The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

 Well.....we are in the middle of the 5th day and things seem to be going .... okay.  Actually I'm seeing some very positive things.  One of the very first things I always see when I'm on the Daniel's Fast is the decreasing of inflammation.  This is probably what makes people feel like they lose weight very quickly at the beginning.  It is, indeed, weight, but water weight for the most part.  But that increased fluid that we carry around is in the form of inflammation in our joints and it causes us some problems!  A huge part of the "normal" aches and pains that people have is due to inflammation.  Just imagine your body being a water balloon.  The more water it retains, the tighter and tighter the balloon (your skin and joints) gets.  Your hands, feet, and legs swell.  My ring gets tight and leaves an indention around my finger.  It gets painful to make a fist.  Clothes don't fit like they used to.  And you hurt all over more than anywhere else.  The Daniel's Fast is marvelous for reducing inflammation.  Your body is flushing out those toxins and your increased (hopefully) water intake helps with that process as well as getting rid of excess fluids.  Did you know that drinking enough water will help keep you from retaining water?  Amazing, isn't it?  We are definitely fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of our Creator!

In my searching for answers and for ideas and recipes to make the Fast more palatable, I found this book during our last Fast:  The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast by Kristen Feola on Amazon.com. 

The Utimate Guide to The Daniel Fast by Kristen Feola  
I used some of the information in it sparingly at that time but I began reading it in earnest just prior to us beginning this fast.  It is a wonderful book with a lot of information about the fast, a multitude of recipes, meal planning, and shopping lists as well as a wealth of spiritual insights about fasting and prayer with scripture references and a daily devotion section to be used while you are on the fast.  I have been using that section every morning and it is really encouraging and uplifting.

The recipes are awesome.  I'm sure I won't cook everything in the book but I've already tried several and I'll share a few of them on here, as promised, but you really should invest in a copy of the book for yourself.  You will use it over and over again.

Before I get into that, I need to say something about the Bad and the Ugly.  One of the symptoms that I have had the last several times we have done the Fast is a terrible aching in my lower back, hips, and down my legs.  It was usually during these times that I would begin searching the internet for answers and I would think that I should have blogged about our Fast.  Well, true to form, it came....in waves.  I'm sorry to say that I still don't know why.  I do know, however, that I'm not the only one who has experienced these symptoms.  My husband, my daughter-in-law, my mother have all had a certain amount of these symptoms.  I have to confess that it was so bad last night that I had to take some ibuprofen.  I hate it but I was not going to get any sleep if I hadn't.  Prayerfully, that won't hinder the results of my fast too terribly.  Today has been a little better but I am still having pain.  Last night it went from my low back, down my hips, down my legs and even my big toes were hurting.  I don't know if it is from partial dehydration from not drinking enough water and if it is just a normal part of detox.  Who knows?  However, I do know, from experience that it will go away.

Back to the Good.  Yesterday, I made a wonderful Black Bean Dip from the book and I served it with semi-homemade corn tortilla chips.  (The "semi" simply means I bought corn tortillas and cut them into triangles and baked them in the oven.  The book says you can use Tostitos Baked Tortilla chips but I couldn't find them in the store.)  Here's the recipe:  1 Tblsp extra-virgin olive oil, I cup diced onion, I cup diced red bell pepper, 1 clove garlic, minced, 1/2 cup water, 2 15-oz cans black beans rinsed and drained, 2 Tblsp fresh parsley or 1-1/2 tsp dried, 1/2 tsp dried crushed rosemary, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper.
Heat oil in a lg skillet over med heat.  Add onions and red peppers and cook until onions are soft and translucent.  (I wanted to eat those right out of the skillet.)  Stir in garlic and cook for 30 secs, stirring constantly so garlic doesn't burn.  Place water and 2 cups of beans in a food processor or blender.  Process until smooth.  Pour pureed beans into the skillet and stir.  Add the remaining beans, parsley, rosemary, salt, and pepper.  Reduce heat to low and cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Transfer to a serving dish and serve warm.  You can serve with Tortilla Chips, use as a topping for baked potatoes, and/or add 1/4 cup salsa.  I won't try to put the recipes on here of these two items for space sake but they were extremely yummy:  Apricot-Nut Breakfast Bar and Banana-Fig Oatmeal with Almond Butter.  If you want the recipes, comment on here with your email address and I'll be happy to share.  Or better yet, get the book!

Hopefully there won't be too much more Bad and Ugly and all I'll have is Good to report!  I am feeling better and my energy is returning!  The time I'm spending in the Word and in Prayer is wonderful as well.  I'm excited for what is to come! 

Why Fast?

"Then......thine health shall spring forth speedily...."  This portion of Isaiah 58:8 has always been one of my favorite promises in the Word of God.  Isaiah 58 is the chapter that discusses the Fast that God has chosen.  He is reprimanding His people for their motives and actions in performing the Biblical principal of Fasting.  Fasting is restricting food for a spiritual purpose.  God has specific intentions when it comes to Fasting.  It matters to Him how it is done... and why it is done. 

