My favorite way to fast is to do a liquid diet fast for 1-3 days at a time. I don't think more than 3 days at a time without solid food is healthy at all. People will probably disagree with me but the body needs nutrients, if it slows down the cleansing a bit to keep the body and mind healthier then it is a good thing in my book. If one wants to cleanse for longer than 3 days, set up a rotation with a very healthy and easy to assimilate solid food diet and liquid food fast. 1 day fasting, 1 day eating 2 days fasting 1 day eating 3 days fasting then transition back to a normal diet for a few weeks and do the same thing over again. Much healthier in my opinion.

I use liquid meal replacements while fasting. Not the type you can buy in the store, I mix a high quality whey protein isolate with a spoonfull of cooked oatmeal in a blender 3-5 times a day while fasting. I use green drinks and lemon drinks in between. I use a fiber supplement to keep the GI moving.

Fasting without a balance of protein and carbs is a good way to severely unbalance your brain chemistry as well as leach nutrients out of other parts of the body.

I have not done the master cleanse at all, though I have fasted. One thing to keep in mind, is that to achieve clean intestines, you need matter to pass through, or FIBER. There is zero fiber in the master cleanse.

However, I know several people that swear by this program. They drop weight, though they gain most of it back by the time they do another cleanse. I personally won't do this program for several reasons, but have fasted for spiritual enlightenment, and the physical bonuses have always been welcome.

Hey,

You have a right to be concerne about master cleanser, I definately do.

First I really think people need to understand what fasting IS. Ie what it truly is, and what the body is doing when its fasting. If you take supplements, herbs, spices, shakes or juices when you are fasting it is not a fast. A fast is the complete abstainance from all foods and fuel sources. Herbs and spices irritate the system and will not help with detoxification. Natural is a misunderstood concept. Poison Ivy is natural but it does not mean it is natural for humans. generally, if you wouldnt feed it to a human infant, it isnt natural for humans.

Your muscle loss is because your body is using muscle, instead of fat, as a fuel when you are 'fasting'.

I have just posted in another discussion about what fasting is so I will just c&p it again, to save time. but its important to know whats going on when fasting. As you will see, if you provide some fuel, but not quite enough, your body never switches into fat conversion. This means that toxins will never be released, since toxins are stored in your fat. This means you are just overworking your system every time you cleanse. Repeated 'cleansing' will result in protein loss as a consequence. I wouldnt really recommend using shakes, since these will still prevent fat conversion, and so will be a waste of time in terms of detoxing. The only benefit you will get, is that you will give your digestive system a little bit more of a break than it might usually get.

So heres what happens when fasting:

Fasting is the complete abstainance of food. What I am about to describe ONLY applies to a clean water fast. "Fasting" with herbs, supplements or with juices, will not elicit this response and I would not recommend this.

Usually your body uses glucose (sugar) as fuel, however after 4-8 hours, your body starts to get a blood sugar dip, and in the ABSOLUTE absense of food (sugar) it will go to the liver for Glycogen, a long with a little protein from muscles. Glycogen is a carbohydrate storage form held in the liver and muscles. The livers stores of glycogen last around 6-12 hours, then the body goes to the muscles. The glycogen in the muscles will last another few hours, and a little protein will be burned here also. When these stores run out, extra protein will be burned for a few hours, however if you continue to deny the body fuel, rather than using up protein, the body will decide to burn fat.

It converts fat into a sugar-replacement called ketones, though whats called 'gluconeogenesis'. This occurs after about 48 hours of complete abstainance from glucose. Since toxins are stored in fat, as a protective mechanism, as the fat becomes used for fuel, toxins are released. This forces the liver to increase its efficiency to handle these toxins and excrete them. The body will continue to burn fat at a rate of about 1 pound (2.4kg) fat per day, to fuel the body (this amount decreases after a while as the body becomes more efficient). This amount is just to fuel the brain and organs, therefore energy should not be wasted, by muscle movement or by overstimulating the brain. Once all the fat reserves are gone, the body will start using protein for fuel. It will start with the least important proteins first, eg. tumours, then go to muscles. Fasting would usually be stopped before all the fat reserves are gone.

I wouldnt recommend fasting alone for more than 3 days, as it can get really intense and you might get anxious and panic about whats going on. And more importantly, if you are not supervised when re-feeding you can do alot of damage.

Last year I went to a retreat and did a 24 day water fast. There was a woman there, interning, who mentioned that she used to do regular fasts every birthday for a week or 10 days sometimes. I say fasts, but they werent true fasts, since she was still exercising/working etc, which must have exhausted her body. But she decided to break her last fast with pancakes and butter. She ended up in hospital and has done permenant damage to her liver and spleen. Infact she almost died. Re-feeding is Just as, if not more important than the fast itself, and if this is done incorrectly, you can do serious damage.

That said, providing you really look after yourself for 6 months before a fast, so your body is already cleaner, and has good nutrient reserves, it can be a really healthful experience and you can gain alot from it.

Hope this helps..

Take Care

Adam x