Today is Ash Wednesday and marks the first day of lent. Lent is 40 days (about six weeks) of fasting before Easter Sunday. Growing up my parents always gave up all dairy, meat and carbs (I now know that this is respectfully called being vegan haha) for 40 days. I couldn’t ever do it because I love meat way too much! For lent we are taught to give up something we love (obviously not something that’ll hurt us like family or friends) as a form of penitence. In the past years I have given up things I really thought I could never survive without. I’ll share a few of my toughest ones. I remember when I was a teenager, I was a pop addict (soda, for all you Americans haha) and it was the toughest decision I had to make as a teenager lol I’m proud to say that I not only gave it up for 40 days, I completely stopped drinking it and craving it. Pop is not in my life anymore and I feel much healthier! H2O never disappoints. In my early twenties I gave up drinking alcohol which is not as much of a struggle to me now as it was back then. It was a real commitment and very hard. I succeeded and unlike my pop situation, I celebrated Easter with a drink in my system. Yes, I couldn’t wait to “party” with my friends again and get “drunk” lol. In 2011 I gave up bread, rice and pasta. It was rough at first… my cravings were so ridiculous. After a few weeks I was fine and my cravings completely went away. I started to enjoy food in a different way and ate things I normally wouldn’t have if the option of major carbs had been there for me. I stuck to that for over two years! This year I have decided to do the same. I’m going to give up bread, rice and pasta once more. The selfish part of me (or smart in my opinion) always gives up something that’ll help me with my health. The realistic part of me knows I can’t be too extreme and the religious side of me gives up something I truly know will be difficult in honour of the Lord. I am not a super religious person who attends church every sunday but I believe in God and religious practices such as this. Anyway, last night when I decided I was giving up bread, rice and pasta I decided to go for my “last supper” hahaha that’s what I decided to call it which isn’t going to be funny to most religious people and I apologize for that! I went to my favourite Italian restaurant ever called La Cantina and got a crazy amount of carbs in. We started with the Molisana Bruschetta which consists of toasted thin slices of bread topped with pesto, hot oil, sundered tomatoes and goat cheese. It is heavenly!
As my main, I ordered the huge portion of lasagna. I am both proud and ashamed to say that I ate the whole thing (minus the cheese… I don’t really enjoy cheese outside of goat) and I loved it!
I skipped on dessert because I literally was about to roll out of there haha but I didn’t give up dessert for lent so I can have that any other day. It’s safe to say that I had a great carby meal before the realness set in. It’s also safe to say that it sounds like I’ve made this more about a diet than a religious sacrifice and admittedly it’s a both of both! We are taught that we are allowed to “cheat” on Sunday’s but I am yet to decide if I even want that option haha
Did any of you guys give up anything?
xx
Wonder Of My Worlds 
I remember the year I gave up soda (pop for all you non Americans and people residing in Minnesota). At the time I was drinking 7 coca colas a day!!!! I think I went over a year without having one drop and I had completely forgot about it. One night, while at a bar with a group of friends, I decided to be easy for the person who was going to buy our next round of drinks and I told her that I would just have what she’s having. It was a rum and coke. I drank it in roughly 3 seconds and proceeded to have 6 more. It didn’t occur to me until the next morning when my vomit tasted like soda why my drinks were going down like water. The addiction is real for me when it comes to soda!
Hahaha I used to honestly drink 10 cans a day! I was an addict. I couldn’t comprehend having a meal without atleast two cans. In between the food was the real problem, Id even say pop was a filler… A past time hahaha ive had a drink for a chaser after the fact but never craved it enough to have it soberly. I also replaced all my “chaser” or “mixes” with water because im not only obsessed with it but because it keeps me hydrated = almost never having a hangover and it’s great for my calorie intake too! Hahaha. Thanks for reading and sharing!
I always chose three things, one dietary, one physical, and one spiritual. Not necessarily giving up, though. I would give up coffee or chocolate, promise to exercise or journal daily, and pray or read the bible for 40 days. Once i have up saying negative things about the town where i lived. The key is the 40 days. It became life-changing if I did it right.
