Sweet Freedom: The Lessons I Gained from 40 Days without Sugar

This past Friday, I finished forty days of not eating any sugar. You might wonder why anyone in their right mind would do that, and I’m here to answer that question and share what I have learned during the forty days.

I was introduced to the idea of fasting from sugar at a Leadership Conference about a year ago. The first night of the conference was for women and right before our break, the speaker was talking about how fasting from sugar for 40 days transformed her life and her ministry. What she was saying made sense to me. I knew I had a sugar problem, but I didn’t see how it was related to my spiritual life. The more she talked, the more convinced I was that I needed to buy her book and try it out. As she finished speaking, she invited us go to our break where there were drinks and about a bazillion mini cupcakes for us to enjoy. The irony of what she was saying was not lost on her, or any of us. Let’s just say there were lots of cupcakes out at lunch the next day.

I went home from the conference, inspired to take a group of women from our church through a 40 day sugar fast, but I really didn’t think I could go 40 days without sugar. So, I decided to do a “trial run.” With the help of the book and the Holy Spirit, I was able to not eat sugar for 40 days! What resulted was not only an improvement in my physical health, but growth and depth in my relationship with the Lord.

I took this new mindset into hosting a fast for a group in January. And another one in the spring/summer. Here is what I have learned:

-Sugar is NOT the problem. My desire to run to sugar for any/all reasons is the problem. Instead of turning to the Lord when I am hurt, angry, frustrated, happy, sad, disappointed, I turn to a sugary treat to comfort me. By not allowing myself to run to that thing (sugar) for 40 days, I am retraining my body and mind to respond differently to my emotions.

-Sugar CAN’T fix my problems (it’s NOT the solution either). As much as I want some peanut butter chocolate ice cream to take away the pain, it can’t. The guilt that follows from going to ice cream instead of the Lord is as painful as the pounds it packs on my physical body. So, whenever I craved something sweet, I would pray. Sometimes I felt like I was praying all day. As the days went on, my cravings decreased, but my desire to stay in fellowship/communion with the Lord increased.

-Anything that I run to instead of the Lord with my problems is an idol. Food, TV, social media, books, alcohol, exercise. None of those things are bad things, but it’s the place they hold in my heart that can be the problem. In the book, the 40 Day Sugar Fast, the author, Wendy Speake asks a question on Day 18, “Would taking away __________devastate me?” Put in whatever it is that you run to instead of the Lord and answer the question honestly. If the answer is yes, you, my friend, have an idol.

-Fasting is biblical, and is something that Jesus assumes we will do. “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others, but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:16-17 The rewards of fasting are that we get more of God! We seek Him more during the fast, and He is found by us. We are laying down our idols during the fast in order to experience more of Him and His power in our lives.

-I tend to get halfway through the 40 days, and begin to tell myself, “this is silly, the Lord doesn’t care about what I eat or what kind of shape I am in physically.” Then the Lord gently reminds me that He does care. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?”1 Cor 6:19a “I appeal to you therefore brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1 God does care about our physical bodies, what we put into them and how we take care of them.

-God is kind and compassionate. He knows and loves me, and wants me to live in His love as I take care of this body that will be mine until the day I die. When I put God back into His rightful place in my life, I can battle the temptations to run to other things, and instead run to Him and claim the promises in His Word.

-Part of being a disciple of Jesus involves discipline. “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness by those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11 There are days I don’t want to do the work necessary to be healthy, but I know that tomorrow I will be healthier because I am disciplined to focus on it today.

My journey to being physically healthy is going to take more than forty days, but I’m committed to working on it each day. I'll probably do a sugar fast or some other sort of fast 3-4 times a year. What about you? Are you ready to try a sugar fast? It is a great place to start. I’ve put together a free guide, Unlocking a Healthier You: Intro to Sugar Fasting, that you can use to get started on your fasting journey.

I’ll be taking my next group through a 40 Day Sugar Fast in January. Let me know in the comments if you want to join me!