Fasting, or temporary abstinence from consuming food and drinks other than water, is practiced to promote physical and spiritual well-being. Since it can be dangerous if continued for a long period of time, make sure you are healthy enough not to eat. Whether you want to try an intermittent fasting diet or stick to the precepts of your faith, take precautions to follow this goal. First of all, consult your doctor, especially if you are on medication or have any medical condition.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Fasting Without Taking Risks
Step 1. See your doctor, especially if you have any health problems
Talk to your doctor to make sure fasting doesn't compromise your health. It could be a significant sacrifice for your body if you suffer from any medical condition
- In addition, pregnant women, children and the elderly should avoid abstaining from food.
- If you want to fast for religious reasons, be aware that all religions allow exceptions for children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with health problems.
Step 2. Prepare to fast gradually
If you've never done this before, it's hard to predict how your body will react. Start slowly instead of totally abstaining from any type of food for a long period of time. If you are less rigid, you will have a better chance of reaching your goal without taking any risks.
You may want to start gradually, cutting out certain foods or reducing your calorie consumption for a day. For example, try cutting out added sugars for a week or halving your calorie intake for a day
Step 3. Prepare the kitchen
Whether you want to fast to lose weight, discipline yourself, or adhere to a religious precept, try to free your kitchen from temptation. If you leave your mouth-watering food and drink lying around the house, giving up will be much more difficult. Do not buy prohibited products before fasting and give those you have already bought to friends and family.
- Remember that you should keep something to eat in the fridge and pantry. For example, if you're observing Ramadan, make sure you have healthy fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and protein sources for iftar (evening meal) and suhur (pre-dawn meal).
- If you are a Christian and have given up on candy and chocolate for Lent, don't leave these candy on the kitchen table. Give them to someone or try to keep dishes they have decided not to eat out of their eyes and mind.
Step 4. Avoid wasting energy
While fasting, make changes to your daily routine and try not to try too hard. Since the intake of nutrients and calories is lower than usual, more strenuous activities could lead to weakness, lightheadedness, or loss of consciousness.
If your job is a huge waste of energy or you can't escape from strenuous activities, it may not be wise to follow absolute fasting
Step 5. Distract yourself if you have any temptation
Dreaming of a large feast, you will only increase the desire to eat, so do everything to keep the most tempting foods and drinks out of your mind. If you can't resist temptation, think, "Enough. I can control my thoughts and I will be able to respect the fast." Try engaging in something you don't tire of, like playing a video game, listening to music, gardening, or writing.
- The company of a friend or relative is also a great distraction, as long as they know you're fasting, otherwise they might suggest going out for dinner or going out for ice cream.
- Avoid watching TV, as advertisements can tempt you with images of tempting food and people eating. Also on social networks you may find many posts that talk about foods and food products. Instead, try reading a book or doing some manual work.
- Remember that if your body tells you that something is wrong, you should listen to it. Try to recognize the difference between temptation and the need to eat because you are sick.
Step 6. Try fasting with friends, family or colleagues
The sense of sharing could motivate you to pursue your goal. Ask a friend, family member, roommate, colleague, or even your partner if they want to join your fast. You can cheer each other on and chat when some temptation arises.
If you need to abstain from food for religious reasons, consider that other members can help you stay focused
Step 7. Break your fast if you feel sick
Warning signs include weakness, lightheadedness, confusion, loss of peripheral vision, fainting, nausea, and vomiting. If these symptoms occur, drink water and eat a bite. Your body may have a hard time digesting a large meal, especially if you're nauseous, so opt for crackers, toast, or soup.
- After that, if you don't recover within a couple of hours, call your doctor.
- These symptoms could indicate a serious consequence of fasting in people suffering from diseases such as diabetes or kidney disease or who are taking heart or hypertension medications.
Method 2 of 3: Follow an intermittent fasting diet
Step 1. Limit your calorie intake to five days a month for an easier approach
If giving up food seems risky or impractical to you, try a less strict diet. For 5 consecutive days a month, try to halve or eliminate 1/3 of the calories you normally consume. If you are used to absorbing 3000 calories a day, try not to exceed 1000-1500.
- Excluding the 5-day calorie restriction, eat a healthy diet. Do not stock up on sweets and fatty foods during periods when you are not fasting.
- You could also try limiting your calorie intake for 4 consecutive days, then resume eating normally for 10 consecutive days.
- According to some studies, calorie restriction mimics the beneficial effects of absolute fasting without posing any health risks.
