by Heidi Bylsma | Oct 7, 2007 | Blog
Hey, all…I had a thought. You know how, in Thin Within, we have a new term…”Release” instead of “Lose” weight? The “scale” is the hunger scale instead of the bathroom scale?
Well, what if we were to redefine yet another term? What if we took the term “trigger” and instead of using it to describe something that sends us into a binge or eating outside of the 0-5 parameters, we were to refer to a “trigger” as something that sets in motion a series of things that we are *intentional* about…making *godly* choices about?
For instance, someone I know of refers to having a “trigger” each week…a visit from her mother who has just been to see her therapist to help her through some intense difficulties. (I don’t know about you, but I have found I need a therapist after seeing a therapist!) I guess this friend’s mom likes to “debrief” with her daughter. These visits are always tough… My friend referred to this weekly visit from her mom as a “trigger” for out-of-control eating. I have also heard others refer to certain foods as “trigger” foods.
How about if we decide that something…the food or the phone call..whatever it is for you, instead of being a trigger to set off overeating, is actually a trigger for a set of intentional Spirit-led behaviors?
When (or after) I get the visit, for instance, I will:
* turn on worship music
* write out in my journal 10 gratitudes
* pray for 5 people that God lays on my heart
* call a friend in need
* go for a prayer walk
…and so on… we could actually set up a Godly routine that would be “set in motion” by the “trigger.” Does that make sense?
Anyhow, just a thought…
by Heidi Bylsma | Dec 15, 2006 | Blog
Day Six My Body, God’s Temple
2. “Fat Machinery” is introduced and defined in this day’s reading. What is fat machinery? (See page 58.) What are the four kinds of fat machinery? Do you recognize any of these patterns in your own life? If you feel comfortable doing so, share an example from your life. Someone else might learn from what you share!
——
I have an old example to share. It is no longer current. As a kid growing up, my mother became quite abusive around meal time.
As an adult, whenever I went to her house I would inhale any and every snack possible…much of it when she wasn’t looking (she would be in the other room with my kids).
When I was first doing Thin Within and working through the Fat Machinery material, I realized that this was an example of that. There was a lot of “Past Stories” going on and also it became a conditioned or habitual response.It was a combination of #1 and #3.
Another example of Fat Machinery came from my years of dieting. I lost 100 pounds with Weight Watchers and then plunged into the zone diet. I got very thin….and resumed the life of an athlete that I had known as a younger person, training for marathons and being quite involved in strength training. With the Zone Diet, I learned some things about my body that were legitimate, while at the same time became further in bondage to food and obsession with counting grams of fat, carbohydrates, and proteins. I may have looked thin, but my heart was heavier than ever.
Years later when I had weight to lose once again (an injury derailed my marathon training and the weight piled back on very quickly), I was applying myself to 0-5 eating. I noticed a subtle behavior I had adopted…it was that if I was feeling off just slightly in every way, even if I wasn’t hungry, I “needed” protein. This wasn’t true. Yes, I do best when I have protein at each meal, but if I attribute every bit of tiredness or headache to “needing” protein, I would be eating constantly…which I think was the point! LOL!
So for me, my previous experience dieting definitely brought some fat machinery into my 0-5 eating experience that I didn’t recognize at first. It seemed “so healthy.” It wasn’t like I was justifying eating a candy bar, after all. 🙂
Nevertheless, it was food my body did NOT need. God used this of course to teach me that when I *am* at a 0, I do best feeding that hunger with foods that my entire body responds well to…not just a “taste bud pleaser.”
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3. Prayerfully evaluate the place the bathroom scale has in your life. If you are getting on it each day, please consider that it may have mastery over you. You may want to eliminate it for a while by putting it in storage. How do you feel about doing this?
—-
I think I need to put the scale in the garage for a bit. I do not want to return to being in bondage to it and I can see the tendency.
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All for now!
Heidi
by Heidi Bylsma | Nov 21, 2018 | Blog
By Guest Blogger: Brooke Espinoza
The year is full of holidays and special occasions – Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, Easter, July 4th, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s Eve. Plus there are baby and bridal showers, church potlucks, summer BBQ’s, family reunions, birthday parties, and eating out. There are always tons of goodies to eat and special drinks to enjoy.
We may already have challenges keeping our 0-5 eating boundaries when it’s not the holidays, but how can we keep our boundaries with all the delicious foods and drinks we look forward to enjoying during each special time of year?
