Fasting for Faith and Fitness: A Balanced Approach

MATTHEW 6:16-18 SAYS “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

• HERE ARE 3 beginner-friendly fasting tips to try this week:
  1. Start with a partial fast (e.g., skipping one meal or wait until noon to eat).
  2. Use fasting time for prayer and journaling. 
  3. Focus on hydration and preparation.

HEAVENLY FATHER, THANK YOU FOR THE GIFT OF FASTING, THANK YOU THAT WE GET TO CONNECT WITH YOU IN THIS MOST INTIMATE WAY. LORD LEAD ME IN MY FAST AND HELP ME TO SEEK YOUR STRENGTH AND NOT MY OWN. THANK YOU FOR THE CHAINS YOU'LL BREAK AND WHO I WILL BECOME FROM WALKING IN OBEDIENCE TO YOUR HOLY SPIRIT. THANK YOU THAT I DON'T HAVE TO STAY THE SAME, THAT I GET TO DIE TO MYSELF DAILY, TAKE UP YOUR CROSS AND WALK IN YOUR WAYS. LEAD ME LORD, THANK YOU, I LOVE YOU. IN JESUS PRECIOUS AND HOLY NAME, AMEN.

Are you sick of trying diet after diet and NOT losing weight?

Hey there friend, I'm Lindy Schlabach, Christian Fitness & Nutrition Coach. I gained 100 pounds in my late twenties and struggled for years to get it off. Seven years ago, I found a basic system that worked and has helped me lose 90 of those pounds. I’ve been working with women in online fitness and nutrition ever since to break chains of diet culture, embrace their bodies and fueling instead of dieting.

In this podcast, I'll teach you how to:

• • Lose Weight in a Way that honors God without obsessing about the scale
  • Meal Plan and Prep for Your Family
  • Follow a MACRO based plan that allows you to eat the foods you love.
  • Recognize and pray through triggers keeping you stuck.
  • I’ll help you Plan your week and schedule your self-care time.
  • Cultivate a spirit of self-discipline in your workouts you actually enjoy.
  
  It's time to give God your health journey and watch Him make you new, from the inside, OUT.

Join The Biblical Weight Loss Framework: https://www.herweightlossmindset.com/framework

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Transcript

Okay, so I'm going to blow your mind today.

Don't shut me off, okay?

Just bear with me here.

Today, we're going to talk about fasting.

Yes, fasting, the most crucial of the spiritual disciplines in my own personal opinion.

I have never honestly felt closer to God than when I fast.

Do you know what God's word says about fasting?

Let's chat about how this incredibly difficult spiritual discipline may be just the thing you need to break the chains that are holding you back from reaching your Biblical weight loss goals.

Question, can fasting improve both your relationship with God and your health?

Are you sick of trying diet after diet and not losing weight?

Are you tired of doubting your ability to actually lose weight in a healthy way?

Do you wish you could find a laid out for you plan that will help you stay accountable to your goals?

Hey friends, I'm Lindy Schlabach, Christian Fitness & Nutrition Coach.

I gained 100 pounds in my late 20s and struggled for years to get it off.

So grab your pre-workout and let's chat.

So have you done your review yet of my show on Apple Podcast and joined my free community?

Don't forget, May 22nd, I am giving away three free one-hour coaching sessions, but you have to join my free community and share a screenshot of your review in there.

I'm excited to connect with you.

There will be three people that will be able to pick my brain for one hour asking any questions.

We can pray through your personal weight loss journey.

We'll do a Zoom call.

It'll be awesome.

So don't forget, go to Apple Podcast, review my show, join the free community.

You can find the link in the show notes or search Facebook at Weight Loss Tips for Christian Women and share a screenshot of your review in there.

So fasting, let's get to it.

Matthew 6, 16 to 18 says, When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting.

Truly I tell you, they have received the reward in full.

But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your father who is unseen.

And your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

So I want you to note the first word in verse 16 and the second word in verse 17.

The word is when.

The word says when you fast, not if, but when.

And this is a direct quote command from Jesus himself, which means that it's so important.

This is why in the Biblical Weight Loss Framework in Step 5, as we finish, I ask you to fast as you prepare to graduate from the program.

Not for weight loss, not for vanity purposes, but as a means to hear from the Holy Spirit.

If this is not a spiritual discipline that you have taken part of in your faith walk, I highly recommend it.

And I'm going to give you some tips here as we move forward on how to do that.

So remember a couple weeks ago when we talked about how man, you know, doesn't live on bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God?

That means that we're not called to just survive on food.

We're called to survive on giving up food, the thing that we think we need daily for nourishment.

But honestly, daily, what we actually need is to stay in tune with the Word of God.

That's why I talk to you so much about your morning routine and waking up intentionally and spending time with Jesus.

Fasting is where you will hear from God in the most intimate way it will reset your body.

And what I found in my own personal journey is that after about a 40-hour period, your body is going to physically detox.

And just personally, I feel like this is God's way of saying, listen, I see your sacrifice.

Let's clean you up from the inside out.

He's going to clean your insides.

He's going to clean your head.

He's going to clean your heart posture.

So here are three beginner-friendly tips that you can try this week in your fasting journey.

So I want you to think about a partial fast, maybe just skipping one meal, or you could wait until noon to eat.

Now, if you are exercising, you cannot fast and exercise.

So if you are going to practice this fast, you need to skip your workout.

Yes, the person who talks to you about worshiping through your exercise and how exercise is something you should be doing often, I'm telling you, if you are fasting, which is a spiritual discipline, which is a way to connect with Jesus, which is absolutely crucial to your faith walk, take a break from your workouts.

