Hi,

I am planning to attempt a water fast for 7-14 days. I would like to be supervised by a physician to avoid unnecessary worries even though I believe that the process of fasting is natural and safe. I have already water-fasted once for 3 days without complications.

My problem is that I have not been able to find the right person to supervise my fast. I live in Baltimore, Maryland. I talked with a few homeopaths and complementary physicians but none had experience with water fasting. Can anybody advise me how to proceed?

Thank you.

Hi Kal,

I don’t think you will be able to find practitioner, who will supervise your fast. Regular doctors flatly refused when I asked and it cost a fortune to go to retreat. Besides who can spare 2 weeks of hard earned vocation to be used for a fast?
I think that is why everybody are here trying to do it free with support of Dr. Fast and share experience with everybody.
To be honest with you it takes more to break a fast properly then to fast in itself. If you have done 3 days already then to go 2 weeks will not be that much different.
Good luck!

Quite right, Kal, hope I can also be of help to kbikov.

First, you can do a lot worse than to read the forums, there's like a library of knowledge on these pages.

Second, If you really want to be totally safe, do a long series of 3-4 days' fasts rather than one longer one.. if you say fast 3 or 4 days every week for 3 or 4 months, you have effectively done about 50 days of fasting.

Third, always remember fasting MOBILIZES toxins, you still need to ELIMINATE them.. so don't skimp on the detox cycles!

André

I have a question for The Fast Doctor. Is there any truth to this post that earned a double R on Curezone. It makes it sound like going in and out of fasts could be dangerous.

curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1556115#i

Thanks,
Rose

I definitely disagree with this. It is absolutely untrue. If there were any truth in it, I would have been dead long ago, as I have been going in and out of the fasting state at least 52 times per year for the past 30 years... thus more than 1500 times! And you'll have a real problem finding someone my age in such an excellent state of health!

André

Thank you for the quick reply. There was a time when I would have believed it, but after reading on this website my ideas are changing. I did doubt this and wanted clarification from you. I think curezone has me a bit brainwashed with some ideas about fasting that may not be accurate.
Thanks again.

Rose

Rose, I don't have time to rebut that post, but I just realized how far I have come in educating myself on the topic of fasting. I could spot several incorrect statements in that post. I am also confident that I could defend my position in detail.

I never thought I would be able to wrap my head around around all the intricate details of fasting. I still remember when I was always lost and confused. It was a struggle and I wondered how long it would take before the pieces fit together. Although there will always be much more to learn, I have achieved a degree of comfortable knowledge. It was all inspired by or achieved through this site and the help of fellow members. You can learn so much here.

Honestly, when you think about it, ALL fasting is intermittent. We can't stay in constant fasting nor constant feeding at all times.

Plus, you fast 8-10 hours every night.

So, if this article were true, I think we ALL would be dead by now, Dr. K!

I always beware of absolutisms, and the fact that the name of the site alone is one (CURE zone) makes me hesitate. Some call me a skeptic, but I'm a researcher. One of reasons I enjoy FC is the level of knowledge involved, and the viewpoints which are discussed. As Meditating pointed out, self-education is the key. And it is nice to have a NUMBER of physicians on here - our illuminating Fast Doctor, John Fielder, and a Russian physician - as well a bevy of healthcare practitioners.

I was a solo-faster for many many years. I did a lot of research before joining this site 3 years ago. I'm glad I did! I keep an eye on the competition, and I just don't see the level of quality which I do here.

Dear Fast Doctor,

I understand your advice, but in the same time I feel uneasy about it. I've read that during the first 24 to 48 hours of fasting the body loses about 1 lbs of muscle tissue per day (while resting), and only after that it starts burning its fat reserves. While I see a benefit of occasional 3-day long or shorter water fasts, that's not something I want to do frequently.

Another thing I would like to respectfully point out is that you are offering your own fasting experience as an example of what others should do and to illustrate that "going in and out of the fasting state" and frequent short-term fasting are safe. I appreciate your example and I am sure that there are other people - I have heard about some yogi who do that - who safely follow similar practice, but I am also mindful that some people may have different pre-conditions that may diminish their capacity to handle the fasting practice you recommend. In that regard, I am curious to know if there are people on this forum who have any clinical background.

Sincerely,
Kal

Wow Meditating, I can sure identify with some of your comments. I too used to be very confused and scared about fasting. Self educating myself on the subject has definitely helped. It's a great benefit to be able to read about the experiences of others as well as read the information the doctors have provided. So Kimberly, I will continue my research as you do. Yes, this is an awesome website. I am also very thankful for the Internet which makes this research so easy.

Rose

Interesting discussion and - thank you all - debate here!

Of course, dear Kimberley, I do NOT agree with the notion that we all fast every night. Fasting, in the metabolic sense, only sets in when the blood sugar and liver/muscle glycogen is used up, forcing the body to use either protein or fat. This takes about 24 hours, NOT 8-10!

And, Kbikov, whilst you are absolutely correct about the protein consumed during the first 24-48 hours of a fast, this holds almost exclusively for the first fast if you do it regularly enough. If you
1. achieved full ketosis, and
2. do the next fast within 10-14 days, plus
3. Go into full ketosis again,
then the next fast is actually a continuation of the previous one: The ketogenic enzymes have not been fully deactivated. It's almost like "revving up an engine" which is still idling, instead of "starting" it from cold.. This explains why I nave NEVER eaten more than 6 consecutive days in the past 30 odd years, and also never fast for less than 30 hours: First, to make sure the fasting enzymes are still there, and second, to ensure they are fully activated (full ketosis) in anticipation of the 6 eating days ahead.

Happy fasting all!

