3369
Many people find it very difficult to give up food, even when it comes to improving their health and prolonging their youth. However, there are a large number of people who constantly practice fasting in order to normalize body weight and cleanse the body constantly. They rarely complain of feeling unwell and practically do not visit doctors.
The optimal course option is water fasting for 14 days, which allows you to significantly reduce weight and improve the condition of all body systems. However, all this is possible only with the right approach to the method.
Important to remember
Sometimes even a day of hunger strike can bring severe, irreversible consequences, especially if the practitioner belongs to a “risk group” for whom fasting is contraindicated. After all, this is stress caused to the body deliberately. Fasting should not be perceived as an easy, quick way to lose weight; it is a serious, complex method that includes several stages.
Doctors' opinions about him are complex. Some experts agree, yes, fasting is an ancient method of quick cleansing, often used by doctors; there are known cases when it alleviated the course of a serious illness or completely cured it. And now, along with the development of technology and laser surgery, sometimes people are prescribed short fasting, purely for medicinal purposes.
However, a number of side effects of fasting cannot be denied. Problems with the gastrointestinal tract, metabolism, the risk of exacerbation of existing diseases or the emergence of new diseases. Sometimes the danger of a technique outweighs all its advantages.
Contrary to the opinion of doctors, folk practitioners are sure that fasting is wonderful and natural. Even the prophets and philosophers of the ancients staged voluntary hunger strikes, wanting to clear their minds, gain inspiration, and new ideas. People can and should use a method that has been proven over the years, centuries, the main thing is to follow the rules described, find out how to fast correctly, then the result will definitely come.
Who to believe? After all, doctors don’t worry without reason, and practitioners seem to describe their own experience of a starving person. A compromise can be found. For example, having chosen a fasting method, undergo a medical examination and obtain the consent of a specialist. At the same time, find out more about fasting. Perhaps the doctor will help adjust the fasting conditions to suit the patient’s individual capabilities. Then the possible risk will decrease.
By the way, there are special centers where people fast in groups in a hospital setting. There doctors constantly monitor their condition, give advice, and support. Sometimes it is easier to fast with company than alone.
It is not necessary to choose exactly the 14-day fasting method; a more gentle regime is suitable for beginners.
Side effects
Diet may cause side effects. A weight loss program like this can be a real challenge. Therefore, the production of the hormone cortisol is activated.
List of side effects:
- Disturbance of the gastrointestinal tract, manifested in the form of constipation. Due to the decrease in the volume of food eaten, the number of bowel movements decreases. If there is no discomfort, there is no need to worry. If discomfort occurs, you can use mild laxatives.
- In the first stages, headaches occur. You can get rid of them by adding a little salt to your food.
- Stomach problems can be solved with still mineral water.
- Muscle spasms.
- Refeeding syndrome.
The role of nutrition that a person receives during the “food window” is very important. The diet should be balanced. Due to an unbalanced diet, weight may decrease slowly or the above side effects may begin to develop. Intestinal motility is impaired, and constipation develops due to lack of fiber. With a small amount of protein, muscular dystrophy and slow metabolism develop. Loss of muscle mass can be reversed through exercise.
Types of fasting
Now there are several types of hunger strike: Dry (absolute, complete) fasting, when, along with food, a person is forced to temporarily do without water. By the way, any, even the slightest contact of skin with liquid is excluded here. You cannot bathe, brush your teeth or wash dishes. Doctors do not recommend dry fasting for more than a day if this is a home procedure.
Water fasting – with water. Of course, you can replace water with herbal infusions or unsweetened tea, but most fasting people still advise taking only water. Boiled, but warm, at room temperature or mineral (without gas). This type of fasting has differences in duration: short (1-3 days), medium (7-10 days), long (2 weeks), extreme (21, 36 or all 40 days).
Cascade fasting involves alternating “hungry” days with “fed” days. A diagram is drawn up that goes on an increasing basis. First 1/1 (hunger day, followed by food day), then 2/2 and so on, up to five.
Intermittent fasting - when there are windows in the day. Meal time is no more than 8 hours, which must be divided into 24 hours of the day. The rest of the time the person fasts.
What to choose? Each variety has fans who consider it the most effective. By the way, fasting days are often used, when the fasting time does not exceed a day. But the methodology is permanent. For example, arrange one or two fasting days a week, which a person will spend without food. It is not particularly effective for weight loss; it is more of a cleansing, a respite.
