Fasting--does anyone do this regularly?

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This past year, I have begun fasting more frequently. I read somewhere that fasting is like “praying with your body”. I have found it very helpful, both spiritually and emotionally. I’ve started fasting nearly every day—not food necessarily, but fasting from activities, bad habits, etc., and offering it up for my intentions or the intentions of others.

Anyone else have this experience? I would like to hear from those who fast regularly. How has it strengthened your relationship with God? Your spiritual life? Your outlook on life?
 
Giannawannabe said:
This past year, I have begun fasting more frequently. I read somewhere that fasting is like “praying with your body”. I have found it very helpful, both spiritually and emotionally. I’ve started fasting nearly every day—not food necessarily, but fasting from activities, bad habits, etc., and offering it up for my intentions or the intentions of others.

Anyone else have this experience? I would like to hear from those who fast regularly. How has it strengthened your relationship with God? Your spiritual life? Your outlook on life?
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From my interest in joining the CFP, I have been on a food fast since the Feast of St. Martin. Two meals a day, dinner and supper. No snacks between the two meals. Meat or fish at dinner only, no meat or fish at supper. Abstinance on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Neither fasting nor abstinance on Sundays and Solemnities.

It will end 24 December. I cannot say, with so little experience so far, if this has made any changes in my relations to God or the spiritual life. I have noted how obsessed I was, and still am, with food at times. I am hungry a lot, but NOT weakened. A fast should never cause physical harm. (Opinion)

I think just the DISCIPLINE has been benificial so far, as a start of bending more and more to God’s will. It has certainly been a learning experience. :o
 
Andruschak said:
From my interest in joining the CFP, I have been on a food fast since the Feast of St. Martin. Two meals a day, dinner and supper. No snacks between the two meals. Meat or fish at dinner only, no meat or fish at supper. Abstinance on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Neither fasting nor abstinance on Sundays and Solemnities.

It will end 24 December. I cannot say, with so little experience so far, if this has made any changes in my relations to God or the spiritual life. I have noted how obsessed I was, and still am, with food at times. I am hungry a lot, but NOT weakened. A fast should never cause physical harm. (Opinion)

I think just the DISCIPLINE has been benificial so far, as a start of bending more and more to God’s will. It has certainly been a learning experience. :o
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I have to say I don’t fast on a regular basis apart from Lent, but it may well be time to take up the practice. Certainly I tend to feel better on the days when I do - less sluggish.

With a little preplanning I can have a decent breakfast, but leave it till around 10 am, and a smaller but still decent ‘lunch’ at about 4 pm or so, in which case I would most likely able to do without dinner altogether :yup: as long as I get my coffee, which is non-negotiable :nope:
 
I don’t fast (not eating) regularly. I can’t think and do well at work if my stomach goes emtpy. However, I give up watching scary, vilolent, rated-r type movies - I used to love scary movies and watch it almost everyday. I also give up drinking beer even though I was not addicted to it.
 
I used to fast once or twice a week, every week, and by that, I mean 24 hours with no food.

In the past two years, I have been very hurt and disappointed at the lack of (apparent) answers to my prayers regarding my marriage. In fact, rather than things getting better, I have just continually found out more and more about how much I was being lied to all those years. In addition, I simply did not feel like any better a person, nor any closer to God, than I’d ever been. So, a month ago, my answer might have been, It doesn’t really seem to have done much good at all.

But, in researching for a book, I have done a lot of looking back, recently, over the last 13 years, and I now believe that there has been a lot of healing going on in me over that time, healing I maybe didn’t even realize I needed.

In addition, I have come to appreciate something else that I didn’t at the time: DH had a relative who was not very nice to me. Believe me, I had plenty I wanted to say to her, yet every time she called, nothing but nice words came out of my mouth, in a very friendly tone. Boy, it made me mad that I couldn’t seem to give her what-for like I wanted to! But, in looking back, I can only say that my behavior, practically against my own will, was quite literally by the grace of God, and I am now glad to know in my heart, that I am blameless, that nobody, including dh or his aunt, can justifiably point fingers at me. Maybe that was an answer that will continue to pay off benefits in the long term, although I couldn’t see it at the time.
 
