Weight loss is a goal of countless number of people in the United States today. Between our marriage to the Standard Western Diet and our desire for a quick fix, the number of manufactured products available on the market to improve the success rate of individuals who are searching for weight loss continues to grow. In fact, more and more people are turning to fasting in order to jump start their programs or to gain a firmer control over their eating habits.
People who wish to attempt fasting should learn as much about it as possible prior to starting. And, most importantly, should clear that program with their primary care physician who can evaluate the impact that it could have on any underlying medical conditions from which they suffer or any medications that you may currently be taking.
Fasting can be undertaken for as short as one day or as long as 30 days depending upon the type of fast and the overall health of the individual at the beginning of the fast. Making an informed decision about your plans based on your current health, fitness and medications is the most important thing that you can do to increase your potential for success.
People have found that fasting can be an effective way to lose some initial unnecessary body fat but will more importantly also cleanse the body of unhealthy toxins and help you to divorce yourself of unhealthy eating habits.
The reality is that weight loss happens through a negative calorie balance. This means that an individual will lose weight when they burn more calories than they eat. This negative balance can occur when an individual decreases their intake or increases their burn (exercise). Individuals who attempt to use fasting for weight loss may find that it gives them a healthy way to jump start their program but is definitely not a way of managing their weight loss long-term.
Weight management is not an endless journey of weight gain and weight loss but instead should be achieved through maintaining a specific weight. You can do this by changing your eating habits to maintain a lifelong lifestyle change. This means that you no longer go on “diets” and no longer fear failing.
Individuals who have an underlying emotional eating habit may find that fasting can lead to an unhealthy conversion to binging or anorexia. Either one of those eating disorders are very dangerous to your health and if you believe you may have an underlying emotional eating habit you should seek the advice of your primary care physician or a psychologist to assist you in developing a program which will address your underlying emotional needs prior to attempting a negative calorie balance.
For those who will attempt fasting for one to 30 days there are three different types of fast. They are-water-only, juice or a fruit. A water-only fast is pretty self-explanatory; the participant will only drink water until the fast is broken. Individuals who experience the juice fast will drink freshly squeezed juices that are included but not limited to, carrots, apples, vegetables and fruits. A fruit only fast will allow the participants to only eat fruit, of any kind and in any amount as well as drink water.
Most individuals who look to fasting to jump start their diet will start with a water-only fast. This fast should last no longer than three days and then should move to either a juice only fast or back to eating healthy well-balanced meals. Juice only fasts should be fresh squeezed at home using the juicing machine. The beneficial ingredient in these juices is the living enzymes which will die 24 hours after being produced. Thus, fresh squeezed juice from home is imperative in order to gain the most benefit from the juice. Similar juices sold in the grocery stores will have more benefits than soda, but the living enzymes will have died by the time they get to the shelf.
Once an individual has reached their time goal for the juice-only fast they can move into the fruit only portion of the fast. During this phase of fasting individuals should use as much organic produce as they can. Imagine pouring fungicides and herbicides into your body at an alarming rate as you juice 2 pounds of carrots to get 16 ounces of juice.
This phase should be half the length of time of the water and juice phase combined. In other words, if you fasted with water only and juice for a total of 10 days then you should eat only fruit for a total of five days. Once the juice phase is completed the individuals can move into a raw food diet of vegetables and fruit for the same length of time as the fruit phase and they’ll continue to see rapid weight loss. A secondary benefit of this diet is they’ll also be cleansing out their lower intestines and by adding an increased amount of fiber to the diet they will also be cleaning the toxins from the body.
Once the individual has to finalize their last days of the diet they should transition to foods they will continue to eat and maintain over the long haul. Lifestyle changes for all people should include as much raw food as possible since adding living enzymes into the body is a wonderful way of giving a living body healthy nutrition.
Many individuals find that fasting has fantastic health, spiritual and weight-loss benefits and, with the right motivation and support, individuals can use fasting to jump start their weight loss and benefit their overall health.
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