to admire religious fasting for its discipline and commitment?

[catchingup1]

I’ve been thinking about this lately, especially with Ramadan just gone and the dry fasting of 24 hours by Jews and Mormons.

I can't help feeling impressed. Not in a gushy way, just genuinely. Going without food and water for long periods, while still getting on with normal life, work, family etc takes a level of willpower and discipline that I don’t think most people have.

It’s not even just the physical side. It’s the restraint, the routine, the intention behind it. The fact that people are doing it for something bigger than themselves, not just for a diet or health trend.

It's not just people who’ve grown up with it. There are converts every year across different religions who are doing these fasts for the first time as adults. They haven’t had years to “get used to it” and are choosing to take it on anyway. It’s a conscious decision, not just habit.

Even for people who have done it since childhood, plenty still find it challenging every year. It’s not like it becomes effortless, they’re still choosing to stick to it day after day.

Then you read so much now about people struggling with “food noise”, constantly thinking about what to eat next, cravings, snacking, not being able to switch off from it. So the idea of deliberately stepping away from all of that, even for a set period and managing your impulses like that. It does make me respect it.

I’m not saying it makes anyone better than anyone else, just that I admire the self control, discipline and commitment involved.

I came across this about the benefits of dry fasting:

www.bcm.edu/news/dawn-to-dusk-dry-fasting-leads-to-health-benefits-in-the-study-of-immune-cells

My dd has an eating disorder. It all started when she started to skip lunch. She came home hungry at first, until she didn’t. A large trigger for eating disorders is skipping lunch.

Dd’s Muslim friend developed an eating disorder during Ramadan. Like my dd she became mentally unwell. I now know that her mother has an eating disorder as well. Her mother is lacks awareness that she’s ill and fasts.

Females are particularly susceptible to developing an eating disorder whilst observing intermittent fasting, especially teens and young adults. Whether someone becomes mentally unwell due to restricting food is a genetic lottery.

There may be benefits to a majority and particularly men. It is completely wrong to insist that the benefits are universal when they are not. And encouraging people is also wrong. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10589984/#:~:text=Meaning%20that%20adding%20intermittent%20fasting,produce%20such%20as%20food%20cravings.

If the response to my post is that people with ED are exempt, I already know this. IF is a big catalyst to ED and detrimental to the health of many people, especially young women and teens. And they won’t know until they’ve tried it. That is the point, not that they can choose not to observe it in 12 months time.

Moreover, if mentally unwell, it is very common to not have any awareness that you are mentally ill. Therefore that person wouldn’t understand the dangers of fasting and therefore not see a need to not participate. Dd’s friend’s mum is a case in point. She is clearly unwell. She got weight loss injections online, possibly from India, despite being very slim. Her dh has done the same. Apparently he’s pretty emaciated now.

I work closely with three Pakistani Muslim men, one is my manager. We live in Australia, and temperatures reached the high 30s some days. They really struggled sometimes with the no water rule, my boss especially, he arranged to WFH every afternoon, which really annoyed his other fasting staff. All three of them spoke quite often about how difficult it was and got headaches and dizziness. And grumpy! I did admire their discipline, but I can’t see how the no water bit can be good for you in a hot climate. The fasting bit shouldn’t be as bad, they eat large meals at breakfast and evening, so I think that’s fine health wise.

Actually they did try..... I would say it made those men more sympathetic

Actually they did try..... I would say it made those men more sympathetic

Except a recent study linked it to higher cardiovascular issues

Of course I’ve “noticed” - I just don’t feel the need to shove it down other people’s throats as religion is (or should be!) a private thing. I don’t need to be “admired” for following my religion

Op you should have left the word ‘Ramadan’ out and there wouldn’t be so many ‘pressed’ people in this thread.

What type of Christian are you that wants to keep it quiet, isn't spreading the faith part of Christ's teachings ? It is refferenced quite a few times in the bible....

I am very impressed by the people who can do it as I know I couldn’t so I have a lot of respect for them.
however, I do also see that people fasting for Ramadan do need adjustments at work and are vocal about not being able to perform/function as well as normal, especially in the afternoons. Whilst I get its part of their religion, I do question whether it’s right for people to actively choose to do something that impacts their ability to properly work.

