On Orthodox Fasting

A couple weeks ago I started following the Orthodox fasting calendar.

Basically means that every Wednesday and Friday I have to eat vegan + no alcohol or sweets. And then once a year, this year it starts on March 7th, a 40-day fast (no meat, no fish, no dairy, no eggs, no oil, no alcohol, no sweets).

I'm not Orthodox and mostly don't consider myself religious. Three main reasons why I'm trying it out:

1. Humans are not built to have access to food 24/7. Lots of scientific evidence exists that fasting and periodical restriction of certain food types has health benefits. Definitely lines up with my subjective experience, I feel better when I fast.

2. Not being able to eat certain things on certain days increases my appreciation for food. A cappuccino on a Thursday, after fasting on Wednesday (no milk allowed), definitely tastes better.

3. By following an already pre-existing and time-tested protocol (that of the Orthodox church), I need to make fewer decisions. I could come up with my own personal fasting schedule, but why bother, decision fatigue is a thing.

The plan is to do this for life, but never say forever. Got inspired to experiment with it because of Nassim Taleb.