Fasting

[ThomasV]

HOW DO WE FAST ITS SO HARD ITS MY FRIST TIME SO FATHER JOHN TOLD ME JUST TO DO MEATS FOR NOW.:groupray: WHAT DO YOU THINK????

ON WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY I STILL DO MEATS, FISH AND DAIRY

[Anhelyna]

Thomas - obey Fr John .

First rule - you listen to your Priest and do as he bids you.

He is wiser than you.

[Sacrum Silentium]

If that's the map he gave you, that's the road to take.

Just remember that fasting without prayer is dieting. The Fathers called it the demons fast, and those aren't light words at all. Try and see fasting as a denial of self for the glory of God, a way of saying no to the flesh to grow strong in battling the passions, and not so much as less cheeseburgers.

[Knowledge3]

Here is my approach to holy fasting:

1) Their god is their stomach
2) Always stuffing their gob to the full

I learned that from a book on the Unity of Christ by St. Cyril.

[Protoevangel]

HOW DO WE FAST ITS SO HARD ITS MY FRIST TIME SO FATHER JOHN TOLD ME JUST TO DO MEATS FOR NOW. WHAT DO YOU THINK????

ON WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY I STILL DO MEATS, FISH AND DAIRY
1.) No need to shout. No big deal, but ALL CAPS IS GENERALLY CONSIDERED RUDE.
2.) Do exactly what your priest tells you to do. If you stumble (eat meat when you were told not to), simply pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again. Don't beat yourself up.
3.) If you have a health reason why you cannot do something, please disregard #2. But this is ESSENTIAL information for your priest to have. He cannot help you unless you are totally open and honest with him about everything.

[Akathist]

HOW DO WE FAST ITS SO HARD ITS MY FRIST TIME SO FATHER JOHN TOLD ME JUST TO DO MEATS FOR NOW.:groupray: WHAT DO YOU THINK????

ON WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY I STILL DO MEATS, FISH AND DAIRY

Yes Thomas, fasting is very challenging especially when we are new to it.

Obedience to your Spritual Father like everyone else says is the highest priority!

Here is what I do when it is very very hard for me. For example, I am hungry and am at the grocery store to buy food. I avoid areas where they have meat products out for show. I buy a bottle of water to sip on while I shop and that can help me focus elsewhere.

When the fast continues a bit longer, I find it gets even harder for me. Others have told me it is easier later. But for me, I find that wearing a prayer rope on my wrists helps me a lot. Just having it to look at or touch even if I don't sit and use it right them just keeps me on track.

Another thing I do is focus on some foods that I genuinely only eat on a fast day. For example. I like vegtarian "rice a roni" with slivered almonds and tumeric (spice). I only have this on a fast day though I like it I don't eat it all the time. Then when the fast is especially hard, that is what I fix. It is following the fast but it is something I really like.

I also have found that for me, I need to keep peanut butter and fresh bread around because sometimes I get really frustrated that it is meal time and I don't want to cook something. I can make a peanut butter sandwhich and have some fresh fruit and some crunchy veggies for a meal.

And most importantly, as Blake said, increasing prayer is absolutely important. That is not only a major part of the fast, it is what helps me stick with it as well!

[NyssaTheHobbit]

Some examples of increasing prayer: I've been including Psalms in my prayer time. Somebody here suggested doing 4 Psalms a day during Lent; that's roughly what I'm doing (some get pretty long and I have a 3-year-old). There's also the Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim, which I've been doing three times a day: http://www.goarch.org/en/resources/prayers/saint_ephrem.asp

The first couple of weeks of going meatless were hard (including Cheese Fare), with general weakness and chicken nugget cravings. But now in the third week, it's become a lot easier, and I no longer feel the weakness or cravings. So hang in there.

[Shubunkin]

It gets easier each time. Trust me. :)