I am currently eating the most delicious macaroon from the local bakery. Mmmm creamy coconut. Carry on!
The problem with the anti-fasting crowd is that they would have to be anti-diet as well.
A good diet continually starves the body. The body is left wanting for as long as one creates a caloric deficit (this could be months). At some point, the body is without fuel and turns to burning fat. In many cases of successful dieting, you lose some muscle, although the long-term benefits and end results actually mean a better fat:muscle ratio when exercising.
Fasting isn’t something to do for more than 16-24 hours. The body can turn to its fat storage, and your body can maintain levels of vitamins and minerals for that period. These numbers don’t plummet very fast.
All athletes and serious dieters fast, more or less.
Fasting is like drinking a nice glass of wine: You can look all over for chemicals and reactions by the body for why it’s so beneficial for some. What’s important to one’s health in these cases is the mere act of doing it or what is says about the person in general.
People who will sit down with a glass of wine regularly are more likely to be the type of people who make time to relax/reflect and do something for their mental state, which is good for overall health (beating stress is probably THE best preventative medicine bar none).
People who can fast and make the time/effort for it are more likely to listen to their bodies, make hard, firm decisions and put willpower to the test and triumph over hunger. They are taking serious pro-wellness steps. This is a mentally (sometimes spiritually) rewarding thing.
Don’t underestimate the power of such things. They say a lot about the person, their priorities and mental state. It’s these sometimes intangible things that are good for wellness.
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Glanced over the thread title in the forum list and thought it said:
Anyone into fisting?
Nevermind.
No, it is 25 hours. From sundown one day to an hour after sundown the next.
I haven’t personally tried to fast, and in my experience with people who do, it seems to work for them fine whether it’s for religious reasons or just personal. While a one-day fast seems to be fine for all I’ve seen do it, what I don’t think is good is longer than that.
I worked with one woman who would do a three-day fast once a month. If she was home doing whatever on her personal time, maybe that would have been fine. But she was working at a busy animal ER, and by day three of her fast, she was flaky. She seemed to be experiencing a mood-lift of some sort. She certainly wasn’t longing for any of the food we always have out, she was bouncy and alert, but she made mistakes. Sometimes there was a lack of good judgment, and she got sloppy. I credit that to her brain not getting any glucose for close to 3 days. So, IMHO, if fasting for more than a day, please do it at home, or if you have a low-risk desk job or something. I’m not sure driving is even a good idea.
But one-day fasting? Never did any harm as far as I can tell. Maybe even does some good.