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May 28, 2025 26 mins

Root Causes: Fasting & Detox — God’s Built-In Reset Button for Women’s Health

Ever tried fasting and ended up hangry, foggy, or curled up with a box of snacks by noon? You’re not alone, mama. In this final episode of the Root Causes series, we’re digging into the real reason fasting works only when your body is ready — and why it can backfire when stress, hormones, or blood sugar are out of balance.

You’ll learn how fasting activates deep healing that even the cleanest eating can’t accomplish — helping with weight loss, hormone balance, energy, detox, and even disease prevention. We’ll also talk about how stress and insulin resistance can block your body from fasting well, what signs to look for, and how to prep your body for success.

Plus: why fasting is part of God’s design for healing and restoration — not punishment.

If you’ve been curious about fasting or wondering why it hasn’t worked for you, this episode is the honest, grace-filled conversation you’ve been needing.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jerusha Jantz, Holistic Wellness Coach for Christian Moms: Welcome to Tired Mommy Revival. (00:01):
undefined
Hey mama.
Are you running on coffee fumes,feeling like brain fog, fatigue
and anxiety, or running the show?
Do you wake up dreading the dayahead already overwhelmed by the
endless to-do list, and unsurehow you'll make it through.
Do you long for the energyto enjoy motherhood?

(00:23):
And care for yourself, but feelstuck and unsure where to start.
Let me remind you ofsomething life changing.
You were created for more, moreenergy, more clarity, more joy.
Hi, I'm Jerusha, certifiedHolistic Wellness Coach.
Wife and mom to two wild boysand one baby girl in heaven.

(00:46):
I know the exhaustion you'refeeling because I've been there
barely making it through the day.
Relying on coffee and chocolate tosurvive and wondering why nothing
I tried ever made me feel better.
Then God stepped in andrevealed a powerful truth.
A woman's body is beautifullyand uniquely designed to thrive.

(01:07):
When we align with how God createdus, we can boost our energy bust
through fatigue and step into thevibrant, joy filled life he has for us.
Mama.
I'm living proof thatit's possible these days.
I wake up, refreshed, nourished my bodywith intention and navigate the chaos
of motherhood with patience and peace.

(01:28):
Most days, and I wannahelp you do the same.
If you're ready to swap exhaustion forenergy, brain fog for clarity and guilt
for grace, you are in the right place.
Each week we'll dive into practicalstrategies, faith-filled truths,
and empowering tools to renew yourhealth, body, soul, and spirit.

(01:48):
Are you ready for this?
Let's do it, mama.
Let's talk about one of the most powerful,underutilized tools for healing your

body from the inside out (02:00):
fasting.
Now, before you picture some kindof hardcore starvation challenge
or juice cleanse from the nineties,I want to assure you that's not
what we're talking about here.
This is not aboutpunishment or restriction.
This is about rhythm and restoration.

(02:24):
About pressing pause on the constantnoise in your life, your mind, and
yes, your digestion, so your bodycan finally catch up and heal.
Because mama, fasting is actuallya built in God designed way
to detox, heal, and reset.

(02:44):
And when done the right way, in alignmentwith your cycle, your stress levels, and
your current health, it can be one ofthe most transformative tools for your
hormones, energy, weight, gut, sleep,and yes, even your spiritual walk.
But if you've ever tried fasting andfelt worse, not better, you're not crazy.

(03:09):
We're gonna talk about that too.
Now, my fasting journey began justa couple of years ago when I finally
discovered not only the power ofintermittent fasting, but how to
do it the right way, which is huge.
The truth is, is that before that Ireally was not interested in fasting

(03:31):
at all because number one, I love food.
And even though I really didn't thinkof myself as an emotional eater, I was
absolutely using food as a source of joyand comfort through my everyday life.
Yes, even when I was eating like reallyhealthy salads, still joy and comfort.

(03:55):
And although I've healed a lot of myrelationship with food, I definitely
still find a lot of joy from eatingan amazing meal and special treats
too, even when they're healthy.
So fasting to me sounded prettymiserable because it meant that I had
to skip on the joyful moments of myday that I really looked forward to.

