Is it safe and healthy to try to lose weight by fasting? Does the body
convert existing fat into energy?

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Clarification of Question by mihils-ga on 19 Mar 2005 08:29 PST

I ask because I am over weight and I am wondering if it would be
beneficial for me to fast to lose some weight and have higher
concentration etc (I'm sort of stuck in a rut at the moment). How
would you recommend I start fasting?

Fasting is a good way to flush the system of toxins once in a while as
long as you stay hydrated, but it is not a good way to try to lose
weight, because...

 - Your body will think you're in a famine and hold onto fat and begin
to burn muscle (because muscle requires more energy than fat--the body
is a very efficient machine)

 - Your metabolism slows down considerably to preserve energy so you
will burn less calories

Best way to lose is to eat only natural foods at the calorie level for
your desired weight and spread them out throughout the day as evenly
as possible.  Don't eat at night if possible.
Add activity of any kind.

Formula - Desired weight divided by 2.2 x 24 = Calories (Consume per day)
(with no activity - you add to that if active)

Get more info at GetThatBody.com

Fasting under medical supervision is very well recognized and works.
Have friend who has done it for years,  only a week at a time, of
course, and says after the first couple of days, mental concentration
picks up and he feels well and better afterwards, and has reduced
weight.

I tried fasting all of last year. I use to fast on Mondays. On other
week day I had a bowl of lunch nothing in morning and light dinner.
Weekends were a bit more relaxed. I tried to eat more vegetarian and
bland.

I got the 5 pound carrot bags and could eat as many as I wanted (raw only). 

I also did brisk walking/ jogging everyday for 30 min.

This routine helped me. I think the exercise helped me more then just
fasting. But I was exercising before and did not loose any weight. But
I was not very serious at that time either.

When fasting do not eat any thing at all. Eating even a small crumb
makes you more hungry. Also avoid sweet food ( I would say stop).
Eating sweet made me more hungry. If I felt very hungry and it is not
my lunch or dinner time I use to go for a jog. A 5-10 min jog would
remove the craving for food.

Fasting helped me build mental control and confidence. It also
enhanced my dinner an lunch experience. Imagine, if every day you eat
the food you like then at some point you will loose the taste for it
but after fasting you eat any thing you will love the taste.

Every one is different this is my experience.

Most health experts agree that some form of excersize has to be
involved to achieve any significant weight loss.

I would like to add that you MUST see your doctor to make sure there
is not an underlying problem exists that would make fasting
potentially dangerous medically.

well depends which kind of fasting you mean but in general it is more
a way to clean your system from   toxins. If you want to clean your
body from toxins then it is a good way but you should see which
fasting method you try and at what time because, it mind sound
ridicioluos to you but i have experienced it, the moon has a big
influence and it depends how the moon is standing because you get more
appetitie or less. There are many factors to consider and still it is
a way to loose weigth but not a solution and after the fasting you
migth gain more weigth.

I agree with what Suew was saying about if you do fast your body
thinks that you are starving and begins to slow down the metabolic
process to conserve energy.  Eating regular meals and snacks
throughout the day is the best way to naturally loose weight.  If your
body is well fed, it will realize that it does not need to keep your
metabolic rate so slow to conserve energy and will actually increase
your metabolism therefore increasing the rate at which you burn off
those calories.(this may take a couple of weeks for your body to
realize this)  Add in with this some excerise and you should start to
see results fairly quickly.
The hardest part about it is to keep eating.  And you do need to watch
what you are eating.  You'll want to stay away from anything with
sugar in it(yes, that means sweet fruits as well) because the sugar
will spike the level of insulin in your body which breaks down the
sugar and if you are not active enough will just get turned into fat. 
Red meat naturally has more fat in it, so if you really want to get
results stick to either chicken, turkey or fish.  Eat vegetables with
your meals and carbs like long grain rice or potatoes.  If you are
exercising more add more carbs into your diet to fuel your body to be
able to perform.
Eat only portions that are suitable for your body.  A portion of fish,
chicken, meat, whatever it may be should be roughly the size of your
clenched fist.  Any more then that is not needed by your body. 
Typically for most people a 3-4oz chicken breast is a sensible size.
Try this diet:

Breakfast - Egg whites with 1 cup vegetable
Snack     - 3-4oz chicken breast and 1 cup vegetable
Lunch     - 3-4oz turkey, 1 cup vegetable, 1 cup carb
Snack     - 3-4oz fish and 1 cup vegetable
Dinner    - 3-4oz grilled chicken breast, 1 cup vegetable, 1/2 cup carb
Snack     - Optional

Try it out. All you have to loose are the pounds.