by Sandra Quevedo

Created on: May 15, 2009   Last Updated: May 22, 2009

Is fasting beneficial? It all depends on the desired outcome. There are many ways of fasting and many reasons why people do it. The most common ones I have encountered are for diet, health and religious reasons.

Speaking from personal experience, fasting as the means of seeking "drastic" weight loss, will yield results initially, however, the long-term outcome can be catastrophic and irreversible. Plus this is not a permanent solution; about 93% of the people who fast (strictly with no solids) will regain the weigh lost - - plus additional pounds. This is a proven fact.

Having followed Oprah (when she was still using Winfrey) on her highly televised "Optifast" adventure, I became a member of the "get thin quickly cult." I am sure we all remember her (Ms. Winfrey)as she made her debut, in her size "8" Calvin Klein jeans. That image is embedded in my brain, as a matter of fact; I think I still may have the show I recorded almost over 20 years ago. Well, we all know too well what happened to Oprah.

Having suffered from a weight problem my entire life, I tried many things that were not so healthy - - at the top of the list, get thin quick protein fasts. The programs I was a part of, included products such as "Opti-fast," "Medi-fast" and "Slim-fast." Even tough all of these were medically supervised diets, the end result was the same, they deteriorated and ultimately destroyed my body's ability to do what it could have done through basic diet and exercise - - to get and stay healthy.

I was caught in a 15 year cycle where I would loose weight but not be able to keep it off. I was constantly loosing and regaining what I had lost, plus more. This "Up-and-down" routine was not only aggravating, but I am sure caused severe damage to all of my organs including my heart. I know soon enough I will come face-to-face with the consequences of my action 20 years ago. I am now about to turn forty six, but I consider myself in excellent health.

I am happy to report today, that I have now been at the same exact weight for almost 4 years. I eat several meals a day. I try to eat healthy meals (most of the time,) using regular foods, and I do exercise. I refrain from eating anything that screams "fast food" and when I do eat out, I make healthy choices. When I do choose less than favorable foods, I only eat half of the portion, and save the other half for the next day - - because I know if I wait, I may not even want it. So there is hope out there

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