Fasting has a long tradition. Originally, people fasted for religious reasons or to alleviate illness. In recent years, fasting has also become a beauty trend with a challenge character. Fasting to lose weight is becoming increasingly widespread. Anyone who is fasting needs one thing in any case: water. But is it possible to lose weight with water alone – or in combination with juice?
Juice fasting for contemplation and cleansing
One of the most popular types of fasting is juice fasting. Traditionally, the body should be relieved with vegetable juices, herbal teas, water and vegetable broth. The fasting break starts with a day of relaxation. This is followed by the desired fasting days, on which only liquid food is consumed. The fast ends with the breaking of the fast, which – depending on the length of the fast – takes at least one to two days.
Classic juice fasting usually focuses on inner contemplation and cleansing the body at the start of spring. Juices, teas and vegetables from controlled organic cultivation are recommended for cleansing the body, as these do not additionally burden the organism with residues from pesticides.
Lifestyle challenge: ready-made cures for losing weight
If you want to make things particularly easy, you can use ready-made juice packs. The juices consist of different blends of vegetables, fruit, nuts, herbs or spices. During the fasting days, these are drunk exclusively alongside water and tea. The ready-made cures are less about inner contemplation and more about becoming slimmer, fitter and more beautiful. Manufacturers have often organized the cures according to themes and duration and, in addition to the mostly cold-pressed direct juices, sometimes offer additional supplementary products that also make it easier for newcomers to fasting to persevere and succeed. Juices can be selected for 2 to 3 days to try them out. Drinking only juices, water and tea during this period, eating nothing and abstaining from stimulants can be a bit of a challenge for many fasting enthusiasts.
Success in losing weight by doing without
Whether you are on a classic juice fast or fasting with a ready-made juice cure, if you go without solid food for a few days and only eat vegetable juices, tea, water and home-cooked vegetable broth, you will automatically lose weight. However, especially in the first few days of fasting, a large part of the weight loss will be due to excreted water. However, additional exercise can support the effect on the fat pads.
Nevertheless, fasting should focus more on cleansing the body. This is why drinking water during fasting is so important. After a very short time, success is visible on the skin. Effective long-term weight loss on the fat deposits is easier to achieve through a targeted individual dietary change with a simultaneous fitness program. However, a juice cure can be a great way to start. By giving up sweet, salty, fatty foods and alcohol, the body is trained to be more mindful in the way it handles food.
Drink pure water to lose weight
Completely calorie-free fasting with only water is not recommended from a nutritional point of view. The body always needs a minimum amount of energy to maintain important metabolic processes as well as heart and brain activity. Only healthy people should fast. If you are underweight or very overweight, you should discuss your fasting plans with your doctor beforehand. One thing always helps with internal body cleansing: drink plenty of water. This also applies without fasting. However, it is not physiologically possible to achieve fat loss solely by drinking water. However, water effectively supports weight loss.
Mini fasting time-out: Regularly incorporating a juice fasting day into your daily routine can be helpful for long-term fitness, health and weight stability. This trains the senses, saves calories and gives the stomach the opportunity to return to its original shape again and again.