Keeping our 0-5 boundaries during the holidays can be easier than we may think. Below are strategies – in answer to specific struggles and questions – that you can start applying today too keep seeing results throughout each holiday season throughout the year.
Let’s take a few struggles and questions one at a time…
Q: I’m not at zero yet but I want to eat! What can I do to stick to my boundaries and hold off eating until I’m hungry?
Often we may feel like giving in when the temptation entices us with some form of instant gratification, even though we’re not technically hungry yet. Temptations abound like:
- free samples
- cookie exchanges
- celebratory cakes and candies
- office donut day
- delicious leftovers that look so good
While no foods are off-limits, we may be tempted to eat favorite foods when our body isn’t telling yet us we’re hungry. Here are a few effective strategies:
- Distract yourself with a project you can make progress on until you get hungry.
- If you’re at home, see how many items on your to-do list you can complete before your body truly gets hungry.
- Do something fun you enjoy like watching a favorite show, taking a walk, playing a game with someone, reading an interesting book, running an errand, calling a friend to catch up
Use the above ideas to make a list of activities you can do – whether fun or on your to-do list – that you can get engaged in to get your mind off eating until your body says it’s time to eat.
Q: When I do get hungry, I feel super hungry! Then I end up bingeing and feel bad that I didn’t practice more self-control. How can I avoid this?
If you feel ravenously hungry when you’re finally able to eat, a stash of nuts on hand can diminish the intensity of your hunger signal, enabling you to eat calmly and consciously.
If mealtime is an hour or more away, eat a little something to tide you over until mealtime. Eat enough so you aren’t unbearably hungry, but not so much that you aren’t hungry for your meal (especially if you’re having dinner with friends or family at a certain time.)
The key is to listen to your body and not get overly hungry.
When my daughter was a toddler and was going through potty training, sometimes she’d run to the bathroom on the verge of peeing her pants. Thankfully she never had any accidents. I’d ask her, “How long has your body been saying you needed to go?” I explained to her that our bodies tell us when we need to go and will become more insistent the longer we ignore the signal that we need to go until we reach a point where we desperately have to rush to the bathroom. My husband and I always encouraged our potty-training daughter to listen to her body, because God made our bodies to tell us when we need to go.
For me, recognizing hunger is the same way. I listen to my body for a clear message that I need to stop what I’m doing and go eat. My zero is when my body has been nagging me to eat, until I no longer can ignore my body’s need to eat. Still at that point I’m not so hungry that I feel starving or ravenously hungry. I just know I definitely need to eat. I have a small bite to eat if my hunger becomes too intense before a planned mealtime with others. I enjoy eating meals with my family when it’s meal time, so I will curb how much I eat during the meal prior to make sure I’m hungry when our family mealtime comes.
Q: I started eating at a zero but I’m tempted to eat past a 5 because there’s still delicious food left to eat. (Or I’m having a rough day and deserve a yummy pick me up.)
Whatever tempts you to eat when not hungry or past contentment, there is hope!
I’m always comforted by 1 Corinthians 10:13:
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
I’m comforted that our struggles are not the exception, but they are totally common. God in His grace will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able with His help to overcome. God puts limits on our temptation, just as He tells the oceans waves how far they may come up on the beach.
I love that, with every temptation we face, God will faithfully provide a way of escape. Every. Single. Time. May God open our eyes to always clearly see that way of escape and help us to always choose to take it.
When I’m tempted to go outside my boundaries, I like to ask myself, “What’s at stake if I indulge in this food when I’m not truly hungry? What’s at stake if I start eating at zero but continue to eat when I’m already satisfied?” Those calories will get stored as fat, and it’ll take me longer to release my excess, unhealthy weight.
“What’s at stake if I eat my food way too fast?” I risk eating past a five because my stomach and brain need about 20 minutes to clearly communicate to me how satisfied I am.
“What’s at stake if I eat when distracted?” I risk not feeling satisfied after my meal because didn’t pay attention to it. So I’ll want to eat something else I’ll enjoy to make up for the meal that didn’t satisfy.
Considering what’s at stake helps me see my temptation as much less attractive.
Today, thank the Lord that each temptation you face has God-ordered limits so you will not be tempted beyond what you are able.
