What's the point of fasting anyway?

I already believe in fasting once in a while, as Heavenly Father has explained, and it was interesting to find this little bit of info in Newsweek magazine in an article entitled, "Diet Trick: Stop Eating".

"In many religions, fasting is associated with enlightenment and atonement and understanding the suffering of the poor. It's a way of resetting one's moral clock, of starting with a clean slate."

"Fasting builds self-control. It allows people to build strength for when they have to adhere to some other moral dimension of their religion."

"Oprah wrote that her 21-day plan helped her identify "attachments" to certain kinds of foods. Similarly, in many religions, the role of the fast is to detach the pratitioner from material needs, so he can focus on the spiritual."

And lastly, the big kicker, I know this but had never let myself think of it as bluntly as this statement put it, "Overeating and gluttony are sins in nearly every religion."

Thinking and talking about myself being addicted to food and being a compulsive overeater, while true, don't have the strong connotation that 'gluttony' has. It was good for me to read this article as it helped in being truthful to myself about the seriousness of my addiction. Satan tries to tell me all the time, 'What? It's just food. You have to eat. It's no big deal." But when I'm filling my body with things that not only are not good for it but also in quantities that can harm it, I am not taking care of my body, my temple. I am not showing respect for this great gift of being alive.

Thanks for reading, and hopefully you thought it was interesting too! :)