Nourishment (Diet) and Activity (Exercise) While Fasting

We believe that a truly successful fasting practice is one that has been incorporated into a healthy lifestyle. This begins by preparing your body for the stress that a fast brings. Bearing this in mind, attempting your first fast after a period of adequate nutrition, (at least 14 days) along with proper hydration and routine exercise will make an extended fast far less uncomfortable than if you don’t prepare.

Pre-nourishment

While there are certainly a wide variety of nutritional approaches out there we recommend that for a minimum of 14 days you reduce your intake of the 3 “whites” – sugar, flour, and salt. Don’t concentrate right now on losing weight if that is one of your goals (you‘ll likely lose weight during your fast anyway). We prefer you concentrate on replacing the “three whites” with the more wholesome foods that you already enjoy, whether that be lean meats, fruits, vegetables, or whole grains, as they are going to be part of your post-nourishment plan and breaking your fast. Your body will be primed by this preparatory phase as it adapt to the available, nutrient rich environment. This will also prepare you physiologically for the stress of going without food for 24-72 hours. Your pre-nourishment plan may contain a multivitamin as well. Refer to our product guide for a list of formulations that we believe best support your system during this time.

You will likely find that that after your fast your tastes have changed a bit and you start to desire (even crave) the foods that you ate during the preparation phase while your desire for the “three whites” and other refined foods continues to dissipate. A handful of grapes may taste like a handful of M&M’s. The only exception we have found is that sometimes a there is a temporary salt craving immediately post-fast. This is both normal and short-lived.

Activity

We also recommend that for 14 days, no matter how difficult, you engage in someform of routine (daily) vigorous exercise. If this is new for you then we must insist that you consult with your doctor first to be sure this is safe for you. We understand that some of you are “out of shape” and that every joint and muscle is going to cry out in protest as you embark on this uncomfortable journey. Do it anyway! You’ll reap the rewards soon enough as you unexpectedly begin to discover how much easier it is to exercise post fast with a renewed sense of energy and more efficient physiology.

What do we mean by vigorous exercise? Without getting too technical we advocate using a very basic and well accepted frame of reference such as the Zone of Perceived Exertion (ZPE). For example, a ZPE works like this: For Runners – a “1” is a casual walk while maintaining a conversation. A “3” may be a brisk walk.. A “5” is a jog. A “7” is a hard jog as you are climbing a hill and can only be sustained for 300 feet or so. A “10” is a 50 yard dash where you go all out and can only continue for a brief period.

The problem with most exercise programs is that you can fall into the trap of doing what equates to “junk miles”, where you remain in a ZPE of 4 or 5 all of the time. This may constitute a very healthy baseline but what isn’t stressful to the body doesn’t provoke improvement as a response. We advocate that for about 2 weeks prior to your fast, you stress your aerobic capacity by putting yourself into a ZPE of at least 7 for about 5 minutes during your activity routine.

Hydration

Adequate water intake is pivotal to a successful fast, especially in the 24 hours right before it. The old 6-8 glasses a day is a good reference point but you may need more, especially if your BMI is above 30 or you are exercising vigorously. Be liberal but not excessive. Most people lose about 1-1.5 liters a day in what is known as insensible (or imperceptible) losses. Add to that 1-1.5 liters (depending on your size) the amount of fluid you believe you expel as urine during the day (yes it is possible to actually measure this amount) and the amount you believe you lose in sweat. Remember that a lot of the food you eat may contain fluid and above all else do NOT wait until you are already thirsty before you drink fluids. By the time your thirst centers begin firing you’re already depleted or “dehydrated”!