posted
Why do you do it? Is it for spiritual or religious reasons? Is it for health reasons? What are the benefits? What are the drawbacks, and how do you deal with them? Do you fast regularly, or on impulse? Do you usually fast a long time, or only a day at a time? What does it involve; are you on a water-only basis, or is it just solid foods you cut out?
posted
Fasting for me is both spiritual and physical.
For me it's about denying the physical impulses and urges. A way of showing that you control your body. That you put the spiritual before the physical.
It's also about "sacrifice" to me and giving up what one desires or craves.
Physically, it's also about cleaning yourself out.
Kinda like old gas in your gas tank, it needs to be flushed.
My opinion (take this with a grain of salt) is that the bodies we have been given are not perfect but are "trial" bodies. They are imperfect and subject to disease and death and in need of maintenance and self respect.
The way we handle our imperfect bodies here is our way of proving that we are capable and/or "have what it takes" to be rewarded with the perfect body later on.
Fasting to me is one way of showing that as much as our bodies dictate or daily lives, we are also expected to control them.
posted
Does it count as fasting if I just forget to eat for a day or two? I rarely get hungry, and eat anywhere from 0 to 2 meals a day.
I usually do the opposite of fasting, which would be forcing myself to eat when I do not feel like it.
The benefits of fasting? Probably greater control over meat desires, for one. If it is an x-day commitment, religious or otherwise, it is something to strive for. The drawbacks would be the feeling of weakness one gets after a few days of not eating, if you go that long.
<tangent> Does what anorexics do count as fasting? Lots of them say they like the feeling of control it gives them to deny their body. Perhaps it is only fasting when done in moderation. Are there many (any?) similarities in the psychologies of fasters and anorexics? </tangent>
Posts: 281 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
[replying to tangent] I don't know, but I have the impression that the difference between fasting and anorexia is somewhat similar to the difference between drinking a beer from time to time and alcoholism. Of course, I may be wrong. [/replying to tangent]
posted
Various religious leaders have told me (not personally, just as part of a congregation) that I ought to fast. However, when I miss just one or two meals (usually due to forgetting to eat/not having any convenient way of getting food) I become extremely irritable and depressed. I don't even necessarily feel hungry. I just know my body needs food because I can't function. As a consequence, I have never fasted for relgious reasons. Anyone else feel like this when they fast? Does it go away after you've fasted a few times?
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posted
I think fasting is more than drinking a beer. I think a better analogy would be fasting is to getting drunk on New Year's and July 4 as anorexia is to alcoholism. I think skipping a meal, intentionally or otherwise, would be the analogue to drinking a beer.
From what I understand there are slight risks involved with fasting, although you can easily do it (relatively) safely. Same with getting drunk on special occasions.
Of course, AFAIK fasting rarely leads to anorexia, and drinking on special occasions leads to alcoholism fairly regularly.
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posted
Shigosei -- I react the same way when I fast. I've been fasting about once a month for over 15 years now, but I have never gotten used to it. For me, it's just plain hard, every time.
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posted
For me, purposeful fasting is a lot different than just missing meals. When I purposely fast, I get hungry, but it's not my focus and isn't especially bothersome. When I just happen to not eat without having planned to, I get very irritable and have a hard time thinking of anything other than food.
I'm sure you could ascribe this to a psychosomatic effect. I believe it's an effect of spiritual "nourishment", which I can feel if I'm fasting properly, compensating for physical hunger.
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posted
Shigosei made me think of something else. Are vitamin pills considered food?
If fasting makes you irritable, I would say do not do it. On the other hand, with enough practice (possibly more than is physically healthy) in that state of nutrition, you can probably learn to control your mental state. Practice may not even be necessary; just knowing in advance that you will be hungry might be enough to put you in a totally different state of mind.
Generally, when you intentionally alter your mind's function in any way, which fasting does, what you feel is largely (not totally) based on how you expect to feel. If you are expecting to feel a closer connection to God, you will. If you expect to be irritable and hungry, you will. Depending on how much you want to fast, you might as well try it once. It may be the same as missing a meal, but then again it might not.
Also, you might start feeling better after you go 24 or 48 or however many hours without food. Your brain will get used to the lowered levels of nutrients and adjust its functioning accordingly.
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posted
Some health regimens use fasting as a way of cleansing the system. Andrew Weil is into it. Some people do a juice fast, so they will have energy, others just water. I would guess that more than a day of fasting a week would not be a good idea. The key is to drink a lot of water.
I consider the time in between meals to be fasting. Sad, but true.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Danzig, the problem with going that route is that I don't see a point to having religious experiences when I'm in a state of significantly altered consciousness. Since anything that happens to me could very well be my brain playing tricks on me, I wouldn't know whether my experience was genuine. It's very important to me that I experience God when I am not in an overly emotional state.
I also just can't get myself to believe that fasting will help me take my mind off my physical needs. The way to stop focusing on physical needs is to fill them. I rarely think about peeing...except when my bladder's full and then it's an obsession. So if I want to focus on God, I would take care of my body first so it does not distract me. Of course, as I said I have never fasted for spiritual reasons and perhaps it's something I'd need to experience to understand.
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posted
I have purposely fasted before, in order to focus on prayer. I've found it to be a very positive experience, but it's not something I do often.
