Fasting / Vegetarianism

[z for zyklon-b]

People looking to curb their diet for aesthetic or health reasons should consider maybe trying these regimes out. Now these practices I tried myself and experienced firsthand the effects.

First, Fasting. I practiced fasting for several months sometime back, and is still practicing it occationally nowadays. In fasting I don't limit the amount of food I take, so as long as I maintain eating only one meal a day. The rest of the day I just drink lots and lots of water. I did this everyday for like months!! People wonder how I was able to withstand such a torturous thing, but for me its all just in the head. If you're determined enough, you could do anything.
It is scientifically proven that the human body does not need regular intake of three meals per day to survive. As a matter of fact, our ancient ancestors -- the primitive people didn't even eat three meals a day -- they didn't even know what "three meals" were because they couldn't even tell time back then. They didn't know what breakfast time was, lunch time was, and dinner time was.
Medicine has also proven that fasting improves the circulation of blood and produces lots of new blood that replace old ones in our body. So you feel light and refreshing.
Several major religions in our time today also encourage seasonal fasting.
Just don't over-do it and you'd be fine. I shaved 50% of my total body weight within that period. So I look great and feel light.  

Second, Vegetarianism. If fasting was too much for you, then you could opt for another practice -- something I also tried myself for a year. I ate purely vegetables for one year. And being a vegetarian was something good. I mean, you could eat as many meals you liked in a day since vegetables are light and doesn't blow you up like meat. It also improves digestion immensely.
If you are fat, turning vegetarian might shave you 20 to 30% body weight. And you are actually conserving animals as well since you don't eat them anymore. Superstition also suggests that not killing animals by eating purely vegetables improve ones good karma. All in all it's really healthy, just remember to balance the different types of vegetables in your diet to meet the desired nutritional needs.  

There you have it folks!    

[gchristie]

While all of that is good advice, I would caution you that vegetarians can get fat too.  There are plenty of fatty traps you could fall into.  Since you were successful in losing weight this way, I assume that you avoided the fried stuff and stuck to a low-fat diet within vegetarianism.    

[z for zyklon-b]

Thanks for reminding us of that bit.  

Also, I failed to mention earlier about another method -- that which I have also tried -- would be what I call "Zero Carb" diet, albeit on a definite timescale if exercised.

Most people would tell you to reduce the amount of carbohydrates you take to lose weight. I say you cut it completely instead. The key is to push things to the limit without overstepping the limit.
Our body has carbohydrate reserves, so not eating carbohydrates say for a month won't kill you. Your body will simply consume the reserves, thus reducing your body weight. You would start to see scorching improvements in just 2 weeks time.
Remember that Zero Carb diet could only be practiced for a short burst of time -- say 1 or 2 months max, because its not going to be healthy beyond that. Its the easiest and fastest way to reduce weight when you desperately need it the most.
Application is simple -- eat your regular 3 meals per day, just without any carbs.  

[Stalagmite]

I don't eat any meats, fried foods, or sweet foods (ice cream, candy bars, cake, etc.) and I'm fine.

[creativeblue]

I'm a firm believer in fasting. Fasting heals the body. There are many different types of fasting although. One type of fasting I recommend is juice fasting. I have a masticating juicer and a centrifugal type juicer both. The longest I've ever fasting or gone without solid foods was for one month. I have also been a vegetarian before but now do not recommend it. Everone is different, and some people may be in less need of meat than others, but I think people in general need to eat meat. How do you think we were able to survive the harsher climates thousands of years ago when we migrated out of Africa? Our diets evolved so that we could adapt to a new environment(s).

[Gage L.]

Too bad most of the United States isn't in the conditions as it was back in the 1800s-1900s. If so, no one would need to go on diets or fasting. The work would maintain a healthy body weight.

[creativeblue]

It's true they worked more, and we could learn something from them, but their diets were still imperfect. We should take from them what is good and what can be learned and make it better. What do you think?

[atem]

I don't like the meat industry, so I am vegetarian. It is easier in many ways, more peace of mind. If I lived on a farm and slaughtered my own cows and pigs, I don't think I would be vegetarian.

[creativeblue]

Last time I read your posts about your diet atem you had mentioned that you eat steak once a week. The beef you got from a local farmer or butcher who fed the cows he sells organic grains you said. Has this changed? That was a couple years ago though.

You're my hero by the way. I admire you. Please don't stop being you.  8-)

[z for zyklon-b]

Nice pool of different insights.

Also, I would like to add that if you're not into any type of dietary regime, and is the typical "eat anything anytime" joe, one useful and effective way to lose or simply to maintain your current body weight without blowing up, is to walk within 30 minutes after each meal. Doctors would recommend this.
Because it is within that "30 minute time frame" after every meal that the body encounters a high rise in calorie level, resulted from the influx of new food that entered the body.