(04:18):
And if you're a mom and you know thatyou look forward to food too, maybe
it's not sitting down and eating afull meal, but it's those cookies or
the ice cream at night, or you know,little nibbles of brownie throughout
the day, or maybe your favorite candy.
You know that food has become alifeline to you and cutting it out.

(04:40):
Sounds so miserable.
Also, when I would go to church and ourpastor would call for a fast, I would
attempt to join in, but I would feelso miserable that I could not function.
It wasn't just that I was hungry.

(05:00):
I literally could notwalk around and function.
I felt dizzy and nauseousand sick to my stomach.
Like nothing was getting done, andI had to work, and be a mom, and
do the laundry, and cook dinner,and all the different things.
And the truth was, is that none ofthat was gonna happen if I fasted.

(05:21):
And so I didn't fast spiritually or healthwise for a really long time because it was
a completely miserable experience for me.
But what I didn't realize was that thereare rules to fasting and even though
fasting can help every single area of yourhealth in such a powerful way, there are

(05:45):
some areas of your health that you haveto get in alignment first, before you
can fast well and have a good experience.
But when you do, fasting is incredibleand you will feel incredible, not
just after, but during a fast.
If you're doing it right, you'llfeel incredible during a fast.

(06:08):
And you may not have heard this before,but women should never fast the way that
a man fasts and a lot of recommendationsout there in the world are a one
size fits all protocol for fasting.
And the truth is, is that what'sbenefiting your husband may actually
be harming you and your hormones.

(06:30):
So we are gonna dive into this today andtalk about how to do it right so that you
can have an incredible fasting experience.
This is one of the biggest things thatI teach in my Live Healthy Mama course.
I walk you through it in yourindividual unique experience.
I help you set up yourself forsuccess in the beginning, in

(06:52):
a very gentle, manageable way.
And then we started diving into someof the deeper healing protocols.
But first, let's talk about why yourbody even needs fasting and detox.
We live in a world that'sconstantly feeding us: food,
noise, information, and stress.

(07:14):
Our bodies were not createdto be on and digesting 24/7.
Fasting gives your body a break.
It gives your gut time to rest.
It gives your liver time to detox, andit gives your brain a chance to reset.
When done well, fasting can support fatburning, especially the stubborn kind

(07:38):
around your belly, balanced hormones,improved insulin sensitivity, cellular
renewal called autophagy -more on thatin just a sec- and mental clarity.
Plus, an even deeper connection toGod in the midst of it if you're doing
it with spiritual purposes as well.

(07:58):
It's not just about skipping meals,it's about making space physically
and spiritually for healing to happen.
Now, here's where it can get trickybecause fasting can backfire if
your body's already overwhelmed.
Let's talk stress.
When your stress levels arehealthy, fasting actually creates

(08:19):
a positive stress response.
Your body adapts and gets stronger.
It's called hormesis.
But if you're already stuck in survivalmode, hello mom life, your cortisol is
through the roof, you're exhausted, you'renot sleeping, and your adrenals are tapped
out, fasting can tip you over the edge.

(08:43):
Think of it like this.
Fasting is a workout for your cells,but if your body is already burnt out,
fasting is like throwing it into abootcamp with no sleep and no fuel.
It's not gonna go well.
And then there's insulin resistance.
This one's huge for women,especially after having kids.

(09:05):
If your body is insulin resistant,it means your cells aren't responding
to insulin properly, so your bodystores more fat and has trouble
accessing the energy already stored.
Trying to fast when yourinsulin resistant is like being
locked out of your own pantry.
You've got food, but your body can'tget to it, so you end up shaky,

(09:30):
tired, and cranky by midmorning.
This was a huge factor to me.
I never, ever, ever, everin a million years thought
that I was insulin resistant.
And even when I got tested at thedoctor's office for diabetes, which
runs in my dad's side of the family,they told me that I was perfectly fine.

