Fasting

[Crouton]

Like Hilander I've never fasted for a religious reason. I did fast once however though, for 48 hours with some friends. It was for a charity thing called the 48 hour famine. All we could have was water.

 

[Smelnick]

I've never fasted for lent, but back when I was younger, my youth group would do the 30 hour famine fundraiser, so we'd go without eating for 30 hours. It's surprisingly easy actually. I was always surprised at how many people had a hard time doing it.

 

[ysabel]

I'm pleased about the diversity of replies in this thread.

I'm not sure I can do the total fasting (just water) for 2 days like Crouton and Smelnick unless I was already sick and have no appetite. Although I have gone hours of not eating almost the entire day and not notice it, when I'm too busy with something.

I'm Jewish - we have a day called Yom Kippur in which we fast to cleanse ourselves for the new year. It's also a day in which you are supposed to apologize one last time for any wrongdoings you have done and forgive those who apologize to you.

Despite being Jewish, I went to a Catholic high school, where the main topic of discussion for the first 14 of the 40 days of Lent was "what are you giving up?" I always said "watermelon" because of one of my favourite childhood books: Jennifer, Hecate, Macb----, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth by E. L. Koningsburg. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. It's one of those young adult books everyone can enjoy.

At what age do you start practicing Yom Kippur?

Actually it used to be no meat on every single Friday throughout the year. It's been no meat on Friday during Lent for years. I don't always give something up for Lent. I instead look at Lent as a way to improve myself, not give up something necessarily, but do something better, do something for others, even if they don't know you did it. I did give up fast food this year, but that also because I need to eat less fast food in general.

I didn't know about the no meat for all Fridays but I know that it is no meat on Fridays for entire Lent and then in some countries they only made it mandatory during Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

I'm barely a practicing Catholic but traditions like these, I don't see the harm in it and like you I feel that it can be a way to improve myself - the way we do resolutions for NYE, Ash Wednesday seems to be a good time to start and why not if I can do it beyond 40 days?

I've never fasted for religious reasons or any reason. I should because I have read that it is good for you to go without food for a day. If I remember correctly you will live longer if you fast occasionally.

The closest thing to fasting I've done is three days of eating only apple and drinking water. It's like a detoxication thing and supposedly good for the body. So I did it for that and to also find out if I can do it.