by Bernarr Macfadden and Felix Leopold Oswald

“ Fasting will be at once the principal part of your self-treatment, and forever thereafter your stomach will be free from the drug habit, and if you expect to retain the slightest respect for yourself you must first learn to respect your stomach. ”

“ It will teach you that weakness is a crime—that it is the result of plain, easily avoided causes—that if your body is weak, or diseased, there is not the slightest excuse for remaining so—that health and strength of a high degree is the natural heritage of man and woman, and if this superb condition is not possessed, this book will clearly and concisely furnish the knowledge necessary to acquire it. ”

“ Are you free from prejudice, and willing to read and reason without considering the opinions of so-called authorities? To a free and intelligent human being there is no authority for him higher than his own reasoning power. ”

“ Ninety-nine out of every hundred take from five to fifty years from the length of their lives by stuffing their stomachs. They eat, not to nourish the body, but merely for the pleasure of gourmandizing. The result is that from two to five times as much food passes through the alimentary canal than is necessary to maintain weight and strength, and mind and body are actually weakened by the strenuous efforts made by the system in endeavoring to rid itself of this excessive amount of food.
Any one can be benefited by a fast such as I describe here. ”

“ The average person imagines that he becomes weak even after missing a meal, and a fast of one day, is supposed to take away all strength. There was never greater error.
On the fourth day of the fast after testing my strength, I concluded to use a fifty pound dumb bell in illustrating my strength on the seventh day of the fast. ”

“ Of course I would not advise one who has been eating three meals each day all during life to immediately attempt total abstinence from food for seven days, though such a fast under such conditions would be productive only of benefit provided it could be borne without too much of a mental strain and provided great care is used not to over-eat when normal dietary habits are resumed. ”

“ After walking a short distance and giving the matter serious consideration, I determined not to break the fast and instead of the restaurant, I visited a gymnasium and spent thirty minutes in vigorous exercise, and in consequence felt much better, and all thoughts of giving up the fast were abandoned.
The comparison photographs show how the body wasted away during the fast. The face thinned especially and the eyes sunk considerably.
But the astounding fact in connection with the fast was the strength possessed on the
Raising 200-lb. ”