Fasting for Mental Health

I was working on a Lenten menu for a client of mine, and she was interested in doing day-long fasts on Wednesdays, starting with Ash Wednesday. So I designed a menu which incorporated a fast from after breakfast on Wednesday until Breakfast on Thursday. And then I decided to do it with her!

I have not fasted in a long, long time, and never when I was well, only while I was sick with a bad cold or flu. But I find that I tend to think about food and eating a lot, given my line of work, and I can honestly say I could always eat! So I thought that a fast might prove enlightening for me, and so this past Wednesday I did just that. I had a lovely green smoothie with fruit, bran and flaxseed around 6:30 am, and that was it. I sipped organic vegetable broth all day, and had some tea and water, and actually did okay while I was at work. I took a walk at lunch time while everyone ate pasta from our catered lunch, and felt really quite good and proud of myself! Then I drove home and wondered how it would be to be home and not go for the usual grazing foods…it was hard! I wanted to grab a piece of fruit, or a handful of nuts, but I didn’t. And then I stopped…I really wasn’t THAT hungry, but I was desiring to eat in my head! My stomach felt a little hungry, but my head was telling me I was starving! How interesting!! So I spent time with my computer, took a nice, long , hot bath and went up to bed early with a good book. I made it through my first fast.

Let me tell you that for breakfast the next day, I made a bowl of real oatmeal and topped it with a cup of blueberries and it was the best oatmeal I have ever eaten!!

I learned that I, like many of you, eat because I always eat, not because I am hungry. We eat out of habit, not from hunger cues from our body. We, I, need to learn to trust our bodies, listen to our bodies. They will tell us when we need to eat, when we need to rest, when we need to address a potential ill before it gets to be full-blown. In our fast-paced world, we think our way through our day instead of feel or sense it.

I encourage you to experiment with short fasts to see how your mind clears and your body lightens–you may learn, I hope, to listen to the ever-constant chatter of your body, and learn to really give it what it calls for. This is the path to true health and healing.

Namaste,

Diane