40 Days of Fasting: The Struggle That Transforms
A practical guide for Orthodox Christians who want
support through the struggle.
GET 5 Days of Hungry Heart Fasting Strategies You Can Use TODAY!
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Who is This For?
This book is for Orthodox Christians who are actually fasting.
This book is for you if:
- You've started a fast before and struggled halfway through (or quit)
- You know the rules but don't know how to actually eat
- You're new to Orthodoxy and fasting feels like a foreign language
- You're cradle Orthodox and want to deepen your practice beyond habit
- You understand fasting is hard, and you want to be prepared for it anyway
- You want nutrition guidance, practical tools, and wisdom to lean on
What this book is NOT:
- A substitute for your priest or spiritual father. Talk to him about your rule.
- A promise that fasting will stop being a struggle if you just follow the recipes.
- A diet book or a wellness program wrapped in liturgical language.
What it IS:
- A walking stick for a mountain you're already climbing.
- Preparation for the real work ahead.
- Practical guidance so you're not figuring it out alone.
A note on this book: Fasting isn't optional for Orthodox Christians, but how you fast should be shaped by your priest and your specific circumstances. This book is a tool to help you prepare—not to replace your spiritual father's guidance.
Why I Built This.
My Story
Why I Built Hungry Heart
When I first became Orthodox, I had to unlearn what "fasting" meant to me. I knew intermittent fasting—restricted eating windows. I knew "no food" fasting. But Orthodox fasting was a different animal entirely, and there was a learning curve in the language alone.
My first real fast was the Dormition Fast—fourteen days, strict. No meat, no dairy, no fish. I also have a stomach condition I've lived with for thirty years. I never know when certain foods will trigger serious pain.
By day four, the pain started. By the weekend, I found blood in my stool. I stopped the fast.
Then I did something worse than stopping—I went silent. I didn't tell my priest for months. I felt like I had failed.
When I finally told him, he said it was okay. There are exceptions for medical conditions. That was it. No lecture. No penance.
That conversation taught me something that should have been obvious but wasn't: 100% commitment doesn't mean the hardest possible version of the rule forced onto a body that can't carry it. It means committing fully to what you can actually do—and being willing to say so, out loud, to someone who isn't you, instead of disappearing into shame.
Now I keep the fast year-round, but I include fish on Wednesdays and Fridays. Two lighter days a week instead of forcing a rule that was wrecking me.
Here's what took me longer to realize: I was trying to figure it all out alone, every day, starting from scratch. Should I eat this? Is this allowed? What do I actually make? I'd spend half the fast hungry and confused, the other half eating things that technically complied with the rules while actually doing nothing for my body or my discipline.
The real problem wasn't that fasting was hard. Fasting is hard. The real problem was that I was unprepared. Preparation doesn't take away the struggle—it makes you ready for it.
Most people who struggle through a fast—who give up, who white-knuckle through it, or who discover on day 15 they don't actually know how to do this—aren't struggling because they lack willpower or faith. They're struggling because they're trying to navigate it without a map. Without recipes. Without knowing whether what they're eating is actually nutritionally sound. Without understanding why they're hungry at 3 PM or why they're exhausted by day six.
That's what this book is.
Hungry Heart is the walking stick for the mountain. It's built around four things:
A 40-day structure
That walks you through the work without pretending it isn't work. This isn't motivation and pep talks. It's daily guidance with journaling space that acknowledges the real struggle you're doing and gives you something concrete to lean on every single day.
Practical nutrition knowledge
So you're not guessing at what to eat. You'll know what actually nourishes your body during a fast. You'll know how to handle the hunger. You'll know what depletes you versus what sustains you.
Recipes and meal prep
So you're not starting from zero every time you cook. Every recipe in Volume III is tagged to the fasting calendar. You'll know what goes on your plate and why. You won't spend your evenings trying to figure out dinner when you're already hungry and tired.
Wisdom and prayers
From the Fathers and the tradition, not as theory but as tools you can actually use when the struggle gets real—when you're tired, when hunger hits hard, when you question whether any of this matters.
This book is for Orthodox Christians who struggle with fasting and want to understand and prepare for the fast better. It's for the person new to fasting and needs a tool at hand. It's for anybody who struggles with fasting and wants simple strategies to help them through. Whether you're attempting your first fast or you're cradle Orthodox looking to deepen your practice, this resource will help.
You will still struggle. Fasting is supposed to be hard. But you won't struggle alone, and you won't struggle unprepared. You'll still climb the mountain. But you'll have a walking stick.
— Michael
Soul Force Rising
Phase 1: WHY WE FAST
Understanding the foundations — what fasting actually is, why the Church practices it, and what it's really asking of you.
Phase 2: Your Commitment
Building your personal rule. You'll identify your specific struggles, draw bright lines, and create a plan for when (not if) you stumble.
Phase 3: The 40-Day Journey
Daily guidance, journaling space, and practical tools for each day. You're not alone; you have structure and support.
Phase 4: The Practice
15 tactical prayers and 24 pieces of wisdom from the saints — weapons you can deploy when the struggle hits hardest.
Phase 5: The Life After
What continues beyond the 40 days. Fasting isn't a single event; it's a rhythm.
his phase prepares you for that.
Works for Any Length Fast
Whether you're fasting for 40 days or following the weekly Orthodox rhythm, this book scales with you. The daily structure adapts to shorter seasons.
Compatible with all Orthodox fasting seasons: Whether you're tackling Great Lent, the Nativity Fast, the Dormition Fast, the Apostles' Fast, weekly Wednesday and Friday discipline, or a 2-week spiritual season—this book is designed to work with your actual fasting calendar.
EXACTLY WHATS INSIDE
Your Complete Fasting Companion
INCLUDED:
Daily guidance for 40 days
Each day builds on the last, with a passage, a reflection, an ascetic task, and space to journal what's actually happening in your body and your mind.
Scripture and wisdom
From St. John Climacus and the Church Fathers on why fasting matters — not as theory, but as practical insight into what you're experiencing.
Practical tools
A commitment section to clarify your personal rule (because "fasting" means something different for everyone)- Daily journaling space for honest tracking
The After Action Report
— a debrief each day so you see what's working and what needs adjusting
15 tactical prayers
Designed to use when hunger hits, when discipline falters, when you question whether any of this matters. These aren't flowery devotional prayers. They're weapons.
24 insights from the saints
Hard-won wisdom on the spiritual and physical reality of fasting. This is what the tradition actually teaches, not what Instagram thinks fasting should be.
Clear, direct writing
No fluff, no false positivity, no pretending the struggle isn't real. Just honest guidance from someone who's been there, and from the Church Fathers who mapped this territory centuries ago.
You're Ready. Get Started.
Stop figuring it out alone. Stop starting from scratch every fasting season.
40 Days of Fasting: The Struggle That Transforms
GET 5 Days of Hungry Heart Fasting Strategies You Can Use TODAY!
This isn't motivational fluff. It's a field manual for the fast—written by someone who's been there, failed, and learned what actually works. I've poured 30 years of personal discipline and 2,000 years of Orthodox Christian wisdom into these 40 days because I know what separates those who finish from those who quit: preparation. Most people don't fail the fast because they lack willpower or faith. They fail because they're flying blind. This is the walking stick for that mountain. The only question left is: Are you ready to climb it prepared?
- Michael
Soul Force Rising
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