Hey everyone,
I’m a 25 year old man who will begin a 40-day water only fast beginning this Saturday.
I’m 5’10 and weigh 165 pounds & want to fast for the physical, emotional and spiritual benefits.
I did a 10-day water only fast last month that went extremely well (after the awful first 5 days.)
I’m planning on supplementing my electrolytes this time around.
Since this is only the second fast I’ve ever done I have a few questions.
My questions are:
How much weight am I expected to lose from this fast?
How much will I put back on due to water weight/carbs/glycogen?
How long should my re-feeding period be?
How can I ensure I’ll keep the weight off after this fast is over?
Is it possible to take medication during a fast in the form of crushed pills?
Thanks everyone!
If you are interested in working weight issues intermittent fasting afford you better opportunities to work on your fundamental problem, your relationship with food. With intermittent fasting you develop control, then during the eating you get to exercise said control by turning every feeding window into an exercise for dropping the bad items out of your diet and to cure yourself from snacking between meals. A 30 day fast will certainly drop the weight but will do little once you get back to your normal habits.
You need to look at the specific medicine in order to see if it can be taken on an empty stomach. If so, you just take your pills as usual. If they can’t you should talk to your doctor to see if there is a different medication that could be taken on an empty stomach.
Getting back to eating is a personal thing; every stomach is different. Still, for a looooong fast you should go very slow; I’m sure others that are into long fasts will pitch in.
As to how much you can loose and gain back? Well it will depends on many factors but north of half a pound a day actual loss. Depending on your size an extra 6\~8 pounds of water?
At your age, height and weight, I would highly advise against such a fast.. You are already very skinny. This could get unhealthy quick..
Like someone else mentioned, look into intermittent fasting. Much healthier. Also, look into the carnivore diet.
To go below a healthy BMI will take you about 35lbs. I lost 14kg in 21days, that’s just over 30lbs. So, you are likely to enter unhealthy ratios at about the half way point.
With regards to medication some pills can be crushed, others can’t. If you are asking that sort of question on here, instead of going to see your doctor for the accurate answer, then I question your maturity to even be thinking of fasting for “spiritual” reasons. To begin that sort of development requires that you have managed to become well-functioning as a normal adult first. That means grounded, thoughtful and careful, amongst other things, something your post causes me to doubt.
Medication and fasting is never a great idea. The chemical composition of medications are either prone to being expelled out the GI tract or to cause serious stomach/ GI issues. You should consider doing shorter ones and maybe working yourself off medications if possible. I don’t know what your diagnosis is but typically changing your diet and throwing in IF will heal most problems that require medication intervention and will do so in a healthier and more sustainable way.