How to Fast- Lent Series

“So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” John 8:36 

We read Matthew 6: 16-18 last week, but I think it's an important reminder. “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. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 1so 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.”

Hebrews 12:11 says “No discipline is pleasant at the time but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who are trained by it.” Oh how sweet the sound! Doesn’t that just sound amazing!? I crave that spiritual freedom, but food freedom, all the freedom! Don’t you? I imagine you do or you’d skip right by this episode! 

Fasting options:

1. The standard fast- no food for a certain number of days. Yes to water and juice. Depending on the length of your fast you may add a clear broth. 
2. The Sun up to Sun down fast- You only eat after sundown, you pray at the other meal times.
3. The Partial/Selective Fast- this is for people with a medical condition who want to do something, but can’t give up food completely. Fast sugar or starches, meat and dairy to name a few. 

Lord, I am excited to fast and get over myself! I know You will have to show up for me in a big way, but You do that anyway Lord. I am so grateful for the opportunity to connect with You this way Father. Show me how to get started and lead me when it gets tough. Thank You for the cross, thank You for loving me when I’m unlovable. Thank You Father for second chances and for the chains that will break in YOUR NAME during this Lent season. We give You all the glory! Forever and ever, 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.

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Transcript

Fasting Guidance

This message finds you well. Familia, I know last week I encouraged you to fast. To be honest, when I started making notes for my podcast, I had a different plan.

But the Holy Spirit encouraged me to encourage you to fast the season. I want to make sure that I share with you how to fast from food so that you do it in the right way. Now again, I want to be clear that kids should not fast.

If you have a medical condition of any kind, you need to consult a doctor to see if it is physically possible and safe for you to fast. So I shared last week a few ways for you to fast if a food fast isn't safe for you.

And there are always ways to connect to God through a fast that do not require food. However, if you are physically able to food fast, do not skip this and say, oh, I'll just fast social. No.

Fasting food is key to connecting with the Holy Spirit if you can. And there is such freedom in fasting. Freedom from shame, from fear, from obsession, from constant self-correction, from gluttony, from comparison.

There's freedom from gambling, from sugar, from trauma. The list goes on, okay? So stick with me here and we'll get started.

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. Nine years ago, I found a system that works and has helped me lose over 90 of those pounds.

I've worked with women in online fitness and nutrition ever since.

In this podcast, I'll teach you how to reframe your thoughts about weight loss and your ability to achieve lasting results and lose weight in a way that honors God without obsessing about the scale and meal plan and prep for your family.

So grab your pre-workout and let's chat. Don't forget that you have two spots open for one-on-one coaching. If you would like some information, shoot me an email, info at herweightlossmindset.com.

That's info at herweightlossmindset.com. I have a 30 or 60-minute option for you. So if you have any questions, want to know what it entails, please reach out.

It is time for you to find freedom in your weight loss journey.

Fasting Principles

So, John 8.36 says, So if the sun sets you free, you are truly free. Last week we read Matthew 16-18, but I think it's an important reminder. Do you remember what it says?

It says, When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their face to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their 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 as we read that and you are fasting, prayerfully considering your fast, I want you to go to Hebrews chapter 12, verse 11. It says, this is one of my favorites, no discipline is pleasant at the time but painful.

Later on, however, it produces a harvest, a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who are trained by it. Oh, how sweet this sound. Doesn't that just sound amazing?

I crave, crave that spiritual freedom, food freedom, all the freedom. Like don't you? I imagine that you do or you probably just skip right by this episode.

So if you're, if you're someone who eats a heavy sugar diet, I want you to take 7 to 10 days, at least 3 to 5 days, to prepare your body for a fast.

If you tend to eat fairly regularly, you might only need a couple of days of lighter meals to prepare for your fast, but do not eat huge meals before your fast or over consume liquids. Okay?

Remember, the point of fasting is not using your discipline to stay strong. The point, my friend, is that in the moment when you feel the craving, you're going to take it to the Lord.

If you have a sugar addiction and it comes to mind, or there's something in your pantry, go to prayer, get on your knees, sit with your hands open, ask the Lord to take the craving and addiction from you.

As I reminded you last week, during this time, you can pray for chains to be broken in someone else's life. You can pray for our country or the world. Ask the Lord what you need to pray for during your fast.