It's okay.

Commit to spending this time in prayer with your Holy Father.

So step 2, use your fasting time for prayer and journaling.

So as you fast, take notes.

What are you hearing from God?

How are you hearing from God?

What are you experiencing physically?

What are you experiencing emotionally or mentally?

Where does your mind go when you fast?

Are you constantly thinking about food or a relationship, or maybe an addiction struggle that you're facing?

This could be God's way of revealing that chain and saying, Hey, listen, I want to break that chain.

So we're going to lean into that hard part of your fast, and we're going to ask him to reveal to you what he needs you to hear.

Lord, I need you to heal this part of my life and help me move on.

Break these chains.

I've shared with you before.

I have had a Ritz cracker addiction for many years.

I used to like sit down and eat a fresh stack, like just as like a fun thing to do.

And God called me very clearly to stop eating Ritz crackers.

Like if you look at the ingredients, for one thing, they're terrible for you, like it's not actually real food, but they were becoming an idol in my life.

And so one day I was fasting, and like all I could think was like, Ritz cracker, Ritz cracker, Ritz cracker, Ritz cracker.

And I was like, I started like yelling out to him, like you have to take this from me.

He took it.

In an instant, I had peace about Ritz crackers.

Now we can have Ritz crackers in the house.

I don't eat them.

I might have one.

I might have none.

Like, it doesn't bother me anymore.

I fasted over my book.

I wrote a book.

Did you know I wrote a book?

Yes, it's called Forgiven.

And in my fast, God literally handed me the entire book.

The outline, 60 verses for the devotional part.

Like, he literally gave me everything that I needed during my fast.

He will reveal things to you.

He will help you break chains.

Maybe you have a prodigal child or a spouse that struggles with addiction, fast over that.

Pray through that.

Walk through your home and cast out the evil that is in your home.

Cast out anything that is not of God in your home and fast over your home.

Fast over the people that you love.

Ask God, okay, Lord, what do I need to fast?

Pray for in my fast today.

It could be a variety of different things.

He will lead you.

Step three, focus on hydration and preparation.

So for me personally, I like to watch Passion of the Christ when I fast, when it gets to that point where it's like really hard and I'm really hungry, when I think I can't go on and watching to see what all Jesus went through for me, it makes my small fast seem silly.

Now let's be clear, he cares that we fast.

This is not silly to him.

He sees how hard it is.

He knows how hard it is.

He appreciates the sacrifice.

He will show up for you in your fast.

And when you think, oh my gosh, I can't go on, I have to eat, I have to eat, get on your knees, stick out your hands and say, God, take this from me.

I know you have called me to fast.

Take this from me.

He cares that you fast.

Remember the words in the verse we just read?

When you fast, this is a command from Jesus Christ himself.

But we're not telling people that we're fasting.

You're doing this to glorify God, not yourself.

You're doing this to glorify God, not lose weight.

That could be a blessing benefit in the end, but that's not why we're doing it.

We're doing it to personally connect intimately and hear from the Holy Spirit in a new way.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of fasting.

Thank you that we get to connect with you in this most intimate way.

Lord, lead me in my fast and help me to seek your strength and not my own.

Thank you for the chains that you'll break and who I will become from walking in obedience to your Holy Spirit.

And thank you that I don't have to stay the same, that I get to die to myself every day and take up your cross and walk in your way, Lord, and not my own.

Lead me.

Thank you.

I love you in Jesus' precious and holy name.

Amen.

So I'd like to challenge you to fast this week, maybe just one meal or half a day.

However, your conviction arises, Scott.

Lord, I want to fast this week.

Can you show me what that looks like?

But I need you to take a couple of days before to prepare.

So if you're someone who eats a lot of sugar or drinks a lot of coffee, you're going to have to take a couple of days to limit those.

And then eat small meals leading up to your fast.

Pray for strength that when the hunger hits, God will fill you with his power and he will.

I promise you can do this.

And then once your fast is over, I recommend like at least, like I said, 40, 42, 48 hours, three days is ideal.

But I want you to reflect on your fast.

Then what did you experience?

What did you hear from God?

What was that conviction that he led you to?

If you truly want to change and heal, this is the way.

This is hard.

This is spiritual discipline.

This episode, half of you have probably shut off already.

But for those of you that are still here, thank you.

I know this message is not easy.

I know this call is not easy.

You're like, oh, well, I have a health issue that, you know, prevents me from fasting.

Fasting can heal.

I'm not saying that it will.

I'm not a medical doctor, but I'm saying fasting can heal your gut issues.

It can heal so many different things.

If you want to completely reset your entire body, fast for seven days.

I'm serious.

You will heal your entire body completely fasting seven days.

This is hard work, but you are worth it.

I believe in you.

More importantly, God believes in you.

You can do this.

If you are going to fast and you would like me to pray for you, reach out to me on social media.

You can connect with me on Instagram or Facebook at Her Weight Loss Mindset.

Proud of you for even considering this.

Pray.

Ask God to give you strength.

Ask God to lead you.

You can do it.

Happy fasting.

Hey sis, I hope you enjoyed today's episode.

If so, would you take 30 seconds and share it with a friend?

Also, please leave a quick review for the show on Apple Podcasts.

It lights me up to know this podcast is helping you.

Okay, it's time to go make a protein shake and get my sweat on.

No more standing in the kitchen waiting for motivation to appear.

I will meet you back here for another episode.

God bless.