Electrolytes and Fasting - How much do we need?

Electrolytes are minerals in human body that have an electric charge. Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium are all electrolytes.
Levels of electrolytes in the body can become too low or too high. That can happen when the amount of water in the body changes, causing dehydration or over hydration.

• Potassium recommendation is around 4700 mg per day.
• Magnesium intake for males should be between 330-350 mg per day, and females should intake about 255-265 mg per day.
• Calcium is essential; the suggested intake is 800 mg per day for both males and females.
• For both males and females it is recommended to keep Sodium intake below 2,000 mg.

Fortunately, strict water-fasting is associated with very few and rare complications and the fast is well tolerated in most cases, but I read somewhere that after 3+ weeks there have been reported cases of low electrolytes levels, but often can depends on the before-Fasting diet rather than the Fast itself. In this matter seems that Dry Fasting is actually safer than Water Fasting when comes on preserving healthy electrolytes levels. These are all my thoughts but be sure to do some researches if you suspect a imbalance on your electrolytes.

 

Dry fasting can cause too severe detoxing

I found this interesting article about Dry Fasting and I wanted to share with you:

In the distant past, when dry fasting was practiced more commonly, and usually performed as a sacrifice or a show of faith, it was done by a healthy individual -- healthy to a degree difficult for us to attain who live in technology-laden societies.
Modern day toxins find their way into our systems, no matter how carefully we try to prevent it. A dry fast may cause too quick a release of toxins that then have less fluid than usual with which to be carried away. The release of hard metals into the system would be the most damaging. Detoxing into a dehydrated system isn't wise. And, even if you're fasting not to detox, but for spiritual reasons, there is no way to avoid the natural detoxing that will occur.
Having said all that, if you really want to do a dry fast, if you feel guided and compelled, work your way up to it. Start with easier and gentler cleansing fasts, like juice or fruit, and follow a cleansing diet for a few months. Following a raw food diet is especially helpful.

You really must detoxify your body
and gain experience of the fasting process
before attempting such an extreme fast as dry fasting.

Fasting is never to be an abuse on your body. Follow your inner guidance, and maintain your intention to honor and respect your physical body, as dry fasting isn't about increasing physical health, per se; and one of your spiritual responsibilities is to maintain the health of your physical body--your soul's temple.

My daily struggles - #2

Something changed in my life in the previous weeks that affected the way I was feeling and also eating. I broke up with my boyfriend after almost 9 months dating, I had many episodes in the past when I wasn’t sure about our relationship (see this past post), but he was a great man and I thought, with the time, we could fall in love for each other. Oh well it didn’t happen, he gave up on us and – easily – said that there was no connection between us and no reason to keep on seeing each other. Although everything makes sense, it was no easy for me to accept the separation, without any tangible issue between us – we’ve been spending amazing time together – but I guess we were just good friends with no deep feelings.
I started to cry basically every day after we broke up and the food was my only consolation to this situation. I missed him and I still do. I felt sugar was hard to give up in those days, so I kept on eating so much junk food that my weight sky-rocket up to almost 70 Kg – not really sure the exact number since I’m always afraid to look at the scale when I see myself so fat, I'm like the Ostriches that bury their heads in the sand, I know.
It’s unfortunate how negative feelings can affect so much our perception of life, of health or caring about ourselves; but this is the reality for a lot of women, and I would like to think that I learnt something from this negative experience, but I’m sure I didn’t since I would do the same mistakes with the next guy, as I did in the past.
Today I find myself super overweight, as I never been before, single again in a city where it’s extremely tough meeting people, even tougher meeting a good guy. It sucks but I have to move on, I have to be stronger as much as I can and hope that this new fast is a way to heal from my heartbroken too and detoxify from all the lies I’ve been told in the past months.

A new Combined Dry Fast / Water Fast - Day by Day

I’m starting a new combined Dry / Water Fast – I’m aiming on doing 9 days of Dry Fast and the rest just Water, but – as usual – I’ll decide along the way based on what my body tells me to do.


DRY FAST BEGIN – Friday August 25, 2017 @ 9:30 PM


Dry Fast Day #1 – Saturday 26.08.2017
@ 10:30 AM - 13hrs into the fast
Apart from a strong hunger sensation that lasted few seconds, I’m not hungry at the moment, neither thirsty; no headache yet and I’m still going to the bathroom as usual, I guess it’s been only few hours so not much difference in my body’s functions. This time around I feel motivated on continuing my fast; the beginning of a Fast is always tough but I need to be strong.
@ 6:00 PM – 20.5 hours
I’m with my parents today and we went to Walmart to do some grocery and I was so tempted from all those chocolate bars and candies, so cheap the price and me desiring to binge on them like no tomorrow! But I have to be strong because the taste is great but it last few seconds and then I’m left with my fat and my sorrows. I wish the time will go fast, not much so I can end my fast but just to see myself back on my ideal weight.
@ 9:30 PM – 24 hours
I have a light headache but it’s not bothering me. I dyed my hair today and after washing and drying my hair I felt a bit shaky, not sure why, it might be due to the position I had while washing my hair thoroughly. I’m at my parent’s house today and it’s a bit warm in here. I hope I can fell asleep and wake up without headache! So far no hunger no thirst.