Moreover, with each temptation God will always provide a way of escape! Praise the Lord for the way of escape so we be able to bear our temptations. Ask God what way of escape He has provided just for you when temptation comes and be on the lookout for it.
In Christ we are more than conquerors! And God has provided all we need for life and godliness. Putting on the full armor of God, let us not fear temptations, but boldly trust the Lord to give us the victory in Christ! With God all things are possible!
As you look to the Lord and trust in Him, you will surely be blessed! See what God’s promised you in Jeremiah 17:7-8.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.”
Creating truth cards and truth journaling is a great way to combat temptations and stand firm in your boundaries.
Q: I eat at a zero and stop at a five, renew my mind, and have been doing the book study, but my weight still went up! How is this possible?
Since you’ve been diligent to wait for a zero and eat just enough to satiate your hunger, here are some strategies I use to reduce the quantity of food I eat, resulting in losing weight consistently:
- Try shrinking your portion by using a smaller bowl or plate for your meal. I do this and it has helped not only to consistently get my scale to go down, but enables me to be satisfied with my smaller portion because my small bowl looks full. I use my little dessert bowls for cereal, chili, ice cream, etc., and am plenty satisfied.
- Lengthen how long it takes to eat your meal. The faster we eat, the more we eat. Since it generally takes 20 minutes for your brain to say its time to stop eating, I like to take mini bites and chew til there’s nothing left to chew. See how long you can take to make your meal stretch. Heidi has said, “Take twice as long to eat half as much.” It’s a fabulous strategy to take the weight off!
- As mentioned above, packing snacks with you to take the edge off when you start to feel famished between meals will help prevent overeating at your next meal.
Q: How can I keep my boundaries with all the tempting holiday food that is around me?
If you have See’s chocolates or pumpkin spice muffins begging to be eaten, give yourself permission to eat them when you get hungry.
There are many times when I see something delicious, and I think, “I don’t want that just yet because I’m not hungry. But when I do get hungry, that is definitely what I plan to enjoy to satiate my hunger!”
When you’re not hungry, make a list of your favorite holiday foods and drinks you love to enjoy throughout the holidays. Then, plan to enjoy a favorite when you get hungry, working off your list.
You might pack a favorite food to enjoy when you eat lunch in the midst of running errands. Alternatively, you can wait intentionally to run errands until you are hungry, then drive thru and get your holiday favorite to enjoy when you take a break. Another option is to work in holiday favorites into your family’s meal plan for the week. By satisfying your hunger with a satisfying favorite, you’ll feel doubly blessed!
Q: How can I diligently keep my boundaries at a party or gathering of friends or family?
Since people typically gather at a specified time, make sure you eat light before it’s time to go to the get together. Eat light enough that you will feel hunger when it’s time to eat. Then you’ll be able to eat when everyone else does, yet you will not be breaking your boundaries by enjoying yummy foods with your favorite people. Rather than taking a whole scoop of each potluck food on your plate, you can use your plate to make up a little sampler platter so you’re able to enjoy the flavors of all that look appetizing to you, but without overdoing it.
If you love dessert like I do, you don’t have to go without. Simply serve yourself 2/3 the amount of what would satisfy your hunger, and then indulge in and savor a small portion of dessert. This way your hunger will be satisfied as well as your sweet tooth! Who says you can’t enjoy your favorite dessert while releasing weight?
Q: I’m so tempted to abandon my boundaries and start over after New Year’s Day.
Again, whenever I’m tempted I cling to and am encouraged by God’s promise to us in 1 Corinthians 10:13:
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
Since the Lord promises to provide a way of escape from each and every temptation, I look for the way out He is so faithful to provide.
While we are free in Christ, if we let go of our 0 to 5 eating boundaries, we will regret doing so after the holiday. God doesn’t want us to be gluttonous—especially as we celebrate His birth or His resurrection, or as we give thanks for all He has blessed us with. He wants us to enjoy our food, but with self-control. Thin Within 0-5 eating and renewing our mind are wonderful in helping us release unhealthy, extra weight and help us to naturally get down to our God-given size.
Take the deprivation out of staying within boundaries by changing your mindset about how you think about your boundaries
How we word any boundaries we set for our eating can make or break our ability to stick with them. If I say “I can’t eat anything after 8:00pm” I will feel deprived, restricted, and like I have no choice in the matter. However, the rebel in me is less likely to rear up if I say, “I’m free to eat past 8:00pm, but I choose not to because my body already had enough to eat earlier at dinner time.”
