This week I am not officially fasting, but I am preparing my body for it. It’s really difficult to go straight from holiday eating into a fast, so I find it helpful to take a week to transition. This week (January 4-10), I am eliminating all meat, white grains, and refined sugars from my diet. I am also cutting back on dairy (I might have a little cheese in a salad) and caffeine (I will still have cream in my coffee). I will eliminate all processed food from my diet as well. This is the week I begin taking any supplements to support detox (How I Fast Part 2: Supporting the detox process).
Starting on January 10th, I will do a more restricted version of the Daniel fast for seven days. This means eliminating all dairy, all grains and legumes and consuming only fruits, vegetables and soy protein. I use soy rather than whey protein because it is plant based and easier to digest.
From there, I go to seven days of just liquids (which will include non-dairy smoothies and vegetable broths), and then a week of only juices and water (includes hot tea). When the fast is over, I add foods back in very gradually. You have to really commit to this because it is hard to not just eat everything you are craving!
Thanks Pastor Kerri
This is so helpful….so looking forward to the 21 days….
Thanks Kerri for saying how you are doing this, this will be my first time doing this fast. I was just going to jump in without thinking about preparing, pretty much I was going cold turkey. This way seems like a much better approach! Please pray I can do this, I feel ready and fired up.
Thanks,
Leah
Thank you, Kerri. This is very helpful!
Great info on your blog — great tips and practical insight.
It is gonna be a great start to 2010! Love you and thankful for your
friendship x0x0x
Hi Pastor Kerri! Thanks so much for your blogs. This is the first year I am participating. I have a ? Do you do the detox with your “enhanced” waters the entire time or just the week before?
Hi, Jenny! I do the enhanced waters and detox supplements until the third phase when I go to only juice and water. At that time I reduce my water intake to 64 oz and only take milk thistle to aid with detox. Taking the other detox support supplements without food upsets my stomach. Hope this helps!
Hi Pastor Kerri,
I felt the Lord leading me into a water fast this time around and I have not prepped simply because I realized it late that this was what I needed to do. Do you think I will be ok…without doing all that detoxing and easing into it. I feel if God is leading me then He will surely help me accomplish it. But I dont want to go into shock. I have attempted to eat lighter the last few days (unsuccessfully), but tomorrow I’m doing all liquids including juices, etc. and then right on into the water only.
Hi Laura! I want to let you know first off that if God is leading you to do a water fast, then He will sustain you through that. It’s important to know and be absolutely certain that it is from God. I don’t want to decrease your faith in any way, but I do want to make sure that you are prepared for what you’re entering into. The most important thing you can do at this point is mentally prepare.
The first day may not be that difficult, but starting the 2nd day, your body will be in full detox mode. For many people, it will feel like you have the flu. I’ll be honest and say that it really may not be possible to work while doing a water fast. You’ll notice that even Jesus went away during His time of fasting and did not continue with ministry until after the fast. This is why so many people do the Daniel fast because it is one of the only examples of fasting in the Bible where he continued to work during it.
If you’re going to do the water fast, I would recommend taking off from work for parts of it because your body will struggle. It can become a burden for you and the people you work with. I really just want you to be safe and to do this the right way. I know that you will be exhausted and your body will want to sleep way more than you’re used to.
Also, if you do happen to stumble during the fast, don’t beat yourself up over it. Move on from that point and continue with what you feel God is calling you to do. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Pastor Kerri
That was great advice you gave to Laura. You were right on point because your body will struggle and you will feel sluggish and tired. So your advice on maybe taking some days off is great. I am fasting on fruit and vegetables in the day and boneless chicken at night for a week. I am still praying and believing that God will let me know what I need to be fasting for. He did last year and I know He will do it again this year. Luv Ya Keep up the Great Work Women of GOD!!!!
Thanks for the information you provided. I am very active and teach P.E. so the thought of fasting just about blew my mind. Energy is a must for me and when I restrict my diet, I truly struggle with teaching. So I talked to some friends about what the fast is all about and decided to modify it. This is what I am doing: No red meat or meat products, no dairy, no sugar and no TV. Yes, I said TV. I have found that I waste precious time I could be using to read and study God’s word. Just thought I would share since I have the time. I love Celebration Church and the “real” people who attend. God Bless!
Pastor Kerri,
Thank you so much for your response. This is day 8 of my water fast and I am just amazed at how God has sustained me. The first few days weren’t as bad as I thought, except I craved everything on the planet! But, each day as I sit in prayer I just have felt God fuel me on to continue in this. There is a very deep reason he wants me to do this and that is what keeps me going. I do have a Vitamin C popsicle type thing that gives me just a little boost but other than that I have been good. Yes I was tired and still am, but God gets me up at crazy hours to pray!!! Haha! Anyway, God is working in me and I love it. I wish I could take work off, but I work with our Staff babies and being around others who are fasting has been encouraging. So thank you so very much Pastor Kerri. Love you so much!