The Definitive Progressive Fast

Back in early 2018, myself and a group of guys from A.Life Ministry made the decision to engage in what ended up being a life-altering lent fast. We called it the Progressive Fast because it describes the nature of it, but we also came up with the name because we didn't know if it already existed. If it does, oh well - we made it a hot song. Regardless, it was one of the most difficult things I've ever done, and I'm only who I am now because of it.

The fast itself is a water fast at its core, starting off light and getting progressively harder as the days go by. This is probably the healthiest method to approach multiple days without food. When putting your body through extended periods of what's essentially starvation, you could potentially shock your system and extend your recovery time dramatically (and, with any fast of this level, your health could be at risk - if you're unsure about whether you can handle it, talk to your doctor first. We ain't built like people was twenty centuries ago)!

Here's how the dates lined up:

• Days 1-10: Eat between noon and midnight. Lightwork for those who skip breakfast.
• Days 11-20: Eat between 3p and midnight. Easy if you take late lunches.
• Days 21:30: Eat between 6p and midnight. The most productive workdays of your life.
• Days 31-39: Eat between 9p and midnight. Make dinner plans for 8:30 with non-draining people.
• Days 40-46: Water only. Your prayers start getting real fervent and desperate. Bible verses with bread stand out.

​Over the course of the fast, will notice yourself gradually begin to lose weight. I can only speak for my own experience, but the first ten days, there was no discernible change in my body. However, I probably lost two pounds per day in that last week. And over the course of the entire fast, I lost 30 pounds total. I'm a bigger guy, so I know I had reserves to draw from (lol) but people on the smaller end of the BMI spectrum will have a different experience. Also, this fast was done for religious purposes and NOT for weight loss. Once you return to eating, you start putting back on weight anyway. It is ultra rare for the weight to stay off unless you plan on changing your lifestyle completely and never going back to your old diet and routines, which would require an entirely different kind of reset.

As far as energy levels go, you should be able to move around normally for most of it. But after day 40, I wouldn't recommend going to the gym or engaging in heavy cardio, as it might leave you feeling light-headed. The last 3-4 days, there's a heavy chance you'll be like me and end up limited to two rooms in your house - the bedroom, and the bathroom. Even for that, you'll feel like you need Rafiki's Bakora stick to travel between them.

​Another important note: when you don't eat for any extended time, your breath stinks. Walk with a toothbrush, or some mouthwash, or at least a pack of gum. Mints aren't enough - you will consistently need to evaluate the offensiveness of your oral cavity, and it isn't wise to leave it up to your friends to tell you. People are way too nice nowadays.

​One of the things that made the fast a little easier was eating healthy during the times I was allowed to (minus the carbs. Never giving those up). Truth is, you want as much sustainable energy as you can get, so you won't feel depleted in your hungry hours. That also means avoiding things like junk food, alcohol, etc. that'd mess with your body chemistry and make you feel nasty and sluggish. Even large meals towards the end start to work against you! On the 39th day at 10pm, my last supper was grapes, bread, goat cheese and crackers. Got a little fancy with some honey and olive oil. I've never felt closer to Jesus.

​Another thing: hydration is key! Even in the days you aren't eating, make sure you drink water. Your body might not be down for it since your digestive system basically goes into sleep mode, but it will save you a LOT of trouble when it comes time to break the fast. Trust me. If you feel like your body won't accept water in the last two days, you'll be okay. But it's important to drink at least three cups of water per day before then, and gradually increase your water intake once you break your fast before transitioning into foods of any kind.

Many of us hadn't abstained from food before, at least not for this long. I think the most any of us had done was 48hrs. Certain things we were prepared for, like warfare with our stomachs and not needing scroll time on the toilet since we weren't consuming as much food. But the one thing none of us were prepared for was vomiting during the last seven days. It was real confusing at first - if we weren't eating, how could we vomit anything? Well turns out, it wasn't food that came up, but bile. Bile is, according to Google: "a bitter greenish-brown alkaline fluid that aids digestion and is secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder." Not everyone experienced this in our group, but it was enough of us to cause concern. I spoke with my mom who's a nurse, and she reassured me that this was a normal occurrence during water and dry fasts. Bile is made up of a bunch of stuff, but your body ejecting it is how it detoxifies your system. So all the bad things you've had lingering in your body are ejected! This knowledge definitely kept us in the game till the end, but man - I've never thrown up so much in my life! It'd be wise to keep an empty plastic water bottle near the bed. I also found that sleeping on my stomach with a pillow vertically under my head/torso was the most effective position for reducing nausea.

After the fast is done, PLEASE DON'T JUMP INTO EATING SOLID FOODS. You need to work your way up to eating anything. Start with a liquid soup or bone broth, maybe a smoothie at most. Then progress to easily digestible foods. I chose mashed potatoes as my first dish. Transition into starches/veggies/fruits, and leave dairy/meat for last since they are hardest on your system. Some people could eat the day after breaking, while others needed an entire week. Listen to your body!

The last note I have for this might probably scare some people, and it is by no means a default occurrence, but the second the fast was over was when the visions started. I literally couldn't discern what was reality and what wasn't, and God was very vocal through it all. In my mind, I thought this was probably what taking mushrooms or LSD was like. It's not an experience I'm necessarily chasing after. There were some good moments, but there were also some real dark moments where certain imagery used to represent the necessity of my ego's death felt borderline apocalyptic. But at the same time, there was a lot about my perspective on the world and the people in it that needed changing, so I'm thankful. And at the end of it all (once I regained clarity and the world around me had defined lines), I did something I previously thought was impossible. And the sky of what was possible for my life was as infinite as the God I serve.