To do a water fast for a fortnight

[Nicknamechoosingishard]

I know, it’s drastic and everyone talks about all the weight going back on but I’m desperate and I think I have a plan which I want to put to the vipers.....

I have tried unsuccessfully to lose weight several times over the years. I have a medical history which means exercise is difficult but not impossible. A mental health history which most recently seen me in the pits of depression and void of any motivation even to shower or wash a cup.

I’ve tried keto, slimming world and just portion control in the last year but I always fall off the wagon. It’s mainly due to mental health. Food is my crutch but it’ll kill me if I don’t figure it out. I’m on a waiting list for therapy and should see one within six weeks according to my doctor who also thinks my overeating is an emotional problem. At this stage I don’t know what’s true but I need help so I’m going to go.

I could go on for hours but there’s no point. I just wanted to give a bit of a picture behind my current plan.

I’m thinking all the fad diets where people put weight back on are because they fall off the wagon without a maintenance plan. What if I did a water fast and went straight to slimming world then? I’ve lost weight with slimming world so I know it works.

Getting weight off quickly is very important to me right now both because I have to go back to work soon and for my mental and physical health.

AIBU to water fast and go straight to SW?

Flame away but if you must could you please explain why you did? If I shouldn’t do it I’d like to know the rationale. It helps me to make logical decisions when I’m usually impulsive and make hasty decisions.

Thanks.

Sorry I took so long to come back. Spent most of the day trying to boost my motivation and be happy with losing weight the right way. I can’t say I’m convinced I’ll succeed this time but I’m thinking differently so that’s a start.

I’m grateful for all replies and I respect everyone’s choice to do it in a way that works for them. We’re all different and though the basic principle (principal? I can never get that right!) of caloric deficit is firm, the means by which anyone chooses to meet that requirement is subjective and based on personal ability, circumstances and existing health.

Taking that point and applying to myself I recognise I have a problem with food. Disordered eating or whatever but basically a serious problem compounded by other issues and the root cause lies somewhere in my brain and not my stomach so I need the therapy I have lined up. That’s the first decision.

Following advise on this thread I’ve decided ..

1. I’m going to do the walking videos on you tube and give pilates a go to see if it helps my back.
2. I’m going buy a swimsuit that fits and make waves in the local pool!
3. I’m going to walk on the beach because I like it and so does my dog.
4. I’m going to cut out sugar and white carbs as much as possible. Wholemeal and brown.
5. I’m going to take care of how I look. This is a big one. I’ve let myself go so much that I hate seeing my reflection. I hate who’ve I’ve become but I’m going to try to feel good about myself and take some pride in myself again.
6. I’m going to have a go at meal prepping VERY simple meals so I have no excuses when I’m tired.
7. I’m going to Marie Kondo the shit out of my house because I believe the mayhem in my house is a huge reason for the mayhem in my head.
8. I’m going to eat lots of filling fruit and veg.
9. I’m going to copy and paste this post and use it to remember how I’m feeling right now.

10. I’m going to be grateful for having a life and an able body and I’m going to respect it and treat it better. 11. I’m going to keep a journal of how I feel each day and keep my thoughts somewhere solid instead of the spaghetti junction of my mind. 12. I’m going to remember that I have a mental health disorder and that I can give myself a break sometimes. As they say, it’s okay to not be okay. This too shall pass.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and advice.

Why don’t you try 5:2. That’s very effective, but also sustainable long term, so you can keep the weight off.

@HeresMe

I have actually done fasting, unlike you. More than once. I have also done research into it, unlike you. I agree with you that OP is not in the right place to fast, mentally, at present. I did stress it in my previous posts. I also warned her of the risks and encouraged her to learn more about it before she actually does anything, have I not? I have given her pointers and shared my experience. That is more than what you have done HeresMe. You you did was stomp around what a load of rubbish this all is.

Good for you each step at a time good luck in it all

Nickname

13. At the end of each day list five positive things that have happened remembering to drink tea before it goes cold counts

as looking for positives in each day will help you achieve all of the others

Water fasting isn't a fad diet either and you just don't get it.

As for vitamins I am talkin about taking the most natural ones avaialble, avoiding the ones that contain sugar, corn syrup, binders, fillers, excipients, artificial colors and preservatives because those aren't good for you anymore taking in that crap.

Vitamins in powder form mixed in water are easily absorbed by the body.

Your body does need a break from stuff especialyl if your filling it with the shit food thats out there unless your eating clean which you haven't admitted your doing so your still putting crap into your body.

Also water fasting allows your body to reach autophagy which helps your body cleans out damaged cells and toxins, helps you regenerate newer, healthier cells and tightens up your skin. Somthing your liver can't do for you so why don't you actually do proper research before spouting off like you really know it all because you know very little otherwise you wouldn't even say your body doesn't need a break from stuff.

And if you read my post I never said I was giving it a break to detox my body but hey your welcome to make shit up and pretend thats what I said.

Sounds like a good plan, OP. Just remember Rome wasn’t built in a day. Small steps and dogged determination will get you there 💐

Thank you everybody

As toxic foods but I'll take lab grown vitamins wow.
Sorry I cared about OP in all this but hey she's not took any of your advice that's a bonus

Persuading OP to take my advice wasn’t the purpose of me posting on the thread. My aim was to urge her to do research before attempting anything like that, making her aware there risks as well as benefits. She has decided, I think quite rightly, it’s not for her just now. Good decision. She may look into it in the future and consider if it is something she will benefit from. Having the information is the important bit.

OP your plan sounds really fantastic - If you post that whole big post in the weight-loss section I bet there are some other people on there who would love to follow that plan with you and support you.