Boundaries are actually freeing!
When you think of boundaries, what comes to mind? Restriction? Denial?
I see my Thin Within boundaries like I see guard rails on the road where there’s a sheer drop-off just on the other side of the guard rail! They are put in place, and are there for my safety and to guide me in the way I should go.
I don’t trust in my boundaries; I trust in the Lord. I thank Him for my boundaries because of how He uses them in my life to protect me from overeating and guide me in eating what I love, without overindulging.
Until just a few months ago, I looked at boundaries as being depriving and restricting. Now I recognize them as being freeing! I am not free to eat whatever my heart desires when I am hungry.
- I’m free to stop eating when I’ve eaten enough to soothe my hunger, so I don’t have to feel heavy and overly full after a meal.
- I’m free to shed my excess weight, almost effortlessly, without counting, tracking, weighing, and measuring everything I eat.
- I am free to eat when I’m hungry.
- I don’t have to deny myself from eating when I’m hungry if I don’t have enough points or calories left for the day.
- I am free to eat from all food groups and continue to release weight without cutting carbs, sugar, etc.
I’m still excited about the weight I’ve lost, and all without depriving myself of my favorite foods and drinks. I love the way God is using gentle boundaries in m life to help me shed my excess weight. Thin Within works! Stick with it and you will be blessed!
Brooke Espinoza has found freedom from overeating through Thin Within, and she couldn’t be happier about it. She has been married to her husband almost 20 years and keeps busy homeschooling their daughter, caring for her family, blogging at Hemmed In By Love, and designing products for her Etsy shop, Joyful Life Printables.
by Christina Smith | Jan 20, 2016 | Blog, Renew Mind
I’ve been reading a book called Parenting the Wholehearted Child by Jeannie Cunnion (excellent book by the way) and she talked about how we know we are loved and accepted when we know who we are in Christ. So that got me thinking about how I have spent so many years not feeling accepted because of my body or thinking that I needed to conform to a certain pattern or image of this world. I have learned that there are more issues if I don’t accept my body where it’s at; like I’m accepting defeat. So I started thinking, what would happen if I knew (really knew) and declared who I am in Christ? Because in Christ I AM accepted!
“Those of us who struggle with food, eating, body image, and weight may spend excessive energy performing for acceptance because we equate our self-concept with our outward appearance. When our reflection in the mirror is less than perfect, we may continue to try to improve ourselves and an abusive pattern of starving or stuffing ourselves may persist” (Hunger Within, Chapter 5: Worth Not Shame).
Heidi Bylsma shared an amazing file with me with many truths about who we are in Christ. Today I sat down, with the printed list, and picked out the ones I felt that were most applicable to me in the moment (of course all of them are). And then I wrote down (with some fun colored pencils) on a sheet of paper. I will keep this paper on my bathroom vanity to read each day and confess. These are truths I can renew my mind with. And I know as I renew my mind, God will transform me (Hebrews 12:1-2). As I declare these truths, I will believe them more and more.
You see, it’s not what I do that makes me who I am. It’s not my outside appearance that makes me special. It’s not how well I perform or go about my work. I am who I am because of who I am in Christ–because of what He has done for me. I am accepted because Christ accepts me.
You and I are accepted by Christ no matter what. This list tells us who you are in Christ. So when you look in the mirror, you can lift that chin up and be confident in the Lord despite what you see or wish you could see. You are His beloved! You are accepted!
“This undeniable, unavoidable longing for a sense of value is a sanctified hunger placed in us by God’s design, but we will never experience inner peace until we face the truth that nothing of this world–our appearance, our past or present performance, possessions, or the opinions of other–can fulfill our longing for security and significance…Our hunger within will persist unsatisfied until we can see ourselves not through the eyes of the world but through the eyes of our loving Lord” (Hunger Within, Chapter 5: Worth Not Shame).
When you know who you are in Christ and you know you can accept your body as is, you will start to relax and be thankful for your body. It’s not quitting or giving up. It’s not saying you will never release another pound. It’s being confident that the Lord loves you and accepts you right where you are at and that He will complete the work He has started in you. I really think this is a vital part of the journey toward freedom in this area of our lives, especially if you have been worshiping the skinny idol.
