Water Fasting for Weight Loss

Weight loss diets have gained tremendous popularity as obesity is a constant concern today. Fast life, stress and sedentary lifestyle are mainly responsible for excess and unwanted weight. People are becoming more and more diet conscious or calorie conscious as they are now aware of the fact that they can avoid health complications by maintaining weight. Water fasting for weight loss is actually an effective way of body cleansing, but it has gained popularity because it helps lose weight fast.

Water Fasting and Weight Loss

Water fasting is a period when you stay away from all food or from some specific food items. Some dietitians recommend fluids or lemonade diet to satisfy thirst and physiological requirements when on water diet. During the absence of solid food, a specially designed detox diet cleanses the body systematically of everything except vital tissue. This type of fasting is very effective even if you fast for one day per week or per month. You can fast from 1 to 40 days. You are supposed to have plenty of drinking water every day but you can not have any solid food when on water diet. Even if you fast 40 days on water, you will not suffer a deficiency of protein, vitamins, minerals or fatty acids. Starvation occurs only when the body is forced to use vital tissue to survive. You need not fear of losing strength. The healthy cells from your body may be reduced in size and strength for a time, but they remain perfectly sound. It has been observed that the number of muscle fibers remains the same, even during long fasts.

Ten Day Water Fast to Lose Weight

The 'ten day water fast' is the most recommended and suitable type of water fast. Do you know that a 'ten days water fast' will help you lose the same weight as a '30 days juice fast'? Though it sounds attractive, water fasting is very difficult, especially if you have a fast metabolism. Water diet flushes away toxins rapidly and the body is cleansed aggressively. You should be mentally prepared for a ten day water fast so that there is less pressure and responsibility. This can offer you better results. You can plan in advance for a water fast when on a holiday away from the normal patterns of living. You need to prepare your body for such severe type of fasting. So, dietitians recommend that you should drink fresh juices and you should eat mostly raw fruits and vegetables to cleanse the body, the week before your fast. This will lead to trouble-free detoxification during water fasting. Ten days water fast should always include two or three days of juice fasting before and after the water fast. This alternating between juice and water is essential and it is the most effective way of achieving a full body cleansing. It helps you reap other health benefits like loss of weight, control of your appetite, etc.

Water Fasting Tips

• Water diet may lead to dizziness and blackouts. During fasting, when you stand up, do not forget to take one or two deep breaths before, to get the heart pumping.
• Ideally, you should fast once or twice a year which can tune you up to deal with the environmental toxins. Traditionally people used to fast in the spring and fall, when the weather used to be mild.
• If you find water fasting very difficult, you can plan this diet: 3 days on juice, 2 days on water, 5 days on juice, then 3 days on water. Or, you can have juice when you have to work and you can have water fast on the weekend when you can rest.
• Water fasting to lose weight is not recommended under the conditions of hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, schizophrenia or a chronic heart condition. If you have any health problem, you should consult your physician before opting for water fast.
• Stress relievers like yoga and meditation strengthen your mind. Strong will power helps achieve the goal. Meditation helps enhance the effect of water fasting. Weight loss and body cleansing when accompanied by meditation help you feel light and fresh. When your mind is peaceful and happy, it is easier to achieve the desired goal. You feel rejuvenated and recharged. Fasting in a loving, peaceful, calm and serene environment brings about a positive change in your personality.
• Avoid tap water. You should use distilled water as drinking water since it is the best medium for cleansing. As it carries magnetic properties, it has ability to absorb and suspend large quantities of toxins, which are then easily flushed out of the body. Use of mineral water is not recommended. If distilled water is not available, then filtered water is recommended.

You can notice a weight loss of about three to four pounds per day initially, but as the fast continues, the average loss will be one pound per day. If you are juice fasting and if you notice no change in your weight, it is safe to conclude that the juice is supplying all the calories you need. Remember, the faster your metabolism the faster the weight loss. A thin person of normal weight will become more thin after following a water fast or a juice fast. But there is no need to worry as his body will quickly normalize its weight within 5 to 10 days, after the fast. It is true that if you are thin to start with, you may gain additional weight after the fast.

You should avoid overeating after the fast as it can burden the body and affect the rebuilding process. You should keep it in mind that you should resume eating very lightly and very gradually, in exact proportion to the duration of the fast. To break a 40-day fast, you may be required to start with only small quantities of fruit juice for several days up to a week, before actually resuming with solid food like regular fruit. Once you succeed in water fasting, you yourself would recommend such fasting to others as you will experience a magical effect, a positive change in your health and personality.