Fasting comes in many forms: daily interval fasting, week-long fasting cures or religious fasting. We explain the 10 most important and best fasting methods.
Do you want to effectively fast , purify and detoxify ? But don’t really know how? The choice of fasting methods is huge. That’s why we show you the 9 most important ones – so that you can lose weight in a focused and easy way. We also answer the 10 most frequently asked questions about perseverance and clever sacrifices.
Table of Contents
1. Therapeutic fasting according to Buchinger
This method was developed by the doctor Dr. Otto Buchinger (1878–1966). You drink 250 to 500 kcal daily – plenty of water , herbal tea , some honey , fresh vegetable broth, vegetable and fruit juice diluted with hot water. Important: Fasting should also throw off mental ballast. So treat yourself to plenty of rest and relaxation during this time.
Also: According to the German Society for Nutrition , therapeutic fasting has positive effects on various diseases , including chronic inflammation, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases and chronic pain.
2. Modified fasting
To ensure that the trained muscles are not lost, there is this therapeutic fasting method adapted for female athletes. Shakes or soups with a high protein and nutrient content are allowed . This is to prevent the breakdown of the body’s own proteins – the building blocks of our muscles. As a result, you maintain your athletic performance and generally feel better. However, athletes should not do this type of fasting for longer than a week, otherwise the starvation metabolism – a pronounced lack of carbohydrates and protein – inevitably leads to muscle loss.
Also interesting: Tips on buying protein powder >>
3. Fasting according to Hildegard von Bingen
During the fasting cure according to the Benedictine Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), the body gets up to 800 calories a day. A vegetable broth with spelled meal and fresh herbs is allowed once or twice. There are also stewed apples, fennel tea. Exercise, rest and meditation should not be neglected either.
4. F.-X.-Mayr-Kur
In the vernacular, the cure of the Austrian doctor Dr. Franz Xaver Mayr (1875-1965) called it Milch-Bemmel-Fasten : In the morning and at noon there is a stale roll. Each mouthful is chewed 40 times , washed down with 1/4 to 1/2 liter of milk. Herbal tea and vegetable broth are also allowed. In addition, the intestines are gently cleaned with enemas, and the abdomen is intensively massaged in order to activate the intestines, bladder, bile, spleen and liver. Conscious chewing and slow eating teaches the mindful handling of food. Like most fasting cures, however, the F. X. Mayr cure is very one-sided and therefore not suitable for longer periods of time.
5. Zero or juice fasting
It couldn’t be stricter: You are only allowed to drink water and herbal teas, plus 1/2 l of fruit or vegetable juice and/or 1/2 l of hot vegetable broth per day. For the body, this means red alert. It lowers its metabolism to almost zero, utilizes energy deposits from fat deposits and muscle proteins. Problem: For future times of need, the body then puts on fat deposits – yo-yo effect!
Also interesting: The best fasting recipes: Detox, Ayurveda, juices and soups >>
6. Whey Fasting
With this special form of juice fasting, 1 l of protein-rich whey is drunk per day – divided into five portions. There is also fruit juice, sauerkraut juice and low-sodium water. Similar to the zero diet or juice fasting, the body quickly goes into starvation metabolism. Do not do this for longer than a week, otherwise deficiency symptoms may occur!
7. Interval Fasting
With intermittent fasting, you can choose between longer daily meal breaks or full days of fasting. The most well-known is the 5:2 fast : eat five days a week as usual, but calorie-conscious. Fast for two days. Carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, potatoes and sugar are then taboo. Plus lots of water and unsweetened tea. You can also take a break from eating for 16 hours including the night. Or skip one meal a day (“dinner canceling”).
Advantage: There is no yo-yo effect.
Also exciting: Study: How 4 weeks of intermittent fasting changes the body! >>
8. Fastenwandern
Brisk walking (8 to 25 km per day) in groups increases the effect of therapeutic fasting (see above). In the backpack are water, unsweetened herbal tea, juices. Fasting tours by bike have also recently been offered. Fasting hikes should only be done by healthy people – it is essential to have them checked out by a doctor beforehand.
