Fasting

[Dominus Fidelis]

The other thread got me thinking about the coming season of Lent...

For people that fast on only water for extended periods of time...how much muscle did you lose?

Or if you fasted using some foods...how much and which foods and how much muscle did you lose?

 

[Benedicta00]

The point of fasting is not to starve or to see how long you can go with out. It is to make a sacrifice. You can fast just as effectively by only skipping one meal.

 

[ps139]

The point of fasting is not to starve or to see how long you can go with out. It is to make a sacrifice. You can fast just as effectively by only skipping one meal.

A few days without food will have much more effect on you than skipping a meal.

 

[nyj]

Before you try fasting for multiple days, try fasting (just water) for a single day. A couple of years ago I fasted every friday of Lent. When I mean I fasted, I mean I didn't have any food for the entire day and just had water to drink.

It was horrible. Even going 26-30 hours without food was painful. So much so that I would wait up to 12:01am Saturday to eat because I couldn't take it. Of course, stuffing my face at 12:01 was sort of counterproductive to fasting the entire day (in my opinion) so I haven't done it since. Now I just follow the Church norms (two smaller meals, one normal meal and abstain from meat).

 

[thereselittleflower]

The other thread got me thinking about the coming season of Lent...

For people that fast on only water for extended periods of time...how much muscle did you lose?

Or if you fasted using some foods...how much and which foods and how much muscle did you lose?

I h ave never measured my muscle mass while on a fast . .. but I don't believe you even start to loose muscle until at least 3 weeks of a water only fast . .


Peace in Him!

 

[Kelly]

I had never fasted before (and I am type 2 diabetic). I decided to do a 3 day water/juice fast. The first 24 hours were very difficult. I had very bad headaches, but I have learned that these are from caffiene and sugar withdrawl. Next time I will prepare in advance by removing caffiene from my diet for a week or so before I fast.

I purposefully did not weigh myself before I began because I didn't want to focus on the physical aspects of fasting. I will say that my prayers to God seemed to come from much more deeply within me, and I brought up a lot of sins from my past that I had iced over in the past.

In the future I may do one day fasts or perhaps a week of fasting where I do not eat for twenty four hours and then have a basic meal in the evening.

(whoops, this is the catholic forum...Oh well, I hope the info is useful, and I was raised catholic, if that counts!)

 

[thereselittleflower]

Before you try fasting for multiple days, try fasting (just water) for a single day. A couple of years ago I fasted every friday of Lent. When I mean I fasted, I mean I didn't have any food for the entire day and just had water to drink.

It was horrible. Even going 26-30 hours without food was painful. So much so that I would wait up to 12:01am Saturday to eat because I couldn't take it. Of course, stuffing my face at 12:01 was sort of counterproductive to fasting the entire day (in my opinion) so I haven't done it since. Now I just follow the Church norms (two smaller meals, one normal meal and abstain from meat).

Hi nyj

The first 1-3 days of a water only fast can be very hard . . but after 3 days, the desire for food leaves . . . if you can get past 3 days, you will see what I mean . . .

My experience with a prolonged water fast was posted in the fasting before communion thread . . in that case, I didn't suffer one moment, even from the outset . . which makes me believe I was called to that fast in particular . .

But I have had times where fasting for a few days was very difficult . .

Everything I have read on fasting generally agrees this difficult period lasts for 2-3 days, then the difficult part passes and you are relatively free of hunger pains. feeling a sense of euphoria and well being, until starvation sets in, sometimes as early as 21 days. but not usually until 30-40 days . .

I hope that helps!


Peace in Him!

 

[Dominus Fidelis]

Before you try fasting for multiple days, try fasting (just water) for a single day. A couple of years ago I fasted every friday of Lent. When I mean I fasted, I mean I didn't have any food for the entire day and just had water to drink.

It was horrible. Even going 26-30 hours without food was painful. So much so that I would wait up to 12:01am Saturday to eat because I couldn't take it. Of course, stuffing my face at 12:01 was sort of counterproductive to fasting the entire day (in my opinion) so I haven't done it since. Now I just follow the Church norms (two smaller meals, one normal meal and abstain from meat).

You wimp! You couldnt go without food for 24 hours?

 

[nyj]

You wimp! You couldnt go without food for 24 hours?

I did go 24 hours without food, I was just completely miserable doing so.

 

[Dominus Fidelis]

I did go 24 hours without food, I was just completely miserable doing so.

Must be the Italian food thing.

 

[thereselittleflower]

I did go 24 hours without food, I was just completely miserable doing so.

nyj I am sure we can find some good out of this . . just think of how wonderful it is that you have such sufferings to unite to the sufferings of Christ and can offer them on behalf of others and the poor souls in purgatory!


Peace in Him!

 

[ukok]

Before you try fasting for multiple days, try fasting (just water) for a single day. A couple of years ago I fasted every friday of Lent. When I mean I fasted, I mean I didn't have any food for the entire day and just had water to drink.

