Help! Religious Fasting and Weightloss
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clairekugler
Posts: 11 Member
Hey everybody! I am currently at YWAM in Kona for a religious discipleship school. A part of the school is religious fasting. There are 3 types of fasting, a liquid fast (where you only consume juices and water), a meal fast where you only fast a single meal, a Daniel fast (no meat or sweets) then an Esther fast (no food or water, with caution). I felt led to do meals fasts and only consume water. It went great! Until dinner I consumed my entire day's worth of calories. Does anybody who shares or respects my religious value have any suggestions how I can go about fasting without stumbling with my weight loss goals?
Thanks!
Thanks!
4
Replies
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If I read right, then eating your whole cal allowance in one meal will not hinder weight loss. Eating it all at once as opposed to separate meals means the same calorie amount, surely? Or is the point of the fast punishment?2
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Planning may be a good idea. If you will be consuming two meals, make sure they are worth it satiety-wise. What is filling to people is different from person to person, but protein and volume in general tend to be the most commonly satiating things. Say your daily calorie allotment is 1500 calories. You could budget 500 calories for the first meal and 1000 for the second. Have some kind of protein with your first meal and bulk it up with vegetables and add fat to round up the calories. If starch is satiating to you, you may want to reduce fat in order to budget for a starch (potatoes are one of my most filling foods so I take advantage of that). For the larger meal, same thing, except you would have more leeway with what you choose to eat if you decide on something more calorie dense.
This is just one way of doing it, but it works for me. When I know I'm going to be having a large meal I usually make the smaller meal count nutrition-wise and make the most out of it, and leave the indulgences for the larger meal.
Try pre-logging the foods you will be eating to see how they fare on the calorie spectrum and see if you need to make adjustments. It's less likely you will be able to eat an entire day's worth of calories in one meal if it includes, say, 1-2 pounds of vegetables, a protein, and then whatever else you want. Once you establish a stable routine it gets easier and any kinks can be worked out as you find them.2 -
Some people only eat one meal a day. For example, skip the first two meals and eat a dinner and then maybe a snack before bed.
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Sweet and juices during the day can make it hard to fast. Easier to eat protein and or fiber or wait until dinner.0 -
Just sounds like unaccustomed hunger made you binge a bit at the evening meal. You'll need to practice restraint in order to spread those calories over two meals (I assume if you fast one meal, you're still eating the other two).
I imagine this is the point of the practice, as fasting is about learning restraint and reliance on God rather than on the day-to-day comforts we usually depend on. One of those comforts is the feeling of certainty we get from having three meals. Learning not to overeat on other meals while fasting one is probably to some extent about anxiety - "I have to eat now or I might not get enough" - which is a feeling that underlies a lot of binging. You're being asked to confront that anxiety head on and let it go. It's not intended to be easy and will take practice.
Also, practically, focus on protein and veg when the meal comes. Don't avoid the carbs, but resist the urge to fill up on them.5 -
clairekugler wrote: »It went great! Until dinner I consumed my entire day's worth of calories.
This is exactly what happens when people fast all day and it's the road to disordered eating. Restrict-binge, restrict-binge...and so on.
I'm suggesting this just because you are spiritual, it may not apply to your religious belief so toss it if it's not the case. I know there is a 10 step point list faith-based to control binges, look it up.
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I have done water only fasts without issue, skipping a day of eating. The idea is to sacrifice a day in respect of those who go without often and to gain an understanding of gluttony. Basically to teach ourselves we shouldn't be slaves to food. Very good practice for me.
I know the first few times I did it I stumbled, just because your routine of stopping and eating is so prevalent. But I find keeping myself out of the house and busy occupies my mind and body enough I don't miss it.
Good luck in your walk.1 -
I'm not sure what the issue is -- did you intend to fast all day and then blow it at dinner? Did you eat more at dinner than you would normally eat during a day?
Planning is the key, and perhaps getting used to it and remembering why you are doing it.
How often are you fasting? Isn't the Daniel Fast thing normally for a period of time?
