Are most of these fast for health ,weight loss ,or spiritual ?

My fasting is a quick trip to the bathroom after three cups of coffee in the morning.

Spiritual for me but you can definitely feel the health benefits too

Health

I use to fast from Monday night until Wednesday morning.

I do intermittent fasting (IF) an eat pattern of eating and not eating and not what you eat for health. I only eat from high noon till about 530 each day. I started 10 years ago and lost about 20 pounds and have maintained that weight with in a few either depending on the season. More energy and health benefits have been huge for me. I eat anything and as much as I want in those 5 hours each. I haven't but ~ twice broke that eating pattern in 10 years.

This long of fasting is new to me. Supposed to help cell repair. Autophagy.

It's a re boot...lol

For me becuse i was not really hungry and wondered how long it would be before I was. Turned out to be easy for me probably due to my untraditiinal schedule. Later I read ther are said to be health benefits. That tracks with me considering up intell recent times humans didnt get to eat regularly, near as much, or the processed sugar and preservative filled junk.

i once had a horse and i just had him trained not to eat and he died

On hour 17 again.

So for you that are doing these fasts, what are you allowed to drink? Just water only?

Water, coffee

I drink water and coffee. You can drink some teas too.

Water, coffee, and green, black or herbal tea is about it for me fasting or not. .no added sugar or sweetener at all.

Good for you, you can do it. Make your sleep time take up lots of those hours. Time your fast for when you sleep , thus not eating for hours anyway.

I've been fasting in various ways for several years now. The benefits in heath and neuro brain health are astounding. Every day brings more neat activities the body is busy doing for your health. And after a little more time, even the risk of getting cancer drops a whopping 70% . People going through chemo are helped immensely to heal in accelerated time from the treatment. There are so many benefits to fasting , it's best to just read and see videos of all the good things about it.

Few other health issues have been scientifically researched worldwide, so thoroughly, than fasting. It's from centuries back , worldwide, to present.

There are some protocols in preparing properly for a fast , and definite protocols in coming down off a fast. Start out slowly, with shorter fast days and work your way up . IF (intermittent fasting) is a great way to maintain . The research finds that mixing up your eating days with various time factors is key to keep the metabolism from locking in a stall . Just as early era human tribes did, there were seasons of plenty, seasons of less, even times of no eating at all until the next successful hunt. The human body is designed for this variety. And stays healthy.

Example- I.F. , 3 days a week, 24 hr fast one day, no fast at all for one or two days, OMAD, (one meal a day) for another. Keeps metabolism from getting stuck.

Electrolytes are essential in good water during this time. Coffee is ok, but no heavy cream or sugar. Stevia is ok. Some say get coffee that is without insecticides and chemicals , as the body is working hard cleaning out poisons and detox. I found Bulletproof coffee wonderful , smooth in taste and cleanly grown for such times. Got it on Amazon.

The body is like a new house cleaned well and ready to reset, moving new furniture into it, after a fast, especially 24 hours and longer. Gut health is totally reset , coming out of a fast , with portions of bone broth collagen , fermented foods such as yogurt ( non-sweetened) or using stevia , Kim Chi , sauerkraut , eggs , some butter, working up to heavier proteins . Loading up that clean new house with junk dirty furniture such as carbs of sugar, grains, pastas, ice cream, chips, etc. does nothing good for the newly made good gut bacteria and stem cell healing that's just taken place. Same for any sort of tobacco or alcohol. Like poisoning the body all over again.

And you feel fantastic . The brain literally becomes clear in logic, creativity and decision-making. Hence, the reason people worldwide have also adapted the practice into their spiritual tradition.

The longest I've gone is 6 days in a water fast , coffee , and electrolytes, only . More often, I do Intermittent Fasting , 36, even 72 hr fasts at times. If I want a splurge day eating anything at any time, or am somewhere enjoying fun times out with others, I do that with no worries. Just get back onto the hi way in routine after that. Fasting is easy and versatile. No hard routine. You'd be surprised how well you can fast in working up to longer times slowly. It isn't hard at all and does wonders for health.

There are lots of videos on this, one of the main people Ive come to like is Dr Eric Burg, and Mindy Pelz. In some years of research , I've seen the affirmations of scientific facts in such harmony as to basically settle on these two, but there are many more good choices to watch as well.

Below is a video just touching the surface of the amazing health and healing activities the body does each day a fast is done. Once the silly cartoon caption is clicked , the good medical info gets right to it step by step.

Sharon pretty much said it all

I do 5 day fasts 2 or three times a year. Resets your body, flushes bad cells and fights nagging inflammation, old injury’s etc. good for new stem cells. I Do nothing but water. Day 3,4 and 5 are amazing and it’s hard to explain how good you feel and the energy you have. Coming off the fast you have to watch what you eat. After the fast I’m not really hungry but do eat a little.

That being said some people have a terrible time trying a 5 day fast. 4 other guys I work with do the 5 day and they like it. Lots of info on it and you don’t lose muscle mass on it.

What works for some might to work for you!

Spiritual and health for me.

Our old friend (a Catholic Priest ) told me the proper way to fast (for spiritual ) is bread and water .