Ep. 61 Fasting With a Purpose During Lent

Hello everyone! Welcome to episode 61 of intermittent fasting for life Experiment of One. I’m your host Tracey Mack. Today I will be discussing how I am fasting with purpose-by merging the Daniel fast with intermittent fasting during lent. This year lent begins on Feb. 18th and ends on April. 2nd.

For those of you who don’t know what Lent is. 

Lent is a 40-day solemn Christian season of preparation for Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday (2/18 )and focusing on fasting, prayer, and giving. It symbolizes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness, allowing us believers to reflect on repentance, sacrifice, and spiritual renewal. 

Daniel (a prophet)-refused to compromise his diet or worship idols. He avoided the royal food such as meat. 

•Daniel chose simple, plant-based foods to remain faithful

•Jesus fasted for 40 days emphasized obedience, clarity, and spiritual strength

•This wasn’t a diet—it was an act of worship. 

How Christians Observe Lent:

• Christians observe Lent by fasting, giving up comforts, and focusing on spiritual renewal, echoing Jesus's time in the desert. 
• It is a time for self-examination, repentance, and strengthening one's relationship with God.
• Practices like increased prayer, acts of charity, and scripture study help believers enter their own spiritual wilderness to find healing and deeper faith. 

“Lent is about creating space to hear God more clearly, to discipline the flesh, and to realign our hearts. 

•Lent matters to me because I am a Christian of Christ and I want to create space to hear God more clearly especially during this season when satan is trying to destroy families! This is how I fight-through fasting and praying on a regular basis not just for lent. 

For those who don’t know how to fast here is a little refresher.  Fasting is when you stop eating for a specific time period during your day by only drinking water. For example a 12 hour fast is not eating anything from 8pm on Monday until 8a  on Tuesday.  (8a-8p is your eating window). A 16 hour fast Is not eating anything from 8p on Monday until 12p on Tuesday (12p-8p is your eating window). 

How It Works During Lent:

What you eat & drink:

•Fruit/ Vegetables, beans/legumes, whole grains, nuts/seeds, Water, herbal teas. 

When you eat:

•create an eating window. I’m planning to have a 6 hour eating window most days, which means I’ll have my 2 meals between 1p-7p. 

Why the combination is powerful:

•Physically:it Supports your overall health. 

•Spiritually:it Encourages prayer during hunger. 

•This is not about perfection

“God honors the heart behind the fast more than the strictness of the fast.”

“Lent is an invitation—not to starve ourselves, but to feed our souls.”

Lent is also about giving to the less fortunate.  This is a good time to donate things that you are no longer using and to volunteer your time to Food banks, nursing homes and shelters for example.

Giving not only helps the recipient but it also makes the giver feel good because nothing feels better than helping someone. 

I hope the information that I have shared helps you with your healthy lifestyle journey. I’m not a doctor so please don’t use anything that I say as a substitute for medical advice. If you have medical conditions, please see your doctor before fasting or changing your diet. If you would like to share your intermittent fasting story, please email me at: 

TraceyMackIf4life@gmail.com.         

Please grab a copy of my book titled: Intermittent fasting for life-Experiment of One on Am