How do you fast?

[Saber_Mom]

I’m a lifelong Catholic and yes, I do fast during Lent on Good Friday and Ash Wednesday, but I want to do a longer fast with the intentions of growing closer to Our Lady and Jesus Himself while praying for my kids, my husband and their faith journey.

Is there a good book/website to help me that anyone here can recommend? I know I can use my “googlefu” techniques, but I figured I’d get much better suggestions from all of you here. Any tips from personal experience? I’d like to do a 40 day Fast, but because I have an autoimmune disease, I am on prescriptions and have to have some food in my belly, so a complete fast on only liquids probably won’t suffice.

Thank you all so much!

 

[Casilda]

I didnt do very well with the fasting that abstains from food, I was at one time hypoglycemic and prediabetic. I have to carefully watch my blood sugar balance. You may be interested in the Eastern Orthodox fasting which involves fasting from certain foods but not complete abstainance from all foods. I am glad that the Pope now encourages us to once again abstain from meat on Fridays.

orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/pr_fasting.aspx

 

[JosieN]

A good book to read is “God’s Chosen Fast” written by Arthur Wallis. There are many kinds of fasts. The two most common fasts are to eat no food one day per week but you are allowed one small meal either in the evening or late afternoon and to drink water and the other is a bread and water fast and you can eat as much bread as you like. I think it is important to pray often when fasting as the two are equally important.

 

[svid2]

Pax Christi!

Sometimes I fast on Fridays: nothing all day until supper.

Life is a team sport, so I post online my fasting intention at CAF on Friday morning and get good responses; this give me encouragement and prayer support.

A good source is www.e5men.org. It’s intended for husbands who fast for their wives, but they have great advice for any and all who fast, like extra prayer the day before, and, well, just check it out. They will even send you e-mail reminders when your fast-day is coming up.

I’m thinking of starting a fasting group here in these forums. Interested? I’m surprised that there isn’t one already.

Or is there?

God bless.

 

[Ad_Orientem]

If you have a medical condition, I wouldn’t recommend doing long, severe fasts. If you throw something off balance, it could have serious consequences. That you want to do more is itself an opportunity for self-denial, perhaps more profitable than fasting. Denial of the will is, after all, what gives fasting its value.

You might try denying yourself particular kinds of foods which you really like, say, sweets or rich meats, while eating more healthy things you don’t like as much (such as greens and vegetables).

 

[JasonLovesJesus]

You must be very fast in order to fast!

 

[Sunbreak]

Perhaps you could do a modified fast with eating things like salads and vegetables and drink fresh vegetable juice. I wouldn’t go with a fruit juice fast because of the high natural sugar content in fruits. If you do a more severe fast it is normal to have headaches within the first few days. If you have a stricter fast for an extended time period, it is better to ease into foods when you come off the fast - start with foods that are easier to digest (meats are not easy to digest).

 

[Saber_Mom]

You may be interested in the Eastern Orthodox fasting which involves fasting from certain foods but not complete abstainance from all foods. I am glad that the Pope now encourages us to once again abstain from meat on Fridays.

orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/pr_fasting.aspx

Thank you so much for the link. I checked it out - very informative! I like the suggestion of no-meat Fridays. I can do that. Thank you.

A good book to read is “God’s Chosen Fast” written by Arthur Wallis. There are many kinds of fasts. The two most common fasts are to eat no food one day per week but you are allowed one small meal either in the evening or late afternoon and to drink water and the other is a bread and water fast and you can eat as much bread as you like. I think it is important to pray often when fasting as the two are equally important.

Thank you. I will try to find that book.

Pax Christi!

Life is a team sport, so I post online my fasting intention at CAF on Friday morning and get good responses; this give me encouragement and prayer support.

A good source is www.e5men.org. It’s intended for husbands who fast for their wives, but they have great advice for any and all who fast, like extra prayer the day before, and, well, just check it out. They will even send you e-mail reminders when your fast-day is coming up.

I’m thinking of starting a fasting group here in these forums. Interested? I’m surprised that there isn’t one already.

Thanks for the link - I will check it out as soon as I’m done with this post. I would love to join a fasting group here on the forum. Please keep me in mind if you decide to set one up. Thank you.

If you have a medical condition, I wouldn’t recommend doing long, severe fasts. If you throw something off balance, it could have serious consequences. That you want to do more is itself an opportunity for self-denial, perhaps more profitable than fasting. Denial of the will is, after all, what gives fasting its value.

You might try denying yourself particular kinds of foods which you really like, say, sweets or rich meats, while eating more healthy things you don’t like as much (such as greens and vegetables).

This is great! Why didn’t I think of this? I will definitely do this. I’m not a fan of veggies and a huge fan of what’s-not-good-for-me, so this will be good. I really want to be in a state of self-denial.

You must be very fast in order to fast!

LOVE THIS!!

Perhaps you could do a modified fast with eating things like salads and vegetables and drink fresh vegetable juice. I wouldn’t go with a fruit juice fast because of the high natural sugar content in fruits. If you do a more severe fast it is normal to have headaches within the first few days. If you have a stricter fast for an extended time period, it is better to ease into foods when you come off the fast - start with foods that are easier to digest (meats are not easy to digest).

Good ideas. Thank you so much!

Again - thanks to all of you. Whenever I think of fasting, I think of Jesus in the desert - no food, only water. I feel silly admitting that I hadn’t thought of just giving up my favorite foods. I really want to be in a state of self denial/total submission to God, but even giving up daily comforts like soda and sweets will be huge for me.

Thank you.

 

[Saber_Mom]

Pax Christi!

A good source is www.e5men.org. It’s intended for husbands who fast for their wives, but they have great advice for any and all who fast, like extra prayer the day before, and, well, just check it out. They will even send you e-mail reminders when your fast-day is coming up.

I just checked out this link. They have one for women as well. Thanks for the great resource!

 

[naomily]

I have certain dietary restrictions that make it unhealthy for me to fast in the traditional sense. A priest recommended a sort of shortcut I’ll share: instead of eating less food, eat bland, cheap food. So, I’ll have rice krispies in a bag for lunch as opposed to my usual fancy cafeteria salad. This allows me to get all the calories I need to stay productive while still “giving up” a certain decadence.

 

[svid2]

Pax Christi!

Just a quick heads-up: I’ve started a new group, The Fasting Group. It’s open to any and all who fast, or support those who fast, or are simply curious.

forums.catholic-questions.org/group.php?groupid=1838

Join us, and share your thoughts, questions, links and intentions.

God bless.

P.S. I’m also sending PMs out.

 

[Stillsosola]

I fast from sun up to sunset on wed friday and saturday i ear no meat on theses days nor fish just beans and tortillas nothing but water to drink once during lent i abstained completely from meat but eneded up anemic if you have health issues try not eating meat on your fast days or maybe just some bread and broth?