We’re not going to sugarcoat it and say we have a magical solution that will make fasting go soooo much easier. However, here are some tried and true tips and tricks to help your fast go somewhat easier.
1. Cut Down on Caffeine!
We know, we know. This is a slanderous thing to say, and you may not want to keep reading. Hey, Coffee may just sue us for saying what we did! But if you’re used to having more than one cuppa per day, try cutting down from now until the fast. It will make all the difference. And try this on for size: DECAF. (Ducking the rotten tomatoes.)
2. DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!
Well, not coffee. But, do drink water, vitamin water (caffeine free, please), coconut water, smart water, gatorade or any other performance drink. Do not start drinking on Erev Yom Kippur. Instead, work on hydrating from several days before. It DOES make a difference. The extra bathroom trips are worth it, trust us.
3. Change Up Your Mealtimes:
Don’t be so rigid with your eating times over the next few days. You know when you feel your stomach grumbling at specific times suddenly? That’s not by chance. If you always eat lunch at 12:30, your body will know that and you will get hungry at that time. (That probably explains the fact that our stomachs keep asking for food every hour, yeah.) Anyways, if you switch up the times you eat over the next few days, you will find your body adjusting accordingly, and hunger pangs on Yom Kippur won’t be as bad.
4. What To Eat at Pre Fast Meal:
Although you may be tempted to pig out and completely stuff yourself, DON’T! It will only make your body work overtime to digest all that food, and use up some of your precious hydration to do so. Let’s face it, you will be hungry either way, and overeating at the pre fast meal is bound to do more harm than good. Stay away from too much protein, focus on veggies and carbs instead. Also, obviously, salty foods should be avoided.
5. Caffeine and Tylenol During the Fast:
If you know, you know. Caffeine and tylenol suppositories. You’re either a suppository person, or you’re just not. But before you wrinkle your nose at the thought, hear us out. You can really, really make a huge difference to your day if you get past the squeamishness of it, and just do it! Another good idea if suppositories are not for you, is those slow release pills. They release twelve hours after taken and one can take them in caffeine and tylenol/motrin form. The downside to this: We have been woken up quite early when the caffeine took effect. (If we took the pills at 7 pm, it would wake us up at 7 am basically.)
6. This Is Not The Day For Weight Loss or Gain:
Even if you’re on a diet or watching your weight, this is not a day to focus on that. Do not think you will lose weight because you fasted. It’s likely you won’t, but you might. Also, don’t overeat with the intention that you are fasting so you will lose that weight anyways. We wish that’s how it worked, but somehow it doesn’t. Any weight loss noticed initially will very likely disappear over a day or two post fast. Sorry, consider that bubble bursted.
7. Don’t Focus on It!
If you will look at your watch incessantly, or moan and groan to your sister about how starrrrvvvvved you are, you are only doing yourself (and your sister) a disservice! Don’t talk about it; don’t focus on it! Instead, try to focus on other things, like the holiness of the day, or making sure your kids don’t kill each other.
8. Plan Children’s Schedules in Advance:
What do we mean by this? A big part of the challenge moms face when fasting is keeping the littles busy and happy. Circumvent that with some early planning.
Some Ideas:
a. Plan a play-date for some kids. Bonus: ask the mom over, too, so you can take turns watching the kids and getting some downtime.
b. If play-dates are not an option, stockpile some new toys in your arsenal to give out strategically throughout the day.
c. Put up a crockpot meal to serve to the kids for lunch or dinner to avoid you having to be in the kitchen for too long. It’s important you make something for them that you personally wouldn’t eat, to avoid sick cravings. 🙂
9. Break the Fast SLOWLY!
We know, you were eyeing that cinnamon bun ALL DAY. But it is best for you to sip slowly on water, not gulp, sip slowly on coffee, not gulp, and eat slowly slowly slowly. Sometimes the post fast nausea is worse than the actual fasting, and you want to avoid that at all costs, are we right?!
1 Comment
by GH
I have been using Vit-A-Pak for several years very successfully, throughout all sorts of “conditions”.