Daniel fast
amh927
Posts: 33 Member
Has anyone done a Daniel fast while losing weight?
Any suggestions or tips?
Any suggestions or tips?
5
Replies
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It's for religious, not weight loss purposes. To lose weight, just follow MFP's suggestions.11
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kommodevaran wrote: »It's for religious, not weight loss purposes. To lose weight, just follow MFP's suggestions.
Yes I am aware of that. Our entire church is doing one for 40 days and I am just nervous about joining in while trying to maintain weight loss
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What do you mean by maintain weight loss? If it's called a fast, I'm pretty certain you're not going to gain weight on it, at least. Can't you log what you eat? You lose, gain or maintain weight by eating the apprpriate amount of calories, no matter what food you eat.kommodevaran wrote: »It's for religious, not weight loss purposes. To lose weight, just follow MFP's suggestions.
Yes I am aware of that. Our entire church is doing one for 40 days and I am just nervous about joining in while trying to maintain weight loss8 -
Log the foods you are eating and make sure your calories are within the calorie budget MFP set up for you. From what google told me, it's a meatless fast. Since protein is important while dieting, focusing on legumes would be a good thing.4
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kommodevaran wrote: »
What do you mean by maintain weight loss? If it's called a fast, I'm pretty certain you're not going to gain weight on it, at least. Can't you log what you eat? You lose, gain or maintain weight by eating the apprpriate amount of calories, no matter what food you eat.kommodevaran wrote: »It's for religious, not weight loss purposes. To lose weight, just follow MFP's suggestions.
Yes I am aware of that. Our entire church is doing one for 40 days and I am just nervous about joining in while trying to maintain weight loss
Is a religious fast. So it’s not actual fasting. Simply avoiding foods for religious purposes, mostly meat and dairy, sugar, etc
Most of my protein is chicken. So I’m nervous about getting enough protein so I’m not starving and wanting to eat everything is sight. It’s fruit and veggie based. I don’t eat much fruit and a lot of it is high in calories. Hence why I asked for tips. Maybe people had some great recipe resources etc. it’s not being don’t for weight loss. It’s just coinciding at a time that I’m trying to lose weight.
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Who's Daniel and what makes him so fast?19
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I don't think there are any recipes that can circumvent the restrictions and magically make foods low in protein, high in protein, so you have to work with what you have, or decline the challenge. Or you can postpone weightloss. amusedmonkey already suggested beans, then I'll suggest nuts and seeds. Eat a bit more grains and potatoes. Look for vegan recipes, vegans can make anything with beans and nuts and seeds.kommodevaran wrote: »
What do you mean by maintain weight loss? If it's called a fast, I'm pretty certain you're not going to gain weight on it, at least. Can't you log what you eat? You lose, gain or maintain weight by eating the apprpriate amount of calories, no matter what food you eat.kommodevaran wrote: »It's for religious, not weight loss purposes. To lose weight, just follow MFP's suggestions.
Yes I am aware of that. Our entire church is doing one for 40 days and I am just nervous about joining in while trying to maintain weight loss
Is a religious fast. So it’s not actual fasting. Simply avoiding foods for religious purposes, mostly meat and dairy, sugar, etc
Most of my protein is chicken. So I’m nervous about getting enough protein so I’m not starving and wanting to eat everything is sight. It’s fruit and veggie based. I don’t eat much fruit and a lot of it is high in calories. Hence why I asked for tips. Maybe people had some great recipe resources etc. it’s not being don’t for weight loss. It’s just coinciding at a time that I’m trying to lose weight.5 -
It's 100% plant-based, right? I'd think in advance about how you will get your protein and probably plan a usual breakfast and some templates. I eat without animal products a lot, and tend to have a couple of breakfasts I cycle through and do a lot of bean/lentil/chickpea, etc. + whole grain + vegetables based meals, usually with some nuts as accent/for taste.
Maybe log a few planned days to see if you need to adjust anything to hit your calories and increase protein or whatever.
Focus on your religious motivation for it. I have concerns in general about cutting out foods for combined weight loss and religious reasons as I think it's easy to get it confused (NOT saying you are doing this -- I totally understand that you are not, but this was one reason I chose not to pick a food based discipline/sacrifice for Lent the first year I was losing weight even though I normally do). I actually find that for me eliminating foods for religious purposes feels very different and is easier -- I might miss them, but I don't start feeling like my diet is super restrictive or questioning why I can't have them. Even when not eating vegetarian I usually do go vegetarian for Lent and went 100% plant-based for Lent one year* and found it a good experience, and it's motivated me to experiment with doing that off and on at other times too, but not because I think it's good for weight loss (actually I find meat and dairy and eggs can be really helpful for weight loss) but because I like eating that way.