It was horrible. Even going 26-30 hours without food was painful. So much so that I would wait up to 12:01am Saturday to eat because I couldn't take it. Of course, stuffing my face at 12:01 was sort of counterproductive to fasting the entire day (in my opinion) so I haven't done it since. Now I just follow the Church norms (two smaller meals, one normal meal and abstain from meat).

that sounds like the kind of thing that I would do!

 

[nyj]

Must be the Italian food thing.

Probably.

nyj I am sure we can find some good out of this . . just think of how wonderful it is that you have such sufferings to unite to the sufferings of Christ and can offer them on behalf of others and the poor souls in purgatory!

True, however that was not what I was doing at the time. I was bemoaning about how rough I was having it and didn't give a single thought to those suffering here on earth or in purgatory. That's why I ultimately decided that me fasting like that was counterproductive. Rather than get my mind focused less on me and more on others, I made it worse. Perhaps I was less spiritually mature then (as if I'm ever mature) but I'm hesitant to fast again for that very reason.

 

[ukok]

I'm going to make a confession here ( and i'm not big on public confession, but it is pertinent to the thread topic)~ i have a lot of problems with food, namely that i eat far too much, but i have been on the verge of annorexia, i have been bulimic, i have fasted for 5 days at a time ( not for religious purposes-just to lose weight), and currently i am having a hard time trying to handle my compulsion to food. when i have attempted to fast, i have craved it more. I feel that it is a very unhealthy thing for me to embark upon at the moment~ i never eat breakfast but i more than compensate for that the rest of the day, so perhaps it would be simpler for me to omitt one meal a day, rather than go the whole day~ especially in my current state!

 

[MariaRegina]

Do the Catholics have a canon that states that if you are pregnant, or have health difficulties (diabetic, bulimic, anorexic, depression, etc.) you should not fast, but can observe some other penitential practice?

 

[thereselittleflower]

Do the Catholics have a canon that states that if you are pregnant, or have health difficulties (diabetic, bulimic, anorexic, depression, etc.) you should not fast, but can observe some other penitential practice?

Hi Chanter, I believe that the Catholic Church only encourages those who do not have a condition that would be contraindicative of fasting to fast . . but if there is something that could make it harmful, they are not to fast but, as you said, observe some other penitential practice . .

Children are not to fast for instance . .


Peace in Him!

 

[John the Engineer]

I am on day 10 or so of a fast, but some people do what's called a Daniel's fast. Basically you don't give up eating all together, but you eat simple food. You don't add salt and pepper and butter and things. You have potatoes and salad without salad dressings and chedder and bacon and all.

The point of a fast is to quiet and slow down your body. To be sensitive to the spirit and pursuing God. If you're working and busy you CAN'T do a complete fast. In my fast I eat only when I must to have energy to do work. Since I'm currently not in any classes and work is not too busy right now, some days I won't eat at all, but other days I will have bread and salad. No butter on the bread and no salad.

People get into "X amount of days with no food!" and don't realize the purpose of it. You're looking for God, and you're taking the time you would be eating to pray and seek the Lord. That's what fasting is about!

I also did a fast that I would only "break bread" (eat) with Christian fellowship. This meant I would eat with my family, or eat with Christians, but would not eat alone to my indulgence or with friends. If I found myself desiring food I would know that I could take the time to pray and seek God.

My church (Protestant) encourages people to do Daniel's fasts instead. Just because you have to have energy to be able to function at work or such. To tell your boss your work has been sloppy because you haven't eaten in days "for God" doesn't give good witness of the Lord, that he's asking you to do bad work in his name!

 

[ChoirDir]

I'm interested in finding out what Catholics think about the changes in fast rules over the years. Way back during Lent, Catholics fasting was similar to Orthodoxy in that no meat was to be partaken, it was later changed to Fridays only. I have also heard that fasting on Fridays all year long is no longer manditory.

 

[nyj]

I have also heard that fasting on Fridays all year long is no longer manditory.

Has fasting ever been mandatory? It seems to me as if such penances are always voluntary. The Church has laid before the flock the Precepts of the Church, which it makes known is the bare minimum to maintain a healthy spirit and moral outlook on life. A shepherd can only lead the sheep to pasture, he cannot force them to eat if they do not want to.

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Catechism of the Catholic Church

CCC 1438 The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church's penitential practice. These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works).

CCC 2043 The fourth precept ("You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church") ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.

The Code of Canon Law (1983)

Can. 1250 The days and times of penance for the universal Church are each Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.

Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Can. 1252 The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.

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The Catholic Church has not changed as much as you believe it has since Vatican II ChoirDir.

 

[ChoirDir]

NYJ:
Thanks for your answers, I seem to remember after Vatican II that the rules regarding fasting were changed. I am a convert to Orthodoxy from RC. I remember our Parish Priest saying that because of the changes in rules you only had to fast on Friday's during Lent.

Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

I remember the old days pre-Vatican II when fish was the only thing you could eat on fast day.
The Orthodox Church rules on fasting are quite different, no meat or dairy products are allowed.

Thanks again for your input