From April 15th to May 15th, 2020 I fasted on water, which is shared in my water fasting journal. Today, I’m sharing my 30 day water fast results in hopes to encourage and empower you. I’m discussing water only fast results: no broth, no coffee, no juices, no smoothies. I’ll show you my extended water fast before and after pictures and answer questions about water fasting from both scientific and practical perspectives. My journey of fasting on water began after I became depressed and suicidal when narcissistic abuse was inflicted on me in my marriage. To learn more about me and understand my emotional struggles, as well as their origin, read “Getting to know Anna Szabo.”
Introduction
I have fasted on water eight times in the last two years. In fact, just yesterday, I shared the 15 benefits of water fasting based on science and my personal experience. My passion for fasting on water is huge because of the huge results I accomplished optimizing my overall health and enjoying a much greater quality of life today.
My water fasting results blew my mind, though to get started was not easy. In fact, I had a hard time sticking to my fasting journey and wavered a lot. The difficulty was this year. I’m 37.
When I was 35, I did three water fasts and had no issues committing. Below is an explanation of how I achieved my 30-day water fast results this year, despite all the obstacles. I’m also sharing with you here my waterfasting video blogs – vlogs. Those were published on YouTube daily while I was fasting. The Bible says to fast in secret, so I no longer tell anyone when I am fasting. But I’m glad to be able to share with you everything I’ve learned from fasting in the past. My hope is that this detailed information will help you on your own health journey.
In 2020, I started fasting on water on April 15th and fasted for almost two days but failed on April 16th. Here’s my journal: Water Fast Day 1 Attempt 1 April 15th 2020.
On April 17th, I started again, however, I failed that same day. Here’s my journal from the second attempt of my first day of a prolonged water fast: Water Fast Day 1 Attempt 2 April 17th 2020.
I tried again on April 18th and went on for two days but failed on the second try of the second day. Here’s my journal describing that experience: Water Fast Day 2 Attempt 2 April 19th 2020.
Immediately, on April 20th, I attempted my first day for the fourth time, restarting my prolonged water fast. However, I failed it, which is described in my water fasting diary here: Water Fast Day 1 Attempt 4 April 20th 2020.
Then, I realized that it was not working and I took a break. However, I didn’t fully understand what was not working.
A few days later, on April 24th, I did my fifth attempt to start over and go on for at least five days. However, I failed. Here’s my water fasting diary from that day: Water Fast Day 1 Attempt 5 April 24th 2020.
I waited a day but then started over for the sixth time, and I failed again. Here’s my water fasting diary from that day: Water Fast Day 1 Attempt 6 April 26th 2020.
At that point, after my six attempts at fasting on water for five days failed, I was determined to figure this thing out. I was observing my journey to witness what was not working.
I knew in my heart that fasting on water was good for me. My passion for doing it was genuine. All I needed was to go deep and switch on whatever was switched off (as compared to my 2018 water fasting experience). What was it? It was my mind.
This was an emotional journey with lots of tears.
But… I figured it out.
Finally, I realized what wasn’t working.
From April 30th to May 4th, 2020 I fasted on water. Here’s the entire water fasting diary from that whole experience: My 5-Day Water Fast Success.
My many failures taught me much more than my successes, so make sure you read my diary about fasting on water if you think it will be beneficial to you as you are figuring out your own fasting journey.
While today I’m sharing my 30 Day Water Fast Results, the journey itself leading to those results was a great experience and is well worth learning from, even more than the actual results of my water fast.
In addition to unlocking my mindset and studying my emotions in relation to food and eating, I explored the deep spiritual aspect of fasting on water. I ended up writing two poems: “A Poem About Water Fasting” and “Water Fasting vs Gluttony.” They reflect both my struggles and triumphs.
Following my water fast, I did refeeding, which is described here: My Refeeding After a Water Fast. Then, I fasted again through May 15th but intermittently. I tried the 16/8 intermittent fasting, as well as OMAD – one meal a day with 23 hours of fasting every day. There were days when I went for 24 hours without eating. So, I’ve dome multiple one-day water fasts that way, which added to my learning and growth.
