Anyone participating in Lent this year?

yogioats
yogioats Posts: 33 Member
in Motivation and Support
Is anyone going to participate in Lent? Ash Wednesday on March 5 marks the first day. What will you abstain from if you choose to participate? I am thinking about making my focus on health this year. I may give up weighing myself so I can focus on how I feel. Any other ideas or thoughts? I realize this will not be very appealing for the non-Catholics. Thanks!
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Replies

  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
    Nope kinda like a New years resolution
    never stick to it. Why bother?
  • Edensienna
    Edensienna Posts: 180 Member
    Yes I try every year to abstain from something I love.

    Last year it was chocolate. This year I may try bread. It's a test of willpower that I welcome :)
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    Last year I started MFP with the beginning of Lent. I decided to fast on Ash Wednesday and fridays. It worked in perfectly with my calorie counting. This got me off to a great start and now after a year I've lost 8 kilos with 5 to go. I will definately be fasting for Lent this year.
  • jfranca26
    jfranca26 Posts: 1 Member
    yes I will give up chocolate. Shouldn't eat it anyway :laugh:
  • steffiejoe
    steffiejoe Posts: 313 Member
    I may do raw foods for 40 days. I got a new juicer that I want to try out .Im not really sure , still thinking about it.
  • kiekie
    kiekie Posts: 289 Member
    I'm not Catholic, but YES! I'm in for the collective motivation. :-)

    I have a huge sweet tooth so gave up all sweet stuff (chocolate, sweets, sugary snacks, cereal, cakes etc) bar a 1/2 teaspoon of honey in my greek yogurt and oatmeal last year and lost 7 whole lbs over lent. That's like 24500 calories of junk I was fitting in to my calorie allowance!

    I found I switched to eating bread/toast for my comfort food, which became a habit, so this year I'm giving up all sweets and bread too. It really gives me the bloat so it will be interesting to see how my digestion is affected.
  • ldelahanty1974
    ldelahanty1974 Posts: 25 Member
    I will be celebrating Lent and will give up all candy. I hardly eat any but not much else to give up.
  • LoisDrivesTheLane
    LoisDrivesTheLane Posts: 3 Member
    Feel free to friend me. I'm Catholic and think I will either fast (which means only 1small meal) on Wednesdays & Fridays or do what I did last year, which is give up Diet Pepsi. It's my crutch, my coffee and it is NOT easy to give up. Since starting my trek to lose the 15-20 lbs menopause & working from home in sweatpants has left me with, I have tried to stay to only 1-2 glasses per day, but the weekends I am drinking it all day. I do love iced tea (lemon & sweetened only) and thats what I drank in replacement...and found that I like iced coffee w/Truvia and a splash of 1% milk.

    My hubby is also a diet pepsi addict, so its a serious temptation, which is why I chose it last year.

    Best of luck and like I said, send a friend request, we all need support, lent, or not.
  • crazie4lulu
    crazie4lulu Posts: 762 Member
    this family will give up desserts after meals. every year. just meals no in between junk!!!
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    Always! I am giving up French fries. :(
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Nope kinda like a New years resolution
    never stick to it. Why bother?
    It's a religious rite marking Christ's suffering. It isn't really the same as a New Year's resolution.

    But if you don't belong to a religion that practices giving something up for Lent, there isn't really a reason to do so.
  • phantomjam
    phantomjam Posts: 46 Member
    Yes, I'll be observing Lent this year by eating simpler, less flavourful, strictly home-made meals. Hopefully, it will free up more time for contemplation during that period. I could learn to appreciate simpler foods too. I get grumpy if it's not spicy. lol.

    I'm not RC btw.
  • Sunbrooke
    Sunbrooke Posts: 632 Member
    No, but for anyone who likes fish, this is usually the time to stock up. There are usually great sales.
  • Meg5065
    Meg5065 Posts: 33 Member
    I am old-calendar Greek Orthodox, and Great Lent is a very serious fast for us--no meat, fish, eggs or dairy from March 1 ("Clean Monday") till Easter ("Pascha"'). It's quite a challenge--mostly a Vegan diet, though shellfish are allowed. I've been doing it (more or less) for years--I always found it an interesting cooking challenge. I used to lose weight during Lent (usually about 5-7 pounds) till I stopped taking it seriously & started ignoring the restrictions on wine & olive oil (allowed only on weekends). This year I am going to try to really keep the fast, and I'd also like to try giving up wine entirely, with the intent of eating this healthy diet and getting free of the alcohol calories while I'm at it. I need to quit drinking, so I will use Lent as a kick-start.

    Of course we are supposed to fast from other stuff, too--judgemental thoughts, laziness, unkindness, self-indulgence, etc. We'll see how it goes.
  • yogioats
    yogioats Posts: 33 Member
    I am old-calendar Greek Orthodox, and Great Lent is a very serious fast for us--no meat, fish, eggs or dairy from March 1 ("Clean Monday") till Easter ("Pascha"'). It's quite a challenge--mostly a Vegan diet, though shellfish are allowed. I've been doing it (more or less) for years--I always found it an interesting cooking challenge. I used to lose weight during Lent (usually about 5-7 pounds) till I stopped taking it seriously & started ignoring the restrictions on wine & olive oil (allowed only on weekends). This year I am going to try to really keep the fast, and I'd also like to try giving up wine entirely, with the intent of eating this healthy diet and getting free of the alcohol calories while I'm at it. I need to quit drinking, so I will use Lent as a kick-start.

