Just finished a 20 day water fast

Originally Posted by mm84321

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Stopped eating on November 30th and had my first bite of solid food today (an orange). Amazingly enlightening experience.

My body did a lot of healing during this period. Scars I've had for years disappeared, my skin is incredibly soft, vision improved, and I have more energy than I've had since I was a child. Mental clarity and calmness of mind has been elevated, and my intermittent bouts of depression are seemingly gone. Oh, and I lost 23 pounds.

All in all, I gained a great appreciation for the little things in life that really matter. But most of all, I gained back self control and willpower, which was my ultimate goal.

What was your diet before the fast? Did you eat fast food everyday or something?

Originally Posted by harvey_birdman

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I wish you had too, then you would have realized it's all in your head and you wouldn't have posted this nonsense here, potentially encouraging some hapless internet fool to try something similar to this and die because their liver shuts down. Of course, "toxins", the mantra of the new age idiot. Exactly what "toxins" were you flushing out with distilled water? None. Your liver filters out toxins, nimrod, not water. By depriving you body of essential nutrients you made your liver's job more difficult. I would wager even money that if you had taken an actual "toxin" blood test before and after your fast the level would have risen considerably. This is the biological equivalent of the perpetual motion machine. Your body doesn't have an "extra allotment of energy" after you fast because you aren't consuming any additional fuel. You can't seriously believe this drivel, can you? What does this even mean? Liar, liar, pants on fire. IF, and that's a big if, a scar on your ear diminished in size it's probably because your skin shrunk having been denied proper nutrition. Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying.
You are entitled to your opinions. However, there's nothing you can really say that would negate my success and results. I really have better things to do then come on the internet and lie about something like this.

Originally Posted by Inficius

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What was your diet before the fast? Did you eat fast food everyday or something?

I was eating pretty low carb in conjunction with intermittent fasting. I had some weight to lose, but that was not the primary goal of this endeavor.

OP, did you by chance keep some sort of journal throughout this experience? I'd love to read in depth about how the process went.

Additionally, you mention intermittent fasting in your low carb diet. How often would you fast for, and how long (I presume a day?)

My biggest question is, how were your energy levels after the first week (especially the last five days...)? Was 20 days the original goal?

I'd love to learn more about this.

Everyone is beating up on this guy and telling him that what he did was unhealthy.

I completely a totally disagree.

The discipline that it takes to do this is considerable for a western person who is used to eating as something that is taken totally for granted.

As far as stuff about toxins and scars healing, I remain skeptical, but I applaud him for his discipline.

I don't know if 20 days without food is healthy but, historically at this time of year, we would pretty much be fasting. We would have carb loaded at the end of summer and most of our energy would come from that stored fat since food would be scarce during the winter (little bit of greens and whatever meat we could get our hands on). Modern ways of eating/gorging are but a speck on the evolutionary timeline.

Originally Posted by Mandrake9072

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OP, did you by chance keep some sort of journal throughout this experience? I'd love to read in depth about how the process went. Additionally, you mention intermittent fasting in your low carb diet. How often would you fast for, and how long (I presume a day?) My biggest question is, how were your energy levels after the first week (especially the last five days...)? Was 20 days the original goal? I'd love to learn more about this.
Unfortunately I did not keep a journal. My energy the first few days of fasting was considerably low, as my body was shifting from using glucose for energy to using fat (ketosis). After day 4, my energy stabilized and I felt really good for the next few days. Overall, I had pretty constant energy throughout the fast, with the exception of a few days where I just couldn't do much more than rest in bed. I would definitely feel more tired on the days I decided to take hikes and exercise. If I were to do this again, I definitely would do it during the summer months as my body was extremely sensitive to the cold. The last five days I had particularly enhanced energy. 20 days was the original goal, however I feel I could have gone longer without a problem. I just wanted to break my fast 5 days before christmas so I could slowly reintroduce foods so that I would be able to comfortably enjoy some grass-fed stuffed beef tenderloin on xmas day. It's interesting because hunger still hasn't fully returned. I ate an orange yesterday, and today I had an orange, kiwi, and pear, and that was enough to fill me up. I assume it's because my stomach shrank quite a bit and my metabolism slowed way down. I can actually feel the food sitting in my stomach...pretty crazy sensation.

Would you say that the intermittent fasting that came with your low carb diet prepare (of course... 1 day fasting vs 20 days... ) you for the real deal?

And this bit worries me:

Originally Posted by mm84321

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with the exception of a few days where I just couldn't do much more than rest in bed.

Did you literally not have the energy to get out of bed at all? My worry would be trying to sleep at night!

Originally Posted by wannabeagiant

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Modern ways of eating/gorging are but a speck on the evolutionary timeline.

Why do people keep using this argument? So ******* what?

Are we supposed to ignore all advances since the time of cavemen because they're specks on the evolutionary timeline?

Originally Posted by wannabeagiant

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I don't know if 20 days without food is healthy but, historically at this time of year, we would pretty much be fasting. We would have carb loaded at the end of summer and most of our energy would come from that stored fat since food would be scarce during the winter (little bit of greens and whatever meat we could get our hands on). Modern ways of eating/gorging are but a speck on the evolutionary timeline.

Historically as of when? Humans have been storing food for thousands of years. It was one of the driving factors behind the formation of civilian and systematic agriculture.

Maybe you mean evolutionarily, but even that claim is dicey.

I've edited this post several times, trying to figure out what bothers me about this OP. Short answer is: a lot. Basing it purely on language (as I don't know the science), I'll try to briefly outline what it is:

1) It's not that I worry that some impressionable reader will assume that all forum members are experts and thus believe the OP to the word, but only that the fact that this OP exists is, in itself, impressionable. It's like when somebody crosses at a crosswalk on a Red Light; if you are waiting behind this person, there is a greatly increased chance you'll walk as well. It's not that you think that person is an "expert" or a "leader;" it's just that you assume that if they did, you can do it. Why not?

For a forum like SF, where we all have a slight tinge of narcissism, some may look to this OP as something they might want to try. That's FINE, but take that OP with (1) a grain of salt and (2) do your own research first.

2) Assuming the OP is telling the truth about doing this for 20 days, nevertheless it seems that the whole experience was incredibly subjective and do-able ONLY for somebody with his exact circumstances. From what I read, his body had more "excess" ready to take on the fast, he had an unusually sedentary/privileged life (I mean, do you have no job? How do you support yourself? You surely can't be carrying on a full time job or caring for a family), and he has the sort of zealot/religious-esque devotion to this, such that he's getting a lot of psychological "kicks" out of it beyond just the fast. Perhaps "euphoria" at accomplishing his goal? Who knows. I think it's influencing the whole experience, much like religious folk seeing visions, speaking in tongues, or for whom self-mutilation/flagellation is a 'euphoric' experience bringing them closer to the eternal, etc.

In short: his post reads with the rhetoric of someone having drank the KoolAid, not the water. Just be careful, girls...

Originally Posted by mm84321

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a few days where I just couldn't do much more than rest in bed.

Actual question to the experts: he said for the "last five days" he felt particularly increased energy... how would this be in any way possible without calories/food? What is producing this energy and is it real? Or is it some chemical the body is injecting in order to compensate? And, finally, did this OP find some way of disproving the law of Conservation of Energy? j/k

Yeah, this really can't be good for you. Your body's BMR can't be ignored. You need a certain amount of energy (calories) every day even if you don't do ****. Otherwise your body will start stressing itself out in any one of several different ways. Most are probably worse (taxing organs) than better

To the OP: be sure to come back on and let us know how quickly you pack on 15 lbs of pure fat. I'm gonna guess about 2 weeks.