Why Dieting Isn’t the Same as Fasting

As the New Year begins, resolutions abound especially around food. From cutting sugar to intermittent fasting, many are eager to detox and reboot their health. But there’s a vital distinction believers must make are you dieting, or are you fasting?

The difference is more than semantics. A diet changes your body. A fast changes your life.

Why the Confusion?

With the rise of health-conscious living, intermittent fasting and food-related cleanses have become mainstream. People abstain from food for various windows of time, hoping to lose weight or regain energy. And while there’s nothing wrong with stewarding our physical health, Christians are called to a deeper hunger.

As author Wendy Speake explains, fasting isn’t just subtracting something from your plate it’s adding spiritual intention to your day. In her book The 40-Day Sugar Fast. Where Physical Detox Meets Spiritual Transformation, she shares how removing sugar became a gateway to profound soul renewal.

More Than a Detox

Wendy originally invited weary moms to try giving up sugar not to lose weight, but to lose the emotional and spiritual baggage that came from running to sweets for strength. “What would happen,” she asked, “if instead of turning to a sugar high, we started turning to the Most High?”

What began as a simple experiment grew into a movement. Year after year, she has led groups of people through a 40-day sugar fast, not for flatter stomachs, but for fuller hearts. And the results are consistent when we surrender what comforts us most, God becomes our true Comforter.

“God never asked for a sugar sacrifice,” she says. “He asked for a living sacrifice.” (Romans 12:1)

The Difference Between a Diet and a Fast

At first glance, giving up sugar or caffeine or snacks might seem identical whether you're fasting or dieting. But the purpose behind each makes all the difference.

• A diet is self-improvement. A fast is self-surrender.

• A diet says, “I want to be better.” A fast says, “God, I want to know You more.”

• A diet leans on willpower. A fast leans on God’s power.

The early days of a fast are hard not just physically, but emotionally. Sugar withdrawals are real. But Wendy recalls how her sadness surprised her more than the headaches. That sadness, she realized, wasn’t just from detoxing sweets, but from realizing how deeply she had relied on them.

Joel 2:12–13 came alive to her: “Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” Real fasting leads to real repentance.

When Strongholds Fall

Many who begin this fast quickly realize that sugar isn’t their only stronghold. As the Lord begins to reveal what we’ve leaned on be it caffeine, social media, wine, or even good things like podcasts He gently asks us to lay those down too.

That’s the beauty of fasting: it doesn’t stop with the externals. It peels back the layers and gets to the heart. And it invites God to do a revolution, not just a resolution.

Wendy puts it this way: “I don’t need another resolution. What I need is a revolution—God revolting against the world in me.”

Start With This Question

If you’re considering a fast this year, ask yourself: Am I doing this for control, or for communion? Dieting often becomes a grasp for control over our bodies or our image. Fasting is a humble admission that we need something more than food. We need God.

Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Fasting creates space to truly do that to feast on Christ, to let His Word satisfy, to watch Him break strongholds you didn’t even realize were there.

Don’t Just Try to Make It Through

Many ask, “Will I make it through 40 days?” But a better question is “Lord, what do You want to do in me in these 40 days?”

Whether you give up sugar, screens, or something else entirely, let your fast be fueled by faith, not fear. Invite the Lord into the process. And know that His goal isn’t just to clean up your habits it’s to capture your heart.

So as you consider your next steps this year, don’t settle for another diet plan. Ask for a holy hunger. Fast not to prove your strength, but to discover His.

Share this with someone who’s hungry for more of God this year or subscribe to our newsletter for more spiritual insight and encouragement.