FASTING EXPERIENCE - DAY 6

I think today was the easiest day yet - hardly any hunger pains and plenty of energy still. I think starting on electrolytes yesterday made a big difference.

My pushup count was down even more, but I was able to go on a two mile walk this morning without getting tired.

Mentally clarity is still high. That's good considering all that I have had on my plate this week. Some important things might have slipped through the cracks otherwise.

What is most surprising is that I didn't even feel like napping today. Most days, after lunch, I can hardly keep my eyes open. You would think that I would have less energy and want to sleep more.

And since it was no problem staying alert through the church meeting tonight, I feel confident that I can continue the fast all the way through tomorrow night without fear of messing up anything at the funeral. In fact, I am certain I will be sharper than I would be after a day of snacking on junk food. 

My weight this morning was 193.4 - only a single pound decrease. That's not as big of a jump as previous days, but I will still take it. 

FASTING EXPERIENCE - DAY 5

I definitely felt more sluggish today - not sleepy, but physically spent.

I was still able to do my morning push-ups, but by the third set, I could barely get 31 where I usually hit 50 or more. Melissa and I went for a mile-and-a-half walk in the evening with no problem though. 

This morning's weigh-in was 194.2. (Starting weight was 205.2, though I had been hitting 206 and 207 some mornings prior to starting the fast.)

The improvement in my thinking is unmistakable. My body is sluggish, but my brain is not. I felt like I got a lot accomplished today. 

In the evening, I bought myself an electrolyte drink because I have heard that longer term fasting can throw off electrolytes. It perked me up a bit physically and helped me get a few more things done before bed.

The biggest change today was in my level of hunger and my willpower. Hunger went up and willpower began to slip!

Periodic hunger pains came stronger than they have since the first two days. And, simultaneously, my confidence in finishing all seven days began to wane. Melissa cooked a really appealing dinner and then started frying some bacon for egg cups to be ready for the morning. Those are part of her sugar fast, and I want one real bad. 

I had to go to the basement.

Willpower typically resets in the mornings, so I will get to bed early tonight and tomorrow will be a new start. 

I've got a church board meeting tomorrow night (day 6) and I am officiating a funeral on Thursday evening (day 7). I need to be at the top of my game for both - especially the funeral, obviously - and I can't decide if the "top" would be remaining in the fasting state or breaking the fast. 

My intention was always to break the fast on Friday, and it still is. But the funeral was not on my calendar when I started. I will only break early if it seems like I won't be able to perform to the best of my abilities at the funeral home. 

FASTING EXPERIENCE - DAY 4

Day Four maintained the mental clarity, and I didn't feel terribly sleepy by midday even though I had been awake at 3:30 am for about 90 minutes before falling back to sleep.

The boredom is getting to me a bit. There is nothing that can slow down time more than deciding to go without eating. It's like waiting for Christmas when you're a kid. 

But I am over the hump. Day four is drawing to a close and that means I am on the downside now. I have no doubt I can do another three days.

I did have a little less energy today, but I was able to do my usual morning push-ups and later I took the dog for a mile-and-a-half walk during the afternoon while the weather was good. 

FASTING EXPERIENCE - DAY 3

(Sunday, Jan 4, 2026. I forgot my laptop at church this morning so I am writing this on paper so that I can keep my daily writing habit going. I will transfer it to the blog tomorrow when I get it back.)

As I write here about my fasting experience, I realize that it could come across like I'm boasting about something which Jesus told us to do "in secret". 

That's not my intention. My purpose for writing about this here is, first, for myself - to record and process the experience - and, second, for others - to encourage more believers to give fasting a try. 

It's something that gets a little easier each time you do it.

My present fast is mainly for physical benefits. (But fasting always has a spiritual dimension to it.)

I have been putting on weight at a slow but steady pace for the last five years. I started this fast Friday at 205.2 lbs. That's the most I have weighed since I hit my peak weight of 220 in the early 2000s. My lowest in that timeframe came while we lived in Haiti, where snack food was hard to come by. I remember hitting 170 there for a while. 

But none of that was muscle. I've built up a tiny bit of muscle since then and would be glad to be in the 180-185 range again. Mainly because I think that is a weight which would signal I am eating healthy again. 

My other physical motivation for this fast is a near constant experience of "brain fog". 

For the past five years, coinciding with my weight gain, I've had a daily, general sleepiness and a haziness in my thinking. And I think it has slowly grown worse.

I strongly suspect this is tied to my diet, but I don't know if there is one specific culprit - sugar? caffeine? some additive? - or if my problem is eating a Standard American Diet in general. 

(Or, worst case scenario, it's just my age.)

