Waterfasting.org: Articles and Coaching for Water Fasts

Dr. Tallis Barker, D.Phil., holistic consultant

Living on water: the complete 3-day fasting program

Do you feel the need to cleanse, to try out water fasting but don’t know how to get started? Are you a little anxious about the whole thing?

Living on water is a PDF / video bundle / online support forum which provides you with all you need to know in order to safely, successfully and smoothly carry out your first 3-day water fast. If you already have a little experience, there are plenty of additional tips to help you go deeper into water fasting.

What you get:

100 page ebook (pdf): How to plan, prepare and practise a 3-day water fast
7 support videos (2+ hours viewing time):
- covering each day of the fast (3 videos)
- preparing you in the week before the fast begins (2 videos)
- helping you break the fast and return to eating (2 videos)
30-page pdf: Dealing with detox symptoms while fasting
Bonus printouts including checklists, recipes and fasting journal
Access to a password-protected online support forum. This is the place to ask questions or discuss problems with others who are living on water.

All in all, Living on water provides maximum possible support without actually working one on one with a fasting guide.

Price: introductory sale price $69.00 (discounted from $89.00)

CLICK HERE TO BUY!

Introductory video:

About 3-day water fasts:

Of all fasts, the three-day water fast is in many ways the most important. Three days is the period your body needs to unlock the healing metabolism of ketosis. These three days are also the stepping stone required to move on to even longer fasts (such as the 7-10 day water fast and more prolonged fasts), in which the deepest healing can occur. The more you practise the three-day fast, the easier you’ll find water fasting of any length.

Continue reading

Sample pages:

Extracts from How to plan, prepare and practise a 3-day water fast:

sample pages 3DAY PLAN 1

sample pages 3DAY PLAN 2

sample pages 3DAY PLAN 4

sample pages 3DAY PLAN 5

sample pages 3DAY PLAN 6

sample pages 3DAY PLAN 7

sample pages 3DAY PLAN 8

Extracts from Dealing with detox symptoms while fasting:

sample pages DETOX 1

sample pages DETOX 2

sample pages DETOX 3

sample pages DETOX 4

Tallis Barker, D.Phil.

Living on water

3 day water fast, 3 days, cleansing, detox, ebook, program, support, video, water fast

4 responses to “Living on water: the complete 3-day fasting program”

sukhdev.kaur

January 22, 2019 at 9:07 pm

Thank you so much Tallis!

I suspect lymphatic overload as well after reading your pdf on natural methods of detoxification, as I just purchased the 3 day fasting bundle. (Was your dissertation on fasting or some aspect of, if you don’t mind my asking?) And your idea on extended fast does come into play as potential factor as I had fasted two days twice just before the 4 day fast. (These are the times end of day two or three I had tried miso broth or orange, then resumed fast again after adverse results from eating.) But I actually do not have experience in fasting over 4 days in past. (Usually 3 days max; as well as “intermittent fasting” [16 hrs or more often in 24 hr period] as they are now calling it, as a matter of habit, because it never seemed necessary to me to eat that frequently.) And yes, I was very sedentary during that fast, due to weakness after the constant voiding then fasting. So all factors right on!

May I ask you, do you suggest powering through the aches if I get these again? I know a woman who fasted at True North (well known fasting retreat with Doctors on site) here in my city and she had these low back, leg cramps as well. They are not muscular, nor appear to be in organs. She was advised just to deal with it until they go away. Mine were so painful though. As I say, I’ve read this is the reason many people break a fast. I’m asking if you have idea that it may be harmful, should I choose to endure these if they return (and I can bear it)? Kind of funny because this woman is a massage therapist I went to for some relief and she told me that massage won’t do anything for it! (I do think it helps!) Quite serendipitous that I was assigned this particular therapist however and heard her fasting story! Also, I don’t imagine you know how long this kind of pain might last?

Also. I know of a perfect fit for you to hold a fasting retreat in US, in Sierra Nevadas, if you can swing it. High valley surrounded by mountains. Because I’d love to attend. I don’t propose to know attendees, but I hope to share my idea with you. I have been a guest yoga teacher there for 15 years. You’d love it. Natural geothermal hot springs, lodge and and camping options, workshop space, kitchen…They host a lot of retreats/workshops. It’s not a high end, pricey place, but more rustic and just lovely location. (Also, there is an airstrip on property to fly in.) Summer would be a great time. I think you have my personal email (?) to contact me off your website, if you are at all interested.

Thanks again! Sat Nam!

Sukhdev

Reply
1. Tallis Shivantar
  
  January 23, 2019 at 7:13 pm
  
  Hi Sukhdev,
  
  It’s always re-assuring when symptoms match the suspected cause :-).
  
  Tough question about whether to tough it out with the backache… In theory, yes, you should be able to tough it out without it actually killing you. But as you know, it can feel pretty unbearable – as if it IS kiling you :-). The same thing can apply with nausea. Some people can experience it relentlessly for days before it eases up.
  
  The question is: is it worth it? Well, only you can answer that.
  
