Blessings in Christ to all who read this. The following are some helpful tips I've learned to going on a long fast, and I not only wanted to get them down for my own sake but for anyone who attempts to do it in the future.
For starters, don't attempt one simply to impress yourself, or God, or anyone else with how religious or "spiritual" you are. You won't last three days, LoL. I say that mostly to get it away, but also because I have learned some things that, although they fly in the face of my original notion of needing to eat absolutely nothing, are in my opinion vital to completing a really long fast especially.
But setting aside precautions, here are the following principles I learned and will be applying from here on out every time I do a long fast:
1. Prayer in advance of it.
Without considerable prayer for weeks and months leading up to a long fast, you will likely not have the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to complete what you set out to do. Plain and simple.
2. Begin when the Spirit leads you to.
I had originally planned on starting in September. At the time I was even wondering if I could pull off a 40 day fast because I had never gone so long before. But then one day in early July (July 4th, after celebrating and having a good meal with friends), I suddenly felt God calling me that it was time to start. I did and the empowerment was there from the start. Even my wife, who usually gets no witness about me trying to fast even for five days, suddenly had total peace about it as well.
3. Drink a lot of water.
You need to stay hydrated, plus it keeps something in your stomach to take up space and help curb the feelings of becoming empty.
4. Switch to lemon water when the taste in your mouth becomes unbearable.
This is possibly the toughest obstacle for me. I can't stand the awful taste that comes with fasting. But squeezing a half a lemon into a tall glass of water with ice has a way of changing things a great deal. Lemon is also a natural body cleanser, so it is healthier than drinking plain water. Plus, after a while (25th day or so), you start to detest the taste of plain water anyway, no matter where it comes from. Wash your mouth with plain water sometimes to avoid too much acidity on your teeth.
5. Rinse with salt water.
This is the other lifesaver where bad taste in your mouth is concerned. Rinse with salt water when drinking lemon water doesn't seem to completely do it.
6. Take Vitamin C Packets!
One of the biggest keys for me. Belching became a terrible problem for me by Day #7 or so. Every hour or so I'd go on the belching barrage to clear my stomach. I was living on 4-5 Tums per day to keep the heartburn at bay, but it wasn't good. Plus, eventually the Tums made my tongue taste even worse. But around Day #25, my wife gave me a Vitamin C packet to try, one with 1,200 mg of C, plus electrolytes and B12 and a lot of other things included. This did WONDERS! Both the heartburn and belching went away and stayed away for 3 1/2 days. Then I found out why. The Vitamin B12 acts as a strong preventative against acid indigestion. She then went and bought a box of Emergen-C 1,000 mg Vitamin C powders for me, and I've been talking one every three days since. No more belching. No more heartburn. This particular brand is less sweet, but still tastes good to put down in two gulps.
I'll update this thread with post fasting/ going back to eating principles when I've had time to gain some experience with it.
For starters, don't attempt one simply to impress yourself, or God, or anyone else with how religious or "spiritual" you are. You won't last three days, LoL. I say that mostly to get it away, but also because I have learned some things that, although they fly in the face of my original notion of needing to eat absolutely nothing, are in my opinion vital to completing a really long fast especially.
But setting aside precautions, here are the following principles I learned and will be applying from here on out every time I do a long fast:
1. Prayer in advance of it.
Without considerable prayer for weeks and months leading up to a long fast, you will likely not have the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to complete what you set out to do. Plain and simple.
2. Begin when the Spirit leads you to.
I had originally planned on starting in September. At the time I was even wondering if I could pull off a 40 day fast because I had never gone so long before. But then one day in early July (July 4th, after celebrating and having a good meal with friends), I suddenly felt God calling me that it was time to start. I did and the empowerment was there from the start. Even my wife, who usually gets no witness about me trying to fast even for five days, suddenly had total peace about it as well.
3. Drink a lot of water.
You need to stay hydrated, plus it keeps something in your stomach to take up space and help curb the feelings of becoming empty.
4. Switch to lemon water when the taste in your mouth becomes unbearable.
This is possibly the toughest obstacle for me. I can't stand the awful taste that comes with fasting. But squeezing a half a lemon into a tall glass of water with ice has a way of changing things a great deal. Lemon is also a natural body cleanser, so it is healthier than drinking plain water. Plus, after a while (25th day or so), you start to detest the taste of plain water anyway, no matter where it comes from. Wash your mouth with plain water sometimes to avoid too much acidity on your teeth.
5. Rinse with salt water.
This is the other lifesaver where bad taste in your mouth is concerned. Rinse with salt water when drinking lemon water doesn't seem to completely do it.
6. Take Vitamin C Packets!
One of the biggest keys for me. Belching became a terrible problem for me by Day #7 or so. Every hour or so I'd go on the belching barrage to clear my stomach. I was living on 4-5 Tums per day to keep the heartburn at bay, but it wasn't good. Plus, eventually the Tums made my tongue taste even worse. But around Day #25, my wife gave me a Vitamin C packet to try, one with 1,200 mg of C, plus electrolytes and B12 and a lot of other things included. This did WONDERS! Both the heartburn and belching went away and stayed away for 3 1/2 days. Then I found out why. The Vitamin B12 acts as a strong preventative against acid indigestion. She then went and bought a box of Emergen-C 1,000 mg Vitamin C powders for me, and I've been talking one every three days since. No more belching. No more heartburn. This particular brand is less sweet, but still tastes good to put down in two gulps.
I'll update this thread with post fasting/ going back to eating principles when I've had time to gain some experience with it.