During those 30 days of water fasting in 2020, I did ten one-day water fasts, two two-day water fasts, one three-day water fast, one four-day water fast, and one five-day water fast.
Combined with my water fasting success from 2018, I can share with you the results of my fasting experiences of a total of 13 one-day water fasts, five two-day water fasts, four three-day water fasts, four four-day water fasts, and four five-day water fasts. And I’ll start with the most requested aspect of fasting, which is weight loss.
I lost 20 lb twice by fasting on water.
Water Fast Weight Loss Results
My water fast weight loss results were achieved one day at a time, in combination with exercise, good sleep, and other healthy daily practices. One thing I want you to know is this: weight loss does not equate to fat loss. You are guaranteed to lose water weight on a water fast 100% of the time. It’s the fat loss that’s questionable. Fat burning begins on day three when the body enters ketosis.
For the first 24-48 hours, your body burns already stored glycogen for energy. After day two of fasting on water-only, you enter a state of ketosis and begin burning fat that your body had stored in case of famine. The health benefits of water fasting related to ketosis are explained by Dr. Michael Klaper, one of the leading plant-based doctors and water fasting thought leaders in the modern western world.
For the first 24 to 48 hours after beginning a water fast, the body burns off circulating blood sugar and sugar stored in the muscles and liver in the form of glycogen.
The “real” metabolic fast does not begin until one metabolizes their blood sugar, in approximately 2 to 3 days. At that time, the body begins to burn fat tissue for fuel. When that happens, molecules called ketones enter the blood circulation. These ketones have some very interesting properties.
For the faster, the main welcome property of ketones is that they suppress hunger. By day four or five of a water fast, hunger is usually gone and is replaced by a feeling of great well-being.
Why more energy, and not less?
So much of the energy that the body uses all day goes to digesting our food including muscular contractions of the intestine, chemical energy used to synthesize stomach acid, bile, and digestive enzymes, as well as the billions of immune cells in the intestinal lining that interrogate the chemical nature of the food going by in the digestive tract.
When that function is no longer required on a water fast, all that energy is freed up and people feel very light and energetic for the first several weeks on the water fast.
Dr. Michale Klaper on fasting
Weight loss is one of the health benefits of water fasting I personally experienced twice by losing 20 lb. After my initial weight loss on a water fast in 2018, I was rear-ended in a car accident and slowly gained weight, but this year I lost 20 lb again by fasting on water in 2020, which I documented in a diary on this blog. My previous fasting adventures were documented as vlogs on YouTube.
RELATED: Water Fasting for Weight Loss
Let’s differentiate fat loss from weight loss. When you are losing fat, you may not be losing any weight if you’re building muscles. Muscle is heavier than fat, so you may experience an increase in weight.
Similarly, losing weight on a water fast doesn’t mean losing fat. You may just be losing water weight, not fat weight. But typically, weight loss on a water fast is a combination of both water weight loss and fat loss.
Although fasting is not generally recommended as a primary weight loss strategy, weight loss is a predictable consequence of fasting. Most people average a loss of approximately one pound per day over the course of a fast. (When weight loss is your primary concern, a health-promoting diet coupled with exercise is usually your best approach.)
Dr. Alan Goldhamer
I personally lost 20 lb by fasting on water. With that weight, I lost cellulite, knee fat, belly fat, sides fat, and inner thigh fat, which happened because I also work out regularly and sleep well.
You will lose weight on water fast 100% of the time. It is absolutely most definitely that you will love water weight on a water fast. To lose fat weight though, you need to access ketosis, which happens after 2-3 days of fasting on water. Then, you begin burning your stored body fat. I lost a lot of fat by fasting on water for more than 3 days.
