How are you doing with eating only when hungry? Truthfully, I bellied up last night. I had a huge emotional hit and rather than running to God with my concern and vulnerability, I ran to food. It amazes me that I still do this after all this time.
So, observe and correct. Today, I anticipate that there will continue to be strong emotions…I will have a plan in place. I will cling to the Lord today before the emotions hit. I will plan time into this very busy, demanding day, to be still and alone with him to reconnect.
–> Practical Challenge Today:
- Continue with Key to Conscious Eating #1 – eat only when my body is physically hungry.
- Continue Key to Conscious Eating #2 – Reduce the number of distractions in order to eat in a calm environment.
- Continue Key to Conscious Eating #3 – Eat only when sitting down.
- Add Key to Conscious Eating #4 – Eat only when your mind and body are relaxed.
Practically speaking, eating only when our minds are relaxed can be a huge challenge. Yet if we take a moment to “Be Still and know that He is God…” we can allow His peace to permeate any moment.
For me, this is best accomplished by taking time to invite God’s blessing on my time with Him, with whomever I may be eating with, on the affect of the food in my body–not in the rote, quickie, disconnected “toss up a prayer for the food” sort of way…but where I really focus on becoming aware that he is my meal companion for *any* meal. He, who calms the greatest storms of life, can calm what is going on in me. This, too, becomes a godly boundary–not to have food cross my lips until I am in a place of peace.
Obviously, I need to work on this! How about you? 🙂
More from Chapter 3 of Get Thin Stay Thin…
The idea of applying “Keys to Conscious Eating” seems sort of “loosey goosey” for those of us who come from a dieting background. With all the current “medical” and “scientific” literature on the subject, we are just convinced that these guidelines can’t possibly be what it takes for us to get/be healthy! Truthfully, these principles can pave the way, though, not only to physical health, but emotional and spiritual health as well!
In using a grace-oriented approach to our bodies and our struggles with food, we are released from our tenacious tendency to wrap ourselves up in rules, regulations and performance…Through grace we can begin to honor the natural response to our body’s hunger signals and our ability to be satisfied with an appropriate amount of food…we relinquish our reliance on legalistic controls that circumvent our bodies’ messages, and we cultivate a moment-by-moment attentiveness to the Holy Spirit. GTST, p. 65-66
I love this explanation. When God created me, he created my body to send messages. When I need sleep, I get tired. When I get hurt, I feel pain. When I am in need of fuel, I get hungry. When I no longer need fuel, I am satiated.
The approach encouraged in Thin Within and Get Thin Stay Thin honors and respects my body and the marvelous creation of God that it is with the signals it uses. I no longer ignore hunger. I no longer stifle hunger. I respond to it with respect, by feeding it. I don’t ignore satisfaction…I respect and honor it by stopping eating.
If you are new to this approach, I hope you will take the Hallidays’ invitation that follows below very personally…This is a Divine Appointment! God ordained that you might read these words RIGHT NOW! :-)…:
…you are about to abandon legalism and learn an entirely new way of relating to food, eating, and your body. [Some of us are relearning it! That’s ok!] It means that you can develop the ability to eat what, when, and how much God directs you to eat. During this process you will rediscover the delights of good food and experience the joy of being the size God designed you 
to be. This new relationship is characterized by honor for the temple of the Holy Spirit–your body. In honoring your body you are guided by principles that support the delight you have in good food and the pleasure you enjoy in partaking of God’s gifts. GTST, p. 66
I would add something else to this invitation…you will…we will…depend on the Lord develop an entirely new level of intimacy with the One who shaped the heavens and who loves us unconditionally–who knows us and values us!
This is an adventure, a journey…and each time we feel derailed, distracted, off on a rabbit trail, he gently guides and directs us back again.
My prayer for today is for each of us to feel God’s peace in our lives and individual situations.
Heidi, I still find myself thinking too much about food. Even though I am not overeating, I catch myself thinking about what I am going to have the next time I get to eat. It really has surprised me how much food has controlled me. I am so thankful for God’s grace to walk on this journey. I could not make it without Him.
What strategies can you come up with, Allison, for not thinking about food? The trick is, the more we try NOT to think of something, the more we do unless we replace the thoughts of food with something else. How about practicing scripture memory? Or each time I think about food, to pray for the salvation of someone I know, or to sing praises. The more I do this, the more my praises will eclipse those thoughts of food, perhaps, even before they start. Just a theory, but when I have tried this, it has worked a lot. This, too, is a process.
Allison said,”Heidi, I still find myself thinking too much about food. Even though I am not overeating, I catch myself thinking about what I am going to have the next time I get to eat.” ….I am reminded of the lusts of the flesh. The lusts of the eyes… that are mentioned in 1 John. The lusts are really strong desires. So as the Lord brings forth the truth about our strong desires that are not strong desires “after Him”., we can become discouraged at the power it has over us. But Heidi is right about extending grace to ourselves in process. Because we are in process. Going from glory to glory.Also I feel that there is a certain amount of thought that should go into our day concerning food. Like Psalm 23 says He has prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies. He has put thought into His table. We can be free to do the same. Do you think?Love,Heartsong