Fasting tip

With Yom Kippur around the corner, it’s time to think about the best way to fast so that we can make it through the day without collapsing during Neilah.

The Cap’n and I have read tips for the long fasts (Yom Kippur, Tisha B’Av) from a number of people over the years.  Most of them suggest carbo-loading shortly before the fast begins, stuffing one’s face with pasta or some such food.

But as the years (and fasts) have gone by, I’ve been less satisfied with this method of fast preparation.  I have a headache before I even go to bed on the evening of the fast (my anticipation headache, I call it) and the Cap’n is good for nothing but napping all afternoon on the fast day.

Then we remembered some interesting facts we’ve come across.  The Cap’n read that children (particularly girls) do much better at school (score higher on tests, concentrate for longer) and are less hungry during the morning when they’ve had protein for breakfast.  I read that professional dancers load up on carbohydrates before a performance, but replenish their muscles afterward by eating a high-protein meal.

So this year, we decided to experiment before Tisha B’Av.  We ate lots of fruit for two days before the fast, which releases water more slowly than drinking glass after glass of water the day before the fast.  Then the day before the fast we had a starchy lunch, but about an hour before the fast, made a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches each.  We felt very full for the rest of the evening, but how would we feel the next day?

As it turned out, much better than in the past.  I take advantage of the heter for nursing mothers to eat and drink shiurim (a small mouthful of food or cheekful of water every 9 minutes), but I usually try to fast until noon of the fast day.  This year, that was a very easy task, and in the end one piece of buttered toast and a glass of water was all I needed to get through the fast very comfortably.  The Cap’n felt much better too, and was awake for much of the afternoon of the fast.

Half-fasts can be eased by making a peanut butter (and jelly) sandwich and keeping it at the ready.  Set the alarm for half an hour before the fast begins, wash, eat the sandwich, drink water (or milk; the Cap’n can’t eat a pb/j sandwich without a glass of milk), bentsh, brush teeth (if you’re awake enough) and go back to bed.  The fast should go very smoothly.

Any other fasting suggestions are welcome.  I’m not a coffee drinker, but some of my best friends are, and their methods of fast preparation differ.  Some wean themselves off caffeine in advance, while others overdose the day before the fast to help them get through it without the weaning process.

Easy fasting.

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