0 day water-only fast completed
06-11-2018, 06:07 PM
Birthday Cat: All your questions, except your last one, have been answered in detail elsewhere in the thread, so I will just post short answers.
1) What are the primary benefits of doing water-only fasts instead of the juice-only fasts?
A water-only fast will place you in
full ketosis after 2-3 days, so you will get far more health benefits; juicing will not result in full ketosis. See my earlier posts regarding ketosis and the list of health benefits.
2) Is one easier than the other?
Most people find a water-only fast much easier because, after a period of time (usually 2-3 days) your body realizes that it is not getting any food, so your food cravings diminish (more like a dull craving than a raging hunger).
3) The calories and vitamins in maple syrup and lemon juice make me think it would be easier to do the juice-only fast for a longer time period but I've only done a fast with juice once and never with water.
Not in my experience. I breezed through a two-week medically supervised water-only fast, while my suite mate endured constant hunger on a two-week juice-only fast. See my earlier post. If you are taking any prescription medications, then juicing is preferable (which is why my suite mate did it).
4) Any suggestions for guys who lift weights and want to keep strength and size losses to a minimum?
Unless you are thin as a rail, you should only lose fat and excess water weight. For the average person, it takes months to lose all their fat stores. Starvation only occurs after the body loses all its fat reserves and then begins to cannibalize muscle and, eventually, the organs. That takes months. From the perspective of bodybuilding, here is an article about intermittent fasting and its effects on testosterone, human growth hormone, leptin regulation, cellular repair, and other health benefits. All the benefits of intermittent fasting translate into even bigger benefits for longer-term fasting. Here are a few excerpts:
Quote:Quote:
Intermittent fasting amplifies growth hormone (GH) production
GH plays a crucial role in the proper growth and development of adolescents. In adults, it regulates tissue recovery, brain function, energy levels, aging, and metabolism.
Fasting can induce a significant increase of GH secretion - with some studies showing up to a 2000% increase.
The production of GH and testosterone go hand in hand - higher GH leads to higher testosterone.
Higher levels of GH also translate to:
Increased muscle and strength
Accelerated fat-loss
Fix erectile dysfunction
Improved mood
Improved sleep
More GH is definitely something you want more of running through your veins.
Quote:Quote:
a University of Utah study found that people who fasted just one day per month were 40% less likely to suffer from clogged arteries. There were over 500 subjects, and researchers accounted for habits like smoking, fasting, caffeine intake, and alcohol consumption. Fasting was the only habit that correlated with lower rates of heart disease. Even after adjusting for things like age, weight, diabetes, and blood pressure, the difference between fasters and non-fasters remained the same.
https://tripleyourt.com/guides/intermitt...tosterone/
In an earlier post, I also referenced a fasting book written by a medical doctor. He also has a number of videos on Youtube.
https://www.amazon.com/Fasting-Eating-He...031218719X