Ever find yourself face first in a package of Oreos and wonder “How did I get here?” Chapter four in Get Thin Stay Thin addresses many of the challenges we face that cause us to eat compulsively. The desire is that we might change things around a bit, and become more present in the moment and aware of the Lord, his sufficiency, his strength and provision for what really ails us.

I am reminded:

It takes courage to receive freedom. It takes courage to change. GTST, p. 79

Since coming off of my over-use of caffeine, there is a bit of extra weight that won’t seem to budge. My wonderfully comfortable Levi jeans that I lived in for over a year after releasing 100 pounds are so snug that I have stopped wearing them. 🙁 I wonder if THIS is my truly *natural* God-given size…and the size I was before was *UN*natural because of the use of caffeine to be there.

A part of me feels drawn to drinking diet soda again (I was never without a can or big 64 oz cup near at hand!)…and just see if I could get back into my jeans again–you know, a sort of experiment. But I know I would be selling out if I did that.

It does take courage to receive freedom. It does take courage to change. I want to fit in those jeans again, darn-it! But at what price? So I press on, steering clear of the stronghold that had me firmly in its clutches for so many years. No diet soda for me…not even a drop. I would never be able to handle it in moderation. The price I pay is to be a size bigger perhaps. That galls me, though…I tell ya!

So what might you have to do to receive freedom? What changes is the Lord beckoning to you to allow Him and His strength to perform in you? 🙂

Some folks feel like some foods are “triggers” for them that cause them to go nuts with certain foods. I realized during this past week that it isn’t the food that is the “trigger.” It is the emotion allowed to go unchecked that is my “trigger.” I love the idea that a food can be a “trigger” because then I can blame the food. But I see that it isn’t the food at all….at least not for me. It is my emotion…accompanied by pride that says, “I can handle this myself, thank you very much,” instead of bowing to the Lord and offering him what I am feeling. Yup, that is my “trigger!”

Yesterday was a good example of this. I was frustrated with my intermittent internet service when I was working on a new website for a new and very valued client. I couldn’t get the work I had done uploaded…ALL DAY. I found myself not giving a flying fig about “0” and eating in response to this frustration. (Seems to me that events like this could also explain the weight not coming off…but let’s not go there…denial is such a nice place to live…err…not…)

The things that stand in the way of applying the principles [Keys to Conscious Eating] and using the hunger scale [the practice of waiting for “0” or true physiological hunger to eat and stopping at a “5” or satisfied] are behaviors we call “Fat Machinery.” Fat machinery is unconscious, automatic, or inappropriate eating that is activated by external or internal stimuli. What this means is that much of our eating is done for the wrong reasons–social pressure, anxiety, frustration, and a variety of emotional stimuli that have nothing to do with our body’s need for nourishment. When we are wrapped up in our grave clothes, our eating is activated by these stimuli and we move through life like robots or automatons, reaching for food unconsciously when someone or something activates our “eat” button. GTST p. 81

Lord, today, I want to be mindful–conscious, aware–of you and of the things that would ordinarily cause me to grab food even when I am not hungry. I feel stressed about the day ahead and I know that this is not from you. That in you there is peace and joy. I give you the concerns I have and ask that you BE Lord. Please move in to my heart and life right now. Help me not to feel the stress of a rushed morning. I want to worship you, Lord…this entire day, I want to live as an offering to you, a praise to my King. I know that when I do this, when I invite you into the present moment, that nothing can lure me to food outside of your godly boundaries, Lord. Thank you for your boundaries that are there to protect me from outside harmful things and to keep me where I need to be to experience Your best for me. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.