(09:50):
So this wasn't somethingI was ever looking at.
But I was shaky, tired, cranky, nauseous,and feeling so, so sick because my
insulin resistance was blocking mybody's ability to get to the energy
stores that it should have been ableto get to in the middle of a fast.

(10:11):
So when you're fasting, your bodyis still accessing energy from
your muscles and your fat cells.
But if you're insulin resistant, your bodycan't get to those energy reserves, which
means you're just starving yourself andyou literally have absolutely no energy.

(10:33):
So how do you know if yourbody is not ready to fast?
Here are some red flags.
You feel exhausted, foggy,or anxious during a fast.
You might crash mid-morningor get shaky without food.
You have intense cravings,especially for sugar or carbs.

(10:56):
You can't sleep or youwake up around 2:00 AM.
You're constipated or bloated often.
Your PMS is worse than usual.
Which if you're not fastingat the right times as a woman,
your PMS can actually get worse.
And you could be fasting,but gaining weight.

(11:16):
Yes, it can happen.
It's miserable and it's absolutelythe last thing that you want to
happen, and is definitely a key resultthat something is off in your body.
Also, your mood couldbe all over the place.
Now listen, if you're experiencingsome of these, these are not
signs that you're failing.

(11:37):
They are signs that your body needssupport before you go into fasting.
They are clues, and when we startlistening to our body and picking up
on those clues and honoring what ourbody really needs, we can bring it
back into alignment so that it can workthe way that it was created to work.
Because when your body is ready, fastingbecomes a beautiful rhythm of healing.

(12:03):
Here's how you know thatfasting is working for you.
You feel calm and focused duringfasting ., you have great mental clarity.
Also, you're not obsessingover food or crashing midday.
You have incredible energyand it's actually more stable.

(12:24):
You also sleep amazing.
Your skin clears up.
Your digestion improves.
Your mood evens out.
You start losing that stubborn weightand your period becomes more manageable.
Fasting, done well,brings so much freedom.
You stop being ruled bycravings and exhaustion and

(12:47):
start feeling in control again.
If you're doing your fast well, thenyou should not be hungry all the time.
When you're coming up to you ending yourfasting window and your body's ready for
a meal, yes, you'll feel hungry, but youshould not be starving the whole time and
you definitely should not feel exhausted.
You should actually feel incrediblyenergized, have amazing mental clarity,

(13:10):
and be really patient and calm.
If you're not experiencing that,let me tell you, you might be
thinking, " Jerusha, you are insane.
There's no way that fastingdoes that to your body.
Maybe for you, but not for me".
Let me tell you, I thought the samething, but when I aligned my body and

(13:30):
my health, this was absolutely possibleand and this is a reality that I live
in, that I never thought was possible.
Okay, let's get a little nerdy just fora second, because what's happening inside
your body when you fast is so incredible.
This is how God created us, you guys.
Number one is autophagy kicks in.

(13:52):
This is your body's way of cleaningout damaged cells and replacing
them with fresh, healthy ones.
This can help with everything.
I mean, cellular health is atthe base of disease prevention.
Everything from Alzheimer's tocancer and anything in between.
Also insulin sensitivity improves,which means your body burns fat

(14:17):
more efficiently and stops storingeverything as extra weight.
But if you listen to our last episode,you know that you gotta get your
insulin sensitivity in check a littlebit so that you can't fast well.
Next, your brain fog clearsbecause fasting stimulates brain
derived neurotropic factor, whichhelps with memory and clarity.

(14:41):
This basically just means you're gonnahave amazing mental clarity and focus, and
you will not be struggling with brain fog.
Next is your hormones start to rebalance.
Especially estrogen and progesteronewhen fasting is done at the right
time of your cycle, but it'simportant to do it at the right time.
Next is your inflammation lowers,which helps with joint pain,

(15:05):
skin issues, anxiety, your immunesystem, and so many things.
Now, here's something that's often missed.
Fasting activates a detox youcan't get from food alone.
You can eat all the kale and drinkall the lemon water in the world,

(15:27):
but nothing gives your liver,gut and immune system the same
chance to deep clean like fasting.
Autophagy and stem cell regenerationdon't really get triggered until you
stop eating long enough for your bodyto switch from digestion to repair mode.
That's like saying you cookdinner and also deep clean

(15:50):
your house at the same time.
How well is that gonna go?
Like cook a big, gourmet meal forpeople coming over to your house and
also deep clean at the very same time.
Not in the same day.
At the same time, it'snot gonna happen, right?
The food is gonna burn orthe house will not be clean.
That's basically whatyour body is trying to do.