I respect religious fasts and participate in them (I am Catholic, but I find fasting can be valuable and it is part of our tradition, so I've experimented with it and usually go beyond the current requirements for us). But if you are also trying to lose, I'd be really careful you are not thinking that this can be a way to boost weight loss. I actually found it valuable to me when I was seriously focused on losing to avoid (except as required) fasting type behaviors and focus my sacrifices and penances and so on on other kinds of things besides food. I'm not saying you can't do both, but I'd be careful.5 -
I belong to a religious tradition that includes various kinds of fasting. I would never try to do a spiritual fast combined with weight loss habit changes simultaneously and personally feel this can be very dangerous to maintaining healthy mental and spiritual life. There are many holy people who developed eating disorders this way and thus made them less available to live a life of true prayer and service. Perhaps you should discuss this with a nutrition counselor outside of your community.7
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clairekugler wrote: »It went great! Until dinner I consumed my entire day's worth of calories.
This is exactly what happens when people fast all day and it's the road to disordered eating. Restrict-binge, restrict-binge...and so on.
I'm suggesting this just because you are spiritual, it may not apply to your religious belief so toss it if it's not the case. I know there is a 10 step point list faith-based to control binges, look it up.
Overeating supper after fasting does not constitute binging.
Also, fasting does not necessarily lead to binging. Many people practice intermittent fasting to control their intake and do so successfully, even for non-spiritual reasons.
OP, I fast as well. On days when I only fast for the first part of the day, I break the fast with a small meal to take the edge of hunger off and then an hour or two later I eat a larger meal to actually get full.
The small meal also keeps me from going straight to whatever high calorie food I’m craving for the larger meal.
For example, I may break the fast with a glass of milk and a protein bar and then fix some lean meat and green beans for supper.
On days where I don’t eat at all, I will eat a little extra the day before (still logging) and the day after. Logging to ensure that I don’t eat so much extra that it puts me over what I didn’t eat on the fasting day.2 -
clairekugler wrote: »Hey everybody! I am currently at YWAM in Kona for a religious discipleship school. A part of the school is religious fasting. There are 3 types of fasting, a liquid fast (where you only consume juices and water), a meal fast where you only fast a single meal, a Daniel fast (no meat or sweets) then an Esther fast (no food or water, with caution). I felt led to do meals fasts and only consume water. It went great! Until dinner I consumed my entire day's worth of calories. Does anybody who shares or respects my religious value have any suggestions how I can go about fasting without stumbling with my weight loss goals?
Thanks!
I think what OP is saying is that they ate all of the calories during the day and skipped (fasted) the dinner meal. I don't think they fasted all day and binged at dinner. I may be wrong, but this is how it sounds to me.0 -
nexangelus wrote: »If I read right, then eating your whole cal allowance in one meal will not hinder weight loss. Eating it all at once as opposed to separate meals means the same calorie amount, surely? Or is the point of the fast punishment?
It's not punishment, it's that so every time you feel hungry you pray. It's a way to focus on praying more often through out the way. The problem was that I didn't feel well after consuming 1300 calories and I didn't know what meal to have to ease into it
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Sorry. To clear it up, I did the meal fasting but I skipped breakfast and lunch. At dinner time, I ate 1400 calories. I ate so much I felt sick. How do you practice religious fasting without causing yourself to eat yourself sick at the end of the day?
And how do you practice religious fasting (because it's constantly being pointed out how it's important during the school so I can't just skip it) without causing a disorder/bad attitude towards it. Does this help you help me??
Thanks SO much for your guys' input! It's been helpful0 -
clairekugler wrote: »Sorry. To clear it up, I did the meal fasting but I skipped breakfast and lunch. At dinner time, I ate 1400 calories. I ate so much I felt sick. How do you practice religious fasting without causing yourself to eat yourself sick at the end of the day?
And how do you practice religious fasting (because it's constantly being pointed out how it's important during the school so I can't just skip it) without causing a disorder/bad attitude towards it. Does this help you help me??
Thanks SO much for your guys' input! It's been helpful
Sorry, I misunderstood, but thanks for clarifying! How many days will this fasting last?0 -
I don't understand why you think fasting should interfere with your weight loss goals.
