There are 21 days between my wife’s birthday and my own. 3 weeks between celebrating her and celebrating me. 
Our birthdays come at a time of year when there is so much going on that it’s easy to ignore something as trivial as the celebration of one’s birth. Since I’ve known her, I have always made a point of celebrating her more than the end/beginning of another year. I’ve never let anyone forget my day. This year we decided to do something different.
The culmination of feeling sluggish from excesses during the holidays, lack of motivation for running and training, and the fact that a new year was beginning led us to choose to jump-start our year with a cleanse. We wanted more than just a physical cleanse, however, we wanted to jump-start a year of spiritual growth as well.
The Daniel Fast, in case you’re not familiar, is based on the diet of Daniel, Meshak, Shedrak, and Abednego from the Old Testament. The short version is that King Nebuchadnezzar captured Israel and took the stong and the young to work in his kingdom. He gave orders to bulk them up by giving them the best food. These four (and it’s always puzzled me why Daniel continued to be called by his Hebrew name while the others all accepted their Babylonian names, but that is insignificant right now) refused to eat the king’s diet and insisted on their own. They promised that if they were not stronger and healthier after 21 days than those eating the king’s food they would comply.
The diet is basically vegan. It consists mostly of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. No yeast. No sugar. No dairy. No meat. No alcohol. It also consists of a specific daily devotional centered around seeking God’s will for one’s life, and strength through devotion to Him. We decide to do this as a family and altered it for the kids to make it less restrictive for them and easier to keep. We all did the daily devotional and commented on them in a way that we could all see each others’ notes. We used an app from YOUVERSION.com that I highly recommend. We ate dinner together, but we let the kids eat their own breakfast and lunch as they saw fit.
Our diet consisted of oatmeal an fruit for breakfast, smoothies or salad for lunch, mixed nuts or raw vegetables as a snack. We ate a lot of rice (wild or brown) and beans and some vegetarian chili. Only a couple of times did we venture into the world of vegetarian meat substitutes. Our weekend waffle tradition was replaced with potatoes and veggies.
Spiritually, we intentionally spent time together each week discussing our thoughts and progress. The devotional (Fast Like Daniel) connected us to God and to each other and created a sense of calm and peace that often escapes our busy home.
The diet, for me, can be broken into three clear stages. First was “this isn’t too bad.” After a couple of days, I was used to the new diet and feeling pretty good. I could tell that I was losing some weight and lowering my blood sugar. The second week I was more aware of what I was missing. I had some cravings for sugar and meat, but I pushed through. Finally, I came to the “I can do anything for a limited amount of time” stage. Although I started running more this week and I felt light and strong, I was definitely feeling the loss of foods that I am used to. My wife wanted to continue the new diet, but we settled on a compromise.
I definitely feel better with less sugar in my system. The oatmeal and fruit is a solid start to my day. The smoothies are a satisfying and healthy lunch that keeps my sugar low and still gives me the strength and energy to get through my day. I am not interested in fake meat. If our meal is vegetarian, I’m OK with that. If it has meat in it, I want real meat. Since our fast ended, we have had some sushi and my annual lasagna, but portions are smaller and the birthday cake did not taste as good. I’m used to low sugar and no dairy and I’m good with that. I lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks and my blood sugar was down 20 points in the mornings.
I’m feeling the effects of spiritual change as well. My daily prayer time is deeper (I think) and my thoughts are more focused on what God wants for me rather than what I think I want for myself.
I went for a long run last week (and again yesterday) and felt good and light. I’m looking forward to the races ahead and seeing what successes I have with a lighter and cleaner diet.
Truth be told, I think a physical and spiritual cleanse is good at least once a year, less often than that is probably not enough, but if it doesn’t bring real, lasting change, then it probably isn’t worth it. Try it. You may find yourself feeling better than you thought you could.
