> I can't tell whether Kathleen's version of the elimination diet begins
> with a water fast, or water plus one food.

With only the very first food she tested did Kathleen start with a
full
24 hour (noon one day until noon the next) water fast, to cleanse her
system  of any circulating toxins from unsafe foods she was consuming.
Her first food tested was beef, and it turned out to be a safe and
weight-loss promoting food for her.  Once she established that, she
went straight to the next food. (I now can't remember what that was.)
When she found a food that did not agree with her, she stopped that
food
and did a 12 hour water fast, then went on to test the next food.  Now
that she has identified quite a long list of safe foods for her, and
because she is nearly at her goal weight now, and does not want to
risk
losing lean body mass, she "fasts" with beef and water.

Interestingly, she learned that one of the ways she could tell if a
food is
unsafe for her, is an immediate weight gain, and an immediate increase
in
the measurement of her abdomen.  I have also read (and think my own
experience confirms this), that another time to suspect an intolerance
is
if your resting heart rate increases noticeably after about an hour
after
eating a food.

From The Complete Book of Allergy Control, by Laura J. Stevens (Pocket
Books, 1983), here is a list of symptoms to look for when testing each
individual food:  "headaches, a runny or itchy nose, dark circles
under
the eyes, a rash, itching, stomach aches, joint pains and stiffness,
overactivity, irritability, depression and fatigue."  Kathleen found
the
irritability, depression and fatigue the easiest to deny, and
therefore
the hardest to identify.  But she did.

I'm going to try this starting January 4.

Adele