fast for 40 days

hello everyone.

i am writing this as a motivational tool during my fasting . i am an avid faster, my previous record was 27 days, this time i want to reach 40 days, anyone who has undertaken this , i would like to buddy up to get some motivation for the long slog.. i am currently at day six.

I started with 2 days for just 12 hours. Next I am just doing water for a couple weeks. Then I may go to juice, water, and herbal tea. I still haven’t fully mapped it out yet.

I want to get on my regular fasting schedule first before I attempt this. I always make the mistake of trying to do this without giving my body time to transition (not to mention my spirit), and I get sick. Not a good idea.

170 So I never stuck with it when I begun before, for the same reason I rarely complete my fasts, no matter the length: social pressure and addiction. I notice every time I begin to fast that 90% of the activities in which my friends and associates partake involve eating. It can make it difficult to stay resolved. However, I have realized that there is never going to be a convenient time to do this, so I just have to start. I’m also weird and get stuck on numbers (the length of days as well as the start date). I have been that way since I was little. I have never been diagnosed with OCD, but I have shown signs of it for awhile, but I am getting better (and it’s more than just being obsessed with numbers, but G-d willing, all of that will be in the past). Anyway, there’s also the factor of just being plain addicted to food. Food is really a drug when used improperly. Well, for this fast, I plan to use juice and water. I have a trip later next month so I might eat raw veggies by then, but I don’t suppose it’s very helpful to worry about tomorrow’s troubles today. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. I can’t afford to make my own juice at this point, although I know it’s better, so I’m going to stick with the stuff I can buy at organic stores and trust Hashem with the rest.

I am giving myself this next week to prepare myself for the 40 day fast, then I am going for it. I have been eating rich foods lately, but more out of habit than anything else, so I don’t think it will be so hard to go without it. Eating is pretty boring. But fasting isn’t just about abstaining from food, I know. I have other reasons.

Does anyone have any tips for me? I fasted a year ago for 15 days on juice, and it was amazing (although my jaw actually started hurting from lack of use. Very strange).

This is the day before Mardi Gras and I am looking forward to renewal over the Lenten season. Following the recent group fast at Church of the King, I have witness4d the power of fasting to spiritually strenthen me and to loosen the bonds of wickedness in my life. So I prepare to become a new man and to pray and honor God througho0ut the process, to try to get closer to Him and realize a more fufilling life. So I am wanting to get healthy and fit in both a spiritual and -hysical way. It is gratifying to see there are other people out there on the road with whom to share experience, strength aqnd hope. I am glad I found this site!

I sincerely hope you are not doing this for religious reasons.

After a lot of research and deciding, I’m doing a juice fast for the first week to ease myself in, followed by ideally 26 days of water fasting, and ending with a week of juice fasting. It’ll be interesting to see if I can make it the whole 40 days as well as to experience the fast on a day to day basis.

This is something that can only be understood when you have done it. The clarity, direction and other benefits are insane. Physical, mental- everything is so much better. It is getting over the first curve that is hard, after that it is a breeze. Then of course the next hurdle is getting back to “real life”. But be careful. ALWAYS prepare your body, and your mind. This is not something to undertake one Saturday morning when you wake up bored.

To test my will power and discover what it is to live without regard to the carnal desires.