Not sure what the other elements of the Daniel fast are, but I can imagine (no oil, no sugar? stuff like that), and probably those things, as well as focusing on eating lots of vegetables, are probably actually going to be really easy to combine with weight loss.
Anyway, totally possible.
*I know the Orthodox do this every year. My Greek friend always tells me how much more intense their Lent practices are than western ones, but I digress. ;-)5 -
Oh, for meal ideas, you could check out the resources for a plant-based diet starter plan or else try EatThisMuch, which you can set for your calories and "vegan diet" and then modify as needed.
https://www.eatthismuch.com/
I can't follow a plan personally, but ideas might help.
Good vegetarian and vegan recipe sites are:
101cookbooks (vegetarian)
OhSheGlows (vegan)
Sources for more recipes and probably a plant-based meal plan would be places like ForksOverKnives. I don't really buy into their claims so am not promoting that at all, but I'm sure they have some helpful resources.1 -
I have the same concerns as lemurcat, but I'm even more skeptical - none of the foods on the approved list is praticularly high in protein; when maintaining weight, it should be easy enough to get enough protein, but when dieting, you need the same amount of protein, but fewer calories (you know this, that's what you're asking for help with); and if you're not used to eating a vegan diet, you have to learn a different way to plan and cook, as well as tolerating a different range of flavors and textures - this is challenging enough when you're eating enough to maintain weight - but you're having a Woody Allen dilemma (terrible food and small portions). Personally, I wouldn't do the Daniel Fast unless I had at least some experience with vegan cooking and liked the food, or were not dieting.2
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For protein focus on soy, beans, and legumes. Whole grains and nuts will also get you a little. Think barley and beans, lentil soup, soy milk, tofu, etc. 40 days is actually really long, the longest I've ever heard it done for is 21 days. If it's important to you to to do it, just focus on that protein number and don't let it dip too low.1
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I didn't expect to become so engaged in this topic
I think for a vegan to start dieting, is unproblematic (I imagine you just cut down on fruit and grains and oils). I think for an omnivore dieter to start eating vegan, is risky. And the website where I read about the Daniel fast, describes a diet that is stricter than the usual vegan diet (no refined/processed foods, so no white/brown sugar or molasses, no white rice or flour). 1 -
We do a similar fast with slightly different rules twice a year, before Christmas and before Easter, and I wish I could tell you there is an easy way for protein. I never have a problem with food choices (I find vegan food delicious), I have not been able to sustain a good level of protein while dieting on this fast no matter what I did (I don't have access to soy), and it has been 5 years since I started dieting. I don't notice a change in my hunger level, though. The food is pretty high volume and satisfying (at least to me). So basically, if getting a high amount of protein is important to you, maybe consider maintenance for now? If you're just concerned you'll get hungry on lower protein, it may not necessarily be the case and you may want to continue dieting if you wish.2
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I’ve heard of it but have not tried it. If it is a fast that is low on animal protein, since it isn’t for a hugely extended period of time, maybe incorporate vegan protein powder? It’ll help keep your grams of protein higher without forcing you to up your calories a lot. Again, this could work just for the duration of the fast. I wouldn’t recommend forever doing that as part of your diet.1
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Good thinking, but protein powder would be out, depending on interpretation - no processed/refined foods.1
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Personally this Daniel Fast sounds really too complicated. It seems counterintuitive to its purpose which is to have the people participating focus on their relationship with the Lord more. It seems like it's going to have them really focusing a lot on food.
I say this as a Christian. In case anyone thinks I'm some kind of heathen making fun of it. I am not.9 -
kommodevaran wrote: »Good thinking, but protein powder would be out, depending on interpretation - no processed/refined foods.
Ahh, good point! Like I said, I’ve heard of it but I’m not terribly familiar with all the details.
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It's not really complicated, just difficult. You eat fruit, veggies, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, some oils, water, and then some versions allow some specific processed foods like tofu and soy milk probably to deal with the protein issue.2
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My husband and I have done the Daniel fast for lent. Weirdly, the hardest part to me was not using condiments containing vinegar or sugar. We ate fruits, salads, cooked vegetables, nuts, beans, whole grains and drank water. Nothing processed. We didn’t manipulate the foods into elaborate recipes. We wanted to eat simply and thankfully, without putting too much effort into the preparation.
The whole point for us was to focus less on earthly pursuits and more on Christ’s sacrifice for us. For me, trying to track weight, calories and macros while fasting might have detracted from the focus on this being a spiritual discipline. It didn’t add on weight or make us malnourished that I could tell. After all, it’s only 40 days- and not even consecutive days because each Sunday you rest from your fast and eat whatever you want.
Respectfully I hope this Lenten season is entered into with prayer and reflection, each of us gladly performing whatever form of sacrifice had been placed on our hearts. God bless!
“Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:7 NASB8
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