Have you made it through the holidays well? You might feel a little full and perhaps even annoyed that you were not able to refuse. But hey, it was a holiday season, and you are allowed to do that. But possibly, you want to do something good for yourself at the beginning of the year and detoxify your body. Or you  wish to change your nutrition and are looking for a starting point. Or you just want to give sustainable fasting a try.

Regardless of the reason, we will take you by the hand and show you what fasting and sustainability have to do with each other. At the end, you’ll also find our hotel recommendations if you’d like to spend your fasting holiday staying in a sustainable hotel with all the amenities.

What makes people fast?

Fasting involves abstaining from food completely or partially, depending on the type of fast. For example, in Buchinger’s method, which is probably the best known, only tea, juices, vegetable broth and a little protein are allowed. Sounds terrible at first, doesn’t it? So, why do we do this to ourselves?

Because it has been proven to have a positive effect on the body. An increasing number of studies are coming to the conclusion that various processes in the body are triggered by voluntarily abstaining from food. For example, cell cleansing is triggered, and the body is thus detoxified. It can lower high blood pressure and inhibits inflammation.

BUT: Fasting does not help you lose weight! During a longer cure, you are certain to lose one or two kilos, but due to the yo-yo effect, they will quickly return. So fasting cures are not a weight loss program.

Alkaline Fasting

 A special kind of fasting, which is gentler than the curative fasting described above, is known as alkaline fasting. Here, it is misleading to say that it is not on basic, but acid-forming food. These include, for example, sugar, certain types of grain, meat, and alcohol.

An Alkaline fasting diet may lay the foundation for more conscious eating. We think more carefully about what we eat and deal with our food. Simultaneously, the body is detoxified, and the mind should also come to rest during the alkaline fasting. Heavy and “acidifying” thoughts are discarded. Massages, baths, meditations, and walks in the woods are part of the fixed program of alkaline fasting cures, for example at the Naturresort Gerbehof, which we will introduce to you in more detail below.

Intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is a method that is suitable for everyday use, but no less effective. You can either incorporate this into your daily routine as 16:8 fasting (16 hours fasting, 8 hours eating) or as a weekly plan with one or two fasting days. Alternate Day Fasting, alternating fasting and eating, is another option that has even prevented type 2 diabetes in mice. Intermittent fasting teaches the body to live off its reserves for a short time without shutting down metabolic processes. Just give it a try!

By the way: You don’t have to follow fixed plans. You can also just take a fasting day occasionally. This also does something good for your body.

Fasting for more sustainability

Now that you know what fasting is, why can it be valuable for you, and what options you have, one question remains: What does all this have to do with sustainability?

We already touched on it above: When you fast, whether it’s complete abstinence or abstinence from selected foods, you inevitably become involved with your nutrition. And that leads to you purchasing food in greater consciousness. Maybe you’ll buy less, perhaps you’ll buy organic products more often, or perhaps you’ll cut out meat more often. You probably also throw away less, since you only buy what you actually eat.

These are all small actions that make your lifestyle and eating habits more sustainable. But sustainability has not only something to do with climate and environment, but also with yourself. Because if you start with a fast, especially with alkaline fasting, then from there you can more easily establish your new eating habits and reduce or even eliminate relapses. And that, in turn, is sustainable for you.

Tips for sustainable fasting

• Have yourself examined and advised by a doctor beforehand. Particularly if you have pre-existing conditions such as type 1 diabetes or gout. You should also not fast whether you are pregnant, underweight or have an eating disorder.
• Have one or two relief days before you start fasting. On these days, eat lighter foods and prepare your body for the stressful situation of fasting.
• Drink a lot during your fasting period. However, avoid carbonated drinks such as sodas as much as possible.
• It’s best to remove anything that might tempt you to break your fast from your kitchen before you begin your fast.
• Distraction is key. This can take place through exercise, relaxation exercises and the like.
• After fasting, slowly start eating again. As you did in the beginning, it’s best to plan one or two days of rest.
• Seek like-minded people who will go through the whole thing with you. Make sure however that your fasting companions are not complaining.  . That pulls you down with and tempts to break off. 
• You can also do a chamfering cure wonderfully in a health hotel. There you are accompanied expertly and above all you do not have to worry about anything. You will also find like-minded people there, and the distance from everyday life provides relaxation and space for reflection and change. 

Our recommendations for sustainable health hotels with fasting accompaniment

Alkaline Fasting at the Naturresort Gerbehof

We have already briefly mentioned the Naturresort Gerbehof above. The country hotel on Lake Constance specializes in gentle health treatments such as alkaline fasting or biomeditations. Surrounded by beautiful nature, you can completely relax here and engage with everything that alkaline fasting can do for you.

A cure at the dem Gerbehof does not only include delicious food. It also includes foot baths, liver wraps and, of course, biomeditation according to Viktor Philippi. Starting in spring, you can also participate in meditation walks.

To accompany you beforehand during the relief days and afterwards in your everyday life and to ensure that you really benefit from the cure in the long term, Gerbehof accompanies you with the My Detox Fasting App. This makes it easier for you to start and stop fasting, for example with shopping lists, recipe ideas and exercise tips for your everyday life.

Sustainable Fasting in the SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA

Whether classic therapeutic fasting or alkaline fasting, in the SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA you will be taken by the hand and expertly accompanied medically. Fasting talks every day are part of your new routine. In addition, there are meditations, yoga, fasting hikes and black forest bathing. And, of course, access to the 1,000-square-meter spa area. It’s an all-around carefree package that will probably make you forget you’re fasting.

The food you eat is 90% organic. Thus, you start your new way of life in a mindful and sustainable way.

Fasting for the liver at the Klosterhof – Alpine Hideaway & Spa

At the Bavarian Hotel Klosterhof, health is the focus. The hotel has its health center, the Artemacur Health Center. Hotelier Andreas Färber is a doctor himself and is available to answer guests’ questions and give lectures.

A special fasting recommendation is liver fasting, according to Dr. Worm. This aims to break down a non-alcoholic fatty liver and thus avoid the symptoms of this hidden ailment, which only appear late in life. During a liver fasting cure, you will receive all-round care from the very first examination and determination of the actual condition to the end of your cure and, of course, you will be pampered with delicious, light meals. Fasting cure and wellness vacation in one.

Fasting with sea view in the OCÉANO Health Spa Hotel

Furthermore, in the OCÉANO on Tenerife you will be looked after completely. (Read a short report from our visit here.) At the hotel by the sea you can almost according to the F. X. Mayr method, the second well-known fasting method after Buchinger. At the health center of the same name, you will be accompanied from diagnostics to the individual composition of your fasting plan to therapies and training. Regular consultations with your doctor take place as part of the cure, in which you discuss how your cure can be adapted to your needs.

Fasting can be a great introduction to a different, more sustainable lifestyle. It makes us eat more consciously and be more mindful of food. Beyond that, it’s good for us and our bodies. Maybe you’ll give it a try?

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