Authorized Products
A person who is losing weight makes up a menu depending on the chosen option of the fasting diet, but useful foods that support physical strength and give tone include:
- green and herbal teas;
- fresh squeezed juices (they should be diluted with water so as not to harm an empty stomach);
- dietary meat;
- citrus fruits – metabolism stimulants and fat burners;
- fermented milk products to improve intestinal microflora;
- porridge without milk, sugar, spices, butter.
The daily amount of incoming calories should not exceed 1000 kcal. During a fasting diet, you cannot practice intense physical training, because this is an additional burden on the stressed body.
Fasting rules
It doesn’t matter what type of fasting you choose, everyone is united by a number of rules that are mandatory for practitioners:
- Any fasting will have the following stages: preparation - “entry” - fasting itself - “exit”.
You cannot skip over or forget any of them, otherwise it will ruin the result; - The duration of the “exit” should be equal to the duration of the fast itself, or better yet, exceed it;
- Moral attitude is required;
- Any fasting is carried out without medications, even harmless vitamins, so prepare yourself in advance;
- It is advisable to consult a doctor before starting fasting;
- It is very useful to start and end your fasting at one exact time. The ideal period is the window between 18.00 and 19.00. just started fasting, write down the time, after 2 weeks you will finish at the same hour, even 5 minute breaks are undesirable;
It is not safe to dry fast for more than a day at home, in private.
Water diet
One of the most extreme methods of losing weight from a medical point of view is considered a serious limitation in the energy value of the daily diet. Nutritionists call fasting “fasting days.” Sometimes a person simply has to limit himself in food, for example, before or after surgery or some other procedures. Also, many healing techniques are based on fasting.
How it works?
Of course, it is extremely difficult to endure even a day of fasting, so people try to learn more about the results in order to improve their morale. For example, if you choose water fasting for 14 days, reviews and results, before and after photos from practitioners, recommendations, possible tips, everyday tricks - isn’t it important?
Such fasting is considered long, because it lasts for two whole weeks, and according to reviews, it is easier to endure the second one, when the body has already become accustomed to the new conditions of life. What roughly happens inside: first, the rest of the food is thoroughly digested, then the body begins to “ask” for food, and countless signals are received from the brain. Go, get food, eat something. People who are starving often have food dreams, thoughts about food become obsessive, why morale is important.
After 2-3 days in this mode, an acidotic crisis occurs. After all, without waiting for food to arrive from the outside, the body looks for reserves inside. Of course, those losing weight mentally already direct the destructive power of the hunger strike to the fat layers, but in order for the effect of losing weight to appear, you need to fast for longer than 3 days.
Protein reserves are gradually broken down, at the same time waste and toxins break down faster, and the body increasingly guts the “bins”. There is no shortage of fluids; this fasting involves taking water (only water, no additives or sweeteners). Unnecessary fats and waste stores begin to be emptied, the gastrointestinal tract is gradually cleansed, a person feels lightness, renewal, and energy appears.
An acidotic crisis is not a very pleasant stage, when waste products removed from organs and tissues finally enter the bloodstream and begin to poison the body. This manifests itself in weakness, nausea, and headache. Bones may ache or muscles may ache. Practitioners advise waiting out the crisis while maintaining morale.
You cannot interrupt fasting, because otherwise the released toxins will quickly return back to the organs or tissues. It is better to give the body a couple of days to remove the poisons, the condition will gradually normalize on its own, without medications.
The objectives of long-term fasting: reduce bad cholesterol, remove accumulations of waste and toxins, reduce the amount of harmful salts, dismantle fat reserves. This is a huge internal work, which is why fasting is long, for 14 days.
Of course, only experienced practitioners who have been fasting for a long time can take it. They often share opinions and describe feelings. The first days are more difficult, then the body gets used to it and less often gives signals to the brain to search for food. Although, food dreams and impulses to visit the kitchen will remain. While a person is worried, trying not to think about food once again, his gastrointestinal system rests, and water quickly washes away food debris, waste and toxins.
Advantages
Reviews of the fasting diet suggest that water fasting is very useful and effective. It helps to get rid of waste, toxins, poisons and stale waste products accumulated over a long time.
Doctors note the following benefits of a fast fasting diet:
- cleansing blood vessels and blood;
- improving the functioning of the cardiovascular system;
- strengthening hair and nails;
- rejuvenation of the whole body;
- normalization of metabolism.
According to the results of multiple studies, the diet activates the immune system, speeds up metabolism and removes unnecessary carcinogens. Also, this fasting helps to lose considerable weight, while at the same time renewing the reserves of carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins that every person’s body needs. After a week of food restriction, the skin becomes smoother, clearer, healthier and naturally radiant.
