Fasting in times of trouble

[wmonique2]

Hello friends,

In view of the fact that I have been having a hellish week, I was wondering if abstaining from food entirely might not be a better solution when we are having flare ups.

Since food sits like a rock in my tract and I dread eating (even the very little that I eat), why not fast and allow our system to calm down? Keep well hydrated with water, protein powder in juices and skip the digestive process altogether.

Has anybody tried it?

Thank you for your responses.

Regards,

Monique

[cjbndtsn]

Hi Monique,
I can honestly say that when I was having ssssoooo much trouble and 10-12 WD a day, if I knew I had something coming up the next day,.....i.e. doc or something I HAD to do, I would NOT eat anything for at least 24hrs ahead of that time. Would drink water and lots of it but it was literally the only way I could make it safely to where I needed to go. Of course that would give my system a rest for that period of time and as soon as I got back from whatever.....I would eat. And bingo within 1/2 hr I would start going again. So I can't say I was purposely fasting for that reason but I was fasting for my own sanity and humiliation since I had to go out. THis was before I went GF (because I didn't know better until I found this website). After GF started I slowed down considerably to 1 or 2 times a day unless something tainted me. Now between GF and entocort........I'm really doing good and starving all the time. I'm scared I'm gonna put that weight back on. But bottom line is those bad days are still so fresh in my mind and I remember exactly what you are talking about. I know not much help but thought I'd share what I did.

[JFR]

Me too, Monique. When things were bad I would not eat for 24 hrs if I knew I had to go out or sometimes just to try to calm things down even though I was staying home. I would drink water and plenty of it. One problem with this approach was that if I went too long without eating I would start getting light headed. I once didn't eat for 3 days before a day long trip that I had to take. It always felt like a delicate balancing act but it did tend to work in the short term. Trouble is that it isn't a long term solution. Ground meat and broth tend to be safe foods for me so after fasting I would only eat them for a couple of days or longer to try to keep things under control. In fact I am right now doing 24 hrs of only broth to try to settle things down a bit. Patience is also very important and that can be harder to accomplish than maintaining a fast. Hope you start improving soon.

Jean

[Kari]

Hi Monique,

Sorry to hear you're having a tough time. Can't say I haven't considered dropping food at times :).

When I read your post, a red flag went up for me when you mentioned protein powder and juices. For most of the 2+ years since I started down the "healing with diet" path, water has been my only drink, and I have not been able to find a protein powder that I do not react to. Of course, we are all different, so that may not be the case for you. When I was at my worst, I would eat some very simple, home made soup, which was soothing and seemed to help.

Hope you get passed this latest hurdle quickly .

Love,
Kari

[Joefnh]

Monique while I have never tried fasting, I have gone back to some simple basics foods I know that I can tolerate. For me that includes baked skinless white meat chicken, well cooked peas, white rice and some homemade chicken soup. The goal was to simplify and minimize the number of ingredients. Over the past couple years I have had to do this a few times and for those few foods that work well for me it does help settle things down in just 3 to 4 days.

I hope you better soon.

[mickjcat]

Monique,

I have been vegetable juicing one to two times at day for the last couple of weeks, and eating lunch and or dinner, and I must say, my colon has been the most quiet since April of this year.
No rumbling, and using juicing will give you your minerals etc. you would be having with food, plus they are absorbed more quickly.
This of course is just how I handle my own health, not to be confused with a one size fits all.
Good luck!

[CathyMe.]

Hello friends,

In view of the fact that I have been having a hellish week, I was wondering if abstaining from food entirely might not be a better solution when we are having flare ups.

Since food sits like a rock in my tract and I dread eating (even the very little that I eat), why not fast and allow our system to calm down? Keep well hydrated with water, protein powder in juices and skip the digestive process altogether.

Has anybody tried it?

Thank you for your responses.

Regards,

Monique

Hi Monique,
I so know what you're talking about and while I haven't fasted for any length of time, i have skipped 2 meals in a day, if I knew I was going out somewhere that night so I wouldn't have an accident. Right now, with this flare, I have cut WAY back on my food intake to try to get through this and get through the day. I'm so sorry that you're dealing with this.

[wmonique2]

Thank you all--Cathy, Jean, Kari, Joe, Mickey, CathyM---you all have wonderful feedback for this novice.

I am learning from the rhythm of my body and from your own feedback. Soft foods, easy foods, water...(Kari, protein powder was tried last year and it was a disaster too).

I can't swallow a thing in the morning and not until like 2p.m. I start with apple juice diluted with water for several hours, for lunch today I had juiced apples with carrots from the juicer, tiny lunch at 4p.m...

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your generosity.

Monique

[Leah]

God Monique, I feel for you, but the professional in me has to say that going without any food for too long is not good. More than 16 hours without some kind of nutrition will make your body start breaking down it's own protein ( muscle) for essential amino acids. There are certain systems in our bodies that must have glucose also to operate ( brain, organs, nervous system....etc). When your liver is out of it's storage, your organs will go into a very stressful cycle to make glucose. Anyway, it sounds like you are finding a few things to sustain you. I hope you feel better soon.

Leah

[Lesley]

Monique,
I think Leah is right. You need protein to heal. I can't find a protein powder that doesn't sent me off, so for me it is also ground beef and lamb and potatoes mashed with beef stock.
I miss chicken and rice, but I cannot eat them.

I don't think starving for too long is a good idea.

[wmonique2]

Thank you Mickey, Leah, Lesley for your concern...

Leah--I hear you. I am not exactly fond of fasting although I did it once for 30 days with only water and liquid protein many years ago to avoid taking insulin shots--which didn't work because I am a full-fledged type 1 diabetic and reducing to 90 pounds didn't make me a type 2. So much about that painful experiment. I did all of it while cooking for my now-departed husband. Imagine that...But I was willing to do anything not to have to take 4 shots a day.

I am doing better today and juicing has helped a lot. I did it twice already, yesterday and today, and I love it. I'll have some solids later in the day which seems to be the time I can tolerate it. Not mornings, not midday, for sure.

Lesley, Mickey, thank you for your juicing recommendations.

Thank you, Joe. Chicken soup that I make is my solution as well.

Love,
Monique

And thank you all for keeping me from sinking into depression. Knowing others who understand what you're going through makes a huge difference.