Dry Fast Day #2 – Sunday 27.08.2017
@ 11:30 AM – 38 hours
I went with my parents to do some extra grocery shopping today and we ended up with too many bags, I felt really tired carrying all those bags upstairs, I was afraid my body will make my “pay” the extra work and I need to stop the dry fast, fortunately I was ok after few minutes. My period came suddenly, I noticed that it’s easier get my period when I’m dry fasting rather than water fasting, but it might be totally coincidental.
@ 3:30 PM – 42 hours
I took some pictures of my body this afternoon and I can tell that I never been so fat in my entire life, it’s so depressing, I even checked my weight and it was 68.5 Kg! I can surely say that it’s all fat. Looking at old pictures I can say that I was bloated often, after a huge meal my belly just looked it was exploding but this time around is not like that – it is just fat, I have multilayers not only on my big belly but also on my back, my body shape is completely changed and it’s all my fault since I fed it with only sugar in the past weeks, what could I expect otherwise?


Dry Fast Day #3 – Monday 28.08.2017
@ 9:30 AM – 60 hours
This morning when I was getting ready to come to work I had a strong anxiety attack, I was feeling weak and trying to breath to let the anxiety go away, sometime I’m afraid that something happen and I cannot continue my fast. I would be devastated because this is the only thing that helps me lose weight, makes me feel happier, takes away all my anxiety and reduce all my sugar cravings to almost zero. I can’t wait to be in a good ketogenic state, so I won’t fear much these episodes. This morning my weight was a 67.7 Kg, I wish it was less than that but I still have my period and I’m sure I’m retaining a lot of water. I did not check my ketosis, I figured it’s still too early to see a nice purple colour on my Ketostix, I might do it tomorrow when the third Dry Fast Day begins.
@ 1:30 PM - 64 hours
I went downstairs for a walk during my lunch break, I felt I should walk slowly and in general take it easy, without stressing much my body. I'm taking notes on when I have my anxiety attacks, so I can tell if any difference during and after my fast, it usually goes away - let's see this time. I'm not hungry but I have a bit of a dry mouth, mostly a sort of nasty taste in my mouth, it is a bit white-coated at the moment and I believe I'm entering into ketosis, at least that's what I'm hoping!
@ 3:30 PM - 66 hours
Today I don't have nothing to do in the office so the time goes really slow, I can't wait to leave and go home. So far I'm doing ok, I have an unpleasant feeling in my mouth, I'm not thirsty but I rinsed my mouth when I went to the washroom, just trying to remove the bad taste - it didn't work and actually the tap water from the bathroom tasted awful. I'm still urinating as usual, only in smaller amounts. I do not have headaches but my lips are very dry and peeling off a bit - it does happen sometimes.




Dry Fast Day #4 – Tuesday 29.08.2017
@ 6:30 AM – 81 hours
This morning I woke up with the urge to go pee, like I had 2L of water the night before! I had lots of urine oddly, I guess I'm releasing some of the retained water - it's good and most probably that's why my weight this morning was 66.5Kg which is 1.2 Kg (2.64lb) less than yesterday. I also checked my ketosis this morning and I'm happily burning with High Traces at 80 mg/dL - I feel my cravings a bit more stable today and the desire of keep on going is stronger.
Here's my Ketostix from today:

I didn't sleep very well last night, but I'm not sure it's for the fast or my anxiety - maybe both. My feet felt very cold when I was in the bed, I cannot sleep with the A/C on anymore, but that's ok.

@ 8:30 AM – 83 hours

I walked to come to work and I was fine, I have to admit I see already in the mirror my fat going down, sure slowly but I'm sure I'm burning fat. I was a bit weak this morning ironing my hair or doing anything with my arms. My mouth has an odd taste, not great but I'm not thirsty at all, my salivation is very good so far. I don't have much to do in the office today so I'll get bored pretty much all day sitting at my desk. I'm urinating as normal, well less quantity maybe but the breaks to go are pretty much the same. My period is slowing down very much since last night, which I believe is a bit early for it, but maybe is due to the fast; I'm good if it ends and I know I'm not retaining water anymore - although I'm not much concerned about the water rather than the fat that I clearly see everywhere on my body.

