At the beginning of the month, my husband and I did a fast with our church. While others fasted from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., we opted for a partial fast called the Daniel Fast. Week one of our fast resulted in new spiritual disciplines and obvious physical changes, while week two brought the temptations and need to push through in prayer and self-control.
If the first two weeks of partial fasting weren’t enough, my husband and I decided to do a full fast in Week 3. It’s hard to explain what led to this decision, but we agreed and encouraged each other every step of the way. (I highly recommend getting an accountability partner to do this with!)
DISCLAIMER: This information is based solely on my personal experience with fasting and should not be considered medical advice. If you have a medical condition, talk to your doctor before embarking on a food or beverage fast of any length of time. This applies to those who, for example, have diabetes, take medications, or are pregnant.
Liquid, Our Friend
We had already been drinking plenty of water, but this week, it was our friend. We added a pinch of Celtic Sea salt and lemon to our water for better water absorption and to replace lost electrolytes. I used a 32-oz. water bottle with a straw and started drinking water the second I woke up at 5 a.m. until I went to bed around 9:30 p.m. I recommend a cup with a straw because you don’t have to fuss with removing caps or flipping lids. You just drink. In a day, we drank about 70-90 oz. of water.
During the first 3 days, we drank vegetable broth as a "meal". Earlier during the fast, I made this from scratch vegetables, salt, and seasonings and put it in jars for our Daniel Fast meals. Turns out, we were going to be drinking it as a meal replacement during Week 3. I think this satisfied the initial shock of not having food in the beginning. If we felt hungry, we drank broth and water.
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Week 3 Highlights
Physical
- Lost 6 pounds (1 pound per day)
- No gas or bloating
- More brain energy and thinking
- Less sleep (more alert) but not tired
- Cold body temperature (we felt cold all the time)
- Calm demeanor and more controlled emotions
- Little to no hunger pains with water but some stomach growling
Spiritual
- Total dependence on God in prayer (this was our “food”)
- Awareness of areas of selfishness we needed to work on
- Surrender of our timeline for certain things (removing pressure that we’d placed on ourselves)
- Consistent and constant prayer throughout the day
- More appreciation for our lives
This was the last week of our fast and it was a journey. Our desire was to reset and reconnect more spiritually, which we definitely experienced. On top of that, we had some major physical changes. We both had more clarity and self-awareness than before and want to continue doing this throughout the year…maybe not as long. The most important part was for us to grow in prayer and connection to each other and God. I know not everyone who reads this is a Christian and that is just fine. However, I hope you can be encouraged to step out and try something like this even if it is one meal at a time!
To partial fast, we used this meal box site to help us decrease our portion size and eat quality food. (If you are interested, you can use special code VDMUD1RA to get $50 off a delivery of $100+).
If you would like to hear more about this experience, reach out to me at sashas@macaronikid.com. Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter, so you can get more family resources, articles, and events delivered right to your inbox!
Sasha Simons is the Editor and Publisher of Macaroni Kid Salem
