Fasting

Hi All-

My feeling is that one would likely feel "rejuvenated" after a few days of allowing toxins to clear the system. I'm going to do a three-day fast this spring with plenty of water, vitamins, and probably a fiber drink like Metamucil to help with the internal cleansing process.

My guess is that I will feel pretty terrible after the first day...but my theory is that the "hunger pangs" probably just go away after forty-eight or so hours. We'll just have to see. Needless to say, I won't be planning any huge hiking expeditions while I'm conducting this little scientific experiment.

~ Blue Jays ~
 
well i dont think i would ever have to fast in survival, theres always something to eat. wether its boots or tree bark, it'll fill your stomach!
 
EBS,

Finding something to eat in the wilderness and filling your stomach in the wilderness are two separate activities. From my experiences of starvation in the woods if you don't have access to good fishing, or down a big game animal you will be hungry. If small game is abundant and you have a .22 or 12 gauge you will eat.

If you have to trap animals for food and you don’t normally live like this your traps will not produce much in the first week or so of the ordeal. Traps need to be set in abundance to get hits and that takes time to find locations and know the animals. Running a trap-line of steel leg-holds is a part time job. If you set fifteen leg-hold traps in good sets and come home with two animals then your doing great. If you had to actually construct those traps it would be to the tune of a rumbling stomach.

It is very hard to scrape out about 2000 calories from any wilderness area in a day, especially if you also have to build shelters, or try to set a broken leg all by yourself etc. Food is way down on the list of survival essentials, meaning it will be put at the end of a whole bunch of other priorities that will be demanding immediate attention. It is highly likely that in a three-day survival scenario you will only actually eat the food you brought with you.

On my first starvation ordeal we were able to kill a small deer on day four and ate like kings for a day. We also caught about six trout. That meat and blueberries was all nature gave in eight days.

The second time due to an outfitters error and some irresponsible behavior by two members of the group we were reduced to about 500 calories a day for ten days of canoe paddling in Canada. Three members of the group had fishing licenses and caught eight walleye per day. These were split up among the 26 members of the group. We also ate crayfish and freshwater clams. Due to the constant movement we were unable to forage or hunt until we made camp. I lost 17 pounds. Seven of that was due to an empty digestive system. A week later I was still ten pounds under my start weight.

After two days or so the intense hunger goes away and the body converts to burning fat and muscle for energy. It is amazing but your energy level actually returns to a degree and you can work very hard as your system cannibalizes itself. Of course the clock is ticking at this point and that won’t last forever, but it will last for a week.

In my opinion a controlled fast is valuable experience for dealing with a survival ordeal. At least you will know what to expect and how long the hunger will last. Mac
 
Will P,

If you do a 2 day juice or water fast you won't feel much like lifting during the fast! You body will rid itself of all sorts of toxins stored in your muscle tissue and you won't loose much if any muscle mass. If you normally have a high degree of activity you also eat alot of food on a regular basis due to a high metabolism. I think a fast would do you good, but it sure won't feel like it the first two days. Mac
 
pict said:
Will P,

If you do a 2 day juice or water fast you won't feel much like lifting during the fast! You body will rid itself of all sorts of toxins stored in your muscle tissue and you won't loose much if any muscle mass. If you normally have a high degree of activity you also eat alot of food on a regular basis due to a high metabolism. I think a fast would do you good, but it sure won't feel like it the first two days. Mac
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I'll have to second that. I did a 7 day juice fast a couple months ago. Felt pretty crappy for the first three days and hungry as hell. After that I was fine, felt great and wasn't hungry at all. They say if you can make it past the first three days you are home free. Just make sure you keep up your water intake or you go into toxic shock because your body has no way to flush the toxins without water. If you drink juice you might not feel as bad as you would on just water and if you go over a two or three day fast they say you should take some protein tablets like organic Spirolina so your muscle don't ache and you don't lose mass. Of course if you go much over 7 days you will start to lose mass no matter what. Hope this helps.

Ric
 
Blue Jays said:
Hi All-

My feeling is that one would likely feel "rejuvenated" after a few days of allowing toxins to clear the system. I'm going to do a three-day fast this spring with plenty of water, vitamins, and probably a fiber drink like Metamucil to help with the internal cleansing process.

My guess is that I will feel pretty terrible after the first day...but my theory is that the "hunger pangs" probably just go away after forty-eight or so hours. We'll just have to see. Needless to say, I won't be planning any huge hiking expeditions while I'm conducting this little scientific experiment.

~ Blue Jays ~
Click to expand...

Everybody is different but I'd give it 3 days. I wouldn't use Metamucil either, try something organic. There are some great herbal cleansing products on the market now. I use the Ultimate Cleans, it comes with two different bottles of tablets, one is herbs to pull the toxin out of your tissues the other is herbal fiber to help move it all through your system. Very good product, one of the best I've found. I get mine here: http://www.herbandvitaminshop.com/ but I think I've seen it at Safeway and Albertsons too and I know that most organic grocery stores would have it. Hope this helps.

Ric
 
Will P. said:
If I do a lot of physical activity - running, swimming, lifting, boxing, wrestling, gymnatics, and/or calithenics for a couple of hours each day - is fasting advantageous or harmful?
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Harmful. To build up or maintain muscle mass, your body needs "fuel" (= food).
 
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