So, 3 days in, here's my experience on both fronts.

First, weight loss. 

1st Morning (Friday) - 205.2

2nd Morning - 201.2

3rd Morning - 198.4

That's progress, but keep in mind that at least 3 pounds of what I have lost so far is merely water weight. I was up several times that first night to visit the restroom. So I know I haven't actually lost a true 7 pounds in 3 days. 

I've heard it's possible to lose 20 lbs in a week of fasting, so I'm curious how much I will truly drop when all is said and done.

As far as the brain fog goes, the first two days I was pretty headachy and a bit restless. So I don't know if there was any immediate improvement. But this morning I woke up 3 minutes before my alarm sounded and felt NOTICEABLY clearer in mind. (And that's a helpful thing for preaching.)

Tomorrow is day 4 and a workday, so it should be interesting. I don't think I have actually fasted beyond 3 days since my time at Asbury, where I was first introduced to fasting and joined a friend in a 7 day fast. That was in the late 90s.

As for hunger these past 3 days, it hasn't been a huge problem. More of an inconvenience. The bigger issue for me is boredom. I think most of my eating is for entertainment rather than nutrition. 

2026 RESOLUTIONS

I am one of those oddballs who love setting resolutions in January.

And I also tend to be among the few who actually keep them. I suppose knowing something about the mechanics of habit formation gives me a leg up, but I also just love experimentation and giving myself some extra challenges.

It sharpens self-discipline muscles. And our culture undervalues self-discipline at the moment. 

Last year I resolved to do push-ups daily - at least 100 every morning.

It became a part of my routine, and I kept it going throughout the year even though it got interrupted by my hernia operation in October. I am currently doing between 160 and 180 each morning. 

This year I am planning to continue the push-ups, continue writing here daily, and then add a renewed focus on daily prayer and some sort of regular fasting habit - though I am not sure if that will be intermittent fasting or occasional one- or two-day water fasts. 

Yesterday (Jan 2), Melissa started a sugar fast that she intends to run for three weeks. I'm going to join her eventually, but I am starting the new year with an extended water fast. 

I am two days in and my goal is seven.

If you've never fasted ... yes, it can be uncomfortable.

But it's also fascinating. I always learn a lot - about myself, my body, and my relationship with food.

And learning something important is a great way to start a new year!

JESUS' EASIEST COMMANDMENT

Matthew 6:5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others."

Of all Jesus' commandments, this has to be the easiest for modern American Christians to obey.

Nobody's praying to be seen. It's hard to find someone willing to pray in public!

Why are we so bashful about public prayer? Is it because we don't have enough experience in praying to feel confident in front of others that we are "doing it right"?

I've only known one person who "prayed like the hypocrites" prayed. She was the pastor's wife at the United Methodist church I served in Iowa. And she was a piece of work. 

More than once I heard her explain to a group of church members, "Sometimes I am walking downtown and I am just so overwhelmed with gratitude to God that I just have to kneel down right there on the sidewalk and put my hands in the air and pray. People stop and stare, but I don't care."  

I've never met another like her. 

But I wonder which Jesus would consider to be worse: Praying like the hypocrites or not praying at all?

I KNOW NOW WHAT NOT TO DO

"The Amateur does not know what to do. The Master knows what not to do."

That little thought from James Clear seems appropriate for the new year, which brings at least one major shift for me.

This feels a little embarrassing to announce here - after investing the past five years in this process and writing about it often on this blog recently - but I have decided to discontinue my doctorate studies, at least as an official degree program. 

If you have been marking the time, I have been dragging my feet on writing my formal dissertation for over two years now. I have realized it might well be caused by my not knowing what to do.

To be clear, I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to go with my project. What I didn't have - it turns out - is the will to write up a couple hundred pages of academic ruminations. And then footnote all of it. 

After some recent negative feedback from my professor, I found myself at a fork in the road: Do I double down in effort, figure out my academic nuts and bolts, and sludge on toward the finish line? Or do I let go of the degree itself and freely experiment with the ideas that have been percolating?

I pictured 2026 in both directions and, admittedly, chose the easier path. (And my Christmas "break" was much more joyful for it, considering my next big assignment was to be submitted on January 2nd.)

But I think it will also be the most productive path ultimately. 

And this might sound like sour grapes, but the official degree and title was never a huge motivator for me. The idea of being 57 years old and spending hundreds of hours of the next year of my life researching and writing an academic paper to be stored on a library shelf in perpetuity just didn't excite me enough to go for it. 

So here's to freely experimenting in 2026! 

I will remain an Amateur when it comes to academia, but I still hope to become a Master at life and ministry.