Not everyone can fast for so many days. Honestly, now I am at my ideal weight, so I think this is the last time I’m sharing with you about my 30 Day Water Fast Results. There probably won’t be too many water fasts for me longer than 3 days because I’m very fit and already reached my ideal weight goal. However, fasting on water has so many other benefits than just fat loss or weight loss. While I do talk about Water Fast Weight Loss Results, I also want to focus your attention on other positive outcomes of fasting. Let’s discuss what happens at each stage, day by day.
One Day Water Fast Results
I want to share with you about 24 hour water fast results. The most fascinating benefit of fasting for one day is autophagy, which is a fundamental process for degrading and recycling cellular components.
Autophagy that your body’s cells are eating themselves: “auto” means “self” and “phagy” identifies the practice of eating a specified food. During autophagy, aka cellular self-eating, your body’s cells “clean out” any unnecessary or damaged components.
Modern humans evolved while surviving prolonged periods without food and have voluntarily fasted for spiritual and therapeutic reasons since ancient times.
Water-only fasting (complete abstinence from all foods and beverages, except for pure water) is now used therapeutically to initiate physiological responses that may promote self-healing.
In a fasted state, increased autophagy (breakdown and recycling of damaged and non-essential tissue) provides a source of amino acids, fatty acids, and minerals, and the energy previously used for digestion may be directed towards cellular regeneration.
The physiological adaptations that occur in the fasted state may produce various health improvements. Clinical evidence in humans suggests that fasting may improve hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, chemotherapy side effects, and quality of life.
Dr. Alan Goldhamer on fasting and metabolic syndrome
Clearing away damaged cell parts is essential for keeping cells healthy. If junk builds up in a cell, it can permanently tweak the cell’s genes, alter your DNA, and makes it difficult for your cells to repair themselves and regrow the structures they need for you to survive and thrive.
The result of autophagy is overall renewal, which I can’t see but my young, glowing, beautiful, healthy skin is something I do see, and it’s the direct result of fasting on water multiple times for 24 hours.
RELATED: Water Fasting Activates Autophagy
I wrote in my water fasting diary on the first day of my fast: “I worked in bed till 8 pm: wrote the longest blog post on my blog called Narcissistic Mother-Daughter Relationship with 33000 words, edited it, published.” Wow! That was a very productive day without any food!
On another day of fasting for 24 hours, I wrote “I walked 18000 steps outside.” Last time, at the end of my 24 hour water fast, I wrote in my journal: “It’s good for my fat to be used! I’m going to bed. It was a very productive day, and I just finished publishing another blog post. No pooping today, though I worked out a lot.” These diary records definitely indicate consistent high energy and mental clarity when fasting on water for a day. I have three vlogs for you sharing about my One Day Water Fast Results.
Two Day Water Fast Results
The 48 hour water fast results are really felt and smelled! Literally, my body odor was awful, though I do shower twice a day. Here’s what I wrote in my water fasting diary about day two of my fast: “My back hurts, my stomach still makes a ton of noise, my mouth feels like a rat literally died in there, I’m hot but I know that these are the very indications that my water fast is working!”
The 2 day water fast results that I really want to discuss here are Neuroadaptation, Enzymatic Recalibration, Detoxification, and Naturesis. You can learn more about the topic by watching educational videos published by Dr. Alan Goldhamer who is the leading authority on the practice and science of water fasting in the western world. Below are his explanations of everything that took place in my body, which resulted in the symptoms I just shared.
Neuroadaptation
What Dr. Goldhamer says: “Fasting helps your taste sensors adapt to a low salt intake. By allowing your body to “neuroadapt” to low salt food, fasting rapidly facilitates the adoption of a health- promoting diet. This process of neuroadaptation appears to take place more rapidly during fasting than merely eating a low-salt diet.”
From my experience, I can tell you: an apple tastes like the sweetest ice cream after a 2 day water fast! I’m serious. If you want to enjoy healthy food, you need to clean your palette first. Fasting offers help with this.
