I have always been curious about “fasting”, but never found the courage or strength to partake in this experience. For those unfamiliar, “fasting” is to abstain from all or some kinds of food or drink, especially as a religious observance and is to be done with the object of seeking to know God in a deeper experience.
On Monday 22, I was having a conversation about fasting and I made the decision to test my body, faith and mind. Would I be able to last a week of fasting? Did I have what it takes to go the distance? I was going to find out one way or another. Here is an account of that journey! I honestly couldn’t have come to that decision without the support of a very special person. Not only did she encourage me to go on this journey but she joined along. Seeing that this was her first time fasting as well, it was comforting to know that I wasn’t alone. We decided to go 7 days while fasting for 12 hours.
Day 1. We fasted from 6 am to 6 pm. It wasn’t bad at all. I’m not a consistent 3 meal a day guy so I guess my body wasn’t too surprised. I did have to eat twice that evening in order to feel satisfied. With day 1 out of the way, my fasting journey had officially begun. No turning back!
Day 2. My good friend Thioro, who has been fasting for many years as a faithful Muslim gave me some pointers on how Muslims break fast. In addition to that I agreed to break my fast with her following Muslim traditions. ‘Iftar’ (breaking the fast immediately after sunset) consists of fruits, in her case dates and a banana, then a balanced meal (protein, starch and greens) and finally a drink (tea). She also encouraged me to pray, something I had made a habit to do on a regular base before going to sleep.
Day 3. This was the most challenging day so far. The feeling of hunger had gripped my stomach all day. In addition to fasting, I went for a light jog in the morning. I’m not sure if that had anything to do with how much hungrier I felt. Only time will tell.
Day 4. My first real struggle with temptation came on this day!! I experienced hunger sooner in the day and the hunger persisted through the day. No only that but my wonderful sister invited me to her going away office barbecue with a group of Brazilians and Argentinians!! YES!! You read correctly!! And in case you think I’m lying, the picture speak for itself!! It was meat galore!!! Sausage, steaks, Chicken, you name it, it was there!!! Safe to say I was tempted more than once. “Just a little bite” I would tell myself. And every other person who offered me food would be shocked at me response.
Day 5. A most manageable day in deed. My initial thoughts were that this would get harder as the days went on. And you have to understand that I’m a bit of a foodie, so I never go a day without watching some food related videos or trying out a new dish or pastry. To my amazement, watching delectable dishes or even being around it did not bother me that much.
Day 6. I woke up to a nightmare. I had messed up my fasting by chewing gum lol!! Of all the tempting dishes that could have been a source of failure, gum is what my subconscious chose! Well needless to say, this was another hard day! But in the evening I realized what was the cause of my struggle over the past days. I have never been a breakfast person, so unlike my Muslim friends who generally will get up early for “Suhoor” to pray and have breakfast before dawn, I skipped it entirely. I was consuming a medium size meal ones a day and every now and then I would have a snack before bed. I believe that by day 5, my body was having a hard time adjusting to the one meal a day regiment.
Day 7. This day was like the previous two, extremely difficult!!! But this was the final day of my 7 day fast journey and my resolve was at it’s highest! I did complain a bit more than usual lol!
They are many challenges I never started, fasting was one of them. I am proud of myself for having pulled through. If I could give a piece of advice to anyone, it would be this:
“Our greatest challenge lays not in an insurmountable task, but in our minds.” The saying “what the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve” is the corner stone of any success!
See you soon!
Truly,
Cedric Metangmo