9. Schroth Cure
Named after the naturopath Johann Schroth (1798–1856), it lasts 21 days. Your four elements: 1. Base-rich diet , e.g. B. with cooked fruit and vegetables, semolina and oatmeal, dry rolls. 2. Mineral water, juices, tea, white wine according to plan. 3. Schroth packings with wet and cold envelopes. 4. Rest and movement that should alternate.
10. Renunciation during Lent
Many people – not just religious ones – use the fasting period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday to fast or to skip certain foods. Whether it’s sugar, meat, ready meals, sweets, coffee or dairy , the possibilities are endless. If it is an unhealthy component, doing without it during fasting is a wonderful way to make your diet a bit healthier. In addition, it is easier to avoid just one particular food for the time being, instead of completely changing your diet overnight.
Tip: If you’ve been wanting to give up one of your vices for a long time, the 40-day Lent is a wonderful opportunity. Find allies and be clear in advance why you want to omit this one thing – whether for health, environmental, animal ethical or other reasons. If you have a strong motivation, it is easier to persevere.
The 10 most frequently asked questions and tips about fasting
Anna Cavelius answered our questions
The science journalist from Schondorf am Ammersee writes about nutrition, fasting and detox.
Here are the 10 most common questions about fasting and perseverance and their answers:
1. How long and how often should I fast?
Beginners once a year 5 to 7 days , advanced also 10 to 14 days. Go to the doctor for a check-up first. Intermittent fasting is possible for longer periods of time without any problems.
2. How do I prepare myself – and afterwards?
Every fasting cure should be heralded with a relief period of about two to three days. Without alcohol , coffee , meat or sweets. Allowed: e.g. B. 1.5 to 2 kilos of fruit, divided into 4 to 5 portions per day, 35 g oatmeal with milk 3 times a day, 100 g vegetables. Consume about 800 calories on the first day after breaking the fast , 1000 on the second, 1200 on the third to get used to eating again.
3. How do I reconcile fasting and work?
Intermittent fasting is ideal for this because its meal breaks are easy to manage for working people. And it’s a great way to extend your overnight fast if you eat dinner earlier. Important: Always start fasting at the weekend.
4. How do I avoid giving up?
Always take a sip when you get hungry. Or take a walk. Also good: a reward plan . If a fasting day has been mastered, credit 100 points to a perseverance account. For 400 or 500 collected points there are e.g. B. a pair of new shoes or a great scent. And distract: At the first hunger attack z. B. call a friend or dance to your favorite tune.
5. Do I have to B. give up smoking or chewing gum?
Giving up nicotine would not be a bad thing, because fasting is also about detoxification. Chewing gum stimulates salivation and arouses hunger pangs – just like honey and sugar substitutes . So better not.
6. How to deal with hunger pangs?
Low-calorie emergency snacks help: 200 g low-fat quark or cottage cheese with herbs, 5 Brazil nuts or almonds, raw vegetable sticks, 100 g Harzer Roller, 1 cup vegetable broth or hot vegetable juice.
7. What makes fasting even more effective?
Light endurance training such as cycling, swimming or walking also accelerates the metabolism and prevents energy from being broken down from muscle mass during fasting. Basic minerals and zinc protect against a lack ofTolfioow substances (e.g. “Bullrich acid-base balance” as tablets, powder and 2-phase product, in pharmacies).
8. What helps with a drop in performance?
That rarely happens. Many fasting people even feel inspired. But if your head feels like it’s packed in cotton wool, a tiny fasting sin will help : fast carbohydrates such as 1 piece of glucose, 1/2 handful of pasta. A 10-herb elixir (e.g. “Freetox Barleygrass-Birch”, available as a capsule or tea in health food stores) also naturally helps to get out of an energy low.
9. How much should I drink a day?
Drink around 2 to 3 liters of mineral water, sugar-free herbal, green or black tea and broth. This also prevents typical circulatory problems , constipation and headaches . The color of the urine shows whether the fluid level in the body is correct . The brighter the better.
10. What helps if I get a headache?
A hot neck compress helps, as does mint oil, which you can massage onto your temples in a circular motion. A rosemary bath (in pharmacies) alleviates circulatory problems. Sleep disturbances subside when you normalize the disrupted thermoregulation center in the brain with cold washes.
Also interesting: 5 tips for Lent >>
