The Daniel fast in practice: from the grocery list to day 22

1. Choose your length: 10 days or 21 days

The fast comes from two passages. In Daniel 1, the young Daniel asks to be tested for ten days on "pulse to eat, and water to drink" (Daniel 1:12, KJV), meaning vegetables and seeds, instead of the king's food and wine. Years later, in Daniel 10, he mourns for three weeks and eats "no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine" (Daniel 10:3). Modern versions join the two: plant foods and water, for 10 or 21 days.

Most American churches run the 21-day version, usually in January, sometimes during Lent. If this is your first Daniel fast and you are doing it on your own, 10 days is a reasonable first try: long enough to change how you shop and cook, short enough to finish. If your church fasts together, follow its calendar, since praying with others is the heart of it for most people.

It helps to see where this fast sits among the others in Scripture. Daniel's is a partial fast, one of the 12 types of fasting in the Bible, and the only one where you eat normal amounts every day. That makes it doable alongside a full work week.

2. Know what you eat and what you leave out

The rule fits in one line: whole plant foods and water. Details vary between churches and published guides, so treat this table as the common version, close to the one used in the studies, and check your church's list for the gray areas.

Food group	During the fast	Examples
Vegetables and fruit	Yes, as much as you like	Broccoli, sweet potatoes, spinach, apples, berries; frozen without sauce
Beans and lentils	Yes, at most meals	Black beans, pinto beans, lentils, chickpeas, split peas
Whole grains	Yes	Oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, popcorn popped at home
Nuts, seeds and oils	Yes, in small amounts	A handful of almonds or walnuts, peanut butter with no added sugar, olive oil
Meat, fish, eggs and dairy	No	Chicken, burgers, tuna, eggs, cheese, butter, milk
Sugar, yeast bread and stimulants	No	Honey, syrups, sweetened cereal, sandwich bread, coffee, soda, alcohol

Bread needs a decision before day one. Sandwich bread, bagels and most whole-wheat loaves contain yeast and often sugar, which puts them out. Many churches allow unleavened whole-grain tortillas or crackers made only with flour, water, salt and oil. Read the label, because plenty of "whole wheat" tortillas add sugar or dough conditioners.

Drinks are simple in the traditional version: water, still or sparkling. Honey goes with the sugar on almost every list, even though it is natural. If you also keep fasting hours during the day, our page on whether honey breaks a fast explains why a single spoonful ends a regular fast.

3. Prepare in the week before

The volunteers in the first Daniel fast study had a full week to get ready before day one, and they reported sticking to the plan about 99% of the time. Use your week the same way:

• Taper caffeine. If you drink two or more cups of coffee a day, cut back by about half a cup a day, so the withdrawal headache comes before the fast starts.
• Shop for staples. Dried or canned beans with no added sugar, oats, brown rice, frozen vegetables, nuts and a few spices cover most meals.
• Read labels. Sugar, honey, yeast, whey and milk powder hide in bread, crackers, canned soups and salad dressings.
• Write down your prayer focus. Note why you are fasting and what you are praying for. You will reread it in the second week, when the novelty wears off.

Coffee is the habit most people miss. On an ordinary intermittent fast black coffee is allowed (see does coffee break a fast), so the rule here comes from the Daniel fast itself, which leaves out stimulants. Some churches allow one cup of black coffee a day. Decide which version you follow before you start, so you are not negotiating with yourself at 7 a.m.

4. Plan your Daniel fast meals: a sample day

The classic mistake is a plate of vegetables alone, which leaves you starving by 3 p.m. Put beans, lentils or a whole grain on every plate and add a handful of nuts during the day. Here is a workday with a lunch you can pack.

Meal	What to eat	Protein, about
Breakfast, 7:00	1 cup of cooked oatmeal with half a cup of berries, cinnamon and 1 oz of walnuts	10 g
Lunch, 12:30	Lentil soup made with 1 cup of cooked lentils, carrots, celery and canned tomatoes, plus an apple	18 g
Snack, 3:30	Carrot sticks with a quarter cup of hummus and a small handful of almonds	8 g
Dinner, 7:00	Burrito bowl: 1 cup of black beans, 1 cup of brown rice, roasted peppers, salsa and half an avocado	22 g

That comes to roughly 58 g of protein, about the standard recommendation of 0.8 g per kilogram for a 160-pound adult. If you are taller, more active or older, add a second serving of beans at lunch or dinner.

