How to Fast

People fast for religious reasons, such as fasting to show leagence to there God to show they will sacrifice food for the love of him.

However it can be unhealthy, if not done safely.

In this instructables I will explain how to prepare for a fast, how to fast, and who shouldn't fast.

Step 1 Preparation

Its important to prepare for your fast so you increase the odds of achieving you goal.

A good idea is to write down all the instructions for your fast and organize a plan and schedule on paper before you begin. This is important because once the fast begins, you might try to convince yourself to quit. The schedule can then act as a contract you have made with the fast that you must keep. Remind youself why you are doing the fast and remember that it is important.

It is also important to quite your addictions in the days prior to your fast. Cut down on caffeine, salt, sugar etc. If you stop eating them off all of a sudden, you may experience cravings, headaches, stomachaches and a overall feeling of discomfort

Prior to your fast, start eating smaller meals and drinking lots of water.. Cutting down your meals a few days before prepares your mind, stomach, and appetite for the fast. On the day before your fast eat small meals every 2 hours, and resist the temptation to eat a big meal the night before the fast

The last meal before the fast eat high carbohydrate and low salt foods.
Sit down for the final meal before the fast at least an hour before the fast begins so there is no rush to eat quickly. Make sure not eat too much in the meal, but drink plenty of water.
Leave time after the meal and before the fast to drink warm water with sugar.

Comments

[SinCityLocal]

A true fast would be abstaining from food and drink for the duration.
The purpose is to put physical needs aside so you can align your spiritual needs with the Spirit of God.

[theawesomeninja]

The definition of the fast depends on the individual's interpretation. For you, it may include food -and- drink while others simply food, or others still, anything but water.

[aradi]

Its better to Break your fast with Dried Dates(3-7), if not available, fresh Dates, if not then Luke-warm water and wait 10-20 minutes before starting to eat

[Warlrosity]

I'm doing the 40 Hour Famine, and I'm 13

[qballcat]

metal \m/ -_- \m/... i did it

[Warlrosity]

I actully had to stop

[qballcat]

thats weak....to tired/ weak to do anything?

[Warlrosity]

Actully, my friend had to stop (feeling ill) We will do it soon

[coppeis]

I am Jewish

[knoxarama]

other than the sacrofice to show faith and love and blah blah blah, this sounds as if your god is appeased when you deprive yourself of food. Giving up a want i can see, giving up a need, even if you'll survive, just means your day is going to be kind of annoying.

[rheimbro]

It should be noted that at least the information in step 3 has been lifted word for word from an essay by Bill Bright to be found here:

http://www.ccci.org/growth/growing-closer-to-god/how-to-fast/11-finishing-your-fast.aspx

[hassannaeem101]

you muslim i am

[capricorn]

My personal experience with fast is Muslim Ramadan. In Ramadan you cannot drink either till sun goes down, but I found that drinking a cup of hot green tea, without sugar, in the morning, just before sun goes up, helps a lot to hold the thirst at bay all day long. Just my two euro cents ;)

[thatkidwithayoyo]

Drinking juices, even water can easily be considered breaking fast.

[iMac]

Considering the human body can only last a few days without water, your trying to tell me that when people go on 14 or 40 day fasts, they dont drink anything at all? There are fasts that also allow you to drink juice, it all depends on what you want to do. If you dont know what your talking about, dont try to tell me Im wrong.

[thatkidwithayoyo]

I didn't say it is always considered breaking fast. Remember, this is constructive criticism--don't get so defensive.

For instance, I will be fasting for 24hrs as of this evening. For my personal fast, Juice and Water is a no-go.

[locofocos]

Same here. I'm a messianic jew (basically a christian who tries to follow the old testament laws like normal jews do) and this is my first time fasting for Yom Kippur. I wonder if I should tell my dad that we shouldn't go out to have a big meal tonight, because it's his first fast too. I guess I might try it this time and see how I do. I just dread going to gym class tomorrow and playing football...

[11orem]

F.Y.I: jews are supposed to have the big meal the night before because the fast is meant to be 48hrs. Its only because we are weak that we eat a big meal the night before to make the fast harder.

[Koobenhoff]

I am assuming by now that you have had that huge dinner. If it was late enough and you made your 24 hours you should have done some pretty good suffering, though I suppose that gives you greater consideration to concentrate on your fast and what you were really doing it for. Usually I am not a glutton for punishment, and prefer to do any fasting just as this guide says: I start the day before by reducing the size of my meals (usually in half). I would like to bring up one issue with this guide. It is rough. I would put some effort into clicking the spell check button and getting someone else to proof your writing helps, too. I would also get a little more creative with the images. All I was thinking was, "I really want to eat something". Great job on the last part of this 'structable though, the information on ending a long fast is excellent.

[locofocos]

Haha, yeah, it was pretty tough at the end. I started to get tired, then I started to get kinda shaky and twitchy right before the meal, so I got 2 glasses of water. Other than that (and a sip of water to take some medicine), I went without food and water.

[iMac]

Mabey you should get a note to excuse you from PE?

[Weissensteinburg]

I think that drinking fruit juices during a fast would be considered breaking fast. Also, protein is good to eat beforehand, it releases the energy slowly, holding off hunger for a longer period of time.

[Derin]

it is considered as breaking fast

[Weissensteinburg]

It depends on the specific guidelines for your fast. For instance, the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur has a day long fast that forbids everything (including water), while fasting for a medical procedure may just forbid solids.

[Big Bwana]

Proteins are good before hand, peanuts and other nuts are are great source, and easier for your body to digest then red meat ... And I guess it depends why you are fasting if it for say the Unicef 48 hour famine, to raise donations most schools allow the kids to drink fruit juices or poweraid type drinks (( most of the time pop is not allowed as some kids don't need the extra caffeine and sugar to be extra annoying ))

[Derin]

These people are not supposed to fast:

• Children
• Sick people

Fasting is atomatically broken if:

• Person throws up
• They eat without noticing and keep eating
• One more thing

People who break their fast also have to fast for 61 more days after Ramazan ends.

[jemtallon]

I don't think this is a very good instructable on how to fast :( Most wouldn't consider the juices to be acceptable. You also missed the most essential part of a fast: water! You can last for a long time without food but not nearly as long without water. On a fast, it's essential to drink a lot of water since you usually get water from your food as well as the water you normally drink. Also, water will fill you up and ease your appetite, which will help a lot. If you can stomach to drink a glass of water every 45-60 minutes while on a fast, do it. If you are getting too much, your body will give you feedback and you won't want to drink anymore so stop. You should end up with 15+ glasses to stay within normal range. Another important thing to mention about fasting is sleep. Make sure you get a lot of sleep while on your fast. Your body needs more time to repair itself without all the nutrients it's used to having. Also, sleeping will help relieve hunger from the fast so you might find an extra 2 hrs of sleep does you a lot of good.

[Burning Questions]

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