I'm behind you Op keep at it you can do it

Just to say that I was taken to hospital by ambulance last week after collapsing (fainting). I was apparently unresponsive. DC were terrified, obviously. I was diagnosed with severe dehydration, low potassium, skewed electrolytes along with the flu that brought me down in the first place.

Even though I wasn't fasting, I was certainly too ill to eat much and apparently not drinking enough fluids. It was a frightening experience.

Oh fuk off you don't even read my posts properly. I never said to take lab grown vitamins. There are plenty of natural vitamin tablets you can take that aren't full of all the crap fillers and I said this in my last post but yet again you are just blind to what I write and just making shit up to suit your agenda.

and as with Figaro I wasn't here to persuade OP to take my advice I was just informing her of my experiences and to set right some of the stupid infomration being psted about how dangerous it was. I have always said in every post that OP should check with her doctor esp if she is on medication. To do research herself to make sure she knows what is fully entailed and to do it correctly.

I've seen the agenda in last few posts toxic food ect.

I mention food being toxic because you spout so much shit about fasting being dangerous but you don't even get that food today isn't even good for you. You avoid aswering me back when I say you probably eat that shit food that is processed, pumped full of hormones and grains, pesticides - none of which is natural of good for the body. Why - because I right that you do and you can't admit that you put toxins into your body.

How anyone can say that kind of food is good for you is beyond me.

You avoid answeing me too about dieticians ect so why should I you you are a complete paleo nut job.

I eat stuff, but do it in moderation.

You are a really unhealthy person look at yourself you have a really unhealthy obsession with food, it's seems to you most of it is toxic it isn't.

Please sort your attitude to food out before advising others. Your attitude is toxic I'm not sure the food is.

I am not following the paleo diet I have said it several times that im following keto.

I am not a nut job and don't have an unhealthy obsession with food. I had just opened my eyes up to the way food is produced and how its produced and realised its not produced in a way that ia healthy for me. I prefer to grow my own where I can because I can control whether or not pesticides are sprayed over it and also ensurethatthe soil my food grows is at its best so the food grows to contain more nutrients than those that are grown in agreesive agricutural land.

I also source meat from purely grass fed cattle rather than buy supermarket meat which has been reared on grains and pumped full of hormones.

Nothing nut job about that at all.

I don't avoid your statements about dieticans because I have done the water fast, do intermitment fasting and keto and have regular check up with my doctor and everything is fine so I don't need dieticians telling me what im doing is wrong an dangerous when evidence itself on me is enough to tell me im doing the right thing.

----

A number of studies have explored the phenomenon of declining nutrients in fruits and vegetables, but the one that garnered the most media attention was led by Donald R. Davis, PhD, at the University of Texas in Austin, and was published in HortScience. Among Davis’s findings, one of the most consistent was that a higher yield of crops — in other words, more crops grown in a given space — almost always resulted in lower nutrient levels in the fruits and vegetables. What’s more, the median mineral declines among a variety of fruits and vegetables could be fairly significant, ranging from 5 to 40 percent, with similar declines in vitamins and protein levels.

Higher yield is one reason behind the decline, but several nutrition experts say it's not the only one. “The soil itself has been over-harvested, meaning that over years of use and turnover of soil, it becomes depleted in nutrition,” says Michael Wald, MD, an integrated medicine specialist in Mount Kisco, N.Y.

Small steps!

Just wanted to encourage you on the pool front, I’ve started using the pool recently and honestly nobody gives a shit. Remember a lot of people won’t have their glasses on so they couldn’t see even if they wanted to :o

Consider aqua fit too. It’s ace :) all this stuff is making a huge difference to my mental health. Also I’m starting to find it easier not to want to eat crap food all the time.

I’m keeping a food diary at the moment. Underneath each day I’m also writing my activity, and the key thing, my decisions. The not so good (eg “comfort ate in the evening”) but then the good (eg “didn’t eat kids’ leftovers”, “didn’t snack between meals” etc). All those sensible decisions come naturally to many people. They don’t to me. So I celebrate them. It makes me feel a lot better and motivates me.

Sensible plan, op. Good for you.

Please don’t do it! I made myself very ill doing that when I had an eating disorder. It took me weeks to be able to eat and drink properly again. If you are interested in fasting why don’t you just try it for a day or try intermittent fasting?

@freetone , tbe sensible plan is the one the op has set out later in the thread.

You'd be at high risk of refeeding syndrome when you started eating again. If not managed properly it's very dangerous.

Sounds like you have a plan OP. It's great that you are getting back in to exercise but the main part of weight loss is diet. We can eat in literally seconds the amount of calories you could burn walking for 8 hours. So you can't out train a bad diet - there just isn't enough time in the day. But this is good in a way as it means if you have physical issues that mean you can't exercise, weight loss is still possible.

I am interested to read people on this thread actually have fasted that long. How did you do it? You must be very mentally strong. I'm not, which is how I got to be fat in the first place.

You can survive on water alone for two weeks, go for it, and watch the weight drop off. We all eat far too much in my opinion - I often fast for a couple of weeks, survive perfectly well on water.

Wow so much disordered eating advice on this thread. OP please don't try a fad they don't work long term and aren't good for you. Your plan sounds a good start to me, only you know yourself not some randomers online.

Everyone's body works differently you will know your own body and deep down know what to do. Eat a healthy diet full of protein which keeps you full. Snack less, drink lots of water. Small amounts of carbs wholewheat if possible. Eat less sugar. Small steps. Keep moving, keep walking the dog. I'm sure once you regularly go to the pool you'll realise no one cares. Good luck you can do this but think long term, a day turns into a week then a month. If you have s blip get up the next day and just start again.