That’s such a great approach. I actually might do the same in regard to exercise or journal daily + read something uplifting everyday… Could be a motivation quote or a passage in the bible. I’ll do that in addition. Thank you much for sharing! Im always up for finding ways to change my outlook and feelings on life/situations.
I like the idea of choosing in threes as well.
I’ve decided to go for it. Let’s see how it goes! Failing at lent is not an option lol
I missed reading your posts. I did not miss the intense pangs of jealousy I feel at your pictures. It’s ok. I still like you (just about).
I replied to this but for some reason it won’t show on my end haha I wrote that I actually was looking for your blog about an hour ago! Literally was wondering where you vanished off to. For some reason I don’t know how to find people that I follow. What’s the link to yours?
my blog page? thethoughtbuffet.wordpress.com
I think this is going around a fair bit because I’ve seen other people have this problem
Yes I haven’t been able to find you! It’s so strange
I am mysterious like the ninja after all. Didn’t know I was missed so much, bwaaaaahaha! Ego feeded.
Does anyone ever get a break from these scheduled dates that require a sacrifice? Oh yea, you do… If you didn’t succeed in your new years resolution, than you can give it up for lent lol
One thing that I would like to understand, is how did Easter and the beliefs behind that turn into bunny rabbits and eggs? lol Than maybe we can talk about the other issue, rabbits laying eggs…. lol
Hahaha hey now, I’ve stuck to my New Years resolution and it is well into February. Usually people have given up by now. Lent is just another practice that’s good for the soul and mind. Good question about the rabbits and even better about the laying of the eggs hahaha I think our world is full of marketing and anyone will do/make up anything for a dollar which leads to the chocolate eggs and what not. It also brings joy to the little kids who don’t quite understand what on earth is going on hahaha
Another hallmark holiday lol
Well, it’s was a good “plan” or lucky coincidence to have all these holidays during the winter..
….
Hahaha yeah I would not succeed with Any of it during the summer. Summer = lots of food and alcohol.
That lasagne looks delicious…I’m not sure I could give up carbs! I don’t know hat else I’d eat ha – I’m even about to make a spaghetti bolognese in a few mins! Strangely I thought you were American – are you Canadian?
Ugh. Bologense is actually my favourite dish in the world. Im not giving up all carbs – Id die. Just bread rice and pasta haha so I can still have fruits and potatoes hahaha yes I am Canadian! I travel in the states a lot so i could see why you’d think that lol Plus, Americans think Canadians are like aliens hahaha we are just like you guys, I promise. ☺️💛
Ah those 3 are the main staples of my diet which is why I changed it to ‘all carbs’ in my mind haha. Good luck with it! I respect people who give up things for Lent because our culture promotes instant gratification to such an extent that most of us can’t imagine depriving ourselves of anything – including me probably.
I’m actually from the UK 🙂 and most of the blogs I follow seem to be American bloggers so that and your travelling will have influenced me. I’ve always heard lovely things about Canada though, especially regarding the landscape and the people. I’d love to go there someday!
Hahaha it processed as all carbs to my too but my friend poked fun at me saying it wasn’t so I’ve stuck to just saying bread rice and pasta. It’ll definitely be a struggle but I’ve done it before for 2 years so I think I’ll be able to manage. Also, great diet for my trip coming up! Haha what part of the UK are you from? I was in London last year. I fell in love. What a beautiful place. I admire that life. Canada is gorgeous, we have everything we could possibly hope for. Beautiful scenery, every season, amazing restaurants because it is so multicultural here (I myself am middle Eastern) with great nightlife! And not to toot my own horn but we are known for being polite and well mannered (and love alcohol) hahaha if you decide to swing this way, I recommend Vancouver for the scenery, Montreal for the culture and Toronto for a bit of everything!
I wrote a post about mine, so if you want to see my thoughts and what I am “giving up” check it out! I, similarly to molga7, give up multiple things. They usually accidentally end up leading to the three areas she mentioned 🙂 My goal with my “giving up” things are to carry them through into my daily life after Lent ends. So far they’ve worked pretty well for me! I commend you on giving up alcohol in your early 20’s, I mentioned in my post that I tried to one year but couldn’t make it and had to switch…not enough will power apparently…luckily it isn’t something I need to even think about giving up now! (You are about to get another comment back from me on your other post too :P)