Fasting process
Preparation. A long, 14-day severe fast requires good preparation. You can’t just turn off the body’s “food tap”; this can lead to stress. A competent “entrance” will help here. A plant-based diet lasting 14 days (before fasting).
Moral attitude. Think in advance about what and how you will do for the entire 2 weeks, and how long the fast will last. You can’t perceive it as a severe test, then every day will look more like a small eternity. Think positively, make a list of necessary and desirable things to do. Many people discover new hobbies, new talents, and manage to finish old, stagnant things. People note increased productivity and good mood. It's important to preserve this.
A plant-based diet means temporarily eliminating all meat products, dairy products, eggs, processed foods, sweets and smoked foods, and soda. Forget about smoking and alcohol. You can only eat grains, any vegetables, fruits. Spices are not recommended. You can bake or boil vegetables, diluting the diet with lean porridges cooked in water, without milk. This is how 14 days pass before the fasting period.
The night before the day of fasting, do an enema to cleanse the intestines. You can drink a laxative or activated carbon, or make a simple water-salt solution. Do an enema and immediately go to bed.
Fasting time. Remember, have a positive attitude. what about the schedule? some are studying, some are working, you can’t disconnect from life for 2 weeks, forgetting about problems and matters (although sometimes you want to). Here the advice of practitioners varies. For some, on the contrary, it is easier to fast on weekdays. Attending work, at the same time, the days pass faster and it is easier to tolerate cravings for food (they will last for a long time).
Others, on the contrary, find it more difficult to concentrate on their daily responsibilities. Most practitioners still advise postponing experiments with fasting during the holidays, when you will be the master of your time. Less stress, you can spend the whole day at home, alone, on the couch. Although, walking, moderate exercise are recommended, you can rollerblade or bike, or run.
What else can you do to occupy yourself, because the days of fasting will seem much longer than usual:
- Positive books;
- Favorite classic films or documentaries (no news, thrillers, action films);
- Walks, long and frequent;
- Drawing, modeling - any home hobby;
- Board games, it’s better to turn on the TV less often and temporarily forget about the Internet;
- Sleep, rest.
One practitioner actually built a separate house, somewhere far from civilization in the mountains, where he went from time to time. An ordinary hut, with a minimum of amenities, but there is a lake nearby, mountains and forest around. There he starved and got ideas for new books. Complete rest was recommended by the famous nutritionist and scientist Paul Bragg, saying that it is easier to endure fasting and is healthier for the body.
Exit . Now, 2 weeks have finally passed, it’s time to move on to a smooth, long-term, 14-day exit. Yes, the total fasting time will be 14 (preparation)+14 (days of fasting)+14 (exit), more than a month. But the results will definitely please you and the risk will decrease. After all, the exit provides a smooth, safe transition for the body from the “no food” mode to the usual “eat food”. Moreover, the output consolidates the result obtained. Why do many practitioners complain that the weight lost by fasting quickly returned, as if the kilograms “ran” back? The authors of the methods are sure: the reason is an illiterate, quick exit. After all, having endured the fasting period, people mentally praise themselves and begin to eat their usual, favorite food. It is not right.
Output diagram:
The first day - wait until the time when you started fasting. “Window” between 18.00 and 19.00 hours. Next, the first courses will be juices. The entire fasting period you drank only water, now you can drink juices. Homemade, sugar-free, made yourself. Vegetable or fruit, first diluted with water.
Juices (diluted) – juices (undiluted) – vegetable salad (without spices) – vegetable soup (without spices) or porridge (without milk).
Second day - you can have already boiled or baked vegetables, water porridges, salads. The exit menu will be similar to the preparation menu. Plant food, no spices. Not fried, not smoked. Meat is not allowed yet, but introduce milk from 4-5 days. Previously, fermented milk products. Eat small, even small portions, without waiting to feel full. Eat often, as your body asks. Yogurt, low-fat kefir, cottage cheese made from milk.
So all 14 days of release. At the same time, the body will gradually “awaken”, getting used to a new, already “food” life. It's interesting how long periods of fasting change the way you think. Some even become vegetarians or raw foodists. People who have gone through a hunger strike look at nutrition differently; they simply don’t want to contaminate their cleansed body with unhealthy food again.
Of course, to create a normal, balanced menu, it is not necessary to eliminate meat. Simply adjust the quantity and variety of foods; competent nutritionists will help you here. At the same time, the experience of fasting will not be wasted and the results will persist.