(16:11):
It can't deep clean on a cellular leveland focus on digestion at the same
time, it needs to do one or the other.
And when you take a break from digestion,it gives your body that chance to deep
clean and restore your body the way thatit's supposed to on a cellular level.
That's why fasting has been shownto reduce inflammation, slow aging,

(16:36):
lower disease risk, and even supporthealing from autoimmune issues,
hormonal imbalances, and so much more.
This is the kind of deep cellularrestoration that God built into your body,
but it requires rest, space, and trust.

(16:57):
So how long should you fast?
I do want you to understand thatdifferent lengths of fast have different
benefits in your body, but I wantto keep it really simple for you.
So let me give you just a few points.
A 12 hour fast, for example 7:00 PM to7:00 AM, is gentle and great for hormone

(17:17):
balance, gut health, and better sleep.
14 to 16 hours is a popularintermittent fasting window, and
it's great for burning fat, bloodsugar support and mental clarity.
And a 24 hour fast, which you needto work up to, can be powerful one to
two times a month, but only if yourstress, sleep and nourishment are solid.

(17:42):
You gotta be eating the right things.
Next is an extended fast, whichis three plus days, and it's not
recommended for most women, especiallynot in seasons of hormone rebuilding,
adrenal healing, or postpartum.
So it can be extremely helpful,especially if you have had any kind of

(18:02):
cancer or cancer treatment, an extendedfast can be so healing for some of
those really deeper healing things.
But the thing is, is that you needto have your body in the right
place, and you need to have a planin place to do this really well.
And if you're wondering how to do that andall the ins and outs, I show you exactly

(18:25):
what you need to do for your body and yoursituation in my Live Healthy Mama course.

Okay, let's not forget (18:32):
cycle syncing.
We need to sync up our fastingwith our hormonal cycle.
The best time to fast is when yourestrogen levels are high during the
month, and that's because estrogen andcortisol work pretty well together.

(18:52):
Estrogen is really sensitive toinsulin, so you don't want to eat a
lot of sugar or even carbs during thattime, but you can handle more stress.
And this is a perfect time tobalance out your hormones because
your body is primed to handle it inconjunction with the high estrogen.
You want to avoid deep fasting inthe time where your progesterone

(19:15):
is high during the month.
And so when progesterone is high,progesterone and cortisol are not friends.
They do not want to be on theplayground at the same time.
If you start stressing out your bodywhen progesterone needs to be high,
it's gonna plummet your progesteronelevels and it's gonna be PMS chaos.

(19:35):
And it's also gonna affectyour fertility levels as well.
That time of the month where progesteroneneeds to be high, you need to nourish
your body and not restrict it.
Okay, let's zoom out for asecond and ask why did God design
fasting in the first place?

(19:56):
In Matthew 6, it doesn't say, "ifyou fast", it says " when you fast".
God took it for grantedthat His people would fast.
Fasting has always been part ofthe spiritual walk for clarity,
humility, deeper intimacy withGod and dependence on him.

(20:16):
In Acts three, fasting was part of howthe early church heard God's voice.
In Joel two, it was a callto return and be restored.
Fasting isn't legalistic,it's invitational.

It's a rhythm of realignment: body, soul, and spirit. (20:30):
undefined
When you fast from a place of peaceand purpose, everything aligns.
Now, if you're doing fasting for aspiritual purpose, I don't believe that
you should have weight loss in mind.
Here's the thing, God doesn't doanything with a singular purpose.