When I talk about broccoli and kale, people’s eyes pop because they can’t imagine how greens can get me so excited. It’s because my palette is clean and so it’s sensitive to nature’s original good food. Water fast helped me transition to healthy eating and away from burgers, steaks, eggs, cheese, milk, cakes, and sour cream.
Enzymatic Recalibration
What Dr. Goldhamer says: “During fasting, your body induces enzymatic changes that can affect numerous systems, ranging from detoxification of endogenous and exogenous substances to the mobilization of fat, glycogen, and protein reserves. These changes seem to persist after the fasting process, which may explain some of the dramatic clinical changes seen in patients after fasting.”
From my experience, weight loss continues to happen after fasting on water ends. One of the 48 hour water fast results I enjoyed was continued weight loss, though I was already eating.
Naturesis
What Dr. Goldhamer says: “Water-only fasting induces a powerful naturetic effect, which allows the body to eliminate excess sodium and water from your body. This process allows for the resolution of chronic
problems with edema and helps reduce the increased blood volume associated with high blood pressure.”
From my experience, I can confirm this truth about the sodium because the swelling of my foot stopped. Since 2018, I’ve had plantar fasciitis after I was rear-ended in a car accident. So, my foot was swollen in the evenings. Water fasting resolved that after two days.
Detoxification
What Dr. Goldhamer says: “Fasting is generally thought of as a tool to facilitate detoxification, promoting the mobilization and elimination of endogenous substances, such as cholesterol and uric acid, and exogenous substances, such as dioxin, PCBs, and another toxic chemical residue.”
From my experience, I can testify to this. My body smelled so bad, and so did my breath, urine, and I will stop right here because that’s plenty of detsils aready! The smell is due to the deep detoxification.
One of the 48 hour water fast results I experienced was a new detoxed body with everything smelling good afterward. I have no acne, no skin issues, no dandruff, nothing that indicates toxins in the body. Why? Because water fast helped me detox and that’s one of the reasons why I’m committed to fasting again and again.
In 2018, on day two of my water fast I vomited bile. What else went away together with my toxins? My lower belly pooch and cravings for crapy junk food!
On day two is when all the spiritual benefits kick in because going on with no food gets really tough, especially when food is everywhere. One of my videos below shows you how and why I fasted on water during Christmas after my neighbor asked me to urgently take her to the hospital where she was sold on a gallbladder surgery due to the painful stones.
I became a witness to how, instead of a plant-based diet, an expensive surgery was pushed on my neighbor, permanently robbing her of the gallbladder. As soon as I got home from the hospital where she decided to stay for that surgery, I embarked on my third water fast. It was Christmas.
I’ve discovered that a 48 hour water fast results in a stronger faith. For me, fasting is not easy and I must rely on God when doing it. What I experienced was complete surrender resulting in peace.
I wrote in my diary: “I’m realizing how privileged I am to be able to do something so intense. Glory to God for this experience.” I have three vlogs for you sharing about my Two Day Water Fast Results.
Three Day Water Fast Results
The 72 hour water fast results are very exciting! It’s that phase when the body enters ketosis, so hunger sometimes disappears and fat-burning begins. I wrote about this specific benefit in great detail here: Water Fasting Promotes Ketosis and Fat Loss.
What I primarily want to focus on is that a 3 day water fast results in significant positive changes to your genes and the DNA. For someone like me who comes from a family of violent alcoholics and sex addicts, this benefit is priceless. The family where I grew up was insane.
Abuse of all sorts was reigning in our home.
It was not a home: it was a dungeon.
My mother was angry, cruel, hateful, bitter, jealous, violent, sexually-inappropriate with me, and a bully. In my Christian fairytale book about Princess Lana, my mother is The Wicked Witch. That was the best description I can give you of the kinds of genes passed to me.
My father was in jail all his life.
I wrote extensively here on my blog about the abuse and beatings and molestation and bullying, which I endured from my mentally-impaired caregiver. So, being able to switch off bad genes and being able to switch on good genes is really the most valuable benefit of prolonged fasting on water, from my perspective.
