Fasting can be useful for weight loss if used with proper attention and awareness. When done correctly, it can assist with cleansing the system of toxins. When you think of fasting, you can regard it as a “reset” button for your sense of taste.
The palette is cleansed of chemicals and impurities; so essentially, fasting helps with commitment to lifestyle and behaviour changes.
If done correctly, it can be a safe weight loss strategy. Most success stories are owed to intermittent fasting, whereby individuals fast occasionally.
Here are two success stories of individuals who were fasting for weight loss:
Mary McFarlane from the United Kingdom is a 65-year-old woman who reached her goal weight by fasting. She now maintains her weight by using 16 hour fasts.
How did she do it?
Mary started reducing her calorie intake from June 2012. She admits that she had a slow start, which was depressing at first.
Using a mini daily fasting routine along with a brisk walk for an hour every day, she managed to trim down from 63 kilograms to her goal weight of 55.2 kilograms.
“I now eat much more healthily than before and am more aware of being full,” she says.
“I stuck with it and eventually got to where I wanted to be. I feel wonderful, I have much more energy, friends tell me that I look better than I have in years and this has truly changed my life.”
Fellow UK native Nora Boswell also has a success story to share.
“I needed to take action or slide into a fat old age. I started fasting in August 2012 and found I enjoyed the discipline and the feeling of being in control,” she says.
Starting off at 65.2 kilograms, Nora had a goal weight of 58.5 kilograms. She managed to reach her goal weight by adopting a routine that included fasting for 17 hours from 7pm until noon the next day.
Describing the process, she says: “To start with you obsess about food and worry about how you will feel on a fast day. Then very quickly, you find a rhythm, the fast days happen without much thought or effort and your regular eating habits become much healthier. You suddenly realise you are in control and feeling good about yourself.”
With discipline and a daily exercise program, Nora managed to control her health and improve her eating habits.