Fasting vs Starving

i just watched a video about water-only fasting by a doctor here on staff, Dr Michael Klaper. he talked about who should and should not fast, reasons why one fasts, what happens to your body during the fast, and how to break the fast. but one of the key things that i learned at the beginning of the lecture was the difference between fasting and starving. this definition stuck with me mostly because when i told my mom i was going to do a fast she said something to the effect of, "i don't understand why you want to starve yourself."

well, Mom, i'm not actually starving myself, and here's why...

fasting is a period of time in which your body eliminates retained water because of salt, fecal matter, and fat. the first several days you lose "water weight," and once all that is gone you start to lose actual fat. your body has a great ability to go a long period of time without additional food because you have stores of fat to keep you going. some have fasted up to 40 days or more. the max people do here is 40 days, the least would be 5.

but..... once your fat stores are used up, your body starts drawing on your muscles to get what it needs for energy. when you start losing muscle mass, THAT is when you are starving yourself.

the doctors here at True North do NOT want that to happen, so they keep a close eye on people and do not allow them to fast too long. most people can fast up to 40 days without any issue of losing muscle mass. however, if you're already a very thin person without much body fat and start a water-only fast, your muscle loss will occur in far less time than in someone who has 50 pounds to lose. that's why water-only fasting is such an individual science - there is no one formula for everyone.

anyway. i am definitely not starving myself with a 12-day water-only fast. yes, i feel hungry. naturally! but i am cleansing far more than anything else, and it's not really as hard as it may seem. if i were at home, working and doing my daily routine with food at the ready, yes it would be hard. VERY hard. that's why i'm here. i can be successful here, and start 2013 with a fresh, clean start.