I Put Nothing In My Body But Water For 40 Days, And Here’s What Happened

THE FAST

At the start I should clarify, I chose to do a “water fast” for the season of Lent, but as some of you might know - traditionally the 40 days of lent does not include Sundays. So I ate food on Sundays - it was not 40 days straight, but 40 days over 7 weeks (actually 42 days). I would eat Sunday night, and then not again until the next week Sunday morning. I went six days a row without food or drink (other than water) for seven weeks. I also want to mention - I do not have any health conditions (such as blood sugar problems or medications) that would cause me distress in doing this. While you’re going to hear me HIGHLY recommend this practice in this article - I did want to give a caveat for those whose medical situation prohibits it. Worst thing I had was a caffeine headache for a few days, and I’ll describe the physical effects and challenges later but first - I need to rave a little bit about how AMAZING this adventure was.

WASH YOUR FACE

You might be familiar with the moment when Jesus teaches us about fasting (Matthew 6:16-18). He uses a phrase “wash your face” - by which he means that when we fast, we should not make a performance out of it. In fact, as much as possible, we should not let people know that we are fasting. We “wash our face” so people don’t worry about us. To be honest, for that reason I hesitated to write this article at all. I don’t want people to be impressed with what I did - I am only writing this to encourage others to try the same thing in their own lives. To be honest, another reason is because I lost a fair bit of weight, and I kept declining offers for lunch or coffee meets - so some folks were worried about me. I write these words to explain so that people don't think I’d gotten sick or something more dramatic. While I decided to write this in order to promote the practice of fasting - I truly do believe that if you want to get the most out of your fasting, mention it to as few people as possible, and don’t make a big deal of it as you go. 

SPIRITUAL BREAKTHROUGHS

A friend of mine mentioned in a recent sermon, “Fasting is often associated with spiritual breakthroughs” - and boy, was he RIGHT. This has easily been the most significant catalyst for my spiritual life I have ever had (and I’m a pastor who has been chasing the way of Jesus pretty much my entire life). I cannot overstate it - if it’s physically possible, everyone should try fasting more often. And it wasn’t just one spiritual breakthrough for me - it was over and over as the weeks went by. God showed me my idols, my mixed up priorities, my sins - and scrubbed me clean in every area. At first I thought I’d go through them and share them with everyone - but the truth is, they probably wouldn’t interest you all that much. These were the things I needed to work on, that really only make sense in my personal life, and the Holy Spirit has been working on me mightily. I got 3-4 weeks into this fast and realized, “Oh wow, I never want this closeness with Jesus to end.” I found myself actually afraid to end this season of fasting - because I didn’t want to lose this closeness I have found with Christ. My prayer life has exponentially grown, my heart for the people around me, and my commitment to removing sinful practices that I’ve found are still in my life. That, plus the realization that I was not going to overcome everything in just 7 weeks. I am nowhere near a finished product, and I’ve tried hard to put practices in place that I will keep up long after I begin eating once again. 

I can now say from abundant personal experience - fasting is an INCREDIBLE way to grow closer in your walk with Jesus. Food is such a source of stability and comfort in our lives, and by removing it entirely - it really shifts the foundation of our world, and leads us to deeper reflections. Even if you can’t handle 40 days - try 10 days, or 1 day, or even just a meal everyday. Although, to really maximize your spiritual growth - I would challenge you to go bigger. Comfort never leads to growth. Pushing the boundaries of what we think we can handle is where you really open yourself to what God might be trying to tell you. My mantra throughout became “I’m hungry, but I’m hungrier for you Jesus.”

THE PHYSICAL EFFECTS

I have to laugh, because I got some of the funniest questions during my fast. I had a family member ask me, “so wait, how are you still alive?” And I had a lot of people do the “that’s so crazy, I could never make it” reaction. One of the reasons I think it was so easy is because I drew such a simple, hard line. Nothing except water - Monday through Saturday. There was no rationalizing or wobbling - which allowed me to stick to it really easily. Just turn off that part of my brain - it’s an easy no. And to all the questions and concerns I want to say - honestly, this wasn’t that big of a deal. The first week was really rough, but after that - it was far easier than I anticipated. 

First - the weight loss. This was the thing I was the most worried about. I had a few extra pounds I could afford to lose, but if I lost too much too quickly - I was worried I wouldn’t be able to complete the fast. As it turns out, eating on Sunday puts a fair amount of the weight back on, so I became accustomed to a bit of a yo-yo up and down in weight numbers. After the first week, my metabolism adjusted really well and I lost weight at a very steady, reasonable rate. All told I lost about 30 pounds by the end of it (which, thankfully I had to lose without any concern). I don’t know that I’d go so far as to recommend the “prayer and fasting diet plan” - but the weight loss was not a major problem. It averaged roughly 5 pounds a week.

Second - caffeine addiction. One thing that I had not anticipated was how much I would miss coffee. When I say the first week was the worst - I mean the caffeine headaches. For those of you who know me well, I drink a LOT of coffee (roughly a pot a day, before the fast). I struggled that first week with headaches and exhaustion. But then, in the second week - I felt a thousand times better. The headaches went away, my energy level stabilized and I couldn’t believe how GOOD I felt. I didn’t have “freedom from caffeine addiction” on my bingo card (but then again, I didn’t have “fits into my college jeans” on that card either) - but here we are. I still enjoy coffee, and I’m sure I’ll go back to drinking lots of it in the weeks to come. But to be honest, I’ve developed a really great habit of reaching for my water bottle instead of a coffee mug - and I’m pretty sure I’ll be a lot healthier for it. 

Third - the downsides. There were two physical effects that I do want people to know about. A lot of people assumed that I would get crazy fatigued or out of my mind hungry - but that never really happened. I did cut out my usual morning run for the last two months, but six weeks in I was able to work on building a chicken coop for 8 hours outside straight, hauling 8 foot 4x4’s around my yard with no concern. (See picture of what we did that weekend).

what a lovely chicken coop frame!

Even on Saturdays, when I’d gone 6 days without food - I could be around people eating, and even prepare lunch for my kids without any issues. I did have moments where I would get tired - but that wasn’t much more or less than my life before fasting. Basically, my body adjusted and by taking it a little easier than usual - I could handle the fatigue no problem. The other one that surprised me was the COLD. Losing a bit of weight, especially during the false spring weather of March and April - I was cold all the time! I think a fair amount of energy goes into heating the body, and without that, I wore a lot of sweaters and blankets during my fasting.

WHAT I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY

Whenever I do decide to fast again - I think there’s really just one thing I would change. If I were to do it again - I’d make sure my family is REALLY on board. Sure, I had discussed it with my wife Sara ahead of time - but I didn’t really take into account how MUCH it would affect family life. Whether it was bringing coffee to one another in the mornings, sitting together during mealtimes or little snacks we would eat when the kids went to bed - losing all of that was a bigger loss than I realized (not because of the food, but because the food was the catalyst for spending time together). It’s not an obstacle, but rather something to keep in mind so that next time it will go even better. Fasting is a new thing for me, especially one so intense and prolonged - but once again, I cannot recommend it highly enough. I loved this experience, I’m so grateful for the ways I have grown closer to Jesus. This crazy thing I did changed my life. I hope I never go back to who I was before I went through it. And I would encourage you all: if you’re physically capable. Push yourself and try a fast. 

Happy Easter everyone!

Pastor JJ - The Simpleton