RELATED: Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers
I’ve been switching off my bad genes via fasting! If you commit to not eating for this long, you get the prize of longevity and gene-healing. Let’s talk about water fasting and epigenétics!
This is my favorite topic right now because it’s God’s miracle in action. Of course, if you know me, you know I’m going to bring in some serious science. Here’s the science behind the relationship between epigenetics and water fasting.
Aging is characterized by extensive remodeling of epigenetic patterns, which has been implicated in the physiopathology of age-related diseases. Nutrition plays a significant role in modulating the epigenome, and a growing amount of data indicate that dietary changes can modify the epigenetic marks associated with aging.
Aging can be defined as a time-dependent and progressive decline in functional status, which ultimately results in death. This complex and multifaceted phenomenon, which is a major risk factor for a wide range of non-communicable and chronic diseases, is the result of a complex interplay between genetic, environmental, and stochastic variables. While some researchers have suggested that aging is genetically programmed, others sustain that it is the result of the progressive accumulation of damage coupled with a decline in maintenance.
Caloric restriction (CR), i.e., the reduction of caloric intake without causing malnutrition, has proven to be by far the most effective intervention that can extend the maximum lifespan.
The beneficial effects of CR occur through an extremely wide range of molecular mechanisms, largely overlapping with aging hallmarks, among which epigenetic factors have recently gained interest.
The three main categories of epigenetic marks, DNA methylation (DNAm), post-translational histone modifications (PTHMs), and small non-coding RNAs, are considered as central regulators of the aging process.
Epigenetics patterns are greatly remodeled during aging, and this phenomenon has been implicated in the development of multiple age-related diseases. One important characteristic of epigenetic factors is their plasticity: epigenetic changes are reversible and they can be modulated by a wide range of environmental factors, including lifestyle habits and dietary interventions.
Epidenetics and water fasting
This is the first study to demonstrate that fasting induces changes in DNA methylation. DNA methylation is the most studied epigenetic feature and was initially considered to be mitotically stable. However, today we experience an increased understanding of environmental regulation of DNA methylation in adult life, and recent studies have shown that aging, exercise, and dietary factors can alter site-specific DNA methylation in humans, across different tissues. Epigenetic modifications have further been associated with differential gene expression and altered metabolism in key diabetic tissues, including adipose tissue. The establishment of epigenetic modifications during fetal development is dependent on maternal lifestyle, placental function, and nutrient supply [19] and may link an adverse prenatal environment with a higher risk of developing metabolic diseases in postnatal life.
Fasting on Water and Epigenetics
Researchers, in a groundbreaking study out of Temple University in Philadelphia, found it has to do with an epigenetic phenomenon known as “methylation drift.” The results were published in the journal Nature Communications.
To conceive of this breakthrough, we must understand epigenetics. This is the system in which genes are expressed or suppressed, depending on conditions in the environment. Epigenetic changes help an organism adapt to their environment and pass on adaptations to offspring.
We may contain genes for certain traits, but if they don’t match environmental situations, they may never be expressed.
DNA methylation is the process by which genes are expressed or suppressed. These are chemical markers that essentially activate certain genes by tagging them. The tags will tell a cell what type it will become, whether a blood or skin cell, or what-have-you. They also tell it what operations it will perform and when to perform them.
It’s important when DNA is replicated whether the right genes are turned on or off. Normal methylation is important for our growth and development. But abnormal methylation can cause certain diseases such as lupus, muscular dystrophy, and cancer. As we grow older, methylation begins to drift. Also called epigenetic drift, this is when a buildup of tags occurs within a certain gene, making its expression less pronounced.
These results may have an impact on treating or preventing age-related diseases such as heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. It might also open up avenues for anti-aging medicine. The benefits to intermittent fasting include possible longevity, better insulin sensitivity, and help warding off neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. This study would tend to strengthen those claims.