My husband and I have participated in corporate Fasts down through the years as well as personal Fasts on our own.  For the last few years we have done what is called the Daniel's Fast, which is based on the Fast that the prophet, Daniel, did as described in the book of Daniel, chapter 10.  Each time we did the Fast, I would wish that I had blogged about our experience after we were well into the Fast.  Thankfully (hopefully), I remembered that desire before we actually started the Fast. 

While Fasting is a spiritual discipline, and should be done for spiritual reasons, there are definite physical results and trials that one experiences.  That is the purpose for this blog series.  I am planning to blog about our experience on a spiritual level as well in my blog "His Plan For Me" at leslie-tritsch.blogspot.com but this blog is strictly about the physical aspects.  In performing the Fast in the past I have undergone several physical symptoms, that I wondered if anyone else had ever felt.  I searched for answers on the internet and was unsuccessful in locating them.  I have always been a person who wants to know "Why?".  There is always a reason.  Now, I do not profess to be a Doctor, a Scientist, or any Professional of the sort so all I will propose to do here is present the symptoms and, if someone else has experienced the same, at least they will know they are not alone.  More importantly, they will know that it is a natural occurrence, and not life-threatening. 

Another thing I do know is that no two people are alike.  All of our bodies are different and they react differently to the same stimuli.  I am, according to the Doctors, a Diabetic.  I can tell you for a certainty, my body reacts different to sugar levels than most other Diabetics that I know.  Therefore, please take anything I say in this series as my personal experience and do not base what you do on my experience.  As a disclaimer, I have to say, if you are a Diabetic or have other physical conditions, please discuss with your Doctor before starting any Fasting regimen.  Personally, I am not afraid to Fast.  Especially the Daniel's Fast because you do eat.  It is amazing to me the effect this Fast has on my sugar levels.  I am convinced that, if I were to stay on this Fast forever, I could cure myself of Diabetes.  I'm Type II and I do not take any medication, although it is prescribed.  I made that choice myself.  I was more afraid of what the medications were doing to my body than what the disease could.  Trust me, I've been fussed at more than a little about this.  I have been told, as a Diabetic, "don't eat fruit!"  That's just crazy.   "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat."  Genesis 1:29.  I do believe that man has messed with God's creation with such things as GMOs, pesticides, and what-have-you, but what He made was good and it was good for food.  I eat all the fruit I want on the Daniel's Fast and my sugar goes down!


Just to clarify what the Daniel's Fast consists of, I will list the foods you are allowed to eat:

Foods to Eat on the Daniel Fast

• All fruit - fresh, frozen, dried, juiced, or canned.
• All vegetables - fresh, frozen, dried, juiced, or canned.
• All whole grains - amaranth, barley, brown rice, oats, quinoa, millet, and whole wheat.
• All nuts & seeds - almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds. Nut butters are also included.
• All legumes - canned or dried; black beans, black eyed peas, cannellini beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), great northern beans, kidney beans, lentils, pinto beans, and split peas.
• All quality oils - canola, coconut, grapeseed, olive, peanut, and sesame.
• Beverages - distilled water, filtered water, and spring water.
• Other - herbs, spices, salt, pepper, seasonings, soy products, and tofu.

The basis for this 21-day fast is found in Daniel 10:2-3.


We have just completed Day 1of the Fast and I will tell you what we ate and a few of the symptoms we have experienced.

For breakfast we had Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats (Bob's Red Mill is my favorite) with apples, raisins and pecans.  Yummy!  I usually cook a large batch of these so we can have breakfast for 2 days.

For lunch we had microwaved red potatoes, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with Kosher salt along with steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, drizzled and sprinkled as well.  Quite tasty!

For supper we had the following recipe:

15-Bean Soup

(You can mix your own dried beans or you can buy pre-mixed dried 15-bean mix)
Include:  barley, peas, black peas, red beans, great northern beans, lentils, pinto beans, split peas, black-eyed peas, etc.)

Combine beans (2 cups), wash and soak overnight.  Drain.
Add 2 quarts water, 3 cubes of vegetable bouillon, 1 large onion, chopped, 1 clove garlic, minced, 1 tsp salt, 1 can tomatoes, 1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes.

I cook this in a crock pot until the beans are tender.  You can cook on the stove-top by bringing to a boil, reducing heat to simmer, cover and cook for 1-1/2 to 2 hours until beans are tender.

Simply delish! This is a recipe that I adapted to fit the Fast.  We have it several times during the 21 days.

We snack on raisins and almonds and maybe an olive or two.

What have we experienced so far?  Well, you would think that eating that kind of food you wouldn't feel any symptoms.  Trust me, you do.  Your body is accustomed to eating those "delicacies" that Daniel refused to eat.  Your body rebels.  I always experience an immediate change in my digestive system.  I will spare you the details.  This is from day one.  Thankfully, I know from experience, it gets better.  And the headache.  Probably from caffeine withdrawals but also your body is beginning to detox.  Drink lots of water!  This will help tremendously!  If you have trouble with the "taste" of water, try adding a squeeze or two of lemon to your glass.  You'll probably experience a little fatigue as well.  Water helps with that, too.

I can't promise that I will blog every day but I will every other day at least.  There are more symptoms to come.  BUT!  There are good symptoms to come soon!

Join me!  You won't be sorry.  This is one of the answers to "Why Fast?".