Fasting for Yom Kippur

Today is Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. Although I raised my two daughters as Jewish, have celebrated many Jewish holidays, and have even hosted a seder or two for Passover, I have never before fasted on Yom Kippur. Today is a first for me.

Back in college, my best friend convinced me to try the Master Cleanse with her. We were living together at the time, and she purchased all the supplies. We started the day with a glass of warm water mixed with lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup. Strange, but not horrible. No coffee. No tea. I was sent off to class with a tiny baggie of raw almonds and raisins. These were for an emergency. I was supposed to fast all day.

I may have lasted until about 9:15am or so before I began dipping into the emergency provisions. The nuts and raisins were gone by 10am. I was eating lunch by about 10:30. I decided that day that fasting was impossible. Maybe some folks could do it, but I wasn't one of them.

Fast forward thirty-odd years. I've been practicing intermittent fasting now for almost a full year. On a daily basis, I fast for 15-16 hours out of every 24. I no longer eat breakfast. Not ever! I have 2 full meals and one snack each day. My first meal is usually around 11am or 12noon. I eat dinner (which is sometimes just a shake) around 4pm. I have a snack around 7pm and I am done eating for the day.

Although this doesn't sound like a lot of food, I am always completely satisfied with my meals and snacks. I am normally hungry in the morning, but this is a feeling I am now used to. I don't freak out when I feel hungry. I almost never get a headache, feel dizzy or weak, or have any symptoms of low blood sugar. I teach for several hours most mornings without eating. I usually forget about my hunger until the next meal time rolls around. I figured I could probably fast for a full 24 hours without an issue.

The key to fasting is distraction. It helps to keep busy doing something that is not associated with food. Get out of the kitchen! Reading food blogs with photos of mouth-watering recipes is not the best strategy. Reading non-food-related material definitely helps, though! You might want to spend the time cleaning, catching up on bills, gardening, writing, praying, volunteering, hiking, drawing, playing piano, bike riding, doing laundry, meditating, practicing yoga, or any one of at least a million other pursuits. On Yom Kippur, you can figure out how to be a better person during the coming year.

Once you get started, you might realize fasting is easy. Especially when you begin and end your fast at sundown, a 24-hour fast suddenly seems very doable. And it is. For me, it means skipping the two meals I normally eat at 12 and 4pm. I will eat tonight at about 7pm or sunset.

If you are interested in exploring intermittent fasting as a way to lose weight, become healthier, or just as an experiment, please feel free to contact me. I can provide support face-to-face, over the phone, or by email.