How to get started

The first thing to decide is what kind of a fast you are going to do. For me its always been a no-food fast (which to my mind means no fruit juices etc), but its your body and you need to decide what will work best for you.

 

Some options are:

• No food, No water (Extreme fasting and not for long periods)
• No food, plenty of water (this is my preferred method)
• No food other than fruit / veg juices and water (juice fasting)
• Restricted food, cut out certain food stuffs but eat other things.
• Restricted times, with or without food restriction (sometimes with an order of consumption - for example the Warrior Diet)
• Restricted quantities (You may want to cut down your per meal intake but leave everything else the same)

The next thing to decide is how long to fast for and how often.
 My experience is that a slow build up is the best way to go (as with most things in life), if you finish a fast feeling like you could easily have gone longer - thats is perfect, and the best way to go into your next one.
If you've never fasted before, I would experiment with skipping a meal here and there, see what works best for you. Perhaps you can skip breakfast and supper easily but lunch is much harder? This is all about getting to understand your body. Try skipping occasional meals for a few weeks or even months until you get to the point where there is no distress of any kind associated with it (ie cravings, inability to concentrate etc).

Once you get to this point, you are likely ready to contemplate a longer duration fast.