Lent: The 40 Day Diet?
These past weeks have marked the beginning of the season of Lent. This season is a time of giving, fasting, repentance, and reconciliation for Christians. Generally speaking, people are supposed to give something up for those forty days. Many people give up their favorite food, or in my case, one of their many favorite foods.
In this respect, it sometimes seems like Lent is just a diet. It’s a second chance at your New Year’s resolution, except this time you promised to God so you have to follow through. Truthfully, I almost always screw up at some point and eat what I gave up.
Not everyone has that problem though, and tons of people are very successful. One member of our Her Campus team gave up her true food love, crisps, and ended up not eating them for 600 days. That my friends is dedication, and it shows how easy 40 days can be.
Lent is not just supposed a diet though. If you feel like giving a food up, go ahead, but don’t feel that obligation. Giving up can mean so much more than giving up a food. It can mean giving up your time and talents, too.
For those of you still trying to figure you what you want to give up, we have a few ideas for you. Give up social media, negativity, eating out, buying unessential items – this might mean no splurge coffees at the Hub, or swearing. These practices can help you save money, keep you grounded, or help you be happier. Many churches suggest donating any money you save during Lent to a charity.
Lent also serves as a reminder that not everyone is as fortunate as you. Giving up chocolate may be hard, but can you imagine living without it for more than 40 days?
I’ve given up many different things over the years including pop – which I don’t even like – to chocolate – which I absolutely love – to coffee – which I have convinced myself I need. Ultimately though, it’s only 40 days and every year I reminded of the fact that I can survive without these things at least for a few weeks.
If Lent is your thing, then use it to help you. Maybe you want to eat less sweets or maybe you want to be more positive. Either way, the 40 days will fly by and you might be surprised where you end up. Maybe you’ll never eat another piece of chocolate or bag of crisps again, but if you do you’ll probably think about it just a bit more and maybe, just maybe, you’ll enjoy it more too.
*All images are from Google Images