Hello there, I see you’re back here once more. Well, welcome, I guess. Though I still don’t want you reading this. Anyway, moving on to the main event… my first week of fasting. Boy, was it a doozy.
It was HARD. Every notification made me want to open my phone immediately just to see what it was. But I restrained myself. The food, though… THE FOOD… was almost impossible to ignore. I do admit I may have slipped once or twice, but I tried! All those delicious foods popping up in ads really didn’t help either.
Everywhere I looked, there seemed to be something tempting. A picture of a burger here, some dessert there. Suddenly, it felt like the entire internet had decided to show me nothing but food. But that night I tried sleeping early to avoid thinking about it too much. Unfortunately, I just lay there awake and didn’t actually fall asleep until about 11 p.m.
I didn’t think it could get worse but oh how wrong I was.
No sugar or butter really makes oats miserable to eat, especially when you forget to add fruit like I did. What should have been a normal breakfast turned into a bowl of sadness. I ate it anyway, of course, but it was definitely not enjoyable.
Luckily, work at the church helped keep my mind off both food and social media. Staying busy makes a huge difference when you’re trying not to think about things. However, Instagram really did tempt me throughout the day whenever I saw those notifications piling up. Every time the screen lit up, curiosity kicked in.
Still, I held out. And that night it was actually a little easier. I managed to settle down sooner and went to sleep at around 10 p.m., which felt like progress compared to Monday.
That Wednesday morning I actually woke up at 5 a.m., which is a far cry from my usual 7:00–7:15 wake-up time. I’m still not entirely sure how that happened, but I wasn’t complaining. The extra quiet time in the morning was surprisingly nice.
This time I remembered to add fruit to my oats, which helped a lot. It didn’t exactly turn them into a five-star breakfast, but it was definitely an improvement.
Because I woke up earlier, I had enough time to finish reading 1 Timothy before the day really started. Wednesday was actually much easier overall. By that point I had started ignoring the notifications and distractions instead of thinking about them constantly. I focused more on helping the lovely people at church and spending time reading the Bible, which made the whole day feel much more peaceful.
Today I decided to have Wheatpix instead of oats.
And let me just say… I MISSED my sugar while eating that. Mush and tasteless don’t exactly mix well for me, especially when there’s a random crunch because you didn’t distribute the milk properly. Nothing quite like taking a bite expecting soft cereal and getting a surprise crunch instead.
But the big moment of the day was when I almost slipped up.
I was trying to open WhatsApp to check a message I received, but my finger slipped and tapped my most favorite of apps… YouTube. For a split second it opened, and my brain immediately realised what had happened. Luckily I closed it just in time before anything loaded, but wow, that was close. It’s strange how automatic opening certain apps can become.
On a better note, today I started reading 2 Timothy. : )
Friday… just one more week to go, and the fast will finally be over. It’s been a difficult journey so far, but hey, we’ve made it this far already. We might as well finish what we started.
Today I went back to oats because I realized another brick of Wheatpix might actually be the end of me. Some sacrifices are necessary, but there are limits.
I also finished reading 2 Timothy and moved on to Acts. While reading, I realized I probably should have started with Acts first since it takes place before 1–2 Timothy. But hey, we all make mistakes and learn from them. That’s part of the process. After all, we’re only human.
So far in this short, yet somehow very long and difficult challenge, I’ve realised something important. Social media is basically a digital drug. It’s designed to get you hooked with flashing lights, quick videos, endless scrolling, and constantly engaging content. And while it can be fine in moderation, the way people normally use social media can be dangerous and even harmful.
But there is one “drug” I’ve discovered more deeply during this journey, and it’s one I would gladly be addicted to: the Word of God.
Reading about the blessings He gave humanity and how He sent His own Son to save humanity from itself is something I can truly get behind. The more I read, the more I realise how powerful and meaningful it really is.
Blessed be the person who reads this. I hope this has shown you, even just a little, how stepping away from social media and focusing on the real, proven, and powerful God can improve you, not just physically and mentally, but spiritually as well