Let me start by saying that I personally have never done a fast. I barely go 3 hours without eating. SO today I thought i would try it. My friends definition of a fast is not chewing, so anything liquid goes. I came home from my 90 minute trail run and had a recovery protein shake and I added some paleo greens to it with water and ice. No problem so far!! A few moments later I figured out that you don't really have to chew yogurt, so down it went. Then I thought if I put a banana in my mouth for long enough it would not really have to be chewed, but would disintegrate and slide down my throat. About an hour later I was back at the refrigerator looking to see what else could be sucked on without really chewing it . . . organic almond butter, chocolate soy pudding, pomegranate juice . . . then there were things I could throw in the blender that were wouldn't have to be chewed . . . Hmmm. When I started contemplating if a meatball could melt in my mouth, I knew I was not long for this fasting thing. For me, the minute I tell my brain I can't have something, the more I want it. Optimally I eat things that are good for me and my body craves them. That does not mean that I don't crave chocolate or ice cream, but when you eat healthy, you crave healthy. When you eat junk, you crave junk. Your body always wants to right itself meaning it wants to maintain homeostasis or balance. If you fast, then it feels deprived and the next chance you give it to eat, you will over eat (hence the binge and purging associate with eating disorders).
Okay now more seriously, the main benefit offered by a fast, to those who wish to lose weight, is the speed of the weight loss. It's possible for a person drop 30-to-40 pounds in a 30-day juice fast. During that time they are losing water, fat and muscle -yes the muscle you worked so hard to earn. For some the fast becomes a catalyst for a total life overhaul by weight loss.
When someone fasts for even 2 days they can drop, 8 lbs. from the colon, 5 lbs. in water and 2 lbs. in body fat. For some the detoxification is powerful and they feel healthier, less ill and have more mental clarity.
AFter a few days of a fast (or very low calorie diet) the colon is empty there is also a reduction in bulk that flattens the stomach. This weight loss from having an empty colon is not permanent.
Fasting Weight Loss Rates Vary According to Metabolism. The slower your metabolism is, the slower the weight loss. Fasting can slow the metabolism as the body begins to shut down with so little energy and when it eats away at your metabolically active muscle.
Initially, weight loss can be as high as three-to-four pounds per day, but as the fast continues, the average loss is less and you are putting your body in a state of ketosis, which is dangerous. If you are going to do a true fast you should consider taking a liquid multi vitamin like Intramax which is providing you with essential nutrients, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. I would at least recommend some nutritious drink that included some greens and protein or berries.
By now you know II encourage everyone to develop life long healthy disciplines including exercise, a diet high in raw fruits and veggies and lean protein, stress management 7+ hours of sleepa night, pampering and so on. If you choose to fast I would recommend a Friday after boot camp where you can sleep in on Saturday and do it with some combination of nutrition.
It does take a tremendous amount of discipline not to eat when it's a natural thing that your body needs and is used to.
When a fast ends, you will naturally regress to your regular patterns of living and if they are unhealthy you lose all the benefits gained by fasting.
Try to stay focused on the healthy things you are doing to improve your life rather than being consumed with the number of pounds lost.
The best motivation to fast is for physical and spiritual health. Toxins will leave your body, but your body has a natural ability to eliminate toxins - assuming you are not overloading it. Do not have unrealistic expectations about fasting. Give your body the time it needs to do the work of cleansing naturally.
Again I am not a fasting expert or necessarily an advocate. There are books and research on very low calorie diets and the benefits to health and especially longevity. If you are considering a fast for health or weight loss reasons, consider a low calorie diet temporally instead. Or a liquid diet for a few days. Boot camp is not really the time for fasting. You can burn up to 700 calories in a boot camp workout. Even if you spend the rest of your day sitting and praying you would still start to eat away at your muscle after the second day.
Here is a study on mice to consider . . .
Study on mice shows fasting improves health as much as cutting calories. Periodic fasting and cutting calories is proven to increase health and lifespan.
Research -Fasting Increases Lifespan and Insulin Sensitivity
Several recent studies have reported a variety of benefits from a sharply restricted diet, including longer life span, increased insulin sensitivity and stress resistance.
In the new report, mice that were fed only every other day - but could gorge on the days they did eat - saw similar health benefits to ones that had their diet reduced by 40%, a team of researchers reports in Tuesday’s online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Research - Fasting and Calorie Reduction Detoxifies the Body
But the new study by Mark P. Mattson and colleagues at the National Institute on Aging found equal benefits for mice that ate only every other day, but didn’t cut total calories because they ate twice as much on days they weren’t fasting.
Mattson said a study is in the planning stages to compare the health of a group of people fed the normal three meals a day with a similar group, eating the same diet and amount of food, but consuming it within four hours and then fasting for 20 hours before eating again.
Research Proves Skipping Meals is Healthy
“Overeating is a big problem now in this country, it’s particularly troublesome that a lot of children are overweight. It’s still unclear the best way to somehow get people to eat less …. One possibility is skipping a meal a day,” Mattson said. “Our study suggests that skipping meals is not bad for you.”
Dr. Carol A. Braunschweig of the University of Illinois at Chicago, who was not part of the study team, said she was intrigued by the suggestion that a drastic change in eating patterns might have benefits.
“With the current epidemic of obesity and physical inactivity facing the U.S. today, identification of a beneficial eating pattern that could address some of the untoward effects of excess weight would be a very significant finding,” she said.
Mattson said an earlier study found that mice that fasted every other day had extended lifespans and the new experiment found the mice also did better in factors involved in diabetes and nerve damage in the brain similar to Alzheimer’s disease.
“We think what happens is going without food imposes a mild stress on cells and cells respond by increasing their ability to cope with more severe stress,” Mattson said. “It’s sort of analogous to physical effects of exercise on muscle cells.”
He said the researchers think this stress occurs throughout the body, and that may be the reason fasting seems to increase lifespan and the animals become more resistant to the diseases of aging.
The dieting mice consumed 40% less food than mice eating normally and lost nearly half their body weight (49 percent) in the experiment, while the fasting mice weighed only a little less than mice eating normally.
In recent years, some nutritionists have recommended eating smaller amounts more often, but this study did not deal with that type of eating pattern.
In the new report, the researchers said both the fasting mice and those on a restricted diet had concentrations of blood sugar and insulin that were significantly lower than mice allowed to eat whenever they wanted. Indeed, insulin levels in the fasting mice were even a bit lower than the dieting ones.
Fasting Increases Resistance to Toxins
At the end of the experiment all three groups of mice were injected with a toxin that damages cells in the part of the brain called the hippocampus. It’s cell damage there that that is involved in Alzheimer’s in humans.
When the mouse brains were later analyzed the scientists found that the brains of the fasting mice were more resistant to damage by the toxin than the brains of either dieting mice or those eating normally.
Note by Tom Coghill: The above research proves that periods of fasting will improve health even if the food intake is doubled the next day. Calorie reduction also causes a detoxification with health benefits similar to fasting. The research was first published in 2005. The photo below is “our” estimation of the results.
End
The bottom line is calories in and out at the end of a 24 hour period. You want the most nutritious calories for each calorie that passes your lips.
Your friend in fitness,
Kelli
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