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Forum -> Yom Tov / Holidays -> Shabbos, Rosh Chodesh, Fast Days, and other Days of Note
Does practice make fasting easier?



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amother


 

Post Sun, Sep 28 2014, 8:40 pm
My dh and I have an ongoing disagreement and I turn to you ladies for your opinion.

He says if I fast more often and I practice fasting then fasting will become easier for me.
I say fasting is horrible for me and no way am I fasting a drop more than I need to. And practice wont help.

What do you think? Does practice make fasting easier?
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Rubber Ducky




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 28 2014, 8:47 pm
Practice makes fasting easier in the sense that you have more opportunities to develop coping strategies that work for you, like taking Tylenol before the fast starts or getting up early to eat breakfast before dawn and then taking a long nap...
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amother


 

Post Sun, Sep 28 2014, 8:52 pm
It will depend on your physical makeup and general health.

If you are physically fit, with no underlying health issues and eat a regular balanced diet, infrequent "practice" fasting can make fast days easier as you can get to know your body's reaction, what times of day will be a struggle, etc. And develop coping skills.

If, however, you have health issues like anemia, high or low blood pressure, etc., poor eating habits, or tend toward hyper or hypoglycemia, fasting will make you miserable no matter what, and doing it more often put you at risk for complications from said health issues.
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tichellady




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 28 2014, 8:52 pm
I think not.
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acccdac




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 28 2014, 9:36 pm
I thought you were asking about having a child fast at the age of 11/12 to practice for when they are required to fast.

part of fasting is a mental issue. so depending on the person they may need the mental preparation.
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Volunteer




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 29 2014, 12:33 am
For a healthy person who has no metabolic issues (such as diabetes, hypoglycemia, etc.), reducing your food intake does help you cope with fasting. As other posters said, you can learn to use strategies to make your fast easier (such as what to eat and drink before and after, how much you need to rest, etc). Also, your body adapts to low energy intake by reducing your resting metabolic rate, so it function efficiently on less food.
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chani8




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 29 2014, 1:37 am
There is no need to practice. It does help to prepare. There are 'fast easy' herbal remedies that help very much. If you can't find them, then cutting out caffeine a week before, may also help. Nothing worse than a caffeine withdrawal on a fast. The 'fast easy' pills often have tons of caffeine in them, unless you get the ones for nursing or pregnant women, which I prefer.
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zcc




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 29 2014, 2:01 am
I know some who cut down on caffeine for around a week before the fast and they say that helps a lot. I take those pills claiming to make the fast easier - who knows if it helps or not.... At times I fast ok and at times really not.
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amother


 

Post Mon, Sep 29 2014, 2:09 am
Personally, I don't think it helps. But what I do the day(s) before a fast is to reduce my eating a drop. I find that if I eat a lot before a fast, my body is sort of 'expecting' the same amount the next day. I've heard that this is actually the case, cause your stomach expands and needs more calorie intake when it's become used to it. I find that it helps to reduce my eating before the fast, then I'm not as hungry on the actual fast.
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shabbatiscoming




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 29 2014, 2:18 am
It depends on the person. I can go days with not eating so much but as soon as I go a few hours after waking up without drinking water, Im gone. I get a migraine and thats it.

I only fast on YK and 9AV (was told it was fine by a av) because of this. I just cant take it and no matter how much water I drink before the actual fast day, it does not help the actual fast day.
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amother


 

Post Mon, Sep 29 2014, 3:23 am
amother wrote:
My dh and I have an ongoing disagreement and I turn to you ladies for your opinion.

He says if I fast more often and I practice fasting then fasting will become easier for me.
I say fasting is horrible for me and no way am I fasting a drop more than I need to. And practice wont help.

What do you think? Does practice make fasting easier?

No, practice does not make fasting easier.
In fact, the gemara says it takes 30 days to recover from a fast.
I am a terrible faster and only mom always told me to preserve my strength and not fast asarah bteves or tzom gedalya. In general I only fast yom Kippur and Tisha bav in fact.
One year it took me almost the entire 2 months between Tisha bav and yom Kippur for me to regain my hydration level. If I hadn't drowned myself in Gatorade the week before yom Kippur I don't think I would have recovered in time.
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amother


 

Post Mon, Sep 29 2014, 3:27 am
amother wrote:
Personally, I don't think it helps. But what I do the day(s) before a fast is to reduce my eating a drop. I find that if I eat a lot before a fast, my body is sort of 'expecting' the same amount the next day. I've heard that this is actually the case, cause your stomach expands and needs more calorie intake when it's become used to it. I find that it helps to reduce my eating before the fast, then I'm not as hungry on the actual fast.

Terrible faster here. I also find that overeating before the fast makes me sick. I feel best when I:
Drink extra for 2 days before fast
Eat as usual the day before, but if I'm hungry I don't think twice and will eat something I might now on another day
Seuda Hamafsekes I eat as much as I'm in the mood, which is not much, I do not stuff myself at this meal
These 3 tops help me.
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amother


 

Post Mon, Sep 29 2014, 3:41 am
I fast often- about once a week. I do drink water.
I have found that fasting has gotten easier over time- I think my body gets used to it.
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