Hey... The SWF has a nick name in my moms house... the colon blow! lol
I have to admit... I made my husband come in a read your post... he was laughing so hard I thought he was going to have a LWF!!!! lol
As far as using it for a diet.... that can be dangerous... when people do that they skimp on how much they drink, cut back on the maple syrup (calorie cutting) and really do put themselves at risk.... But done properly, it is a detoxifying cleanse that I have watched my mother do for over 30 years and I have dome many times as well... My father has done more drastic cleanses that even I won't attempt... This is mild and you can function and exercise and work... it really will not deplete you in the least... you will experience detox symtoms, but every body is different and each fast is different.... Once I flew through 10 days and felt nothing... I was also eating very well for the 6 months prior... and another time I had a very tough time... that was my McDonalds clearing out phase.... Hey... it had to go! And the cravings NEVER came back!
I'm now a raw foodest.... some say thats extreme.... but I am perfectly healthy and not sickly thin.... I weigh 174... I was 190ish when I finished my last fast.... I did not put a ton of weight back on...
My mother and sister are not doing it for weight loss, nor is her room mate who is on her third fast in two years she weighs 130lbs and is 5ft 8 !!! she hardly needs to loose weight! But she has been eating a STD... Standard American Diet and she feels sluggish and crappy.... So she decided it was time to rid her body of the toxins and get back to whole foods and feel good again...
Because she is so thing to begin with... she won't loose weight while on the fast.... But she will detox her body.... The whole point of the fast... we hold toxins in out fat cells... so part of the detoxing process is to release the fat storage to release the toxins stored there.... Thus the weight loss.... A side effect.... Not the goal...
I ate what they made me eat when I was in the hospital... and I still feel the ill effects of that food and junk they gave me... thats why I would like to do another fast... Plus all of the medication builds up in your body and if I fast three to four times a year I can keep my system clear of build up... it flushes my kidneys as well... one of my meds causes kidney stones... so it helps to prevent them... And yes, I've had them... they suck! lol But with the cleansing and proper water intake I prevent them...
So.... Drastic.. maybe... but just a part of my alternative lifestyle... and it works for me! My body is not suffering as a result... Its the sleep deprivation and Suicidal overdoses that I need to watch out for
lol (Bad joke)