Andruschak said:
From my interest in joining the CFP, I have been on a food fast since the Feast of St. Martin. Two meals a day, dinner and supper. No snacks between the two meals. Meat or fish at dinner only, no meat or fish at supper. Abstinance on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Neither fasting nor abstinance on Sundays and Solemnities.

It will end 24 December. I cannot say, with so little experience so far, if this has made any changes in my relations to God or the spiritual life. I have noted how obsessed I was, and still am, with food at times. I am hungry a lot, but NOT weakened. A fast should never cause physical harm. (Opinion)

I think just the DISCIPLINE has been benificial so far, as a start of bending more and more to God’s will. It has certainly been a learning experience. :o
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Harry, as a CFP Inquirer, you are not obligated to keep the Fast of St. Martin, but may God prosper you for your desire to make this offering.

I know what you mean about thinking about food a lot. You get used to the discipline, but MAN! Those solemnities are a treat – especially when they fall on a Wednesday or a Friday! (hee, hee)
 
mercygate said:
Harry, as a CFP Inquirer, you are not obligated to keep the Fast of St. Martin, but may God prosper you for your desire to make this offering.

I know what you mean about thinking about food a lot. You get used to the discipline, but MAN! Those solemnities are a treat – especially when they fall on a Wednesday or a Friday! (hee, hee)
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I may not be OBLIGATED to do the fasts yet, true. But I just got this “hunch” that I should give it a try, along with that bit about only two meals a day, no snacks.

As I’ve stated before, I do NOT intend to fast, abstain, or limit myself to two meals a day if it is a risk to my health. My Physician is fully informed and monitoring me. But so far, so good, no physical problems.

By the way, am I understanding correctly that by giving my hunger pangs to the souls in Purgatory, it is a help to them?
 
I fast from cigs on fridays except I only recently started that program.
I fast under the direction of my confessor. It varies and sometimes I go extreeme and regret it. Then, I go the other way and regret it. Each time its when I DONT listen to my confessor.

Listen, IMHO, get a confessor and follow the lead he sets for you. I am still getting the hang of this and I figured out just recently I am not a good judge of what my limits are.:eek:
 
Andruschak said:
I may not be OBLIGATED to do the fasts yet, true. But I just got this “hunch” that I should give it a try, along with that bit about only two meals a day, no snacks.

So far, so good. By the way, am I understanding correctly that by giving my hunger pangs to the souls in Purgatory, it is a help to them?
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Actually, the two meals a day thing is EVERY day for us in the CFP. The St. Martin fast is a fast according to the rule of the Church: one meal but it may be divided into two parts. What happens is that we tend to “fast” every day except for solemnities, so it kind of blurs the picture.

You would think we would all be skinny. But we’re not. Some people have health problems that preclude fasting. Of course, those tend to be the people who look like a little fasting would do them some good. Our retreat master last summer said: “I know you fast all the time, but nobody could tell by looking at you.” Ouch. Fasting on one meal a day is meaningless as an offering if you end up taking in more than you need to live.

You will probably find that the sensation of being hungry all the time is actually rather pleasant; it’s how we are supposed to feel, rather than full.

Yes: fasting as an offering for all who suffer, whether on earth or in Purgatory, is a very efficacious form of prayer.
 
I’ll be honest, I have not fasted on a regular basis and sometimes not even on Fridays (no meat), but reading this post has given me inspiration to get “focussed” once again. I guess I allow myself to get lazy. Thank you to you all!!! That’s why I like visiting this forum!!! I plan to renew my efforts and what I know to be beneficial to my soul!
 
YES, I fast often for two or three days- water only. But if I had health issues, I wouldn’t fast as often.

St. Martin’s day, yeah, it’ll get rougher. I won’t break it 'til I have to. Good luck with yours, too.
  • Horab
 
Horab said:
YES, I fast often for two or three days- water only. But if I had health issues, I wouldn’t fast as often.