    Of course we are supposed to fast from other stuff, too--judgemental thoughts, laziness, unkindness, self-indulgence, etc. We'll see how it goes.

    That's actually very interesting! Most of the Catholic community around me is Roman Catholic based/Italian. It seems like most people choose to give up an item rather than fast. This year I feel committed to sticking with the fasting days and to simplify my life so I can reflect more deeply.
  • czechwolf52
    czechwolf52 Posts: 194 Member
    Yep, I do something every year. But I still need to figure what I'm going to do this year. One year I gave up my snooze button, which was really hard because I love snoozing. I'm thinking I might give up hot water for my showers this year, but I need to figure it out quickly. Anyone else have any ideas?
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    I'll be participating in all the meatless specials at restaurants on Fridays. :drinker: Lent is a pescatarian's dream.
  • 4realrose8
    4realrose8 Posts: 117 Member
    I'm Catholic but my husband is in the process of converting to Orthodox (OCA), so I will try to combine aspects of both traditions. We will have 2 meals of fish per week for sure on Wed and Fri. I haven't decided what I will give up yet-- still thinking and praying about it, but this thread was a good reminder that it's coming soon!
  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
    Absolutely not. Everytime I've Lent, I never see the tool or book or DVD again.
  • FaerieCae
    FaerieCae Posts: 437 Member
    Going to stop swearing..... or at least try my darndest too every day. Its not something I should do, it happens frequently and it'll make life more pleasant for others around me and myself. Not exactly a sacrifice as such, but definitely a willpower struggle to overpower my subconscious spewing of rubbish words.
  • Lesliereams
    Lesliereams Posts: 1 Member
    I used to give up chocolate but I really got mean during Lent! The last few years, I've been "adding to" myself for Lent instead of giving up. I'm including something in my life that is beneficial such as consistent daily devotions, etc. Last year though I did "give up" listening to secular radio stations in favor of Christian stations only. That was more for my teenage children than me since I really enjoy Christian stations. The spin I put on it was that we were giving up being exposed to vulgarities on secular morning radio shows in our area. Since I've started an exercise program this year maybe I will do something along the lines of exercising every day to improve myself.
  • Lrdoflamancha
    Lrdoflamancha Posts: 1,280 Member
    Yes we will stop eating out for the Lenten season. Then donate the money saved to Living Waters. I like the idea of no swearing for Lent. I may do that one for me...
  • walterm852
    walterm852 Posts: 409 Member
    Going to stop swearing..... or at least try my darndest too every day. Its not something I should do, it happens frequently and it'll make life more pleasant for others around me and myself. Not exactly a sacrifice as such, but definitely a willpower struggle to overpower my subconscious spewing of rubbish words.

    Hey, thanks ... I will join you on this one
  • an0nemus
    an0nemus Posts: 149 Member
    I always participate in lent...I'm giving up Church.
  • sophieamhaley
    sophieamhaley Posts: 85
    I'm not religious at all but I like the challenge of giving things up for a while and this is a good a time as any to do it.
    A couple of years ago I gave up chocolate and sweets, I think I'd like to do that again.
  • firelight4321
    firelight4321 Posts: 60 Member
    I'm not religious, but I'm intrigued by Lent. I think I might try to give something up... maybe soda altogether, or bread! Bread would be a tough one to do, but perhaps rewarding. I'll have to think about my options~
  • amm8589
    amm8589 Posts: 55 Member
    Last year I gave up sweets - cookies, candy, chocolate, etc. I haven't eaten any of that stuff since! This year I'm giving up crackers and rolls. I don't mind eating a sandwich or pasta, but I don't want to have rolls with dinner or breadsticks. So I'm giving that up too.
  • loubidy
    loubidy Posts: 440 Member
    That is such a good idea, I might give my mum my scales!!
  • qtgonewild
    qtgonewild Posts: 1,930 Member
    i think im going to go meatless. no meat. no chicken. i dont eat seafood anyways. and no pork.
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    We're trying at work to come up with something we can all give up. Someone said they would give up chocolate because they never have that at home anyway. I laughed and said it would be like me giving up cigarette's and alcohol (don't smoke, and RARELY drink).

    Another girl at work said she was going to give up sweets, so she guessed she'd have to give up sugar in her coffee. The rest of us thought that was a little extreme....sugar in coffee doesn't count as a sweet because it's not like cakes, cookies or candies.

    They want to give up Bread, but that's totally unrealistic for me - it's not one of my trouble spots. I've been drinking a LOT of soda pop lately - Diet Dr. Pepper. So I've been considering giving that up. Usually like to have popcorn at home in the evenings, considering giving up that too.

    I do plan on doing something, but it's yet to be determined as yet.

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