2018 Lenten Fasting

[ron-coleman]

Hello all again! Last year I fasted for all of lent, 46 days, and it was quite an experience! I had my ups and downs during that journey and I do look at it as a bit of a pilgrimage for me.

This year I am looking at doing something a little different and something that others may want to join me in doing: I plan to fast Wednesday through Friday each week of Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday. My last meal each week will be Tuesday evening and I will eat again on Saturday so each fast will be approximately 84 hours.

Fasting days:

• Feb 14 - Feb 16
• Feb 21 - Feb 23
• Feb 28 - Mar 2
• Mar 7 - Mar 9
• Mar 14 - Mar 16
• Mar 21 - Mar 23
• Mar 28 - Mar 30

As a Catholic we are obligated, as a matter of discipline, to fast (ages 18-58) and abstain from red meat (ages 15+) during lent. In the US fasting is required on Ash Wednesday (Feb 14) and Good Friday (Mar 30) and consists of 1 meal and 2 snacks which together do not add up to a meal. Abstinence is required on all Fridays of Lent. Because I plan to do a fast Wednesday-Friday I will comply with both of these disciplines.

How I define my fasts may change each week between a water fast (water and black coffee) or I may allow some fat by adding HWC to my coffee a couple times a day. This is the beauty of fasting that there is not only 1 definition: it can be defined by each individual to meet their needs and desires.

I have been eating more of a zero carb style for the last few months so my eating days will contain lots of red meat. I have found this to help me by avoiding carb filled distractions. My plan is to get to only animal sourced foods (ASF) on my feeding days.

I will probably post most days but I don’t think I will include all of the tables and graphs I used last year. I will talk about how the weekly fasts make me feel and any benefits I see.

I welcome all those who want to join me in this pilgrimage or just follow along.

[migorstmarseille]

I was inspired by your full-lenten fast last year, and hearing about it on the 2KD podcast. I’ll join you on this one.

[Nickip13]

I’ve been brainstorming about a similar fast for Lent. I think it’s a great idea to prayerfully offer up the fasts I will join you on this.

[collaroygal]

Bookmarked to follow along. I will probably do a few of those but not anywhere near all of them. I’ll be doing them as a Spring cleaning exercise.

KCFO

[avocadosrule]

Good luck, Ron! Following…

[lfb1]

Except for Ash Wednesday, why not fast Thur - Sat. Sunday does not any Lent fast requirements, Saturday does

[ron-coleman]

@lfb1 As far as I know there are no requirements to fast on any Saturday in Lent. You are correct that all Sundays in Lent are not fasting or abstinence days and that is why Lent is considered to be 40 days instead of the actual 46 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.

I chose Wed-Fri each week as there are many church and social engagements on the weekends for me and I did not want to fast on those days as I did last year. On Fridays we have a fish fry but I normally can’t eat anything there as everything is breaded and the coleslaw has sugar.

[PaulL]

Traditionally, all the days of Lent are fast days, but the Sundays are not actually part of Lent, being Feasts of Our Lord. (If you count backward from Easter, with Holy Saturday as one, you will see how it works. Ash Wednesday is actually the 46th day before Easter.) In other parts of the year, it is customary to fast on Fridays (and occasionally on Wednesdays also), but it is actually forbidden to fast during the great fifty days of Eastertide (from Easter Sunday through the Day of Pentecost).

Fasting is defined as a reduction in quantity of food (i.e., the one meal and two small snacks @ron-coleman mentioned) ; abstinence as a reduction in quality (i.e., abstaining from meat). The original Christian notion of fasting involved complete avoidance of food, but the discipline has been tempered over the centuries. (And technically there is an exemption for laborers who need enough fuel to do their jobs.)

[lfod14]

Since I started fasting I always said I should muster up the balls to fast for all of lent, I dunno though. Also, Isn’t lent 40 days? You did 46? I really gotta relearn my crap. I got a 4yo and me and the wife said we gotta start bringing the kid to church to get him used to it and I’m so out of it I don’t know if I’d know half the stuff to do or say at this point. Gotta get my stuff together before he’s in CCD and immediately knows more than me. I gotta start getting a lent fasting gameplan together.