St. Martin’s day, yeah, it’ll get rougher. I won’t break it 'til I have to. Good luck with yours, too.
  • Horab
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Huh? St. Martin’s day was November 11.
 
mercygate said:
Huh? St. Martin’s day was November 11.
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Under the guidelines of the CFP, penitents who are able to do so (without damage to health) are encouraged to do a fast from 12 November to 24 December. Also the 40 days of Lent. And abstinance on all Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
 
I used to do a bread and water fast on Fridays, but have temporarily stopped. As a nursing mom, it was indeed difficult. I just did it for breakfast and lunch, and ate a my normal non-meat Friday dinner when I got home. I thought it was the most I could afford to do, since I still nurse. If Im not careful, I get very weak.

However, from the perspective of spiritual benefits, the first time I fasted for a specific intention, I got immediate results! Ever since, though, I can’t say that. I do feel, however, that I’m benefitting on a spiritual level that I’m just not perceiving right now. It’s there, though…and if it’s not benefitting ME tangibly, it’s going for the benefit of someone else, somewhere in the world…or purgatory. The sacrifice is never without effect, believe me!
 
Mummybee said:
I used to do a bread and water fast on Fridays, but have temporarily stopped. As a nursing mom, it was indeed difficult. I just did it for breakfast and lunch, and ate a my normal non-meat Friday dinner when I got home. I thought it was the most I could afford to do, since I still nurse. If Im not careful, I get very weak.
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My Physician ordered me NOT to do a bread and water fast at my age and in my condition. Balanced meals, and juices in between if needed.
 
I find fasting very helpful with regard to chastity. I’m not sure what the exact connection is but it is a blessing from God. My wife left me some six years ago and it helps with the celebecy. :bowdown2:
 
nursing and pregnant mothers were never required to fast even under the old disciplines, and should not without permission of their physician. With all the healthy non-meat alternatives available today, abstinence from meat should pose no hardship.

I do abstain every Friday, but my fast is adhering to the rather strict medical diet I am on for diabetes. Since I started making my food journal part of my spiritual journal, and writing the way my spriritual director suggests, that discipline has been incorporated into a way to strenghten me physically as well as spiritually.

I note the time I eat, the amount, the quality (for diet purposes protein and carb grams, and blood sugar before and 2 hrs after the meal) and why I eat. Is it for nutrition, because the clock says it is time–I am supposed to eat the same amount at the same time every day–because I feel hungry, emotional eating etc. This is called the Food Thought and helps put that thought arising from the senses in its proper place and perspective. I practice the monastic discipline of obedience, in this case toward my doctor who has authority over me in this area.

what this has done overall is make food itself much less of an issue than it has been for me in the past. Since meal planning is much simpler with less choice, I do not spend hours thinking, planning, making menues, shopping, buying what I don’t need, wasting food that does not get eaten, worrying about the next meal before I finish this one. That I think is healthy on all levels.
 
I was fasting for 40 days and by the time the 40 days were over I was 40 pounds underwieght and ended up in the hospital.
 
djamu said:
I was fasting for 40 days and by the time the 40 days were over I was 40 pounds underwieght and ended up in the hospital.
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Condolances. My Physician made it quite clear that I was not to loose more then 1 or 2 pounds a week. Once I was at my proper weight, I was to stay there. She pointed out that we are allowed milk and fruit juice between meals, and that skim (non-fat) milk was an excellent source of protein and non-fat calories. 👍

And if that was not enough to maintain my weight, I would give up the strict fast and have a light third meal as needed for health. I firmly believe that fasting should not damage your body, which is a temple of The Holy Spirit (opinion).

(Aside. I have had my current Physician for almost 20 years. My co-workers at the Post Office were flabbergasted when I told them about her. Yes, HER. It seems a lot of them would not be comfortable with a woman doing all that inspection “down there”. :rolleyes:

Oh, and she is Black and I am White, and I couldn’t care less. She is the best Physician I’ve ever had. Actually, she is a Physician’s Assisstent, working under the supervison of her Husband, who has the MD. 🙂
 
It’s important to distinguish dieting from fasting: one diets for the health of one’s body, whereas one fasts to the salvation of one’s soul.

And there can be nos fasting without prayer: the latter gets us closer to God, the former, farther from what’s not God’s.

:blessyou:
 
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