Anyone participating in Lent this year?

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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
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    Nope kinda like a New years resolution
    never stick to it. Why bother?
  • Edensienna
    Edensienna Posts: 180 Member
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    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
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    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
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    yes I will give up chocolate. Shouldn't eat it anyway :laugh:
  • steffiejoe
    steffiejoe Posts: 313 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    this family will give up desserts after meals. every year. just meals no in between junk!!!
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
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    Always! I am giving up French fries. :(
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    Absolutely not. Everytime I've Lent, I never see the tool or book or DVD again.
  • FaerieCae
    FaerieCae Posts: 437 Member
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    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.

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