Water Fasting and DNA Methylation
Epigenetic modifications via dietary restriction (DR) may lead to epigenetic programming, providing protection against age-associated diseases, which in turn could lead to reduced morbidity and increased lifespan.
Recent studies have shown that aging possess an epigenetic component, with many age-associated epigenetic changes underlying hallmarks of aging.
For example, aging has been implicated in alterations to DNA methylation, to imbalance in histone modifications, to chromatin remodeling, and with an involvement of many miRNAs.
As such, it follows that aging may also be driven by extensive epigenomic remodeling, which may in turn promote the development of age-associated diseases.
Because epigenetic modifications may be modifiable by environmental changes and exhibit immense plasticity, they could be used transduce external signals and regulate aging through gene regulation.
It has been widely reported that dietary restrictions can promote changes in gene expression and attenuate age-associated changes across many organisms.
Dietary Restrictions and Epigenetics
Day 3 of water fasting was different for me in 2020 than in 2018. Why? In 2018, I worked out or worked and didn’t rest. In 2020, I fasted on water in an environment of complete rest.
Because of it, more crap was mobilized and my detoxification was deeper in 2020. When the body has to spend resources on sustaining activities, it can’t mobilize all the crap it needs to get rid of. What am I saying? I felt awful, and it was awesome!
Here’s my diary entry from the 72 hour water fast results: “I actually ended up curious about my intense back pain and watched this video, which helped me understand that the back pain is from kidneys as it is cleansing the products of detoxification in my body. When I did water fasting before, I didn’t rest much. In fact, I felt too good and it was because I didn’t rest, so my body actually didn’t mobilize what needed to be eliminated. So, I am really miserable this time because I’m in an environment of complete rest, and the very symptoms that make me feel awful are the indication that my water fast is going really well.”
In 2018, one of the 72 hour water fast results for me was going from 130 lb down to 113 lb. I have three vlogs for you sharing about my Three Day Water Fast Results.
Five Day Water Fast Results
In my water fasting diary, I documented that by day 4 of my fast, I went ten pounds down. I felt miserable though, which is described here: Water Fasting Day 4 May 3rd 2020.
I wrote: “This water fast is definitely a test of my spirituality, self-discipline, patience, wisdom, ability to prioritize, and commitment to my values.” Those spiritual breakthroughs led to the birth of my two poems mentioned here earlier.
On day 5 this time, in 2020, I was ecstatic and euphoric, that’s the best way to describe how I felt. It had to do with my body and mind transformation.
I wrote in my diary on day 5: “My weight is 123.6 lb. I thank God that I’ve made it to this point! I looked in the mirror: I can see my abs! I love how my legs look without cellulite all over them, I love my skinny face, and I can recognize me, my real self the way I was for almost all my life, until at 34 I began gaining weight from eating poorly, over-eating, and binge-eating while married to the narcissist. I’m 37 and I want to be healthy. I want to carry only my optimal weight, not 21 lb extra. This has been a magic transformation and tomorrow I’ll start refeeding myself with veggie juice, soup, and veggie broth. It’s been a difficult and miserable journey but I’m so thankful to God that He kept me protected to be able able to do this. No one knows. I’ve done this in secret”
At the end of day 5 of my water fast in 2020, I lost weight and gained better health: mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, and social (because I set boundaries). My two water fasting vlogs from day 5 are below and days 4 for each fast from 2018 can be accessed here and here. You’ll see how I got to 110 lb at 35 years old with the height of 5’10”.
I have two vlogs sharing my Five Day Water Fast Results.
One Month Water Fast Results
- I lost weight in the amount of 20 lb
- I reduced belly fat, arm fat, knee fat, and thigh fat
- I decreased my crap-food cravings
- I addressed my food-related trauma
- I established boundaries, such as “no thank you!”
