Ferg said:

---

A couple of potential alternatives?

Abstain from Meat every Friday as Catholics used to.

Fast from Midnight until after Sunday Mass as Catholics used to.

---

Wait no Jack In The Box tacos at 2am?

Harsh

But did you know that Catholic monks once brewed beer specifically for a liquid-only Lenten fast?

Back in the 1600s, Paulaner monks moved from Southern Italy to the Cloister Neudeck ob der Au in Bavaria. "Being a strict order, they were not allowed to consume solid food during Lent," the braumeister and beer sommelier of Paulaner Brewery Martin Zuber explained in a video on the company's website.

They needed something other than water to sustain them, so the monks turned to a common staple of the time of their region beer. They concocted an "unusually strong" brew, full of carbohydrates and nutrients, because "liquid bread wouldn't break the fast," Zuber noted.

This was an early doppelbock beer, which the monks eventually sold in the community and which was an original product of Paulaner brewery, founded in 1634. They gave it the name "Salvator," named after "Sankt Vater," which "roughly translates as 'Holy Father beer,'" Zuber said.

https://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/lent-fast-beer/63676

Chalk up a win for legalism!

Definitely get a health professional to help you with this if you go through with it.

I did a 21 day juice fast, where fruit juices were my only source of nutrition. I drank about 40oz of juice a day, which is about 600 - 650 calories a day. It was not easy.

The not eating was not the most difficult part. Staying focused on my job while running low on energy and through headaches was the hardest part.

I lost a lot of weight, and felt pretty good after day 5 until about day 18. But, I was also measuring my blood sugar regularly, had plenty of juice with me at all times if I got dizzy, and checked in with a health professional twice during the fast.

I have done a water only fast for 3 days. The 3rd day was harder than any single day of the juice fast.

I have also done a 24 hour Esther fast, with no food or water from sunrise to sunrise. It is really hard to sleep when you are really, really thirsty, and even harder to concentrate. For the Esther fast, I spent the entire Saturday indoors focused on spiritual stuff. Not sweating helped a lot.

There are medical practitioners that specialize in helping people fast safely.

But, I would recommend against a long-term fast if unless you are morbidly obese. On average, over half of the weight lost during long-term fasts is muscle, not fat.

Also, about numbers and the OT. We tend to think of numbers as finite and exact in 2025. 2,000 years ago, this wasn't the case. 40 meant "a long time" but not necessarily the integer after 39 and before 41.

Best of luck to you. Do get some help with someone with experience. Do realize that you will be recovering from such a long fast for months to years.

In college, I also had a friend that took a Nazirite vow for a semester. He didn't shave, cut his hair, drink alcohol, or go to any funerals from the first day of class until after finals. At the end of the semester, we shaved off all his facial and head hair (we tried to get his eyebrows too, but he balked), and burned it in a camp fire over a few beers. Great times.

Day 3 is the hardest day of a water fast, no doubt. After that, it gets much easier.

Your ignorance is showing. Never say never until you have done research. There have been plenty of people who have gone longer than 30 days, including some who have fasted for over a year with just water alone. Our bodies are capable of healing themselves but we never give them the chance to. Instead, we keep feeding poisons into them. Most of the time, we can effectuate healing in our bodies through a 3, or even a 7 day fast. If you are not on any medication, and not already linked into the death-trap of our current medical industry, then I would even suggest a 21 day fast.
I, myself, am currently on day 30 of a 40 day fast. In 30 days, I have consumed only water. I have used this time to get close to God through prayer and reading my Bible. I am full of energy and have gotten a lot done during this time. Please understand that just because YOU have not done something or been through an experience does NOT mean that it hasn't been done before. Fasting is a very private act of communing with God. THAT is why you don't hear about it often.

Hi Tia,
I'm currently on day 30 of a 40 day fast. Not sure if there is any way to connect off of here but I'd love to help you through this. Those who spew nonsense usually do so out of ignorance. Read "Fasting Your Way to Good Health" It will guide you both spiritually AND physically through the process.
I hope this helps.

There was a guy in scotland who fasted for 380 days for purely medical reasons. Went to his doctor and said I'm gonna do it regardless of your objections so you might as well get on board and write down your findings during every check up. You can imagine that he was at his wits end on weight management and this was the only option in his mind to save himself from a premature death due to his weight.

It can be done. Your body can manage to live on fat. Just gotta keep up on electrolytes during the fast, that is usually where people get into the most medical trouble is electrolyte depletion. There are zero calorie electrolyte packets to help you nowadays like LMNT.

If you go on the subreddit r/fasting its got quite a few people who have done extended fasts and talk about them.

Lotta protestants in this thread talking bout how you couldn't possibly fast for 40 days. Or even jesus couldn't. Go read the lives of the saints folks.

one MEEN Ag said:

---

Lotta protestants in this thread talking bout how you couldn't possibly fast for 40 days. Or even jesus couldn't. Go read the lives of the saints folks.

---

I've skimmed through this thread and I'm not sure where you're getting this.

swimmerbabe11 said:

---

so this was a fun thread about anorexia. I think we all learned something today.

---

Yeah but its a bunch of cargo shorts wearing middle aged dudes who are just trying to make some space for the upcoming football season in their fattest pair of britches.

Very different than trying to squeeze into size 0 jeans at the abercrombie store in the early 2000s.