Fasting Methods

Our church is doing a corporate fast this Lent season.

I'm going to share with you a few options that they gave us that I feel could be super helpful for someone that's new to fasting or someone that's struggling with fasting or someone who just really wants to connect differently with God.

The first one is a standard fast. You do no food for a certain number of days. You drink water, you can drink a little bit of juice, and then depending on the length of your fast, you might want to add a clear broth.

This is a great option. You can warm it up so you feel a little warmth in your belly. I, if you've never done a fast before, my first fast, I said I was going to do three days.

I made it like 36 hours. You know, so just remember, like, let God lead you. You don't have to pick a certain number of days.

Start with a day. You can do a sun up to sun down fast. You only eat after the sun sets.

And then at your other meal times, you're spending intentional time in prayer. The next option is a partial or selective fast. So this is for people with a medical condition who want to do something but can't give up food completely.

So just give up sugar or starches. Do a meat and dairy fast. Like these are just a couple of things that you can do.

Okay. So always remember going into a fast, you're minimizing what you're eating to prepare your body to fast. But also as you end your fast, your first breakfast, that needs to be something light.

You do not want to eat a hearty meal right after breaking your fast. Your body will not respond well. Did you know that's why breakfast is called breakfast?

Because you fast overnight. So you eat dinner at whatever, six o'clock. You wake up and you have not eaten throughout the entire night, hopefully.

And so they call it breakfast because you're breaking your fast. So just remember, small, lighter meals, fruits, veggies, those kinds of things after a fast is the best way to ease your body back in. Okay?

Let the Lord lead you. He is going to show you what is right. And remember, Lent is 40 days.

So maybe you want to start with the sun up to sun down fast and do that. And then maybe you want to do the standard fast and pick, say, you're going to fast for a day or 24 hours or 36 hours or 48 hours or something of that nature.

Digital Detox

I highly recommend fasting social media with any of these for the duration of Lent.

Anytime you feel like I deleted my social apps on my phone, and there's so many times in the first couple of days that I picked up my phone to like scroll because I constantly am moving my apps just as a...

Like, it helps me when I get on my phone and like my finger automatically wants to go to the page with Facebook. So if I move it constantly, it reminds me like, oh, I don't even really need to get on there.

So delete your apps and then use that time to pray for people. Use that time to serve your community, to make a meal for someone or send letters to your military men and women. There's such a better use of our time than being on our stupid phones.

Like put it down, go outside, do something for someone else. Jesus gave everything for us. He gave his life.

We can go hard for him for 40 days and who knows, you may be so inspired and so on fire for Christ that you never go back to your old ways. Praise God. What a day of rejoicing that will be.

And you can do this because he is in you. Don't tell anyone you're fasting unless it's someone that wants to fast with you and you keep accountable to each other. You pray for each other because this isn't about you.

It's about God moving in you and through you. I told someone a couple weeks ago that I was going to fast on Sunday. And the Lord was like, don't say that.

Like nobody needs to know. This is between us. So I have to repent because I don't want it to be about me.

It's not about us.

Spiritual Warfare

Food fasting is not easy. Jesus did it for 40 days in the wilderness. And here came the enemy.

Oh, you know, here, eat this loaf of bread here, you know, bow down to me here. Like he was actually like with Jesus, just like he's tempting us during our fast.

And are we going to let him win or are we going to bow our heads and pray and ask God to take that craving and to turn it into a prayer? It's not meant to be easy. It's meant to be a way to reach out to Jesus and let the Holy Spirit fill you.

It's amazing. It's an incredible connection point between you and your Heavenly Father. Lord, I am so excited to fast and just get over myself.

I know you will have to show up for me in a big way, but you do that anyway, Jesus. I am so grateful for the opportunity to connect with you this way, Father. Show me how to get started and lead me when it gets tough.

Thank you for the cross, Father. Thank you for loving me when I'm unlovable. Thank you for second chances and for the chains that are going to break.

In my name and the names of the people that I'm going to pray for. Thank you, Father. Thank you.

It's in your name during this Lent season that we gladly go to you in prayer. We give you all the glory, Father, forever and ever. Be with those who are fasting this Lent season.

Be with those we can encourage. Let hearts be open to what you're going to do through us. It's in your name we ask.

Amen. 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.