Image Courtesy of: Brother O’Mara via Photopin cc
January 2, 2014
What a joy it was to go to the grocery store this morning without a new diet plan guiding my shopping list! It’s been a long time since I approached a New Year without some crazy diet or workout plan.
FLASH BACK to…January 2013
I decided that I must have an issue with dairy so I planned to quit drinking coffee for a while and use almond milk. The problem is that I love crumbled cheeses on my salads and enjoy occasional yogurts. And my husband and I spend Saturday and Sunday mornings talking over a good cup of coffee. So, that plan lasted about two days. I also was going to drink a veggie smoothie for a meal at least once a day – kale, spinach, cauliflower, goji berries, expensive powdered vitamins and minerals would save me from this extra weight. The problem is that I hate cold drinks in the winter.
FLASH BACK to…January 1012
I decided I could only have special shakes and “natural foods.”
FLASH BACK to…January 2003-2011
You name it – Weight Watchers, Flat Belly Diet, nutritionist (eat specific foods every 2-3 hours), only homemade foods, “health” foods, Weight Watchers again….you get the picture.
And these diet plans usually involved a crazy workout plan. From working out an hour and a half daily to running half marathons to following a ninety day DVD program of intense exercise.
Well, praise God, I was freed from the diet mentality in 2013! It took a lot of work (renewing my mind, prayer, surrender to the Lord, giving up fear and control), but the rewards have been tremendous.
But back to my grocery trip last last week. I went with a list—not of diet foods for me and regular foods for my family, but a list for meals that my whole family would enjoy – homemade pizza, crockpot Puerto Rican pork and rice, grilled chicken on salad, chicken enchiladas and chicken quesadillas. It was such a relief to buy normal food, to be a good role model for my children who were with me, to pass by the kale without putting it in my cart, etc! I smiled as I passed by the kale, but I did buy spinach, mushroom and lettuce for the salad I enjoy. I felt more relief as I passed by the low cal/low fat granola bars (I remember when those were my “treats”). I considered buying gluten free cereal for my yogurts (I have to eat GF), but I wasn’t in the mood for it. I declined the cereal not because it was a “carb,” but because my body didn’t want it that day. I bought tortilla chips as well as chicken breasts. I left the store elated that I have freedom and choice and am not in bondage to some “expert” rules for my food (and exercise) choices. I felt badly for the people who are placing their hope in their new “expert” diet this January.
You may wonder if I have released weight since giving up dieting. The answer is yes. I do not weigh myself and I am close to my God given size as it is. But, my pants fit better, some are too big and I have gone down a size in new clothes. Some of my old clothes are fitting as well. Several months ago, I accidentally saw my weight at my doctor’s office – I was 4 lbs from my original “goal” weight. The nurse said “oh, this must be a mistake. You’ve lost 7 pounds since your last visit 3 months ago.” I told her it wasn’t a mistake and briefly described Thin Within.
For those of you new to TW or working with Heidi (i.e. allowing God to guide you), amazing freedom and peace await you. Yes, you will release weight, but you will also experience the freedom, peace, and joy that come from surrendering to the Lord as you grow in intimacy with Him.
By Carrie (Not South Africa :-))
How About You?
How has grocery shopping changed for you since beginning Thin Within? What changes would you still like to make? What questions do you have, if any? 🙂
I love the freedom of picking food that we will eat and that fits in my budget and what is going on this week. I do feel like I am walking alone in this freedom though. I don’t think that I’ve released much if not any weight yet, but I really don’t care right now (I guess I should care a little)…what I really care about is God healing my heart first and then if my body follows then so be it…if not, it is such a freedom and a peace and a joy to know, to really KNOW that God loves me as I am.
Amen, Beth. The freedom and joy is amazing. You aren’t alone. There are 308 others in the class with you! 🙂
This is awesome; thanks for sharing! It’s so true.
I love the observations that Carrie has made. So practical. So TRUE!
Today will be my first day grocery shopping since TW 🙂 I am pretty relieved!!!!
I would LOVE to know how it goes! I bet God fills you with a grateful heart for all the many choices you have!
That frees the heart, moment by moment!
Heidi, there are a lot of hunger scales on the web, and to be honest, I have a hard time fully relating to any of them. So…what would you say is the most accurate statement for you while you were losing weight:
“I know I’m hungry, but I can wait (fill in the blank) longer before I’m so hungry that I’m ready to tear someone’s face off!”
a) one hour
b) half hour
c) 15 minutes
d) 0.2 seconds!!!!!