[elaine1]

I really gotta relearn my crap.

OMG this made me smile so big:)

[SlowBurnMary]

What a great idea to invite others on the journey - am cheering ya’ll on!

I really enjoyed reading the book by the Romanian Eastern Orthodox christian Christian Vlad Zot Periodic Fasting: Repair your DNA, Grow Younger, and Learn to Appreciate your Food where he shares his cultural background related to religious fasting as practiced by his peasant grandparents - and the differences he’s experienced in doing it LCHF/keto!

Lots of other great stuff in it on the physiology & biochemistry of non-human species who fast and hibernate, along with little-known historical writings on fasting wisdom from Upton Sinclair (who lived to be 90) Luigi Cornaro (who lived to be 102).

[ron-coleman]

@lfod14 As we mentioned above, the Sundays of Lent are not counted in the ‘40 days of Lent’ but are ‘Feasts of Our Lord’ as mentioned by @PaulL. I did fast for the entire 46 days, including Sundays, last year and documented my journey here:

A really extended fast: going for 46-days!

In that thread I talk about different ways of fasting for Lent, with a lot of help from other members, and do mention that we are not required to fast on Sundays and how I came to my decision to fast the entire time. I hope my experience helps you to decide!

If you decide to do the long fast I will be here for you and will follow your journey as well!

[ron-coleman]

@SlowBurnMary Thank you Mary, I have read the book after I heard Prof Richard Feinman talk about it on a few YouTube videos: very interesting. I think I may read it again this spring!

[KarenAnn]

I have been planning Wednesday and Friday fasts during Lent and then a five day fast at the end of Lent so I am very happy to have found this discussion.

[Rkgina]

I’m in!

[crunchypharmd]

I’m in agreement of having a WHOLE LOT to relearn about the church. Fasting does help me w spiritual clarity. I’m in, but may put more training wheels on for the first fast, depending on how it goes. So far I have only made it to 48 hours!

[ron-coleman]

@crunchypharmd The more I learn the more I realize how much there is to learn - learning is a life long process so never be afraid to keep learning. That includes learning to fast which is done through practice.

2 years ago I would never have thought I could go past 24 hours let alone get to 48 hours like you. It is something you have to build up to. I mentioned in by other thread that I practiced beginning in the previous August with a 3-day fast and then fasted a few days longer each month until I got to a 9-day fast in January. That really helped me do the 46 days and gave me the confidence I needed to begin and keep going.

The first 2-3 days are the hardest and as Dr. Jason Fung says “don’t just fast for 48 hours as those are the most difficult!” Each time you fast the first days will get easier so don’t fear them. Build up your ‘fasting muscle’ at whatever pace feels good to you so you do not get discouraged .

I may suggest that you try to fast once or twice before Lent for practice and see if you can get past that 48 hour mark. Look at fasting as a personal goal, you can reach higher goals if you work at it but it is a personal journey.

I set my goal this Lent to be 3-days each week as, I hope, more people can join with me. The hardest part of fasting is our social schedules. Last year I went to numerous business dinners where I drank nothing but coffee, went to a couple of retreats where they had great smelling BBQ meats, and even visited with my granddaughters for a few days where I just didn’t eat because of my fast.

I lived through all of those temptations but it was really difficult at times. My wife thinks I’m crazy for doing keto and the fast was just another annoyance for her! It did add a bit of tension as she was tired of my explaining my fast to friends we would dine with. Such is life!

I am really glad I stuck to my Lenten commitment last year and am going to fervently stick to this year’s as well! Welcome to the group and remember that fasting is personal, listen to your body and do what you can!

[Joe_Schuyler]

I, too have been thinking of doing a Lenten fast this year. I’ll give this a shot.

[ron-coleman]

Welcome to the group!

[Joe_Schuyler]

Thanks, Ron! What would you say would be the biggest lesson that you learned from your Lenten fast last year?