Step 2. Try the 16: 8 diet for weight loss
To fast at regular intervals, try to consume solid foods every 8 hours, for example between 10:00 and 18:00. Outside of these hours, limit yourself to water, decaffeinated tea, and other decaffeinated, non-alcoholic, and calorie-free beverages.
- Intermittent daily fasting can promote weight loss. Since it allows you to meet your daily nutritional needs, the risk of adverse health effects is lower.
- Remember to avoid binging during the 8 hour window. Eat a normal, balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins (such as skinless chicken or fish), and whole grains.
Step 3. Fast for two non-consecutive days a week if you want to follow the 5: 2 diet
The 5: 2 intermittent fasting diet consists of eating normally for 5 days a week and limiting calorie intake for 2 days. For example, you may be abstaining from food or eating fewer calories on Tuesdays and Fridays.
- On fasting days, this dietary regimen recommends women not to exceed 500 calories and men 600. However, doctors consider these amounts to be arbitrary.
- Since there is no scientific evidence to support an ideal calorie intake during fasting days, give it a try and see which intake is best for your needs. If 500-600 calories a day doesn't seem adequate, try halving or eliminating 1/3 of the calories you normally consume.
Step 4. Pay attention to cleansing and detox diets
It may be dangerous to follow a liquid-based diet for an extended period of time. Additionally, some crash diets recommend drinking unpasteurized beverages and other products that may make you sick.
- Don't trust diet regimens that promise to detoxify the body. The body detoxifies itself using the kidneys, liver and other organs.
- To help your body detoxify, drink plenty of water, eat high-fiber foods (such as nuts, grains, raw fruits and vegetables), and consume naturally fermented foods (such as yogurt, kimchi, and sauerkraut).
Method 3 of 3: Fasting for Religious Reasons
Step 1. Learn about the value of fasting in your faith
Even if you are familiar with the practices of your religion, it is helpful to delve into the purpose of fasting. In most religious doctrines, the renunciation of food is aimed at promoting moderation, discipline and devotion. You can read sacred texts, question a minister, or talk to friends and family who profess the same faith as you.
Go beyond the literal sense of fasting and reflect on its moral and spiritual meaning to strengthen your resolve
Step 2. Avoid bragging or complaining
When you fast, do not brag to others that you have a virtuous soul or that you can go without food for a long time. You shouldn't even stress how hard it is or complain about your sacrifice.
Rather, use this experience to draw closer to your faith. Remember that it doesn't matter what others think of you. The point is to cultivate virtue and honor the principles of your religious traditions
Step 3. Stop for a moment to pray when you feel the pangs of hunger
If you are tempted to eat or are hungry, stop and say a prayer to distract yourself from these thoughts. Close your eyes and reflect that you are doing it for a higher purpose.
While prayer may help you stay motivated, don't forget the boundary between being tempted and the risk of getting sick. Eat a bite if you are lightheaded, confused, peripheral vision loss, fainting, or other symptoms
Step 4. Eat a balanced diet and eat slowly
In observance of Ramadan, Muslims fast during the day for about a month. Since giving up food may take some effort from the body, it is important to make the most of iftar and suhur, which are the meals allowed after sunset and before sunrise.
- While you shouldn't overdo it even when eating is allowed, try to consume low-fat fruits, vegetables, grains and proteins. Fortunately, from North Africa to the Indian subcontinent, meals traditionally served during the iftar often include a combination of rice, vegetables, dates, meat, juices, and milk.
- Try to chew slowly and avoid elaborate, high-fat dishes. You may feel sick if you quickly gulp down a heavy plate after fasting all day.
- Regardless of your faith, meals allowed during long periods of fasting should be healthy and well balanced and should be eaten calmly.
Advice
- Do something else during the hours you usually ate. You could rest, read, meditate, write a journal, spend time in nature or hang out with the people you love. A diversion can help you stick to your fast.
- Learn to understand your state of mind. If fasting makes you irritable and short-tempered, be aware that it's hunger. If you can't shake off the mood, you might want to grab a snack or indulge in something light.
Warnings
- Don't fast if you have an eating disorder. If you have this suspicion, talk to your doctor, mental health professional, or someone you trust. If someone close to you has expressed such concern to you, listen to them and seek help.
- Do not fast if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Ask your doctor for advice if you have suffered from any medical condition or are under drug treatment. Fasting can interact with the action of drugs or promote the onset of unwanted side effects.
- See your doctor especially if you have diabetes and are taking insulin, are taking high blood pressure medications, or have heart, kidney, liver or metabolic disease.
