Water Fasting Controversy - Is Fasting A Good Thing or Not?

I always thought that water fasting was the best thing to do for your body and mind. In fact I went on two ten day fasts so that I could balance my weight and cleanse my body.

I found both fasts to be incredibly difficult to complete beyond the first few days, I was extremely ill with nausea and severe acid reflux during the later part of both fasts.

To find out more about my fasts, see the fasting diaries.

I lost a fair bit of weight with each water fast and hoped that I would be able to keep it off. This wasn't the case.

My skin looked great and glowing and most people thought I looked pretty amazing after my fasts. However, I definitely did struggle quite a bit both during and after my fasts to return to eating with the right mindset.

So it was with quite a bit of interest that I read Michele Aslan's article on fasting about fasting and I had to totally agree with her viewpoint.

Michelle considers fasting to be exerting the ego over the body. She considers it to be a quick fix solution no different from pills or surgery, and one that has ramifications on a physical and emotional level that can effect a person for years. This article is no longer available on the web, but luckily I was able to reproduce it in my ebook: From Fat To Fabulous: The Smart Girl's Guide To Raw Food Diet Weight Loss

After my previous experiences I wouldn't attempt another fast unless I had a damn good reason and then it would only be a very short one. To be honest these days I stay far away from anything resembling a fast as I know that the best way to keep your body at a healthy weight and keep burning fat at a good level is to EAT.

From Fat to Fabulous: The Smart Girl's Guide To Raw Food Diet Weight Loss 98% of all diets fail - these are not good odds. Yet the moment we have excess fat on us, the dieting industry is the first place we turn. If you're like me, you've probably spent years on one diet or the other. And yet you DON'T have your ideal body. It's time for a radical shift in the paradigm about weight loss and for a true understanding of what makes us fat in the first place - hint: top of the list is DIETING! Click here to find out more about From Fat To Fabulous: The Smart Girl's Guide To Raw Food Diet Weight Loss

Fasting Has Been Called 'Nature's Surgery' and just like any surgery, you need to consider it carefully!

Just like any kind of surgery, fasting should not be undertaken lightly. There are many stories of miracles that occur during long fasts, where very serious, life threatening illnesses are completely healed.

However, these stories come from fasting clinics where people fast under the supervision of skilled fasting practitioners. Dr Douglas Graham has a fasting retreat and if I ever had a compelling reason to fast, it would be wonderful to complete a fast there.

It seems that the fasting experience can be vastly different for people under proper 24 hour supervision at a retreat where they are completely shielded from the stresses of everyday life to that of the fasting experience at home. At retreats it seems the fasting experience can be highly positive and the benefits more easily maintained.

Most people however, choose to do a water fast and then just go ahead and do it at home. I was even working full time as a teacher during my second water fast (crazy!!).

You can be pretty certain that your patterns of behavior prior to the fast will continue post fast, so it is very important that you have cemented some healthy patterns on a daily basis before you attempt a fast.

If you have not, then the fast could leave you worse off than before.

There are no quick fixes when it comes to achieving a healthy body. A low fat, high raw, vegan diet with plenty of rest, sunshine and exercise on on ongoing basis will provide you with abundant health and ideal weight - and this is not something that can be rushed.

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