- I realized how I want to eat: plant-based strong
- I learned how I want to live: at peace with the world
- I reversed my age and improved my genes
- I drew close to God and strengthen my faith
Here are some frequently asked questions answered.
Yes, you can lose 4 lb of water weight a day, which will include fat weight, as well. If you consume nothing at all but water only, you will lose a substantial amount of fat weight, especially if you are resting and not running around. Ketosis is activated on day 3 of water fasting, so your body will start burning fat then.
I lost weight by fasting. In fact, twice I lost 20 lb: in 2018 when I was 35 and in 2020 at 37 years old. The hardest part about water fasting is getting started. A strong why is required. Once I commit, I am all in!
You can lose a lot of water weight by water fasting, about 4 lb a day, but how much fat weight you lose depends on your health condition and your overall lifestyle, as well as whether or not you’re willing to rest while fasting. If you rest, you’ll reap greater benefits from fasting on water. If you run around, your results will be compromised.
I personally can lose 10 lb of weight by day 3 of water fasting, which is described and demonstrated here in this article, and by fasting on water for 5 days, I have lost 20 lb twice in the last two years.
It is impossible to not lose weight while fasting. If you’re truly not losing weight, you are not fasting. By definition, fasting means the complete absolute absence of food, which implies that you only drink water, and nothing else touches your lips. When you do this, you will 100% of the time lose weight, at least water weight, but also some fat weight, too. So, no weight loss indicates that you’re not actually fasting. Keep a diary to track what you’re really doing.
True North Health Center offers medically-supervised water fasting for up to 40 days. That’s the maximum length. After that, they offer refeeding, and another water fast can begin once the person’s nutrition is balanced again. At home, you can do up to five days of fasting on water if you have no chronic illnesses. If you are on any meds, you need to do a supervised fast in a medical facility.
Anything breaks your fast but water. If you’re drinking coffee, broth, tea, juices, smoothies, or eat anything at all, you are not on a water fasting dies but on a restricted feeding diet. To be fasting, you must consume water only. Nothing else!
Science shows tremendous benefits of water fasting for prolonged periods of time. A 5 day fast is healthy if you have no need for drugs, no chronic illnesses, and you actually have extra-weight.
Dr. Alan Goldhamer says this: There are a number of patients that are not eligible for this long term fasting protocol, including pregnant or lactating women, patients who have recently had a stroke, heart attack, dysrhythmia, who are on anti-coagulant therapy, who are on drugs that you cannot stabilize people off of, or who have neuropsychiatric involvement that might prevent them from providing informed consent.
The stages of fasting outlined below are based on a water-only fast, which doesn’t include any food or tea or coffee. Nothing but water!
Dr. Michael Klaper says this: For the first 24 to 48 hours after beginning a water fast, the body burns off circulating blood sugar and sugar stored in the muscles and liver in the form of glycogen. The “real” metabolic fast does not begin until one metabolizes their blood sugar, in approximately 2 to 3 days.
At that time, the body begins to burn fat tissue for fuel. When that happens, molecules called ketones enter the blood circulation. These ketones have some very interesting properties. For the faster, the main welcome property of ketones is that they suppress hunger. By day four or five of a water fast, hunger is usually gone and is replaced by a feeling of great well-being.
Why more energy, and not less? So much of the energy that the body uses all day goes to digesting our food including muscular contractions of the intestine, chemical energy used to synthesize stomach acid, bile, and digestive enzymes as well as the billions of immune cells in the intestinal lining that interrogate the chemical nature of the food going by in the digestive tract. When that function is no longer required on a fast, all that energy is freed up and people feel very light and energetic.
During a fast, the body is in “Full Energy Conservation Mode” and it does not want to spend precious chemical energy on chaotic, heat-generating, activities, such as inflammatory reactions and growing tumor tissue. During a fast, hot angry joints in rheumatoid arthritis, gout and other inflammatory joint diseases (predictably) cool down, inflamed plaques of psoriasis in the skin are becalmed, and wounds in and on the body heal extremely well. If malignant breast cells are multiplying in tissues, the fasting body generates molecules called sirtuins which put the breaks on cancer growth. Water fasting cleanses the body on a deep, cellular level.
