeine. The stricter you are with this particular step, the easier the fast will be. Caffeine detox can cause strong headaches. If your body is brimming with sugar and grease, I can tell you what the hunger pains and detox symptoms will be more uncomfortable than they have to be.

Eat salads, steamed vegetables and lean poultry and fish as much as possible. Also, start to drink at the very least one-half gallon. The water AND the reduction of sugars, fats and caffeine will move your bowels and kick-start the detoxification process.

* Purchase a bottle of a herbal cleanser like Herbs & Prunes and start to take one-two-four tablets daily, also for seven days prior to the fast.

In combination with the change in diet and increase in water-intake, this inexpensive yet extremely-effective cleanser will induce powerful bowel movements.

That will commence to purge your digestive system of built-up fecal matter adhered to the walls of the colon. This pre-fast cleanse will reduce hunger and detox symptoms because many of the toxins in your body will already have been eliminated.

*Eat your last meal at around 8PM the night before the day of the fast. On the morning of the fast, have two full glasses of water upon awakening to get the bowels going. Take two-to-four tablets of the Herbs & Prunes with a cup of green tea with a pinch of lime. SORRY, NO SUGAR OR HONEY! Go through your day as planned, making it a point to drink as much water as possible.

Every time hunger hits you, drink two large glasses of water. If you have to leave your home, make sure to take sufficient water with you, along with at least two or three bottles of seltzer. I usually take a whole gallon of water and six-pack of seltzer when I have to go out while fasting. Refrigerate the water when you get to your destination. If no refridgerator is available, keep the water as cool as possible and away from heat and sunlight.

* At around noon, when hunger strikes, crack open a bottle of seltzer and drink it slowly. You can add a pinch of lime to the seltzer for taste. If you are taking the Herbs & Prunes, you will be having regular bowel movements. So make sure to stay fairly close to a bathroom.

* By 3PM, you will certainly start to really feel the hunger pains and may experience the beggining of the detoxification symptoms. Consider yourself fortunate ... your body is working hard to rid itself of toxins that were curtailing your health. Drink more water and seltzer. Have a cup of green tea for energy. You're almost there!

I also encourage you to keep a journal and spend time writing your thoughts, feelings in it. Jot down how you are feeling physically and mentally. Record any mood swings or particular symptoms that stand out more than others. This information will be very useful for future fasts.

* Drink more water and seltzer through the rest of the afternoon and have ONE more cup of green tea if you need it. When the clock hits 8PM, you are done! Break the fast initially by drinking a glass of watered-down orange or grape juice. About ONE HOUR later, have a bowl of sliced apples and pears. One apple and one pear is more than enough. DO NOT HAVE A FULL-COURSE MEAL! That can make you very sick. Eat light and GO TO BED!

* In the AM, drink another two large glasses of water upon arising and have a light breakfast of fruit and oatmeal, preferably with low-fat milk. This is a good time to strongly think about your life and future and consider permanently changing your eating habits for the better.

Stay Connected

DON'T BE A LONE RANGER - wanting to be a spiritual water fasting giant to the exclusion of people close to you.

One of the biggest mistakes most beginners make is to stop eating abruptly because they want to lose weight.

They start water fasting overnight and try to keep it a secret. Or they plan the fast, but still fail to inform a select few of what they are doing.

Water fasting is a physical powerhouse that can nuke debris from your system and give you an outlook on life you never thought possible. It is, in some ways, supernatural. Yet it is the toughest of all types of fasting because you receive no taste or substance in your body for the alloted time - except for the water itself.

My longest water fast was 60 days, and most of it took place in a camp where there were at least five people who knew what I was doing. Without the support of a selected few, I may not have made it.

Overcoming Limitations

If you are reading this, it is because in your soul you realize that there has to be more to life than what you have been experiencing. There is perhaps an instinct inside of you that wants to overcome limitations and experience a better life quality. Don't stop reading my friend. This can be the beginning of the rest of your life. And, amazingly, all you need to effect the change is - water and guts.

One of the questions I am always asked when somebody is starting with fasting is: How much water should I drink? My suggestion is - drink as much water as necessary to keep you going. It is not unusual for me to drink one or even two gallons of water a day when I am fasting.

As I said, seltzer water with a little lime helps to settle the stomach and appease water fasting hunger pains. That has worked wonders for me at some very harsh water fasting moments. Try not to drink water that is too cold.

The closer to room temperature it is, the better.

Again, that is just a recommendation based on what has worked for me. Take your time and try different temperatures of water until you find the one that grants you the most comfort from the hunger pains.

Toilet Sprints

When first water fasting, you will likely have to dash for the toilet with frequency. The body is not used to such large shots of liquid; the water pushes on the colon and induces the elimination of toxic fecal residue.

At this point, between the first and third day of water fasting, the waste coming out of your body will be from recently-consumed food. Getting to the often "years-old" dregs stubbornly attached to the colon will take a little longer. That is where the true miracle lies.

The best way to accelerate the colon cleansing process is to massage your stomach, pressing in with both hands open. First emphasize the top of the colon, then the bottom... then the liver. Repeat this several times a day when water fasting.

The point is to drink large amounts of water, and then to massage your abdomen to maximize the amount of dried and toxic waste eliminated from your body. Drinking large amounts of water is NOT the same as drinking juice or soda. Water is pure life ... soda and artificial juices are not.

The Powdered Juice Dilemma

Many people often tell me that they simply do not like to drink plain water in large quantities. That they would much prefer to sprinkle it with some type of sugarless powdered juice so it can go down more smoothly. This, in my opinion, is baloney.

My answer, for the most part, is that many bodies have become so accustomed to trash that they insist on continuing to sniff it - even after stepping out of the manure pit. This may sound harsh, but the message I am attempting to drive home is that water fasting should be just that. It should not be Kool-Aid fasting. Tough it out and get your body used to drinking pure water without additives. Remember, easy does it. Slow wins the race.

A Final Recommendation

I recommend adding Himalayan Crystal Salt to the water several times daily while fasting. The salt is known to contain energy and healing properties that assist in bringing the body's regulatory system (homeostasis) into balance. This fosters improved blood pH, digestive system functions, brain activity, respiration, and it also helps remove heavy metals from your body. Alright, enough yapping. Let's move on to PART II of the water fasting series and talk about Weight Loss.

Return From Water Fasting to Fitness Through Fasting HOME

Robert Dave Johnston
Fitness Through Fasting-Editor/Webmaster
Publisher:The Anti Prevention Nation Ezine &
FastingOlogy 9-Month Membership Course.

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