Not knowing anything about what his reasons were for wanting to fast, I just thought wickedlylu had a general fear of fasting because well meaning but ill-informed people were telling him he was going to die from upsetting his electrolytes. If his fear was unfounded and could be eliminated by receiving accurate information, i felt it was a worthy cause ;).
The best course for losing 50 pounds becomes an issue for another debate and i agree with you whole heartedly that this would best be accomplished, at least the majority of it, outside of a fast :D.