Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Detox: Fasting

I keep trying to get up the gumption to do some fasting as part of my detox. Fasting helps aid the body in ridding itself of stored toxins. This happens when the body switches over from burning carbohydrates to stored body fat for energy. Also known as ketosis, this switchover helps release stored toxins for elimination. Of course, it takes a couple days for your body to hit ketosis, but doing a short, one day fast is also effective at just giving your body a rest so it's not working on digesting food and can work on eliminating waste.

I was first planning on doing a juice fast one day a week during my detox, but I was experiencing some stomach issues going into the first week and then the second week, well, it didn't happen. So, I thought I'd do it today. Just a 24 hour fast from dinner to dinner. What this means is that I don't eat breakfast and lunch today. Although I was planning on doing a juice fast, I'm ending up doing a smoothie fast instead. Well, I'm having one smoothie and lots of juice and water during the 24 hour period.

Maybe after today, I'll be more likely to do just the juice fast next week. Depends on how I feel by the end of the day today. We have a running joke in the house that, when my blood sugar gets low, I get "hangry", being a combination of hungry and angry, which is generally unpleasant for everyone involved. Which is why I've been tentative about this fasting business.

Have you ever done a fast? Was it a water fast, a juice fast or the Master Cleanse kind of fast? And for how long?

7 comments:

Q said...

My whole family, including my boyfriend, is so bad about being hangry! So I know what you mean, but I did a fast a few months ago and I ended up being fine. I think the whole knowing I wasn't going to eat helped me stay in control of the hangriness. :P

Adrienne said...

I am no scientist, but I don't think something that makes you feel so awful can be good for you. A juice fast, fine, b/c you're able to give your body some nourishment. But a true fast where you can drink only water? No thanks.

fragmentaerie said...

Before my Hawaii trip last fall I fasted every other day for a week. Dinner one day, breakfast and lunch the next. It was actually really easy and helped reduce some of my stomach issues. The hardest part was when I had eaten breakfast and lunch...it was really hard not to eat dinner those days.

Anonymous said...

Fasting for detox seems counterintuitive to me. When you don't eat, your body tries to conserve everything it possibly can because it thinks you're starving. How is that helping toxins get out? I am really excited to see the results of your tests at the end of this to get some data on these methods.

On the "Hangry" note (great term, by the way!) I finally kicked my hangry swings when I got the overgrown yeast out of my gut. They were eating all my food and leaving none for me! YMMV, but sugar, refined carbs, and juices fed them, which increased my hunger/mood swings. Cutting down on those and getting regular fat and protein in my diet allows me to go more than a couple hours between feedings and also means I can feel appetite without proceeding immediately to hangry.

Colleen said...

I have done a 30 day detox. Fasted one day per week. I used the Isagenix program, it provides supplements and beverages (all natural) to support your body during a detox. No ephedra or bad stuff, it is loaded with adaptogenic herbs and nutrients to help the body cope with stress, flush out toxins and provide natrual energy. It was easier than I expected, reduced imflammation in my body and I lost weight! read more here; http://ckrispin.isagenix.com/us/en/cleansedlife_landing.dhtml

Bullwinkle said...

In the past, fasting was hard for me (hangry issues!). Right now - I inadvertently started with you after a major dental problem - I'm not having any trouble and I've no idea what the difference is.

I realize that is completely unhelpful - but I do sympathize with you. ;)

Carrie Kekahuna said...

I am doing the Isagenix thing too. 5 days-2 shakes a day then 400-600 cal. dinner. 2 Days-Fast. I really enjoy my cleanse days now. They clean out my mind. I did need to wrap my mind around not eating for 2 days. Once it was over and I did it, I felt so much more powerful.