Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Confession: I have a love-hate relationship with Keto.

I love the way it makes me feel. No sugar, no grains, and for me, even no dairy (well 95% of the time) and my body no longer aches with joint pain, inflammation, and stomach bloating. But what I do not love about Keto is this: for the past six months, I have followed the regimen like a legalist on steroids. I am the Keto Police!  But I did not lose one pound! Grrrr… talk about discouraging.

My sister lost 40 pounds in no time flat. The weight just melted off her body like butter on a hot summer day. She didn’t even count macros! While I on the other hand even went so far as to book an appointment with a medical doctor (MD) who specializes in Keto. He ran the labs, scratched his head and said, “Well, you’ve got low thyroid and a slow metabolism. It’s just gonna be real slow.” I was like, “Really, is that all you got?” Who in their right mind would stick to this strict routine for an ounce a week of weight loss (if even that)? Good grief! Totally ridiculous.

In a last ditch effort I decided  to experiment with intermittent fasting, eliminating everything but protein, fat, and greens (thank you Dr. Berg). And that’s when I discovered the game changer. For those of us following the Keto lifestyle, but with slow metabolism, without committing to intermittent fasting our bodies continue to consume only the dietary fat (the keto meal), not the stored fat. My body needed longer time periods of not fueling it with food (dietary fat) in order to consume the stored fat.

I really don’t like fasting. But intuitively I knew I should be fasting. I just never would have imagined that when I committed to intermittently fast I would discover breakthrough principles for life. At the end of my first month of intermittent fasting, I dragged the dreaded scales from their hiding place. Hoping, praying for at least a five pound weight loss I stepped onto the scales.

What? Are you kidding me? Thirteen Pounds! Surely my eyes deceived me. I stepped off and then stepped back on—sure enough—13 pounds gone! Never in my entire life have I lost 13 pounds in one month.

Now I have a confession to make. As deep as my desire is to transform my physical body, I have a deeper desire to transform my spiritual life.  See, I’ve been meeting with God for a long time. Prayer has been a consistent part of my life. But I need a breakthrough in some specific areas and I’m not seeing the heavenly scales move. Not one little bit. Fasting has been stirring in my spirit for a quite a while, but sometimes I’m slow to respond to His gentle nudge. Wish it were not so, but it is.

And so I could not help but wonder, “God, did you let me experience success in the physical world through intermittent fasting, to show me that the same and more is true in the spiritual world?  What if I denied myself the steady stream of media that I know I overconsume? What if I shut down all the white noise that distracts me from going deeper with the One I love the most? What if fasting could move the scales of heaven? And I hear his gentle whisper saying, “Some things go not out except by prayer and fasting—why not take me at my word?”