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posted
I've thought about fasting for Ramadan, but I never have because I'm not sure of the precise rules. I'm no Muslim, of course, and if I ever do it, it won't be for spiritual reasons. It would be for the same reason I always give something up for Lent even though I'm not a Catholic; I believe that temporarily giving up something you love from time to time when you don't have to is an excellent way of honing your willpower and making you a stronger person. When I deny myself like that, I'm proving to myself that I can do it. It helps me stay strong enough to fight addictions, which I would otherwise be rather prone to.
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I read a book about fasting a while ago, and what I remember is this: You should start with short fasts, not eating from dinner one day to dinner the next.
Then move on to 24 hour fasts ie. not eating from dinner one day to breakfast the next.
Two to four day fasts, these days, either on their own or as part of a longer fast are the worst, this is when bad breath, etc. sets in and you feel awful, it gets better.
Week to 2 weeks, this is the best part of the fast, your body is used to not eating and you can function normally.
Month long fasts, you get really weak by the end, do not do unless you consult with a doctor beforehand, and only for a really good reason.
I'm sorry this isn't more specific, it's been a good year since I read the book.
Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
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posted
Wow, you know I honestly thought that people only fast on holidays that you are supposed to fast on. I never realized people do it when it's not a fasting holiday or when they're commanded to by their religion. I fast on Yom Kippur and Tisha Be'av, but I don't think I would be able to do it on a day of my choice and on my own free will. That's hard. You guys are tough.
Posts: 853 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
What I'm curious about is how many people don't drink when they fast. I always thought fasting was just without eating, until I joined the LDS Church, and now it's become no food or drink.
So ... what about all y'all, drinking durring fasting or no?
posted
I drink, and I eat in the morning when I have to take my medications, because without some food in my system I will get very sick.
So, I start my day with crackers and ice water. Throughout the day I drink water when I feel thirsty.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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See, the reason I started this thread is because yesterday, I didn't eat a single bite. I got up in the morning, and decided not to eat. My mom had recommended it a few days before, just converstionally, and I thought it was a real bad idea, and then forgot all about it. So I really don't know why I did it. I had nothing but water till breakfast this morning.
It was a strange experience. I would get pretty hungry, and even slightly dizzy, around mealtimes. Then, my hunger went away. I was more tired by evening, and this morning when I got up I felt rather weak, but all in all, I felt pretty good. Oddly enough, I got the impression that it had really done me some good, though I couldn't put my finger on it. I was calmer, less nervous, I was able to stop worrying about all those pesky insignificant things that are always flitting through my mind. I was able to pray better.
So I'm wondering if I should consider incorporating this as a regular feature of my lifestyle. It's kind of curious.
I need to lose weight too... Posts: 1996 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
As an LDS person, I generally avoid both food and drink during a fast. However, if there is some danger of dehydration because of the weather, etc., then I will drink something. For example, during parts of my mission I was on or near the coastlines of Central America. During a normal day, I drank gallons of water. I could not afford to go entirely without during a fast.
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posted
I heard that you can't survive more than three days without water... So I don't think I'll try that one.
I did find, however, that drinking water kindof woke up my stomach and made me feel hungry again, for a few minutes. So I tried not to drink water too often.
Posts: 1996 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
That may not always be precisely true (especially if you mean, without drinking water--food contains some water in it), but it is close enough for most purposes, and certainly if you are fasting. Your body is always losing water to things like imperceptible sweat and evaporating saliva...even tears. So you have to replace it somehow.
Posts: 1114 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
When I fast I go without water and food. However, on occasion I will take some sips of water, but that is the exception. Fasting for religious reasons is more about the intent not the "not eating" though that is a key component. For some people, those with medical issues or pregnant/nursing women, fasting in the sense of going without food and water is not wise. But you can give up something else for that time so that the purpose of your fast is still attained. I know I'm not wording this well, its hard to explain what I mean so I hope someone can understand what I'm getting at....
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posted
I think I get what you mean, Wendy...the point of fasting is not primarily not to eat (although the psychophysical effects may help if you are a mystic), but to understand deprivation. One can "fast" by depriving oneself of other things than food.
Posts: 1114 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
I do not have any religious reasons to fast, but I never participate in anything for which I deny myself to be without food because, and it could be construed as a rather selfish and insensitive attitude, I do not want to do that to myself.
In the past I have had a panic disorder that involved trouble eating, which may have something to do with my feeling on this subject. If I have the opportunity to eat, and I feel hungry, I will eat, and I am very glad to be able to do so without worry. Another reason is that I am very thin and the headache, lack of thinking or reasoning power, lethargy and bad temper sets in rediculously quickly.
If I am without food for some reason I make it a point to not complain.
I respect other people's reasons for fasting but do no wish to ever fast myself, especially without water.
EDIT: I feel that although nothing can compare to experiencing it first hand, understanding deprevation is something I should be able to do with my mind alone.
posted
Fasting is a really good way to ensure that you'll end up with gallstones, and will probably have to have your gall bladder removed surgically. My wife was really into fasting in her teens and twenties, and by 35 she had intense abdominal pain. An ultrasound showed her gall bladder was completely full of stones.
At the pre-surgical appointment, one of the first questions the doctor asked was whether she fasted. Fasting lets the bile remain in the gall bladder for too long, and the result is gallstones. You have to have something stimulating it on a regular basis or it will lead to gallstones.
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