I started this project (9 years ago!) as a New Year’s resolution. I wanted to eat more mindfully, I wanted a daily spiritual practice, I loved calendars and recipes and food traditions, so I smooshed them all together into this.
And in that journey, I learned that much of my relationship around food was around controlling what I could control, because I felt so out of control elsewhere. It was about limiting myself in punishment for the natural weight gain and curves of my biology. It went to a very unhealthy place, and when I realized I’d linked this disordered eating with my ordered spiritual life, I dropped it all like a hot potato.
Not the God, spiritual part. Not the liturgical calendar – that’s so deep in my bones after all these years, there’s not much I can do. But the (ha) eating part. The tracking part. The selecting specific foods for specific days part.
I’ve been posting less because I’ve been really wrestling with this.
But, here in the 2025th year of our Lord, I think I’m back. My partner and I have started lifting weights, and our trainer has specific protein and nutrient suggestions to fuel the muscle we’re building and to make sure we don’t feel terrible as we do this. He doesn’t want me to lose weight, or to look any specific way – he wants me to feel strong and not to punish my body as I work. It’s, well, it feels kind of wonderful to both exercise and eat without a view of calorie counts and feeling too big. Sounds pretty darn FIERCE DAY to me.
And so, here’s my plan for this year:
- Fierce Days – meet my protein and water goals.
- Friday Fast Days – vegan and no alcohol (something for me to note that it’s a different kind of day, but still keep my body feeling loved.)
- Feast Days – don’t stress, but prioritize protein and water. Plan special meals. Embrace tasty surprises.
- Fragile Days – actually rest my body, love it well with what food it tells me it needs.
Happy New Year! How are you Eating Liturgically this season of your life?