I tend to get too hungry (i.e. I’m ready and willing to hurt someone!! lol!) before I eat, then I overdo it, and feel terrible, continue to overeat, resolve to be stronger next time, and then wait too long again. So basically, I’m needing help in establishing a timeframe where I can say “yes, I am hungry, but just hungry enough. Hungry enough to still lose weight, but not so hungry that people need a restraining order against me”
As always, thanks a bunch!!!
Hi, Doublejay4me. I have a video that describes hunger for me. http://youtu.be/xoB4DSHIVR4 I hope this helps. When I was releasing weight, I ate very frequently (I am doing this again with great results), but TINY meals (doing this part, too). Seriously, a fist is the largest portion I would have right now. Instead of a hunger scale I go with “Hungry” or “Not Hungry” . It simplifies it for me. Usually, my hungers will be “polite” instead of “rip off someone’s head” if I have eating something at the *previous* hunger that has proteins and fats in it. For me, those foods cause the next hunger to arrive more politely, slowly, so I can perceive it.
That all said, I had some MAJOR lies that I believed having been abused around food so much as a child. I feared I would meet a demon if I got hungry. I would get panicky at 0. This is what confused things for me quite a bit. I would recommend renewing your mind with truths about being hungry.
Then, above ALL else, pray that God would show you. Try not to let yourself obsess about it, just ask Him, “Lord, is this the signal that I should eat? If so, please show me…” If he lays on your heart, yes…then GO for it. I try to be especially aware of the need to eat those first bites slowly…and take a break. Let that hit me. Then I eat in a less panicked sort of way.
Hope this helps!
My shopping list isn’t much different because I was on the other side of the pendulum and had given up on ever losing weight. But now my grocery bill is smaller because I don’t eat as much! I still buy lots of kale because I happen to like weird green juices. But I only juice when I want to…not because I feel like I need too!
Carol, that is AWESOME! When people are concerned about the cost of the materials, I try to let them know that they will save so much money on their grocery bill that it will make the cost of the workbook kit negligible. Last week, we went out to dinner twice. Those dinners out weren’t cheap at the time, but those two dinners fed me 10 times! I am not kidding! So glad that you are enjoying eating this way. 🙂
I’m with you! I do enjoy green shakes, but not in the wintertime! But, I have become much pickier in the past year about what I eat, so I drink a lot less of them. We’ll see what happens when the weather turns warm 🙂
Well, I’m in Florida where it’s almost always warm. 🙂
Great post! I can remember being so frustrate when planning menus and buying groceries:
1. I had many cookbooks, but not that many recipes that would fit the parameters of what the
current diet plan recommended.
2. What my diet plan recommended was NOT what the rest of my family wanted to eat.
3. As much as the experts tried to tell me it isn’t so, my groceries bill WAS higher when buying
low-sugar, low-fat items.
4. There was really very little in the grocery store that I could buy! It was all off-limits, which made
temptations very difficult.
Now — I buy what I want to buy and use recipes out of all of my cookbooks. My family is not complaining or making fun of me. We eat “normal” food.
It takes awhile to let go of the old mentality, but my body has adjusted to my new ways of eating and listen to the God given signals. The freedom from all the diet rules is wonderful!
How awesome, Karen. Wow. It really sounds like you are wearing your freedom well. 🙂
I just got my workbook kit a half hour ago but from the moment I made the choice to do this it felt like chains were dropping off. My big disappointment at the little local grocery was a paucity of fresh fruit due to the major snow storm we had. Thanks for posting that hunger video Heidi…off to watch that then get into my workbook.
Awesome! I hope you enjoy. 🙂
I love this post! Thanks, Carrie!
Enjoying God’s freedom in choices of foods I like that tast good. : )
My daughter and I were discussing the Adkins diet because she is studying food issues in her psychology class at school. I told her that God has filled the earth with wonderful things to eat and a huge variety as well. Why eat just protein? My sister tried the Adkins diet for a week and ended up throwing up because it made her feel so sick! I praise God for the freedom he gives us but I know the condition of my heart is the true problem. Looking forward to the next eleven weeks of this study. Thanks for all your hard work, Heidi!