@ 11:30 AM – 86 hours
I have hands and feet cold today, maybe due to the ketosis; my period seems almost gone - which is odd, but not sure if it's because of the Dry Fast. I feel better today, I still have the odd bad taste in my mouth but it's bearable really. I'm urinating as usual, and sometimes I have again the strange UTI feeling that I'm still not sure what could be. I can't wait for the lunch break to come so I can walk around and spend some time doing something rather than sitting at this chair getting bored.

@ 1:30 PM – 88 hours

During my lunch break I went outside for a walk, just to do something, but I also needed to buy a couple of things for my mother. I feel ok so far, not tired, not sleepy, not hungry or thirsty, but my tongue is affecting the taste in my mouth - it is getting white coated every day a bit more. Well I don't have much to report really, I feel normal - sometime I have cravings for junk food but I'm strong enough to walk away and thinking that I don't want to be so fat so better be focused on my fast and gain back my health.

Dry Fast Day #5 – Wednesday 30.08.2017
@ 8:30 AM – 107 hours
Last night I woke up at 4:30 AM with the urge to pee! I can't believe I have these urges when I'm not drinking since almost 5 days! I guess my skin absorbs some of the water that I come in contact with, because I'm still showering, washing my hair and teeth - basically normal water contacts, but not drinking at all. My ketosis this morning was great at 140 mg/dL - here's my ketostix:

it's good to know that I'm burning fat and I actually can see it on my body. This morning I also reported a great weight loss, my weight is now 65.4 Kg which is 1.1Kg (2.42lb) less than yesterday! A great result, although I know it's mostly water retention but this morning I was able to wear one of my dresses, which I could not fit in any of them since a couple of days ago. Also both yesterday and today I had spontaneous BMs, this morning I thought I might need an enema but I didn't use it, since doing the Dry Fast is not always recommended. I'm ok for now, if my body will ask me for it I might think on using the enema kit, otherwise I'll keep on going till I switch to Water Fast next week.

@ 10:30 AM – 109 hours
While I was in a meeting with my manager I felt a strong pain in my belly, it was like a mix of period cramps and abdominal ache. Well I had to rush to the washroom for a BM, almost like diarrhea - sorry for the many details but it's all about our guts when we detox so these type of conversations are normal. I feel a bit better now but not fully out of pain in my belly, not sure what could have caused this BM, so weird. For the rest I'm ok, I mean no hunger or thirst whatsoever; my tongue is getting whiter somehow and I still have the bad taste in my mouth, but it's bearable, I can deal with it. A bad taste in your mouth and a white coated tongue is something 100% certain to happen when doing a prolonged Dry Fast, so be sure you're not whining about that as soon as it happens....because it will.
@ 3:30 PM – 114 hours
I went outside for a walk during my lunch break, there was a nice sun, despite the rainy forecast, temperatures are still good so better enjoy it. At some point when I was back to my desk I had the impulse to drink some fresh water, but lasted only 5 seconds and the idea that I can always brush my teeth or do some water pulling calms me down. So I did that, eventually I went to the kitchen to wash my Mason jar that was sitting on my desk with half water in it since days, and I took a little of fresh water in my mouth, rinsed a bit and spit it out right away, I guess a few drops went down my throat since I felt the liquid going down, but just few drops I believe. Sometimes I think how would be the real thirst feeling, if I could ever reach that point when my body desperately asks me to drink something. For me - doing this soft dry fast - I guess it's easier, since my skin gets in contact with water through all day. Another odd thing happened after my urgent BM episode this morning, is that my period seems back as normal, I thought it was almost gone...oh well who knows what's happening. I hope the BM I had today was a detoxing episode where my body needed to get rid of something unwanted; at the end this is what everyone hope to achieve with any fast.


Dry Fast Day #6 – Thursday 31.08.2017
@ 8:30 AM – 131 hours
It's already Thursday, time is passing fast and this coming weekend is the Labour Day weekend so I'll have the chance to sleep in an extra day. This morning I reported a nice weight loss, I'm now 64.4 Kg which 1Kg (2.2lb) less than yesterday! The Dry Fast works wonder compared anything else when comes to losing weight. I did not have a BM this morning, as I usually do, so I am thinking on doing an enema tonight, but not settle to the idea yet, since I'm Dry Fasting and trying not to be in contact with water in any way. This morning my kidneys are a bit hurting me, not sure why but apart from that I feel great, my Ketosis was extremely high at 150mg/dL which means I'm burning a lot! I also feel better in terms of mood, I still think about my ex boyfriend and some other negative thoughts, but not crying anymore. I know the mental detoxification is part of the Fast and I hope to get rid of all those negative feelings and memories forever.
Here's my today's Ketostix:

