Fasting is a practice I have become interested in recently. I have done several stints of intermittent fasting over the past couple of years and can see the benefits of giving my body a break from the diet I have eaten for most of my life. Also, my local church in San Antonio, Texas, begins each year with a fast that I have taken part in as well. This has led me to learn more about fasting.

In my biweekly Bible study class, someone recommended the book Eat Fast Feast by Jay W. Richards. The leader of our bible study group recommended the book after he lost nineteen pounds by following what he read from it. That intrigued me, and I bought the book to find out more about it.

Richards notes that fasting has been a widespread spiritual practice across the planet and has a long history in western civilization. However, people in modern times have viewed fasting with suspicion. He argues that fasting is good for the mind, body, and spirit. For a healthy lifestyle, it must be part of your daily routine.

He introduces a six-week plan designed to make fasting a regular part of your life, detailing why this period is key for a healthy change to your diet. Week One begins with a “ketogenic” diet of natural fat, moderate protein, and low carbs to start fasting correctly. This period begins the transformation our bodies need to fast correctly, away from the processed sugar that our modern diets have been accustomed them to. Week Two starts intermittent fasting, where one fasts for sixteen hours and eats only for eight hours each day. This type of fasting has become popular in today’s culture and continues the transition into making fasting a permanent lifestyle change.

Week Three moves into a 20/4 fast where you only eat for four hours and fast for the rest of the time. You restrict your calories but have a shorter window to eat. Also, he has a mini-feast alongside the fasting as well. Week Four goes into three days of fasting for twenty-three hours and only eating one hour a day during that period. Richards recommends this type of fasting on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with a mini-feast on Sunday. These two weeks can seem extreme on the surface, but I could see why this time period kicks a fasting lifestyle into high gear.

Week Five steps up the fast into an all-day affair on those three days from week four and on the non-fast days continues with a ketogenic diet. Week Six leads one into fasting from thirty-six to seventy-two hours with a feast on Sundays. As you can read, Richards takes this fasting to levels that seem impossible for everyday people. However, he provides plenty of evidence both from a health and spiritual perspective that it is possible for everyday people to make it a regular part of their lifestyle.

Also, he explains the importance of feasting after fasting and provides biblical evidence to support his argument in the book. Richards incorporates a Catholic viewpoint in his argument, while also showing how fasting is practiced by Christian Protestants.

Eat Fast Feast is one of those books that came into my life at the appropriate time and feeds my curiosity about fasting. If you are interested in this practice, then I highly recommend this book. I want to make fasting a part of my lifestyle, and now I have to blueprint to do it.