I began intermittent fasting just to shed a few pounds. Now, many months into this, I feel like the fabric of who I am has changed for the better in ways I could never have predicted. I am not a doctor, and I am certainly not offering any medical or nutritional advice. If the health or spiritual benefits of fasting interests you, be sure to talk with your doctor and read some good books (I like Fast, Feast, Repeat by Gin Stephens and The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung, as well as the New England Journal of Medicine article, “Effects on Intermittent Fasting on Health, Aging, and Disease” by Dr. Rafael de Cabo and Dr. Mark Mattson).
Please do not attempt fasting if you have any kind of disordered eating. This is a tool for health, not for harm.
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While medicine and nutrition are not my areas of expertise, I have studied the world’s major religious systems. Even more, I devote my life to understanding people’s spirituality — meaning the interplay between their sense of self and their sense of the divine. Unlike with most eating patterns, the religions of the world have had a lot to say about the topic of fasting.
- Ash Wednesday falls on March 2nd this year. This marks the beginning of Lent, when billions of Christians around the world take stock of their spiritual lives. They fast and pray for forty days until Easter, when they celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with a great feast. Lenten fasting varies for Christians who engage in this practice. Some simply give up meat on Fridays, symbolic of not contributing to animal suffering on the day traditionally associated with Christ’s death. Others fast from a beloved food for the entire season of Lent. Some pick one day each week to only consume water. The devotion is personal and wholly devoted to Christ.
- Observant Jews engage in six fasting days throughout the year, from sundown on one day until sundown the next day. At other times, they abstain from unleavened bread. Observant Jews always fast from pork and shellfish, as well as meat and dairy combined.
- Muslims fast during the entire month of Ramadan, during all daylight hours. This sacred month concludes with a huge feast known as Eid al-Fitr, or the Festival of the Breaking of the Fast. Muslims always fast from pork and alcohol.
- Buddhists are known to fast after noon until dawn the following day. Buddhist monks and nuns are especially expected to practice this discipline. It is said that the Buddha himself claimed he never ate an evening meal, in order to retain health and vitality.
- Hindus are not obligated to fast, but may choose to do so. Each person’s fast may be overseen by a teacher and regulated according to ancient religious rules. This is done carefully, to not bring harm to the body.
These religions, considered the five major religious traditions of the world, all integrate some form of fasting into their spiritual doctrines and practices, and many others do as well. Fasting might seem like a new “diet,” but in reality it is an ancient tool used not only for physical purification and health, but also spiritual rewards. I have discovered some spiritual benefits of my own.
Fasting has helped me get my mind off of food. When my body became adjusted to eating in a new pattern, it freed my mind to plan and prepare food much less, and think about other things much more. The world’s religions tell their practitioners to devote the time once spent in food preparation to prayer, study, and connecting in a deeper way with God. This has become easier for me to do. When my mind is less concerned with eating constantly throughout the day, I can be mindful of my spiritual practices distraction-free.
With less food in my body during certain hours, and with my body not working hard with the task of digestion, I have experienced enhanced concentration and focus. That familiar “brain fog” is absolutely gone. I also feel energy through the roof, without caffeine to chemically force energy. I am so much more able to accomplish all I feel called to do. I never drag myself around, working for the sake of duty. Instead, I want to engage in my life now more than ever, and work for the sake of joy. I feel like I am decades younger. I had no idea that kind of energy could come back to me. This directly affects my spiritual life. I am eager to strive for, and accomplish, dreams and goals!
Fasting reminds me to much more deeply consider those living in poverty. I allow myself to feel the sensation of mild hunger, and listen to my body’s natural cues to eat. This helps me realize what would happen if I regularly had no access to appropriate amounts of food, or food of poor nutrient density. I look at the entire food chain, all who grow food, all who distribute food, and all who suffer for lack of food or food insecurity, with much more compassion and a sense of partnership. I also never want to contribute to animal suffering in order to eat. I want all of our food to be clean and healthy. I have these concerns much more now that I practice a form of fasting. It feels like I woke up to what all of this means for us all, and I do not take food for granted.
After each fast, I feast! I am certain I am taking in as many calories in my eating window as I once did throughout the course of an entire day, and with a wide variety of nutrients. I am much more grateful for my own food when I feast than I ever was when I mindlessly grazed all day long. I eat with celebration each day, thanking God for the abundance I have been given. Hunger makes every day feel like Thanksgiving. I only want good quality food now, and I am incredibly grateful for every bite.
I love when Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life.” I realize my total reliance on God for sustenance, for nourishment, for life. Keeping a period of fasting each day, I can reflect on how dependent I am on physical food as well as spiritual nourishment. I can then break the fast each day with a joyful and grateful heart. As I have ventured into this practice, I have discovered just what the ancients of so many traditions meant. Something about delaying creature comforts just for a time opens up a vast landscape of hidden blessings. For me, it has helped connect me much more deeply to my truest self, my Creator, and the billions of people across thousands of years who have walked a similar path, reaping abundant rewards.
STEPHANIE LAPE
Stephanie Lape is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
She holds a Master of Arts degree in Transpersonal Psychology (the psychology of religious experience) from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, and a Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary. A long-time professor of comparative religions and former campus minister, she now serves as pastor at Eden Lutheran Church in Riverside, California.
Stephanie speaks and teaches on matters of spiritual and psychological development, biblical studies, the enneagram personality tool, and comparative religions. She is an active advocate for interfaith and ecumenical studies. She has taught classes on major religious movements in churches, schools, and city programs, while also leading tours and guest speaking at mosques, synagogues, and temples. Stephanie is honored to be a speaker at the 2021 and 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions.
She also loves to write. Stephanie is a contributing author for Living Lutheran Magazine and author of Beckoned: Hearing God’s Call to Deeper Faith, which is both a travelogue of her own winding spiritual journey, as well as a guide to help people discover their own path. She lives with her husband and two children in Southern California.