I admire the dedication, but having spent that time in a high school with sleepy, exhausted teenagers who can’t even have a glass of water I do wonder if at that age it does more harm. Some fall asleep, concentration levels are incredibly low and I’m not sure how much of what they are taught over Ramadan has actually gone in.

No one is fasting. People are binge eating. If I had a banquet for breakfast I'd skip lunch too. Particularly if I knew I was having another massive feast at dusk.

Those complaining that they can't function at work need to not participate or change their jobs so they work shifts.

I've worked with people fasting, I've seen the amount consumed just before dawn and dusk. It is no hardship.

Because in the @BlueMum16 's workplace it is only Ramadan.

I have nothing against inclusivity and celebrating diversity, I used to love teaching that unit.

It's, in my experience, never a Muslim that proposes this, usually someone who doesn't know much about different faiths and cultures.

I think it’s the lack of drink that is very hard and after a massive meal you generally also feel a bit sluggish.

I dry fast all the time. It’s actually really easy. Not for religious reasons though. 36 hrs is better for autophagy

You just drink in advance, get your quota in. I've been in situations where I knew access to food and drinks would be limited so you preload. Drink a litre with your morning banquet.

I've worked 12hr shifts in a busy department where you'd be lucky to get a sit down never mind a sandwich and we coped with it.

I'm not saying it's ideal but it's certainly doable and not the big song and dance some make it out to be.

You are right. Should have kept it to the Jewish and Mormon fasting.

I have also worked with people fasting. Not everyone is consuming a banquet. I don't doubt some do.

I've purposefully referred to 'those fasting'. It does not matter whether Christian or whatever the facts remain the same, you preload.

If people are to find God, they will. I wouldn’t want a Muslim knocking on my door to spread the word of Islam so I wouldn’t go around preaching to people either.

And it’s not “keeping it quiet”, I’m openly Christian but I don’t need to create a performance over it.

Seems it matters to OP, though. More biases from the performance of inclusivity.

Although come to think of it, I've never seen an awareness campaign at work about Jewish or Mormon fasting.

I genuinely don't think that it the case.

The people here questioning dry fasting are in the most part doing so due to health concerns or through imagining how it would impact on them. If you don't do it it sounds pretty unpleasant and miserable. The thought of not even being able to have a sip of water to quench thirst is something most people don't like to deal with under any circumstances.

The other thing is the OPs relentless 'but the health benefits'. He made his point very early on in the thread and is hammering it home with evangelical zeal with no acknowledgement that any other poster or source might have a point.

They've also been cagey about whether they fast, their motivations or religion ("just a God as I don't like labels"). It all makes people anti/look for an agenda.

Many posters have said 'fair play, but it's not for me'.

Plenty of people do things that aren’t universally comfortable or appealing and don’t get this level of pushback. There’s clearly a bit more going on than just people politely worrying about hydration.

Also the whole “it sounds unpleasant so I don’t like it” isn’t really an argument, it’s just a personal reaction. Lots of things that require discipline feel unpleasant. That doesn’t make them pointless or something to be dismissed.

On the “relentless health benefits” point, I’ve literally just responded to what people are saying. If people keep coming back with the same points, I’m going to reply. That’s how threads work. It’s not “evangelical zeal”, it’s just not backing down the second someone disagrees.

The bit about being “cagey” is a bit weird. No one owes anyone a full breakdown of their beliefs or personal practices to have a discussion. You can talk about something without turning it into a personal disclosure.

Honestly, a lot of this feels like people are uncomfortable with it and then working backwards to justify why. The number of “fair play but not for me” posts is fine, but there’s also a lot that goes way beyond that into dismissive or hostile territory, which isn’t really about health concerns anymore.

This is impressive. I rarely hear of people doing this for lent.

The reason behind fasting or religion is irrelevant. I am concerned wifh the adverse health effects to some people, predominantly girls in their teens and young women. Me personally? I can regularly have OMAD and be fine as long as I drink a lot of fluids. This is because I don’t have the genetics to become mentally ill when restricting the times when I eat.

I admire the discipline but not allowing water is dangerous. Particularly in hot weather. It’s asking for an acute kidney injury.