@ 1:30 PM – 136 hours
Today I went outside for my usual walk, the temperatures are going down unfortunately, and I really don't want to think about winter. My stomach is growling now, it does this thing from time to time, I'm not sure why (also when I'm in bed at night). I feel ok, still a bit of discomfort on my kidneys but almost gone, I'm not thirsty or hungry but my mouth, of course, feels awful. I noticed an increase of my mental clarity and I love it, I'm now more accurate when I create sentences, and explain things to people; I almost feel smart! I also noticed that I'm getting slower, I mean in a good way, I take it easy, I'm not anxious and I do things at their own pace, I take the time to walk and to do my stuff, but if I have to rush I would do it anyway. Dry Fasting is really good, I hope I can last at least 10 days this time around, after all the days are passing very quickly.


Dry Fast Day #7 – Friday 01.09.2017
@ 8:30 AM – 155 hours
Today I registered another great weight loss, I'm telling you Dry Fasting works wonder in losing weight, way better than water fasting! I'm now 63.6Kg which is 800gr (1.76lb) less than yesterday - plus my ketosis is at 150mg/dL - that means I'm burning fats at high rate! However, I'm thinking on breaking my Dry Fast today at the mark of 6.5 days, not because I'm thirsty or any real issue with my Dry Fast, I just feel the need to drink, I guess I'm a little bit of a chicken for that. But I'm also planning on rehydrating for 3 days or so and start again a new Dry Fast. If you want to lose weight quickly fasting, well Dry is the way to go. Last night was a sleepless night for me, I went to bed early but I woke up around 10:00PM with the need to pee, after that I think I fell asleep around 2:00 AM - but just for a couple of hours, this is one of the discomfort I have while I'm fasting, my sleep is terrible. Another thing happens when fasting is my superhuman smell, I can smell all the ingredients of a dish that has been eaten a 500m from me. I guess this is the natural response of a hungry hunter animal, after all our senses are here to help us to survive. My vision is not improved yet, it does gets better when I fast, let's see down the road if I can manage it comfortably without my glasses.


NOTE
From the Dry Day Fast #1 to today Dry Fast Day #6.5 I lost 5.6Kg - in pounds is 12.32lb! Which is almost 2lb per day. Great Dry Fast results; and although I know there is some water weight and GI tract emptied stuff, I can clearly see in the mirror my belly fat going down.


@ 10:30 AM – 157 hours
So I broke my Dry Fast at 6.5 days with 156hrs into it. It was not a pleasant experience though, I enjoyed at the begin drinking the fresh water but then my belly started to hurt really bad and I had to rush to the washroom, I had a BM that was basically getting rid of bad stuff from my GI tract I guess. At the moment I drank around 1L of water but no need to urinate, which it tells me that I'm retaining all the water I'm drinking I'm sure my scale will show me some gain I guess, but that's ok, I know I will still be into Ketosis and soon starting again to see lower numbers.

Difference between starving and Ketosis

I’m always curious to learn about other people’s Fasting experiences so I watch lots of videos and sometime I come across vloggers doing all sort of Fasts. Mono-fruit fasts, bacon fast, juice fast and so on. One thing I don’t understand is why people do not research anything about health or how the body works before beginning these types of fasts. I mean, if you’re followed by a doctor or a clinic, that’s fine – I’m sure they’re professionals and they know what they are doing….well at least in most of the cases I guess. But if you’re fasting as DIY I would think that – considering the risks – the minimum would be to take a look at the side effects or any possible harm I can do to my body! Well it's not that obvious.
So now I want to talk about the substantial difference between Fasting and starving myself.
If I Water fast or Dry fast – as long as I have extra fat on my body – I won’t be starving myself, give that my body, after 2/3 days, will switch from burning sugar to burning fat – the magic of being into Ketosis!
Here - from this article - a clear explanation why burning fat and being into Ketosis will help me NOT being in starvation:
“Human fat is valued at 3,500 calories per pound. Each extra pound of fat will supply enough calories for one day of hard physical labor. Ten pounds of fat are equal to 35,000 calories! This is equivalent to 35 pounds of fish or 192 pounds of carrots, good value for your fat. We carry around a supermarket of reserves, capable of sustaining us for many weeks.”
On the other hand, if I’m “fasting” while basically doing an extreme caloric restricted diet – like mono-fruit juice fast, Master Fast System, or just simply mono-fruit eating diet – well then I’m not only depleting my body of all essential nutriments that I need but I’m not allowing myself to go into Ketosis (due to the high amount of sugar), so my body is still trying to run on glucose and not accessing directly to the fat storage that I have all over my body.
Those types of diets are harmful, would make me feel super weak, will eat all my muscle tissues, it cannot be sustained for long period of time.