Another night, swap the bowl for a bean chili with brown rice, or a vegetable stir-fry with chickpeas over quinoa. If you also keep an overnight fasting window during the 21 days, say 12 hours from dinner to breakfast, the FastTrack timer can track it while you focus on the meals.

5. Know what the studies measured

Only a handful of studies exist, all from one lab at the University of Memphis. They are small, and none compared the fast with a group that kept eating as usual. With that in mind, here is what they found after 21 days.

• In the first study, 43 adults followed the fast. Total cholesterol fell from about 171 to 139 mg/dL and LDL from 98 to 76 mg/dL, and blood pressure dropped a few points. HDL, the protective cholesterol, fell too, and body weight did not change significantly. Daily intake went from about 2,185 to 1,722 calories without anyone counting.
• A second study followed 39 adults of mixed weight and health, including some with type 2 diabetes. LDL, fasting glucose, fasting insulin and systolic blood pressure improved, and average weight went from 74.1 to 71.5 kg, about 6 pounds.
• A third study gave 29 adults either the traditional fast or a modified one with one daily serving of lean meat and skim milk, about 30 g of extra protein. Blood lipids improved to a similar degree with both, and a marker of inflammation fell.

In these volunteers, three weeks of plant foods moved short-term blood markers in a good direction. Weight is less predictable: one study saw no significant change, another about 6 pounds. How much changes for you depends mostly on how you ate before.

6. Watch protein and B12, then ease out

Dropping every animal food lowers protein and saturated fat at the same time. The researchers noted that the traditional plan can cost some lean mass and lowers HDL, which is why they tested the version with meat and milk. You can keep the traditional rules and still get enough protein by eating legumes at two or three meals a day and keeping up your usual walking or training.

Vitamin B12 comes almost only from animal foods. Your body stores enough for years, so 21 days is not a problem on its own. Deficiency is common among people who eat fully plant-based for long periods, though. If you repeat the Daniel fast several times a year or already eat vegetarian, ask your doctor about a B12 supplement or a blood test.

On day 22, bring foods back one group at a time. Start with eggs or yogurt rather than a large steak dinner, keep the bean and vegetable dishes you learned to cook, and wait a few days before going back to sugar and caffeine. Many people find the first coffee hits harder than they remember.

7. Adapt it or skip it in these situations

A Daniel fast is far gentler than a water fast, and most healthy adults handle it well. Some situations call for a doctor's advice first, or a modified plan:

• Diabetes treated with insulin or sulfonylureas. Your carbohydrate intake and meal timing change, and blood sugar can drop. Plan any medication change with your doctor before day one.
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding. Protein, iron and B12 needs are higher. A modified version with eggs or dairy, agreed with your doctor or midwife, is the usual compromise.
• Kidney disease. Beans, potatoes and many fruits are high in potassium and phosphorus, which some kidney diets limit.
• A history of eating disorders. Weeks of food rules can bring old patterns back. A fast from something else, such as social media or TV, keeps the spiritual side without that risk.
• Teenagers, and older adults who already eat little protein. Use the modified version, or keep generous servings of legumes at every meal.

Stop and call your doctor if you feel dizzy or faint, see repeated low blood sugar readings, or lose weight quickly without trying. The spiritual purpose of the fast never asks you to push through those signs.

In short

The Daniel fast is 10 or 21 days of plant foods and water, based on Daniel 1 and 10. Prepare during the week before, taper coffee, and put beans or lentils on most plates so you are neither hungry nor short on protein. The small studies saw better cholesterol and blood pressure after three weeks, with weight changes that varied from person to person. If you take diabetes medication, are pregnant or have kidney disease, plan it with your doctor first.