Lenten fasting and weight loss? Amen!

 A blessed Ash Wednesday to all. Whether you're Catholic or not I invite you to join me as we kick off the Lenten season in a Fat-Free February weight loss challenge. Lent is a time in the  Catholic liturgical calendar when we walk with our Savior, through the temptation in the desert on His way to the cross. We practice Christian values of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We are called to follow these all year long but in a special way in the Lenten season. We return our attention to these core habits which I can really admit in my own life, sometimes gets diverted. 

The focus of this blog is on weight loss, specifically how I lost 100 times without gastric bypass. So you may be wondering does it really count for spiritual reasons if I'm trying to lose weight by fasting. This question came up in a q&A on an orthodox Christian site as well. And my answer to that is yes if you are fasting for religious reasons first and weight loss as a happy outcome. Actually, having said that, any practice that gets us focusing less on ourselves, our needs and more usually our wants, has spiritual benefit too. 

And if you are fasting as the church calls for, by eating simpler, low to zero sugar, fish instead of fatty heavy meat, less dairy and no junk, then you will lose weight regardless. So part of my Family at Free February weight loss challenge will include a Catholic Lenten type fast. And I will follow my Lenten fast by being more faithful to calorie restricting in a 1200 calorie diet. I will also do intermittent fasting every Wednesday and Friday, following the (keto) bread and water fast that Our Lady, the Blessed Mother called us to at her Medjugorie apparition. I will talk more about that later. Blessings to you all. Love mar

Fish for Lent? Maybe it's not the fast it's fried up to be

For Catholics, the seven weeks preceding Easter are called Lent. During this time we abstain from indulgent foods such as sugar and meat. In times past, Catholics also gave up dairy products, eggs, fats and oils. The Lenten diet consisted of fish, vegetables, fruit and fat-free grains. This simple fare is perfect for someone trying to lose weight. The problem now is that fish is not the economical food it once was. Also we have convoluted fasts into something resembling feasts! 

In the days when fish was plentiful, cheap or even free if you caught it yourself, it was perfect for Lent. But in 2021, local fish is all but non-existent. Mega fisheries have taken over and "strip-fished" oceans and lakes. Toxic chemicals have poisoned many fish and invasive species have killed off the rest. Now fish is three to four times the price of meat. Which makes an oxymoron of the Lenten injunction to live simply. Fish has become the luxury and chicken and pork, the economical options.

There are other dilemmas with the modern Lenten diet, such as the ubiquitous Friday night all you can eat fish fry. This kind of eating not only sabotages weight loss, it make a mockery of fasting. Even one plate of deep fried breaded fish, French fries and coleslaw, washed down with soda is about 1,500 calories. And those aren't good calories. They're salt, fat and sugar with little fiber or protein. And with the AYCE option, most people have two or three plates. This is anathema to the gospel injunction to avoid gluttony. 

Then there are the ways in which seafood is now cooked. Breaded, deep fried, buttery, cheesy and sugary sauces, alfredo, coconut shrimp, carb heavy pasta dishes. Fasting is more like a fast track diabetes and obesity. My solution is to avoid fish fry or at the very least opt for baked potato, unbreaded fish and salad. More on healthier fast and protein options in upcoming posts. 

Love ya! --mar

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