What power will we give the bathroom scale? This is something we each get to decide in the stillness of our hearts with the Lord. I urge you to consider, if you haven’t already done so, renewing your mind about the power you give the scale and what it “says.”
We also touched on this a bit in Week 3 when we looked at “Appearance Eating.”
Here at the blog since 2006, I have experienced quite the journey about whether or not I would have a bathroom scale in my home. I went about 4 years without a scale and it was wonderful! Before that, I was chained to it, looking to it for its approval. You can do a search here at the blog or use this link to have a look at my journey with the bathroom scale, if you like. Whatever your feelings about the bathroom scale, I am sure I have been there, too!
I am at a point now where I am able to have a bathroom scale (my husband wanted one) in the house and it doesn’t own me like it did before, but I am convinced that I needed it out of my life in order for me to have this freedom now.
How do you feel about the bathroom scale? Is it a tool for your use? Or is it a Master that you struggle with giving too much power over you? What can you do to have a “healthy” relationship with the bathroom scale? How can we help and support you?
This week, we deal with two really important challenges to our 0 to 5 eating boundaries:
“Yummy Food Eating” – when the food is there and it is “yummy” and we want it, so there! (Yep, it really is that simple sometimes!)
and
“Bad Scale Eating” – when I get on the bathroom scale and am depressed that I didn’t get away with eating outside of my boundaries or jubilant that I did or am disappointed by unrealized expectations and want to eat to celebrate or medicate (depending).
Can you relate to either of these causes for eating?
So jump on over to Barb’s blog and do Days 13 and 14.
Below are my thoughts on “Yummy Food Eating” outside of our 0 and 5 boundary.
(As always, if you are an email subscriber to the blog, the video doesn’t show up. Please come to the blog to see the video! Thanks.)
This week continue with your renewing of the mind goal. I would LOVE to hear how this is going for you. Are you discovering that you are changing the way you are thinking by being proactive about what thoughts you will allow your mind to dwell on? Is it time to recommit to renewing your mind each day or more than once each day? I know it is for me!
Please complete Day 13 and 14 (links above the video). More to come this week on these topics.
Please share with us here any questions or thoughts you may have.
What can you do to be proactive about the temptation that “yummy foods” offer you?
Is your routine disrupted and, while you start the weekend with wonderful intentions, do you find that pretty consistently, you fall into more chaotic eating patterns? Perhaps weekends have historically been a time of letting down your guard, throwing all caution to the wind!
I know for me, weekends signal me to “Celebrate!” which traditionally in my life has meant “It’s time to eat!” The whole mentality for me that weekends are a time not to work at anything creates a challenge with being diligent with 0 to 5 eating boundaries.
What can we do about this so we don’t end up the other side of the weekend, disappointed by our “failures?”
Preparation is our greatest ally for the weekends. If we expect the weekend to be disruptive, let’s take time to be with the Lord when the house is quiet. Let’s renew our minds about “fun,” about 0 to 5 eating being a good, godly, boundary that we can delight in, and call on His strength to help us. Let’s put on the armor of God found in Ephesians 6.
Know that there will be challenges to your resolve, but you don’t have to just let them roll over you like a tidal wave!
Consider the forms the challenges have taken in the past:
A spontaneous family trip out for ice cream.
A game night where snack foods abound.
Nascar/other sports on the TV all day with people munching as they watch.
One of the family members trying out a new cookie recipe.
One of the best strategies I know of is to plan ahead for all the fun. Then, I can plan my hunger to happen the same time as the fun.
For instance, we can plan the ice cream outing (or the cookie baking) ahead of time! Ask the family in the morning… “Hey, let’s go out for ice cream this afternoon!” Not only will it be fun to have the outing itself, but there will be joy all day at the anticipation. Spontaneity IS fun, but so is the joy in planning ahead! Once you have the plan for the ice cream outing (or going out to dinner…whatever it might be), you can plan your hunger so that you are at a “0” when it is time to go out. It is true that planning hunger takes some experience, but you can learn it in time. Just extend grace to yourself if you have never done that before. This is a process!
Let’s renew our minds about the connection of food with fun. The truth is we can enjoy the experience without the food. We can enjoy the laughter, the joy, the emotions, the hugs, cuddles, tickles of the family…just being together… without having to break our boundaries.
Let’s come out the other side of our weekends victorious. Let’s not shrug our shoulders, throw up our hands, and figure we can’t fight the disruption to our routines that often comes on the weekends. We can do this if we are committed to it!
If we do “mess up,” let’s observe and correct,rather than observe and condemn.
Invite God into your weekend. Renew your mind! Ask the family for their support. Plan ahead for the fun.
What can you do in your home life and family to ensure that weekends still provide fun without breaking your eating boundaries?
Today, I have a video AND a sound file for you. If you subscribe via email, please visit the blog as those links won’t come through the email subscription.
The sound file is 10 minutes long and you can download it and import it into iTunes if you like it enough. It is my renewing of my mind about how keeping boundaries–life–is hard and what are truths that I can believe to replace lies. There is hope in this place! I hope it encourages you and I would love to hear from you, if so (but not if not…LOL!). The sound quality isn’t as good as past audios because I used my old laptop instead of the iPad. Sorry about that. I won’t do that again! 🙂
The material we have been studying together is simply TOO good for us to blow through! I hope that if you have joined us late, you go back and DO this study. I have a page for you here. It lays a wonderful foundation for how to change the way we think–which is VITAL if we are to truly be transformed.
What will you do today to kindle your hope and to fight the fight? How can we pray for you?
Thin Withinbook by Arthur and Judy Halliday, donated by the Thin Within ministry
Hunger Withinbook by Arthur and Judy Halliday, donated by Arthur and Judy Halliday
One week of one-on-one coaching with yours truly (me)
Let me know which you would prefer! 🙂
Remember, each week through April, anyone who comments gets their name placed in a “hat” and a lucky winner is drawn! The more comments you make (relevant and supportive, of course! LOL!) the more chances you have to win.
This week we have had a chance to consider the lies we believe and how this contributes to an attitude of feeling like this is just too hard as well as hopelessness. We sometimes deal with these feelings by eating our way through them! As with all of Barb’s studies it will be really helpful if we nip these in the bud and recognize when they rear their ugly heads. We don’t want to be victims to our run-away thoughts, but, instead, take our thoughts captive.
So here are some lies that you may believe…
I just can’t do this
This is too hard.
God must want me to be fat since he hasn’t delivered me from this.
That food that I want will make me feel better and it is just one time.
This is too hard and it is my only vice, after all.
I have been this way all my life and so I will surely be this way til the day I die.
Can you think of any more lies to add to this list?
Even better…can you think of TRUTHS to refute these lies?
How should a guy respond when a special woman in his life wants to lose weight using the Thin Within or “intuitive eating” approach? What are the benefits of this approach? What should a guy do when his wife (or special woman) eats a food that is considered “unhealthy?”
All of this is from a man’s view. Bob is married to Heidi Bylsma, a Thin Within veteran of 14 years. Bob shares His perspective in this video:
If you are an email subscriber, please be sure to visit the blog site, as the emails don’t include the videos.
Is there someone in your life that you hope will support you in your Thin Within journey? Would it be helpful to show him this video? Let us know if he watches and if it helps! We would love to hear from you!
