Preparing for fasting and breaking the fast

Here are some keys to preparing for the Yom Kippur fast: 1. Avoid carbs with high glycemic loads (white flour, white sugar, potatoes, corn, carrots).2. Eat an equal amount of protein and carbs at the same meal. 3. Eat 1/2 the amount of good fat (eg. avocado, tehini, unsweetened cultured coconut milk, nut butters, olives, fish, etc) relative to the carbs and protein with each meal.4. Walk briskly around the block before beginning your meal for 10 minutes. 5. Eat slowly, chew your food well, sit while eating, focus on eating, be in a good mood, DON'T talk while eating, and don't multitask, 6. stop eating before you are full. An sample meal might be to start out with a small portion of a light fish like talapia or baramundi (Australian sea bass) eaten with humus, tehina, guacaomole, cooked beets and a half cup of cultured coconut milk, Afterwards, perhaps have a hearty bowl of chicken soup (preferrably organic) , cooked with vegetables, and white organic basmati rice. Don't have dessert, not even fruit!
7. Have in mind that your eating is fulfilling a mitzva, and eat consciously, with the thought that your eating with holiness on Yom Kippur eve, atones for all the gluttony and animalistic eating that you did during the whole previous year.


Now, when breaking the fast, DON"T EAT CAKE AND ORANGE JUICE, which will traumatize your digestive tract. Instead, start off by rincing your mouth out, and then drinking a cup of room temperature water with the juice of a 1/4 lemon. Then have a moist cooling fruit, such as soft sweet juicy pears or Kiwi. This will gently allow your body to adjust to food. Wait 20-30 minutes, and then have a very small portion of fish (like we spoke about before Yom Kippur).



Don't undo the good you did by overeating after Yom Kippur! Eat very slowly, as it takes time for the message to reach your brain that you are full. Remember that your stomach shrinks when you fast, so please honor your body and soul.



Always eat in a good mood and always have in mind that you are doing a mitzva when you eat--taking care of the wonderful gift from Ha-Shem that houses our holy souls,the body.