There are other types of fasting that Christians have practiced for millennia. I'm no longer a believer, but when I was, I belonged to a tradition that called for regular weekly fasting, and more intensive fasting certain times of year, according to a traditional set of dietary restrictions. For the seasonal fasts I always lost weight even when I wasn't trying to. (Since the food you eat during those times tends to be high in carbs, according to some weight loss theories this shouldn't have been possible. But CICO always works.)0 -
Have you tried just fasting one meal? When I fast that's what I do. I usually skip breakfast then have lunch and dinner with two snacks. Here is an article from John Piper's website about fasting for beginners.
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/fasting-for-beginners
It sounds like you feel some pressure from YWAM to fast. Pray that God will give you a clear intention for your fast. Having that clear intention will keep you from having a bad attitude towards it.1 -
Fasting is great! I fast every day for breakfast and lunch. No snacks no juice just water and coffee. I eat a large healthy dinner and enjoy the weight loss.0
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clairekugler wrote: »Sorry. To clear it up, I did the meal fasting but I skipped breakfast and lunch. At dinner time, I ate 1400 calories. I ate so much I felt sick. How do you practice religious fasting without causing yourself to eat yourself sick at the end of the day?
And how do you practice religious fasting (because it's constantly being pointed out how it's important during the school so I can't just skip it) without causing a disorder/bad attitude towards it. Does this help you help me??
Thanks SO much for your guys' input! It's been helpful
How to avoid overeating after a fast? Decide ahead of time what and how much you will eat and eat the meal slow, then stop.0 -
If you are fasting two meals, then the aim has to be to eat your whole allowance in the remaining meal. You should not be eating significantly under your goal, even if you are fasting for part of the day - you're already eating at a deficit, so eating less than that would be unhealthy. So it sounds like the issue is more to do with what you eat, and how you eat it, than the amount. The amount was correct.
There will be wisdom on this from people who have lots of experience with fasting, but I would have thought it's a matter of eating slowly and being mindful of what your body is telling you.
To be honest, 1400 calories at one meal seems achievable, it's not a grossly huge amount. If you ended up feeling bad, perhaps you were eating too quickly? Or perhaps your body just needs time to adjust to a different eating pattern.0 -
CattOfTheGarage wrote: »If you are fasting two meals, then the aim has to be to eat your whole allowance in the remaining meal. You should not be eating significantly under your goal, even if you are fasting for part of the day - you're already eating at a deficit, so eating less than that would be unhealthy. So it sounds like the issue is more to do with what you eat, and how you eat it, than the amount. The amount was correct.
There will be wisdom on this from people who have lots of experience with fasting, but I would have thought it's a matter of eating slowly and being mindful of what your body is telling you.
To be honest, 1400 calories at one meal seems achievable, it's not a grossly huge amount. If you ended up feeling bad, perhaps you were eating too quickly? Or perhaps your body just needs time to adjust to a different eating pattern.
Under your calorie goal for one day will not hurt you. Eating way under it for a month, sure, that could hurt you . It's better to be under than over imo. If you're trying to lose weight, it's because you have plenty of storage on board.0 -
CattOfTheGarage wrote: »If you are fasting two meals, then the aim has to be to eat your whole allowance in the remaining meal. You should not be eating significantly under your goal, even if you are fasting for part of the day - you're already eating at a deficit, so eating less than that would be unhealthy. So it sounds like the issue is more to do with what you eat, and how you eat it, than the amount. The amount was correct.
There will be wisdom on this from people who have lots of experience with fasting, but I would have thought it's a matter of eating slowly and being mindful of what your body is telling you.
To be honest, 1400 calories at one meal seems achievable, it's not a grossly huge amount. If you ended up feeling bad, perhaps you were eating too quickly? Or perhaps your body just needs time to adjust to a different eating pattern.
Under your calorie goal for one day will not hurt you. Eating way under it for a month, sure, that could hurt you . It's better to be under than over imo. If you're trying to lose weight, it's because you have plenty of storage on board.
Sure, if this fasting is only a one-off then that's different, I'm not sure, I got the impression from the OP that this was a regular practice.
"Better to be under than over" - I don't really agree. I work to keep my average as close as possible to goal.1
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