The slow fast: fasting may not be for you, but a few 1,000-calorie days can launch you into better health - Active Nutrition

Men's Fitness, April, 2002 by Ben Kallen

To Andy, it seemed like the simplest idea in the world. To help conquer his junk-food cravings, he would go without eating anything for 48 hours. With guidance from some information he found on the Internet, he would consume nothing but water for two days, at which point he would be refreshed and ready to start a new, healthier eating program.

Unfortunately, it didn't exactly go the way he had planned. Rather than think about higher pursuits, he found that as the first day went on and his hunger grew, he could think about nothing but food. By the end of that first day, he was already feeling light-headed and weak, and couldn't handle even a short, easy workout. The next morning he felt better, but as the day progressed he began growing even more ravenous. By the evening, he decided to cut the fast short and ate the equivalent of two full meals in one sitting. He felt like a failure, and never did get around to starting that new food plan. Had Andy realized that sometimes you have to slow down to move forward, he might have made some real progress.

THE TROUBLE WITH NOTHING

The idea of fasting--simply not eating (and, in some very briefcases, not drinking) for a certain period of time--has a long history. In fact, every major religion includes some kind of short-term fasting as part of its rituals. By ignoring the animal needs of the body, the idea goes, you can better focus on your "higher," spiritual side. Alternative-medicine practitioners sometimes use fasts in a similar way, to "cleanse" the body or achieve a kind of mental clarity.

But mainstream physicians debunk claims of health-related benefits for fasting longer than a day or so, saying that it's at best a useless practice and at worst a dangerous one. In fact, they say, the euphoria fasters experience is largely the result of chemical imbalances and low blood sugar.

More to the point, fasting can short-circuit your plans to build muscle. That's because when you stop taking in food, your body immediately goes into "starvation mode." Your own muscle is convened into glucose, a form of sugar, and used to feed your most important organ, the brain. Eventually, your body begins burning fat for fuel as well, but it will keep leaching valuable protein from your muscles. While you could survive this way for months, it isn't exactly the healthiest means of staying alive.

THE BENEFITS OF A THREE-DAY "HALF-FAST"

While going without any food is highly problematic, a few days of less food offers some of fasting's benefits with few of its drawbacks. While this brief period isn't likely to produce any muscle growth, it isn't likely to cannibalize the gains you've made either. And Tufts University nutrition professor Susan Roberts, Ph.D., who opposes total fasts, agrees that you could see some physical benefits from short-term calorie reduction.

"It would probably decrease blood pressure and cholesterol," she says, "although these decreases would be transient if someone went back to eating normally immediately afterward. You might also see some weight loss--just enough to make your pants fit a bit easier."

Columbia University professor and alternative-medicine expert James Dillard, M.D., agrees that a few days of less food can benefit your health. "Calorie restriction is the only known way to extend life," he says. By cutting back once a month, perhaps as a way of jump-starting a healthier eating plan, you could rid yourself of a lifetime of excess calories. You'll also teach yourself that hunger pangs are fleeting, and you don't have to stuff your face all day in an attempt to head them off.

If you're looking for an emotional or spiritual lift, you may be able to find that as well. When people fast as part of a religious ritual, they sometimes find that the rumbling in their stomachs interferes with their attempts to transcend the physical. By eating three light meals you'll stave off the worst of the hunger pangs, but you may still feel "lighter," and better able to concentrate on the aspects of life that go beyond your bodily needs.

HOW TO DO IT

On the next page you'll find a specific food plan designed to provide about 1,000 calories a day for three days. Here are the details:

* You can modify any of the items beforehand, but once you commit to the program, there should be no substitutions. The point is to have these meals and nothing else, no matter what you "feel like" eating. If you get hungry, accept it. You aren't going to starve, and another meal will be coming along soon enough.

* You can add spices or a little salt to any of the food, but don't add extra butter, margarine or other fats. Try to enjoy the simplicity of the meals.

* As for beverages, get plenty of water and caffeine-free tea. If you're used to drinking coffee, you can include a single cup in the morning to keep from getting a caffeine-withdrawal headache. But if you're looking to get off the joe, this is a perfect time to do it: Have half your normal amount of coffee, tea or cola the first day, half again the second day, and none at all the third.