Results and reviews
People who have already tried the diet on themselves leave only positive reviews about it regarding the results obtained. First of all, they note that every day they got rid of 0.5 to 1.5 kg, which greatly surprised the girls who had tried many other diets, including the most stringent ones. These are truly amazing results, because initially no one expected this. In addition, in addition to the desired indicator on the scale, those losing weight also received a beautiful figure. After a week of fasting, the effect was clearly visible to others.
Along with weight loss, people enjoy improved health. Despite the shortcomings of the technique, no diseases or complications were observed. On the contrary, the body was charged with energy, and the person received the desire to reach new heights.
Memo
- Set a specific goal that you want to achieve through fasting.
- Regular practice of fasting is a powerful aid for cleansing and healing the body.
- Tune in to cleanse and unload.
- Do not skip the preparation and exit stages - your well-being and the result of fasting depend on them.
- On fasting days, drink more clean water. The more and more often you drink, the more intense the cleansing occurs.
- Try to make preventive fasting a habit.
Have you decided to try fasting? Great! Just be warned that during a one-day fast, the body does not get rid of fat, but of excess fluid. We know a more effective way if you decide to lose weight.
Enter your email, click the download button ↓ and find out how to lose weight without stress.
A detailed guide to cascade fasting: how to properly prepare and carry it out
Before starting this process, it is necessary to carry out preparatory activities. Preparations should begin no less than 11 days before the hunger strike. The following foods should be removed from the diet:
- exclude meat products and delicacies;
- fish and poultry meat;
- eggs, seafood;
- cheese, mushrooms, legumes, sour cream, cottage cheese.
Many will ask the question, what can you eat then? During the preparatory stage, you should consume the remaining dairy products, potatoes, and cereals. It is worth removing from your diet vegetables and fruits that have a high calorie content - bananas, avocados, dates. On the 12th day you need to sit on freshly squeezed juices, purees made from vegetables and fruits. Afterwards, a cleansing enema is performed to rid the intestines of unnecessary substances.
There are also a number of rules that are worth paying attention to during cascade fasting. They are as follows:
- You need to exercise regularly and walk outside. In a word, it should be regular physical activity;
- you need to read and count to increase mental activity;
- rest should be stable and systematic.
Please note: A dry diet is a rather complex process for any organism. Therefore, you need to prepare for it in advance. Even if the fasting process alternates with eating fruits and vegetables, it is quite difficult to withstand this, even for one week.
The exit from the system should also be smooth, so the easiest way is to spend the first day of exit on fresh vegetables and fruits, and after a day you can switch to normal food. You should not abruptly interrupt fasting, as this is even more stress for the body than the hunger strike itself.
How much weight can you lose during cascade fasting?
The number of kilograms lost depends on how correctly a person approaches the system of cascade fasting. The weight loss process varies from person to person, but on average a person can lose up to 7 kilograms in the first four days.
What else do experts say?
Received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for autophagy in 2021. Osumi proved that due to hunger, the body starts the process of self-consuming cellular debris, bacteria and viruses. It gets the raw materials to work by destroying old cells, which once again proved the benefits of fasting for humans.
Yoshinori Ohsumi
Molecular biologist
Author of the book “Fasting for Health.” Nikolaev spent ten years studying the positive effects of hunger on hypertension, diabetes, arthrosis, ulcers, gastritis, asthma, obesity and other diseases. The scientist called his method fasting-dietary therapy (RDT), so as not to frighten science and people in the post-war years with the terrible word “hunger.”
Yuri Nikolaev
Psychologist, Doctor of Medical Sciences
Promoted the benefits of fasting in the 50s in America. In the book “The Miracle of Fasting”, he uses his own example to tell how he fasted once a week and 4 times a year he refused food for 7 days. He died at the age of 81, but not from old age. He was hit by a giant wave while surfing off the coast of Florida.
Paul Bragg
Health Promoter
Fasting is a powerful stress for the body, but at the same time it activates a protective reaction, stimulates renewal and rejuvenation of the body
Contraindications
Fasting is strictly contraindicated:
- people with exhaustion of the body (after a long illness);
- long-term sufferers of diseases of the digestive organs, liver, kidneys;
- for cardiovascular ailments, nervous system disorders;
- patients with diabetes;
- pregnant and lactating women;
- patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, oncological processes;
- for tuberculosis;
- people under 18 years of age.
To prevent the possibility of complications and dangerous consequences, you should undergo a diagnostic examination before deciding on the need for a diet.
By resorting to a month-long fast, a person expects to get good results. In order not to cause harm to the body instead of a positive outcome, you should adhere to all the rules and recommendations of the diet.