All of us, in our body cells, have remnant molecules of every restaurant meal, fast food snack, and processed food dessert we have ever eaten. There are flavorings, colorings, preservatives, dough conditioners, stabilizers, and thousands of other compounds that compose a chemical soup of modern cuisine in all the cells in our body. These substances accumulate in our tissues over time, contributing to feelings of chronic fatigue and bodily dysfunction.
A water fast has the effect of “taking your cells through the car wash” where day after day, nothing but pure water washes through each and every cell. This markedly lowers the concentrations of the foreign, disruptive molecules. Thus, it is no wonder that people predictably emerge from a water fast feeling lighter and cleaner on the inside because they really are.
The water fast is broken in a gentle matter, starting with vegetable juices or fruit chunks like watermelon, and progressing through phases of gradually increasing fiber content, namely raw vegetables, steamed vegetables, and eventually denser foods such as rice and beans.
One of the greatest benefits of a fast is that it “re-tunes” the tongue’s taste buds through a process called neuroadaption. Whole, natural foods begin to taste really delicious again. This opens the way for one to retool their dietary choices and let a truly health-promoting food stream of whole, plant-based foods pour through the body every day, thus creating lasting and glowing health.
Thanks to molecules called ketones, by day four or five of a water fast, hunger is usually gone and is replaced by a feeling of great well being.
To break your fast safely, start refeeding with watermelon chunks or vegetable broth. Then, eat some soup. Then, you can transition to steamed vegetables and more fiber-filled fruits. Chew carefully!
Water Fast Results Before and After
I lost 20 lb by fasting on water. And I’ve done it twice! I discovered how steadfast my faith can be as I had to lean on God during my fasting. I had also learned how to hear God’s voice better while food is not in the way.
From my extensive personal experience, I can tell you that water fasting works for weight loss, fat loss, detoxification, age-reversal, mental cleansing, metabolic optimization, acne cure, sleep-enhancement, longevity, and spiritual awakening. Fasting on water helped me survive depression.
So, improved mental health is one of the Water Fast Results Before and After, which I can’t show you. Below is my vlog from 2018 where I talk about all my water fasting outcomes, including better mental health.
You landed here because you googled the keyword “Whater fast results before and after.” Why? Are you trying to lose weight quickly or is your true desire to honor God with your body by optimizing your health and lifestyle? Examine your genuine intentions.
The truth is this: you can lose weight by fasting on water and you can lose fat on a water fast. But if holistic health is not your goal, your water fasting results will vanish quickly. Find your real why!
My prayer for you is this:
Dear God,
May the woman reading this blog post be inspired by my water fast results and encouraged by knowing that with Christ all things are possible! Father God, bless the woman who is reading this content. Give her a passion for long-term health. Stir up on the inside her desire to live a healthy life. Help her see herself the way you see her: beautiful, healed, healthy, confident, and worthy!
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
READ NEXT:
- Self-Care Tips
- Healthy at Home: Self-Care Ideas
- 10000 Steps Self-Care Challenge
- Picnicking Self-Care Challenge
- Travel Adventure Self-Care Challenge
- Kayaking Self-Care Challenge
- Hula Hoop Workout Self-Care Challenge
- 100 Squats a Day Self-Care Challenge
- Meditation Self-Care Challenge
- Hiking Self-Care Challenge
Anna Szabo is the founder of Online Discipleship For Women, a Christian ministry committed to helping alleviate suicide among women globally by sharing hope in Christ. Anna teaches how to create a joyful life by embracing God’s word based on her six pillars of joyful living: faith, food, fitness, finances, felicity, and fortitude. She is a Christian speaker, YouTuber, artist, poet, and blogger who created 2,000,000 words of Gospel-focused content to encourage and empower you. Donate to show your support.
