Tips on How To Survive Your Lenten Fasting Period

LifeStyleNovember 6, 2017

Whatever your religion may be, you cannot deny the fact that the Lenten season is one of the most observed holidays in a year worldwide. The dominant population of Christian religion commemorates this sacred tradition more commonly known as the Holy week. A lot them go to churches and reminisce what the Great Savior sacrificed to save humanity. As His loyal followers, it is the perfect opportunity to reminisce what life has become since last year and repent for our sins and mistakes. One of the most popular methods of repenting is through Lenten fasting. Most people abstain from eating meat for the entire duration of the Holy Week.

It’s no doubt that Lenten fasting is widely recognized worldwide. However, this might be a challenge to the younger generation. The younger generation, also known as the millennials, find it hard to adjust to the fasting period as they are used to indulging in food every now and then.

“It is not just about giving up our favorite food, but it’s about going further and giving up things like hatred and unforgiveness. You need to clean your heart and prepare yourself for purity.” — Amanda Jobs

Here are some top tips on how to survive your lenten fasting.

Fill Your Body with Healthy and Nutritious Foods Before Fasting

Marcin Malicki/Shutterstock

A night before your fasting period officially begins, you need to load your body with nutritious and healthy meals. We recommend a heavy meal that is mainly loaded with lean protein. During this night, try to eat meats to get protein, including chicken, pork, lamb, and fish.

Also try to eat healthy fats, fruits, and vegetables for more vitamins and nutrients. We suggested that you limit your grain intake, though. Instead of eating rice or any grain products, switch to sweet potatoes and legumes.

Drink a Plenty of Water While Fasting

The human body contains 70% water. It is, therefore, important to stay hydrated at all times. Otherwise, the nutrients you need will not be transported throughout the body efficiently. When you’re fasting, you will feel hungry most of the time, even when you actually don’t require food. We, humans, tend to confuse thirst with hunger. Before you try to eat something to ease the hunger, try drinking water first. Drink a LOT of water when you fast’ double your intake if necessary.

Have a Protein Snack in the Morning

Some Christian fasting may require that you eat one full meal (usually in the morning) and then fast throughout the day. These cases happen especially during Holy Thursday and Good Friday. In this case, we recommend that you load up your meal with protein-based snacks to help keep you fuller for a longer period of time.

Some of the proteins you can eat this time are hard boiled eggs, smoked salmons, and fish. Don’t forget to include a lot of vegetables in your meal. After your morning snack, you can have your main meal in the afternoon (protein, vegetables, grains, and healthy fat). For the late afternoon/early night snack, you can have raw nuts with veggies.

Eat Light Foods and Fruits After Fasting

Avdeyukphoto/Shutterstock

After many hours, and even days, of deprivation and fasting, there is no doubt that your stomach will have become sensitive. There is a high chance that you will jump at any food the moment the fasting period is over, but we advise you against it. Try holding yourself back for a little longer because you need to treat your stomach and body as gently as you can. Otherwise, you might experience constipation and vomiting.

We recommend that you with light meals such as oatmeal, porridge, or soft brown rice. This will give your body the time to adjust. It will send signals that your body is not in a fasting state anymore, so there’s no reason to hold back the fats in your body. It signifies that your body should start accepting food once again. Furthermore, we also recommend that you consume sugar-rich fruits. After a day or two, you can then resume eating your normal meals.