Fasting at Work - any tips?

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Bear:

If you usually drink coffee or Coke, or other highly sugary foods or beverages like Coke, then abstaining from them & fasting on top of it, and then having an office job on top of those two things where you are also sitting down a lot: the wind is going to be pretty well blown out of your sails.

I’m not your nanny but I would give second thoughts to having soft drinks in your diet at all, except for maybe vacation / special occasions. They make us feel fantastic immediately after drinking them, but in so many ways they’re pretty much poison. Coffee is a hundred times better if you drink it modestly, but I can definitely feel it if I miss my morning cup.

When you do eat while fasting, high fat/protein should help but I doubt it will take the fatigue/headache away entirely. Peanut butter, chickpeas / hummus, other lentils, cheese, or meat if you’re open to eating meat during a fast.

Peace.
 
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If you usually drink a lot of coffee or tea, I would guess it’s caffeine withdrawal, especially if you’re drinking plenty of water.

Is there a particular reason you eliminate coffee? It’s a great appetite suppressant.
 
TK421 said:
If you usually drink coffee or Coke, or other highly sugary foods or beverages like Coke, then abstaining from them & fasting on top of it, and then having an office job on top of those two things where you are also sitting down a lot:
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Without getting into a wall of text here, pretty much every assumption you made is wrong. I’m in an office about 1 to 5 days per month. As I said, I work from home. The amount of exercise I get varies with what tasks I have to do any given week.

I happen to be in the office today and it’s a fast day so I thought I’d just see if others who fast in the office had tips. I ended up drinking an extra glass of ice water and leaving early to go to church.

I appreciate those who have responded to my actual question. I think others may mean well, but the information in some cases isn’t what I was seeking.
 
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Tis, caffeine gives physical addiction. I gave it up during some vacay and almost slept all day long. Then I said to myself all things kill us so I miss it why not. Giving up smoking has not produced such physical backlash as giving up coffee. But if you want to offer it up I pray for you.
I found that on weak moments during fasting praying helps. Not that it gives me more energy, but I trust that whatever work I do is in God’s hands, even if I am just a robot and can"t always check on myself.
 
You’re right coffee makes it like you’re not fasting at all.
Which defeats the point of the fast.
Also for this particular fast and others I’ve done, coffee and tea and pop are eliminated as a penance.
 
Thanks for the prayers, Mary.
I consume relatively little caffeine because I agree with you it is basically a drug and if you are eating balanced meals you don’t miss it. It’s just when you need to wake up like on a sleepy fast day, you really miss it…which is precisely when you shouldn’t have it.
 
When I get tired at work, I make a point to get up and walk around.

Also, it helps to plan any tasks that involve movement for the after-lunch “siesta hour”. 🙂 Even if it’s something like going through and organizing files in the file cabinet, it’s enough movement to stave off sleepiness.
 
Maybe some essential oils for the tiredness and headaches? Some of it’s real. Some of it’s junk science. Good smells are good smells.
 
Yes, that too. I offer up to the office to go to the local supermarket in case they need something bought from there.
 
Maybe bring in a homemade juice and alternate drinking water with it.

One recipe, add water to oranges, cranberry juice, little bit of lemon juice and a sliver of fresh ginger to a blender. I sometimes boil the juices instead. The juices will give you a touch of energy but will work as a detoxifier as well. The ginger will also help curb your hunger. Note, you’ll probably pee a lot, so you might be self conscience with going to the washroom often at work. 😏

You could also try some hardier juices, using carrots, apples, beets and maybe some greens.
 
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Yes how did I forget? Ginger is energizing and good for stomach and cuts off hunger.
Tis, buy Ginger “beer” 😁😁😁
 
The headache is coffee withdrawal. Stay well hydrated.
Do you have any coffee on your fast day.
Tiredness can be a plunge in sugar levels in the blood. What is your normal diet like. It would be prudent to explore your normal blood sugar levels with your GP before your next fast.

I don’t give coffee up. I cut it right back though. To avoid the headache.
 
This might be off topic but I do intermittent fasting. 8/16. I can only eat in the 8 hour window each day. it is not for spiritual reasons.
I worked at an office for a few years and hated it. And food was a way I coped with stress. Hard to have a coffee without a cookie/biscuit. So as long as you don’t have coffee. Maybe drink herbal teas at work. But it is tough I admit.
 
Thanks, Michael, but juice is verboten for this devotion till after 6 pm. Bread and water only. I can have vitamins. Maybe I’ll try some B 6 and B12.

It is now after 6 pm so I have had a little sandwich snack and now time to eat dinner, done for the day (said my required rosary too). Thanks again all who sent tips.
 
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I don’t think it’s coffee withdrawal when I don’t drink coffee every day. I drink very little coffee or tea compared to most people. More likely from a sugar fluctuation.
 
I have a job that’s pretty physical, so I don’t schedule any shifts on fast days if I can avoid it.
But if I work Holy Thursday 11pm into Good Friday 7am, I go through mcdonalds on the way into work (yeah, I know, not exactly health food), eat it all before 12mn, them don’t eat the rest of the shift.
Then I go home, sleep as long as possible, and have a slice of toast for breakfast and a slice of pizza for dinner (two small meals).

Anyhow, it works for me.
 
I don’t want to interfere with your routine, but it seems to me that if you are eating eggs and grapefruit, that’s not a fast. That’s a low calorie diet, since an egg has 80 cals and half a grapefruit has 50 cals., you are eating enough to slow down your metabolism and make you feel tired.

If you only drink water and tea (no sugar), you will not get any calories, and your body will rev up your metabolism to meet the challenge. There is a whole body of science behind this idea, which I won’t address here. But suggest you consider trying fasting without any food and see if you don’t have more energy.
 
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