Walk, walk, and walk. So say, if you had a 1 hour lunch break between 12:00 and 13:00, you could spend the first 30 minutes savoring your meal, and then spend the second 30 minutes after meal walking. Just walk around and enjoy the fresh air or look at the scenery or whatever -- the bottom line is to just walk, instead of sitting around chit-chatting with people after meal.

It's easy and it works.  

[creativeblue]

I'm a big fan of walking. There are books on it. The benefits cannot be emphasized enough. Good point.

[z for zyklon-b]

Thanks for the notice on the "walking" books! Nice bit you got there.

And what was that I always wanted to add that I always left out??-- oh yeah, snacks, and intervals -- the ideal types of aftermeal food for the health conscious. Well sometimes you really do feel hungry during a long afternoon or nightshift work -- long days and that sort of thing. And well the best I would suggest is nuts. Eat lots of nuts. And no, don't believe what they say when they say "you are what you eat!" Hehehe.
Nuts has some good protein substance and is packed with energy.

Or, alternatively, you could eat banana. It wouldn't blow you up, and it does fill you up. Thats what many professional athletes do.

Now, some likes to eat bread with their coffee during coffee break (Side note: By the way, try apple at breakfast instead of coffee -- it does pack a lot more "zing" neccesary to wake that sleepy head). Now bread is ok and sometimes unavoidable, but I would suggest Wheat Bread if you're really gunning for bread. Thats the type of bread that is ideal. Additionally, for bread compliments, I would suggest olive oil. It's good -- ala classic Italian style.

That's it for now folks. I gotta run for now. Chiao.    

[Evangelikum]

Interesting advice. I think I'm going to try to fast for a while and see how it goes.

[creativeblue]

Interesting advice. I think I'm going to try to fast for a while and see how it goes.

Check out some books on fasting. Your local library probably has some good sources on the subject. I love the public library system. A wealth of information.

As a general rule anything under 15 days is considered a short fast. Anything longer than that is a long fast. If you use a juicer it will make your fast easier. Screen out as much of the solids from the juice as possible. Carrot and apple juice. Organic produce. Give you energy and help you keep your strength up. I read somewhere once of a guy who fasted for 100 days. On his 100th day of fasting he ran a 15 mile marathon. Not advisable but extraordinary none the less. He wasn't able to do that without juice. Forgive me I'm a bit of a health nut.  

[Saturn]

People looking to curb their diet for aesthetic or health reasons should consider maybe trying these regimes out. Now these practices I tried myself and experienced firsthand the effects.

First, Fasting. I practiced fasting for several months sometime back, and is still practicing it occationally nowadays. In fasting I don't limit the amount of food I take, so as long as I maintain eating only one meal a day. The rest of the day I just drink lots and lots of water. I did this everyday for like months!! People wonder how I was able to withstand such a torturous thing, but for me its all just in the head. If you're determined enough, you could do anything.
It is scientifically proven that the human body does not need regular intake of three meals per day to survive. As a matter of fact, our ancient ancestors -- the primitive people didn't even eat three meals a day -- they didn't even know what "three meals" were because they couldn't even tell time back then. They didn't know what breakfast time was, lunch time was, and dinner time was.
Medicine has also proven that fasting improves the circulation of blood and produces lots of new blood that replace old ones in our body. So you feel light and refreshing.
Several major religions in our time today also encourage seasonal fasting.
Just don't over-do it and you'd be fine. I shaved 50% of my total body weight within that period. So I look great and feel light.  

Second, Vegetarianism. If fasting was too much for you, then you could opt for another practice -- something I also tried myself for a year. I ate purely vegetables for one year. And being a vegetarian was something good. I mean, you could eat as many meals you liked in a day since vegetables are light and doesn't blow you up like meat. It also improves digestion immensely.
If you are fat, turning vegetarian might shave you 20 to 30% body weight. And you are actually conserving animals as well since you don't eat them anymore. Superstition also suggests that not killing animals by eating purely vegetables improve ones good karma. All in all it's really healthy, just remember to balance the different types of vegetables in your diet to meet the desired nutritional needs.  

There you have it folks!    

Interesting post.

It is correct that the modern, Western diet is loaded with more fats, proteins and vitamins than the human body can in fact safely metabolize- our food portions are mainly dictated directly and indirectly via the food industry itself which helps maintain the myth of the 3 meals a day diet plan, however constant food deprivation is probably not completely sane either. Our ancestors’ eating habits were not simply a matter of avoiding nutritional overload, but also a matter of availability and conservation of food supply. Their diet would have been considered "healthier" than our own for what they ate wasn't toxified as our current food/water supply is.

I’m an advocate of fasting myself. The last fast I was on lasted 14 days. After about 3-4 days, hunger pangs (acids) tend to dissipate and the body’s natural energy flow wells up inside leading to euphoria and feelings of comfort and vitality. At this point the body begins to expel toxins incurred through absorption and diet, and this can have long lasting positive effects.