André

Thank you, Fasting Doctor. I appreciate your knowledge and experience. You just put things in a new perspective for me. Could you recommend any good books/articles/publications that deal with the science of fasting?

I don't want to promote myself, but there's an e-book on fastingconnection.com which I wrote about 20 years ago. It's called "Health Won"

fastingconnection.com/component/option,c...ask,showbook/view,1/

but on the books page there are numerous really good books to choose from..

André

In the literal sense of the word, to fast means to abstain from food or from certain types of food.

In the context of this site, I see your point. But, quite literally, many people begin their fast with the end of an evening meal, much like we do while sleeping.

I was actually being literal and not rhetorical.

Thank you so very much The Fasting Doctor. Your third post in this thread really explained things well. It definitely answered questions that I did not know how to ask. The confusion is gone. This post is also inspiring. At least I have been motivated. Thanks again.

Rose

Curezone is at it again.

I think this post disagrees with The Fasting Doctor. From what I understand The Fasting Doctor does 2-3 days of fasting every week. curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1566994#i

And another post in this thread states from a well respected member, "I do not think for one moment that any one here is seriously advocating 2 to 3 days or more per week of water-only fasting on a permanent basis, and if they are, then I agree with you " and "We should also bear in mind that Intermittent Fasting can be extremely beneficial to health. " So, this person believes in intermittent fasting but not 2-3 days per week. curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1567343#i

So, my question for The Fasting Doctor is, "How long can a weekly fast be if it is done every week on a permanent basis to remain on the beneficial side?"
Thanks,
Rose

I used to go to that site and, like every site you have people advocating different positions, Without commenting on the post therein you were referring to, CureZone has, in my opinion, far more over-the-top and unsubstantiated claims than most. Granted there is some good material there too, but overall the site reminds me some of the raw food sites where so many think if they just eat raw food they will live forever (just like the Breatharians, LOL) and if one ate a baked potato the cancer might begin immediately.

I also use to go to that site, but not anymore. Like meditating said there are just too many people advocating different positions, who doesnt have any experience.

I also noted that "fasting practitioners" generally advocate a preference for certain ways to fast.
For example Dr Shelton was a great believer in fasting until natural hunger return, he was not really interested in intermediate fasting.
And I believe I am correct in saying our own Dr Andre here on the site is more a believer in intermediate fasting combined with the elimination cycle.

You need to find what work for you, unfortunately its not always clear in the beginning, and you will have to experiment, and listen to your own body what works best.

As for me, I have "modified" Dr Andre's cyclical diet in his book Health won, and am in my 3rd "cycle" I am loosing weight, and absolutely love it!! I think I am going to stick to this for quite a while.
(I have a "cycle" of 6 days, and fast two days (60 hours) every cycle.)

I realised my post must sound a bit clumsy - To clarify - what I mean is anyone can quote a health professional or a book(like they did in curezone in the article), saying that this is the way to go. However it is very possible that the information quoted is only a small part of the whole picture, and that he/she did not advocate or fully test intermediate fasting. eg. could be an expert on long fasting, but not on intermediate fasting.

Well Rose, my weekly fast is minimum 30 hours, and sometimes it is 6 days, thus the whole week, actually "meeting up" with the next week's one day fast. Most of the time it is 40-50 hours.

This is just for maintenance. If you need to cure a disease you obviously employ longer fasts, up to 40 days at a time. Only once did I allow a patient to go to 45 days (water only of course). Fasts of different duration has different effect and functions but my experience is the weekly 1-3 days can do most of what is necessary.

How long can it be, Rose? Well, it can be anything from one day (about 30 hours from meal to meal) up to the whole week. But for the long term, I found it safe to fast 2-4 days per week indefinitely. Some weeks 3-4 days "in a row" and other weeks every second day.. variety is, after all, the spice of life.

I laugh with you, dear Meditating, about the "breatharians" and in particular those who believe them!

And Gaga.gal, fasting like Shelton suggested up to natural hunger definitely has its place. For some people the odd long fast is easier than the regular short one. Far be it from me to be prescriptive.. if it works for you, that's fine! But the regular short fast has more functions than the long one, and vice versa.

I am happy for you if the 60 hours off, 6 days on cycle works for you. Just be sensitive for when it might become less effective, and always be open to change it should you get bored.. as for myself, I haven;t yet gotten bored of the weekly fast after about 30 years.

I have employed all kinds of fasting in my practice, supervised more than 10 000 patients during their fasts.. and realized we really need to be open to biofeedback!

André

Wow:woohoo: The Fasting Doctor: "But for the long term, I found it safe to fast 2-4 days per week indefinitely". This definitely sounds like you disagree with this Curezone thread. If the proof is in the pudding then you must be right as you have actually done it and remain in excellent health. Your excellent health no doubt is the result of this. Thanks again. I just needed reassurance. I believe it is wise to examine what I read and I am learning this is especially true for the posts on the Curezone Water Fasting Only support forum. I especially watch out for those that are marked with the red R's. Some are great, but I learned a long time ago that a lot of it is who you are and who your friends are. I've seen some pretty bad posts marked. I'm glad there is no system like that on this site.

I appreciate you.

Rose

PS: Meditating and Gaba.gal I appreciated your comments too. You both gave some good input.




"

"Just be sensitive for when it might become less effective, and always be open to change it should you get bored.. as for myself, I haven't yet gotten bored of the weekly fast after about 30 years."

Thanks for the heads up Dr Andre, I must admit that even though I am still in "cycle" 3 I can see myself doing this permanently. I normally get really bored when I do a longer fast, food is after all very interesting. With my cycle only 6 days my fasting/eating days never fall on the same day in successive weeks, it also give me something to look forward to - the fasting and eating days.