A series of blogs on the process of eating the CDED (Crohn’s Disease Exclusion Diet) – a medically prescribed diet to treat Crohn’s disease that involves a very limited range of mandatory foods (2 eggs, 2 bananas, 2 potatoes, 1 chicken breast, 1 apple plus a liquid meal replacement), designed to reduce inflammation in the body – and offering it as a spiritual fast.


I’ve come to the end of my 6 weeks of the strictest version of this diet.  I have noticed that I have been more grumpy than usual (my husband has noticed too!). That’s an indication to me that I have been relying on food and the pleasures of eating together rather than God for my joy. I’m trying to be aware of my self-talk, and what I’m telling myself about my desires. Nice food is a good gift of God, and times of feasting are certainly biblical, but so are times of fasting. In our privileged part of the world, feasting can be an everyday occurrence. It’s good to remind myself that access to an abundance of delicious food every single day is a rare privilege that many people do not enjoy. Choosing to limit what I eat for the sake of my health is also a privilege – many people just have to eat whatever food that they can get, rather than eating a carefully curated diet designed to maximise their health. So, I’m back to remembering to practice gratitude!

 I’ve been disappointed that this way of eating hasn’t worked as well as I had hoped in terms of drawing me towards God (and sadly it doesn’t seem to have made any dramatic improvements in my health either). As it became habitual it stopped being a reminder, and my intentionality decreased.  I think it has given my relationship with God a bit of a boost, but not as much as I had hoped.

I’m not sure what to do about this. As I discussed in my book, I have always struggled with spiritual disciplines, as they tend to either make me feel guilty or proud. I’m not a great habit person. Doing something every day for four weeks seems to make me bored rather than form a habit. I’d love to hear from you in the comments what has been your experience of spiritual disciplines.

Currently I’m trying to do more meditation-type practices – breath prayers and quietening prayers. This has been helpful as I have a tendency to interpret mild gut pain as anxiety, so it makes me feel tense. (In a weird way it was almost a relief to discover that I had a significantly ulcerated small bowel, as I had thought that I was waking up with my stomach clenched with anxiety, whereas it was actually physical pain!).

The way I do breathing prayer is to slow my breathing and breathe in God’s love, peace, joy or whatever and breath out worry, frustration, disappointment and so on. I will start with one pair (such as worry/peace or disappointment/joy) and do that for as many breathes as I need until I move on to another pair.  I usually close my eyes if I can and hold my hands palm upward to receive and release. I find that my shoulders normally relax, and I quickly feel a sense of God’s presence.

My favourite quieting meditation is to say a phrase in my mind with each breath. In my early twenties I started using a desert father’s prayer, “Lord, as you know and as you will, have mercy.” which was helpful as I watched mum slowly die from cancer. That is still my go to phrase, as I used it so much so I can do it without thinking, but you can use any phrase you find helpful. I like Psalm 4:8 when I am trying to fall asleep. “I will lie down and sleep in peace (in-breath), for you alone make me dwell in safety (outbreath). This quieter way of praying is good for me when my mind is racing or when it feels like my prayers are hitting a brick wall. It takes the striving out of praying, which I sometimes get into.

I think I’ll stop writing about this diet now, unless something interesting comes up.

Hi, I'm Chris!

I'm an Australian Christian author, blogger and speaker who has published one book - Diamonds from the King - which is a book of stories from my life of ways that God has worked to bring precious diamonds from suffering, disappointment and confusion.

I'm a mum, granny and wife and I love spending time with my grown kids and my four and counting grandkids, but my greatest passion is to get to know God better, and to share his wonder with the world.