When Not Eating is a Good Thing

I love food. That should be pretty obvious to you by now. And who doesn’t love food, really? All those delicious flavors and textures that give life to your body! That’s why it may sound pretty ridiculous to you when I suggest that voluntarily abstaining from food (even real food) can actually improve your health.

The Benefits of Fasting

The idea behind fasting is that it gives your body a break. On a typical day, your body is busy digesting your food, breaking it down, using & storing the energy, and eliminating waste. But when there isn’t any food coming in, your body redirects its energy to ‘cleaning house.’ And who doesn’t agree that we could all use a little cleaning out? Do you feel as gross as I do when I have a ‘vacation meal’ and splurge on some greasy fried food?

Fasting does lots of great things for your body:

• Flushes out toxins like chemicals & free-radicals
• Aids in healing from illnesses
• Increases white blood cell count
• Boosts immune system
• Gives you stronger resistance to stress
• Regulates hormones
• Increases circulation (meaning better skin, hair, & nails)
• Increases mental clarity

You could also give fasting another name and call it ‘doing a detox,’ but I like to stick with fasting since that’s how God talks about it in the Bible. I firmly believe in the spiritual benefits of fasting, whether that be from food, negativity, or anything else that could become an addiction.

Types of Fasts

There aren’t any hard and fast rules when it comes to fasting. (Uh oh. Pun intended?) With any kind, a fast can last from half a day to ten days or more. Here are a few examples of different kinds of fasts, presented on a sliding scale.

Water Fast. This is nothing but water. Pretty simple. Just make sure your water isn’t full of chlorine, fluoride, and medications (i.e. stay away from the tap).

Juice Fast. Only fresh-pressed or fresh-squeezed vegetable juices (NOT packaged or pasteurized. And try to avoid straight up fruit juices since they are much higher in sugar). The enzymes from the veggies & fruits will be rushed straight to your bloodstream, offering a boost in the cleansing process.

Liquids Fast. This would be the next step up, adding soups (just broths, no rice or beans) to a diet of fresh pressed juices and water. The liquids will help to alkalize your body during the detoxification process. Very helpful when all those nasty acidic chemicals and toxins are being released.

Raw Foods Fast. This is a great one to begin with if you’ve never fasted before. People also call this a Daniel Fast as its modeled after the Old Testament account of Daniel’s refusal to eat all the fancy foods in the king’s palace. God told him to just stick with vegetables, fruits, and water for 3 weeks, and he ended up in far better health than everyone else! It consists of eating only raw, living foods–no meat, no dairy products, no sugar, etc. Just fruits, veggies, and the occasional raw nuts or seeds.

Getting Started with Fasting

Do not–I repeat–DO NOT–jump from a crappy diet straight to a water fast tomorrow. You will feel like poop and it can actually be very dangerous for your health and well-being. That being said, if you have any hesitations or concerns about fasting at all, check with your health care provider or nutritionist first.

I made this mistake in college (when I would drink Mountain Dew at midnight and eat cake for breakfast). I knew that fasting had spiritual benefits, though I had never been taught on those principles or taken the time myself to explore it further. I decided to take the plunge and see how it went.

Very. Bad. Idea.

I went from living on a perpetual sugar high to having zero nutrients in my body for an entire day. I felt woozy. I felt weak. I had a headache. I was grouchy.

In short, it was awful.

Work your way up to fasting. Eat a vegetarian diet the day before, and start with a short Raw Foods Fast or Liquids Fast. Then break your fast with a small, easy to digest meal. Your stomach will have shrunk and you don’t want to shock your intestinal system by throwing Taco Bell into it right away. (Yep, you guessed it. That’s what I did.)

Now that I actually eat real food on a regular basis, I’ve implemented a regular partial fast. I was inspired by Jordan Rubin when I read The Maker’s Diet. He suggests a weekly partial fast to give your body a break and allow a rhythm to be established.

Here’s what it usually looks like for me:

The day before: 

• No meat all day.
• Avoid dairy products or other fats (even the good kind) at dinnertime as they are more time consuming to digest.

The day of: 

• Lots and lots of water to aid in the detox process and keep me from getting dehydrated. Sometimes I will also do 1-2 Greens drinks at breakfast and lunch time.
• I break the fast around 5pm, usually with soup or something else easy to digest.

It’s Not Always Easy

I’m not going to lie to you. Fasting isn’t necessarily easy or fun. You will be hungry (duh). You may even develop a bit of a headache and become grouchy. It’s OK. It’s part of the process. Getting rid of nasty toxins in your body isn’t a walk in the park. But the best things in life are generally worth fighting for.

I find that my body is far more regulated when I fast. I have a greater appreciation for food. And my taste buds and other senses are heightened. I’d say it’s a pretty good trade-off!

So I would encourage you to try fasting at some point. Maybe it’s a Juice Fast one day a month. Or a week long Raw Foods Fast. Or try doing a partial fast of some kind once every week. Then come back and let me know about your experience!

Do you fast on a regular basis? Why or why not? 

This post is linked to Traditional Tuesdays, Simple Lives Thursday, Fight Back Friday