Weight Loss Thoughts





I wrote about my own weight loss journey awhile back. You can read my story HERE. Recently I’ve been talking to a few people on the subject. After maintaining my loss for so many years now I’ve seen things differently. I am NO expert and I’m not a doctor, or a nutritionist or anything with a big title that would give me any authority to discuss this. What I have is my own experience, the experience of others and my observations of these things.

Food can be a vice and one of the most difficult spirtual battles we will fight. We have to face it every day.  It can be just as much of a vice as any type of vice… alcohol, smoking, drugs, etc… the biggest difference I see is that we must eat (a friend once said to me that food is the Christian drug of choice, all other vices are not acceptable but food will always be). We can put alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs in the trash can and walk away free. But we can’t do this with food. We do need to eat to live. What I have seen and lived is that we develop and emotional connection with food. I’ve had people even tell me that they don’t deal with emotional eating. But what I’m talking about is not the…”I’ve had a bad day and now I’m eating a gallon of ice cream to soothe me” type emotion. What I see is that we develop rules and needs based on what and how we feel food needs to play a part in our lives. An obvious example (to me) of this is eating 3 meals a day. We’ve heard we must, we’ve heard we have to, so that is what we live by. We don’t take into account that not everyone truly needs to eat that much food; it is just becomes how we operate. And because this is not logical (to me), then in my opinion it must be emotional.

Personally I have many days that I don’t put out enough energy to warrant eating that much food, and so I simply don’t. And, I’m fine, no metabolism issues, no nutritional deficiencies, etc. This is how I’ve been for many years. Some days I’m super busy, going all the time and guess what… I may eat 3 meals on those days because my body needs the food. How do I know it does? Because I’m hungry. My stomach is growling and empty and needs some fuel.

When someone asks me about weight loss (which happened this week) my first question is, what role is food playing in your life? Is it controlling you? Does it dictate what you do and when you do it? Can you go to a party that is serving cake and not have any because you are just not really hungry.. or do you struggle and it leaves you feeling angst?

The positive things I’ve discovered about food.. we need it! :) it tastes good and we should enjoy good food, we need to eat a healthy diet, food is our fuel and just like a car or any engine we would want to fuel it with the best choices. There are many healthy choices out there. Do the best you can with the finances God has blessed you with.

If food is not in the proper place in your life, here is what I recommend. Pull out your Bible, pray for wisdom, pray for self-control (this is a fruit of the spirit), cut your portions in half, eat only when you are hungry. When you sense that food is taking control of you instead of the other way around… pray for self-control and sit down and read your Bible, any verse, any chapter, until the need to fulfill the impulses pass. Over time, this will get easier, you will be able to walk away from food when you are not hungry, when it is not in your best interest to eat it (I know how much I can eat in a day by experience… do I want to spend this eating junk or eating a super good meal such as my daughter is preparing tonight for our family: Korean pork, brown rice, kimchi, egg rolls, salad.. wow.. I’ll take the yummy good food over that junk any day now)… and finally there is no need to eat in excess.. you might find that an hour after you’ve eaten a reasonable sized portion (and walked away from the table) after eating half what you might normally eat, you are feeling great… if not, pull out your Bible and start praying for HIM to satisfy you in ways that are beyond anything overeating could ever do for you.

Food is an amazing servant but a terrible master. 

 



Comments

  1. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this blog posting. I struggle with emotional / binge / compulsive overeating. I find attendance at a local Celebrate Recovery meeting (a Christ-centered recovery program) very helpful. Your remark(s) about food being the Christian's drug of choice were spot on.

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  2. This is a post filled with wisdom. I have lost weight with Trim Healthy Mama, but I find myself facing some cuts in my food budget that call for more frugal eating. Thank you.

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  3. Hello,
    My name is Shirley and I accidently found your blog post today on weight loss.
    I have been so encouraged as I read this practical advice, especially because the Lord has put the same thoughts on my heart. I am living this out today....eating only when hungry and turning the Lord and the Word when I am tempted. Thanks for letting me drop in. I will be reading more posts in the future.
    Have a blessed day

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    Replies
    1. Nice to meet you Shirley.. it is a walk, a journey.. don't get discouraged... keep looking to HIM!! I read something cute on the internet the other day that made me think of the weight loss journey...

      Optimist: someone who figures that taking a step backwards after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it's more like a Cha-Cha

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