  In the end, though, there are two paths through these backaches. (1) To tough it out at whatever the cost during your next fast. (2) To tough it out in more manageable portions over several fasts, continuing each fast until you’ve had enough. (Of course, in your case things aren’t so simple because of the problems you’re having with food when the fast ends.) Afterwards, in the next fast you’d pick up the pieces from where you left off, until gradually you can lengthen each fast without the backaches bothering you. In this case, you’ll probably find that there won’t be much progress over the first couple of fasts, but then, at some point, the backaches will simply not develop into anything serious.
  
  In any case, I really think that if you follow the tips in our current exchange here, as well as in the PDF, then you stand a MUCH better chance of staying on top of these symptoms.
  
  Thanks for your suggestion about a place for a fasting retreat in the Sierra Nevadas :-). It sounds amazing, and I’ll definitely send you an email to follow up on this.
  
  Do let us know if the backache improves next time around!
  Fingers crossed for you,
  Tallis
  
  Reply
Sukhdev

January 21, 2019 at 7:42 pm

Hi Tallis.

I am fasting while doing tests and labs for an intestinal matter which came up suddenly a month ago. (I will be scheduling colonoscopy in two weeks, once fecal and blood tests are analyzed.) Basically, cramping is so painful after eating and I am up all night and in AM evacuating everything I eat, so I just decided to fast. I’d go a couple days, try some miso broth or an orange by evening, same problem–up all night evacuating. (Six times at night and twice in AM from miso broth!) Went on like this for about a week. Occasionally I would eat more. Then I fasted completely (water, herbal tea) and on the 4th day I had horribly painful aches in lower back and down legs. Worse pain ever in my life outside of childbirth. I read forums (and know someone who had same) to discover this is not uncommon detoxification symptom. But I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t not eat. The leg & back pain won out (no longer hungry at this point anyway) and I stopped that fast. Now about a week later it has gotten painful again to eat (due to painful and incessant elimination). So I want to do a 4-7 day fast to try to get through until my next Dr appointment l, which is in 10 days. (I have only solicited Western Medical practitioners a few times in my life, even birthing with only midwives, but this condition seemed to warrant a Western medical path of investigation.)

Have you any advice for me regarding the lower back and leg cramps or have you any info to share regarding this experience? Some posters in forums say it is about the hip bones. The problem is that the only solution I have read regarding this detoxification pain is to cease one’s fast. Again, can’t really eat; can’t not eat with the fasting detox pain. Also, I am a 53 years old yogini, otherwise healthy, healthy eater/mostly vegetarian/healthy lifestyle etc. (Drink alcohol though. Beer, mostly.) And perhaps the lower back/ leg pain isn’t likely to return upon embarking on another fast?

I’ve been eating (in spite of all the immediate evaluation of doing so) and put lost weight back on (abt 8-10 lbs), apparently getting nutrients from stomach absorption, and I’m feeling stronger so I am not concerned about nutritional reserves in embarking on fasting again so soon. The fasts were short duration, anyway. (And mostly, I tried broth/fruit after couple days of not eating.)

Thank you so much! (We have written exchanges from once before, may be a year ago.) You are the only fasting authority I have any faith in. Your perspectives seem so comprehensively reasonable from my perspective. And you are uncommonly aware of the integral spiritual aspect of such an undertaking. I very much appreciate reply to the detoxification symptoms inquiry or anything else you care to comment on!

Love and Sat Nam!
Sukhdev

Reply
1. Tallis Shivantar
  
  January 22, 2019 at 4:29 pm
  
  Hi Sukhdev,
  
  Of course I remember you from last year 🙂
  
  How horrible for you to be going through all this: like you say, not being able to eat but not NOT being able to eat :-(. I’d say that exactly how you fast in the coming weeks to ease symptoms and heal should depend on the results of the current tests.
  
  The fact that you felt so much detox pain on your last fast – in contrast to previous fasts – illustrates to me that either (1) you’ve recently been exposed to unusually high levels of a toxic substance or (2) your body was already in a state of cleansing when you began the fast (which can happen due to both physical and emotional reasons).
  
  I’m afraid I can’t tell you what your lower back / leg pain is caused by without you getting a lot more specific in terms of the ‘where’, the ‘how’ and the ‘when’ you experience this. (I sometimes get something similar when I’m dry fasting, and the detox is stronger compared to water fasting.) Without knowing what the cause really is, though, there’s really no way to suggest what the best course of action might be.
  
  One thing I think is fair to say is that it’s NOT the hips causing this. I don’t know where this suggestion came from, but joints almost invariably feel better and more flexible during a water fast. Neither do they detox! Without knowing any more details, I’d say that the most likely cause of the pain is the lymphatic system getting overloaded. The leg’s main lymph ducts run like two big arteries up the leg and pass through the pelvis, behind the hips, along the posterior, top edge of the pelvis before joining together and running up in a path following that of the spine. I’d suggest trying to assist the lymph in flushing itself out, which means (1) making sure that you’e taking in enough fluid, (2) you’re moving enough to physically ‘massage’ out any trapped fluid and (3) you’re doing something to make your cardiovascular system pump, such as walking.
  
  If you need more detailed guidance (especially in relation to future healing fasts after your doctor’s appointment), then it might be time to think about a consultation or coaching!:
  https://waterfasting.org/2018/11/17/online-personal-consultations-and-fasting-guidance/
  
  Hope you feel better soon!
  Tallis
  
  Reply