fasting/detox?

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emma4rove

24 posts since
Nov 24, 2004

Jan 25, 2007 5:09 PM

fasting/detox?

Has anyone experimented with fasting or detoxing for a few days or a week to kick start weight loss?
I'm struggling to lose the last 8-10 pounds and nothing is working!!! Its very frustrating and i'm tempted to fast for 3 days to see what happens. I know most of this would be water loss - but (and this may be a dumb question!) how could it be water loss if i drink 3 or more litres of water a day? Alternatively, i could do a 5 day detox and only eat raw veges and fruit (although no corn, potatoes, or bananas) and maybe some nuts and seeds.
What'dyall think?

Iontach

1,523 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

1. Jan 25, 2007 5:28 PM

in response to: emma4rove

I have this great thing which detoxes me. It's called my liver.

I'm sorry, but I don't much hold with fasting.

As for your water question: each carbohydrate molecule in your body binds to four molecules of water. When you reduce your carb intake, either by not eating at all or by going low-carb, those water molecules are released, you pee them out, and you lose weight. Drinking three or more liters of water a day is irrelevant for replacement of this - you don't have the carb molecules for the water to bind with, so you just pee that out too. This is one of the main reasons why low carb diets have such dramatic results in the first couple of weeks - you're losing weight all right, but most of it is water, not fat.

WillWriteForShoes

57 posts since
Jun 12, 2006

2. Jan 26, 2007 1:31 PM

in response to: emma4rove

Don't forget the kidneys, who also work so hard at detoxing and never get the recognition they deserve.

I actually have tried detoxing to see what happens, so I'm not completely close-minded to your efforts (although I did not cut out all food). My system was messed up for days and I felt like I was missing out on one of the best things about living. Ha ha.

Here's a link I found very interesting (if you want to explore the other school of thought, the Western medicine side).

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/detox.html[/URL" target="_blank">

Good luck with whatever you decide.

bigapplepie

2,636 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

3. Jan 26, 2007 1:33 PM

in response to: emma4rove

Detoxing and extended fasting (more than one day) are ineffective at helping you to lose fat.

YogaBug

104 posts since
Jan 17, 2007

4. Jan 26, 2007 3:00 PM

in response to: emma4rove

The point of detoxing or fasting is not to lose weight, but rather to cleanse your body. I'm not sure it's safe or advisable to try a detox program with the goal of weight loss.

maryt091

806 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

5. Jan 27, 2007 9:59 AM

in response to: emma4rove

I really don't understand how getting your body to rely on eating itself and using your own muscle for its protein source and highly saturated human fat for fuel is detoxifying!

Yuck!!! Sounds like toxifying, not de-toxifying to me.

Think about this for a while: cleanse your body by making it digest itself, relying on hard to digest human muscle protein and fat instead of a balanced diet with fruits and veggies a good thing? I don't think so!

Also, it's a fantastic way to get your body to go into starvation mode, so once you start eating again, your metabolism will be slower and any weight you lost while eating your own body will come back really fast. A good way to sabotage good eating habits and a diet rather than a good way to jump start one. Even a 5-day with just a few raw veggies and fruit is goig to have your body rely to much on human fat and protein. Much better to lose weight slowly and forget the fast!

maryt091

806 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

6. Jan 27, 2007 10:09 AM

in response to: emma4rove

quote:<HR>Originally posted by YogaBug:
The point of detoxing or fasting is not to lose weight, but rather to cleanse your body. I'm not sure it's safe or advisable to try a detox program with the goal of weight loss.<HR>

Sorry, not buying it! Just think logically for a minute or two. If there really were toxic things in your fat and muscle that you wanted to get rid of, wouldn't a fast be absolutely the very worst way to go? Pour all those toxins into your bloodstream at once for your body to try to detoxify while you're putting it under the stress of starving it at the same time? Does that really make any sense at all???

In fact there have been some older studies where obese poeple actually became very ill and I think a few even died of insecticide poisoning because they went on lengthy fasts. Fat-soluble toxins that had been safely stored away in those excess fat reserves went into the bloodstream in high concentrations when the person fasted and relied only on stored fat and their own muscle for fuel.

The way to go if you have toxins in your fat is to eat marginally less than you need to allow fat to deplete very slowly - not fast! You don't want your diet to be high fat, in any event, toxins or not, whether it's from outside sources of fat or your own fat. Another reason to lose no more than 1-2 at most pounds per week.

YogaBug

104 posts since
Jan 17, 2007

7. Jan 29, 2007 8:28 AM

in response to: emma4rove

quote:<HR>Originally posted by maryt:
Sorry, not buying it! Just think logically for a minute or two. If there really were toxic things in your fat and muscle that you wanted to get rid of, wouldn't a fast be absolutely the very worst way to go? Pour all those toxins into your bloodstream at once for your body to try to detoxify while you're putting it under the stress of starving it at the same time? Does that really make any sense at all???

In fact there have been some older studies where obese poeple actually became very ill and I think a few even died of insecticide poisoning because they went on lengthy fasts. Fat-soluble toxins that had been safely stored away in those excess fat reserves went into the bloodstream in high concentrations when the person fasted and relied only on stored fat and their own muscle for fuel.

The way to go if you have toxins in your fat is to eat marginally less than you need to allow fat to deplete very slowly - not fast! You don't want your diet to be high fat, in any event, toxins or not, whether it's from outside sources of fat or your own fat. Another reason to lose no more than 1-2 at most pounds per week.<HR>

It's ok if you don't buy it. Doing a proper detox is not for weight loss. If one follows a proper detox, you still get all the nutrients your body needs. A proper detox does not mean you eat nothing. There is a set structure for what you do eat in order to cleanse your body, increase energy, and rid the body of toxins. It's a very deeply engrained tradition, and is a part of my yoga practice. Like I said before, it's not for weight loss, and if one tries detox for weight loss, I'm sure you'll see ill results. A lot of people don't have an open mind when it comes to detoxing because they don't understand what is actually entailed, and have misconceptions as to what participating in a detox means.

maryt091

806 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

8. Jan 29, 2007 5:46 PM

in response to: emma4rove

Bloodletting used to be a deeply ingrained tradition, too until people learned better.

mi8889

6 posts since
Mar 31, 2006

9. Jan 29, 2007 8:04 PM

in response to: emma4rove

A friend of mine buys this product I forget exaclty the name but its called the hollywood diet. For about 3 days he drinks nothing but this meal replacement which has various vitamins as well and he loses quite a bit in those 3 days. We are in the army and he has problems meeting the weight standard sometimes so he always does that 3 days before.

emma4rove

24 posts since
Nov 24, 2004

10. Jan 29, 2007 10:37 PM

in response to: emma4rove

yeah i've seen that.... but i'm assuming that any weight loss is just water and that he'd gain it all again afterwards

Jan 25, 2007 5:09 PM

fasting/detox?

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