Hunger exists to keep us alive, but it also can morph into a destructive force that could lead us to deforming obesity and even an early grave.
One question people who are interested in fasting and weight loss always ask me is whether or not appetite suppressants work. This has led me to research much on hunger and weight loss. The question is: How can I master hunger and not gain back all the weight I lose through fasting and
dieting?
Some of my findings are outlined in this article and I hope it will give you hope and motivation to follow your goals and never give up.
Not a Panacea
Appetite suppressants can be "somewhat" helpful when fasting - but from experience I can tell you that they are NOT a panacea or fix all to the natural hunger pains when fasting or
dieting. The only one that I would feel comfortable recommending is Hoodia because it is made from a plant. I would suggest that you use Hoodia, but NOT any other product that has chemicals of any kind or even caffeine - or other stimulant.
Powdered Hoodia has been the one that has helped me the most by "calming" the hunger. You can go online and Google "powdered Hoodia" and you will find an ample selection to choose from. What I do is put a tablespoon of the Hoodia in a cup -- usually in the afte
oon -- and mix it with some water and a squeeze of lemon.
It tastes quite bad, but this approach is the one that I have found produces the best appetite suppression. I also use decaffeinated green tea and seltzer water with lemon to calm hunger. This combination has carried me through 7,14,21,30 and even 40 and 60-day water and juice fasts. It works like a charm. Something about the hot liquid hitting my belly, the Hoodia, and then the effervescence of the seltzer.
Hunger Flagellation?
Do not look at the hunger pains you go through when fasting and
dieting as a punishment, or even as a torture to be endured (even though it certainly can feel that way). Instead, welcome the hunger pains as the clear and indivisible sign that your body is working overtime to overcome the very toxicity that you want to get rid of.
The toxicity - or the worst of it at least - hides in between your fat cells. So the only way for the body to deep clean itself is to dig into these cells. The process actually releases these toxins directly into your bloodstream, which in turn can cause pretty violent hunger pains, as well as headache, dizziness, nausea, weakness, diarrhea and fever.
These symptoms - as well as the hunger pains - usually go away completely between the fifth and tenth day of water fasting. From then on, many persons feel as if they could go on fasting indefinitely. Confront your hunger face-to-face and realize that this very hunger is the one that will lead you back to your old ways if you do not learn to master it.
A Demanding Child
Many persons feel that it is bad to feel hunger and that any sign of it has to be addressed immediately. Learn to ignore it. Learn to live with it. Now please, I am not saying here that you should starve yourself in an anorexic way. What I am saying is that the belly can be like a demanding child who insists on getting what he wants, when he wants it or else it throws a tantrum.
Discipline it and you find freedom. Try to constantly suppress it and sooner or later it will blindside you and lead you back to where you started. The fasting and
dieting process, especially when you are new, is one that can take months and even years. In my case, I fasted on and off for an entire year.
I would fast for 21 days, eat for about two weeks, then fast for another month, eat for 14 days, fast another month etc. IT is about forming life-long "discipline muscles" that will allow you to assume control of your stomach, instead of the other way around. Many persons fast once, break the fast, and within a short period gain all the weight back, and then some.
Toe-to-Toe
The only way to keep that from happening is by facing the hunger directly and becoming "comfortable" with it, to the point where appetite suppressant, or no appetite suppressant, you have the ability to choose what you are going to put in my body.
The real "breakthrough" is mastering hunger in the long-term and being able to say NO - regardless of how hard and loud my stomach yelled for that particular food that I know harms me. This is true freedom, and it is my sincere desire that you find it and experience health and wellness in every area of your life!