Intuitive Eating & Fasting
This compilation of resources will help you navigate the nuance of intuitive eating and fasting.
Maybe you were doing just fine on your intuitive eating journey but then the new year hit and your church decided to do a corporate fast.
I feel ya!
Maybe you still have one foot in diet culture and all this talk of “bad” foods that you need to fast from is a scary mix of confusing, triggering and hopeful.
I am praying for you!
Maybe you never really struggled with food before, but the idea of a 40 day fast makes you feel overwhelmed and stressed.
Girl, you are in good company!
So I’ve put together a list of podcast episodes and articles that have been blessings to me and provide some great perspective and practical advice about intuitive eating and fasting. They are too good not to share!
Whatever your situation, I hope these resources will help you deal with the challenges your facing around food, body image and health and give you a completely new perspective on fasting.
Disclaimer: For the record, whenever I recommend a book, podcast, article, or some other resource, I’m NOT saying I recommend every single word or idea in it. I AM saying that I found something useful in it that spoke to me and helped me take a step forward on my journey. I believe that if I got something out of it, you might too.
Podcasts: Intuitive Eating & Fasting
Intuitive Eating for Christian Women #43
We talk with Jessica-Lauren Newby about what the Bible says about feasting and fasting. Listen to Episode 43 here.
Intuitive Eating for Christian Women #48
We talk with Amanda Martinez Beck about recognizing the harm in Diet Culture’s version of fasting and discovering a better way to fast. Listen to Episode 48.
Intuitive Eating for Christian Women #35
We talk with Amy Carlson about how diet culture has twisted fasting. Listen to Episode 35.
Intuitive Eating for Christian Women #21
We talk with Megan Hadley about the many ways diet culture show up in the church. Listen to Episode 21.
Compared to who?
Heather Creekmore talks with Amy Carlson. Part 1 explores the question should I fast if I had an eating disorder? Listen to Part 1. Part 2 is about Daniel Fast, Sugar Fasts and the truth about Biblical fasting. Listen to Part 2.
The Joy-Filled Eater
In Ep. 3 Brittany Braswell discusses how to deal with diet culture in the church. Listen here.
Food, Faith and Fasting
The episode Fasting vs Dieting unpacks the differences between the fasting mindset and the dieting mindset. Listen here.
Articles: Intuitive Eating & Fasting
Spiritual Fasting After Eating Disorder Recovery
In this blog post by my co-host Char-Lee Cassel, RD she explains what spiritual fasting is and explores whether or not you can fast if you’ve had an eating disorder. Read the blog post.
Biblical Fasting and Intuitive Eating
In this blog post Aubrey Golbek, RD of Joyful Health Co. offers a touchstone to help you decide whether or not you should fast, what to fast from, and how to do it in a way that aligns with your values. Read the blog post.
Can Christians practice spiritual fasting with an unhealthy relationship with food?
In this blog post Alyssa Pike, RD of Gratefully Nourished helps us to think through fasting and our relationship with food. Read the blog post.
Resources: Lent & Fasting
Beginner’s Guide to Lent
In this blog post I address some common questions about Lent and give a basic overview of the Lenten season. This discusses fasting generally and specifically during Lent. Read the blog post.
Why Lent can be a dangerous time when you’re recovering from an eating disorder
In this article for America Magazine, Amanda Martinez Beck shares her wisdom and explains why Lent can be a dangerous time when you’re recovering from an eating disorder. Read the article here.
Giving up diet culture for Lent
In these blog posts I share my first Lenten experience as an intuitive eater: Giving Up Diet Culture for Lent, Fasting from Diet Culture, Tear Down the High Places
Compared to Who? 6 Ideas for Lent that Don’t Involve Food
Listen to the Compared to Who? Podcast with Heather Creekmore shares 6 ideas for Lent that don’t involve food but may help you feel a whole lot better about your body by Easter. Listen Here.
Losing the Lies for Lent
I am so excited and honored to be a contributor for Losing the Lies for Lent! This collaboration (with several people you will recognize from this very Intuitive Eating & Fasting post!) is a 7-week guided series to re-discover Lent without diet culture.
Join us for a Lent you will never forget, we begin 2/20/23. Learn more about Losing the Lies for Lent here. Be sure to use my Coupon Code: ERIN.
Fasting (Generally)
Fasting & Feasting: 40 Devotions to Satisfy the Hungry Heart by Erin Davis
I just devoured this book in preparation for Lent and compiling this list. You check out the interviews with author Erin Davis (on Compared to Who? listed in the podcast section above as well as her interview on the Love Offering Podcast) to get a taste of this wonderful 4o-day devotional and see if you’d like to read it.
While it’s not explicitly related to intuitive eating, I will say Erin Davis seems to speak from a place of eating disorder recovery and it is definitely got a non-diet vibe, free from the trappings of diet culture (and even calling it out in key places!). I will be adding this book to my recommended reading list shortly!
40 Days of Decrease by Alicia Britt Chole
This resource came recommended by a trusted friend. The video trailer for the full length book is on the 40 Days of Decrease website and a mini-study is available on the YouVersion Bible App, so you can get a taste of what is promised to be “a different kind of hunger, a different kind of fast.” It reminds me of Isaiah 58 in the best way!
