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I am a religious person, and a few times a year I'm required to fast for this or that holy day -- sometimes just from sunrise to sundown, other times from sundown to (the next) sundown. I find that the fasting goes easiest, AND I can get in a little dieting detox, if I only eat a little bit in the four to six hours before fasting -- say, an egg, a bit of broth, a couple of crackers. When I break my fast, likewise I do it lightly, this time with a little fruit and another egg.

I've also done a kind of detox where you eat nothing for three days. You can drink all the water you want, but for "eating," you may only have a little bit of lemon juice mixed with the same amount of grapefruit juice and a teaspoon of olive oil, five times per day. It's NOT good for weight loss, because you're not losing real weight. It is, however, good for flushing out the system and sort of rebooting your body. Once you go off that, start up with healthy vegetables and fruits, low-fat proteins (eggs, chicken, turkey, fish, very lean beef or lamb), low-fat or non-fat dairy products, and only whole grain starches (brown rice, whole grain cereals, whole wheat pasta, potatoes with the skin on, and -- rarely -- whole wheat bread products). Then again, doing all of that, even without a detox first, will still help you lose weight.