(20:55):
Everything he does is multifacetedand he called the people to a
spiritual practice knowing that itwould also have physical benefits.
When I fast, I havemore peace and patience.
Those are fruits of the spirit, andso what's benefiting me physically

(21:16):
is benefiting me spiritually too.
And I really cannot separate those, evenif I tried, because God created fasting
to be powerful, body, soul, and spirit.
And so if you're going into a fastfor the purpose of weight loss.
If you want to prayduring the past, do it.

(21:37):
But don't call it a spiritual practiceif you're doing it for a physical reason.
But know that if you're doing it foryour physical health and then you go
to do it for a spiritual practice,you'll be able to do it well because
you learned how to fast well and how tobuild up your health so that you could

(21:57):
participate in that spiritual practice.
For years, my health wasn't aligned,and I was unaware, but it kept me
from experiencing the benefits ofthe spiritual practice as well.
And so keep it in mind, decidebefore you go into the fast.
Am I doing this for a spiritual reasonor am I doing it for a physical reason

(22:18):
and commit to that, but know thatthe implications are multifaceted.
God had so many different ways ofprotecting the people in the Bible
before we had science from things thatwould create disease, like telling
them what water they could or couldn'tdrink, or what animals they should or
shouldn't eat, and what food was goodfor them, and he built in fasting as

(22:45):
a natural disease prevention as well.
So it is always God's desire that we wouldfast, whether it's physical or spiritual.
I honestly believe that he wantsus to do it for both because
that's what he created us for.
Now, if we're going to fast, howdo we get our body ready to fast?
Let's start with a quick start checklistthat you can use to fast better today.

(23:10):
Number one is stabilize your blood sugar.
Focus on meals withprotein, fat, and fiber.
Next, support your liver.
Eat bitter greens, cruciferousveggies, and drink lots of water.
Next is prioritize sleep.
Your body needs to feel safe and restedto go into those deeper healing modes.

(23:34):
Next, lower your stressload, create margin.
Breathe deeply and get outside.
Also , eat enough.
Undereating during a non-fasting windowwill backfire when you're trying to fast.
You also want to track your cycleand honor your hormonal needs.

(23:56):
Mama, healing starts withalignment, not hustle.
If this checklist left you wonderingexactly how you do some of these things,
I would encourage you to go back andlisten to any of the root cause episodes
that you might've missed because webroke down every single one of those
things in those other episodes, getsome more information about the specific

(24:20):
area where you need more support.
Also, don't feel like youhave to do everything at once.
Pick one area you feel like you canmanage right now and start there.
Small changes add up to big results.
So don't get discouraged.
Pick one thing and getbetter at that today.
Now this wraps up our Root Causes series.

(24:43):
I hope this conversation left youfeeling equipped and encouraged.
Not just to do more, but to understandmore about how your body works
and how God designed it to thrive.
If this episode stirred up morequestions, maybe about your own cycle,
fasting, or what your body is tryingto tell you, I'd love to hear from you.

(25:07):
And if there's a topic you'd loveme to cover next, let me know.
This podcast is for you and I wantto serve you right where you are.
I'm going to leave a link down below inthe podcast show notes for you to go and
leave me a comment, whether you want towrite me a message or leave me a voice

(25:27):
message, I would love to hear from you.
Until next time, mama, rememberyou were created for wellness and
fasting is one of the many tools Godhas given you to walk in that truth.
Mama, I hope this episode blessedyou and reminded you that you were
beautifully and uniquely made to thrive.

(25:49):
If today's conversation spoke to yourheart, I'd love for you to take a
moment to leave a rating and review.
Not only does it encourage me,but it helps more tired mamas
discover the hope, healing, andenergy they've been searching for.
You are not in this alone.
Make sure to hit subscribeso you never miss an episode.
Together we will reclaim yourenergy, renew your health, and revive

(26:11):
your spirit one step at a time.
Until next time.
Remember, you are beautifully designed byGod to live with energy, clarity, and joy.
You're not just surviving mama.
You're stepping into the vibrantlife you were created for.
I'm cheering you on.
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