“When we accept ourselves for what we are, we decrease our hunger for power or the acceptance of others because our self-intimacy reinforces our inner sense of security” (Hunger Within, Chapter 5: Worth Not Shame).
When you know who you are in Christ and this journey becomes about what’s within, you focus on your heart relationship with Christ and not the number on a scale. If you are first starting your journey this may feel hard to imagine or accept because you just want the added weight gone. And I can encourage you that you will release weight in conjunction with the Lord working on your inner man as well. It’s pretty amazing!
Would you like to renew your mind with some truths about who you are in Christ? Here are some truths to get you started:
Who I Am In Christ
- I am God’s child for I am born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God which lives and abides forever 1 Pet. 1:23
- I am forgiven all my sins and washed in the blood Eph. 1:7
- I am a new creature II Cor. 5:17
- I am the temple of the Holy Spirit I Cor. 6:19
- I am delivered from the power of darkness and transformed into God’s kingdom Col. 1:13
- I am redeemed from the curse of the law Gal. 3:13
- I am strong in the Lord Eph.6:10
- I am holy and without blame before Him Eph. 1:4
- I am accepted in Christ Eph. 1:6
- I am blessed Deut. 28:1-14
- I am a saint Rom. 1:7
- I am qualified to share in His inheritance Col. 1:12
- I am the head and not the tail.
- I am above only and not beneath Deut. 28:13
- I am victorious Rev. 21:7
- I am dead to sin Rom.6: 2, 11
- I am elect Col. 3:12
- I am loved with an everlasting love Jer. 31:3
- I am established to the end I Cor. 1:8
- I am set free Jn. 8:31-33
- I am circumcised with the circumcision made without hands Col. 2:11
- I am crucified with Christ Gal. 2:20
- I am alive with Christ Eph. 2:5
- I am raised up with Christ and seated in heavenly places Col. 2:12
- I am His faithful follower Eph. 5:1
- I am the light of the world Matt. 5:14
- I am the salt of the earth Matt. 5:13
- I am called of God II Tim. 1:9
- I am brought near by the blood of Christ Eph. 2:13
- I am more than a conqueror Rom. 8:37
- I am in Christ Jesus by His doing I Cor. 1:30
- I am an ambassador for Christ II Cor. 5:20
- I am beloved of God I Thess. 1:4
- I am the first fruits among His creation James 1:18
- I am born of God and the evil one does not touch me I Jn. 5:18
- I am a king and a priest unto God Rev. 1:6
- I am a joint heir with Christ Rom. 8:17
- I am reconciled to God II Cor. 5:18
- I am overtaken with blessings Deut. 28:2
- I am healed by the wounds of Jesus I Pet. 2:24
- I am in the world as He is in heaven I Jn. 4:17
- I am a fellow citizen with the saints of the household of God Eph. 2:19
- I am sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit Eph. 1:13
- I am complete in Christ Col. 2:10
- I am the apple of my Father’s eye Ps. 17:8
- I am free from condemnation Rom. 8:1
- I am the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ II Cor. 5:21
- I am chosen I Thess. 1:4
- I am firmly rooted, built up, strengthened in the faith and overflowing with thankfulness Col. 2:7
- I am a disciple of Christ because
- I have love for others Jn. 13:34-35
- I am built on the foundations of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone Eph. 2:20
- I am a partaker of His divine nature II Pet. 1:4
- I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works Eph. 2:10
- I am being changed into His image Phil. 1:6
- I am one in Christ! Hallelujah! Jn. 17:21-23
- I have all my needs met by God according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus Phil. 4:19
- I have the mind of Christ I Cor. 2:16
- I have everlasting life Jn. 6:47
- I have a guaranteed inheritance Eph. 1:14
- I have abundant life Jn. 10:10
- I have overcome the world 1 Jn. 5:4
- I have the peace of God which passes understanding Phil. 4:7
- I have access to the Father by one Spirit Eph. 2:18
- I can do all things through Jesus Christ Phil. 4:13
- I walk in Christ Jesus Col. 2:6
- I press toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God Phil. 3:14
- I live by the law of the Holy Spirit Rom. 8:2
- I know God’s voice Jn. 10:14
- I show forth His praise I Pet. 2:9
- I always triumph in Christ II Cor. 2:14
P.S. I created a Sound Cloud recording reading these truths. Enjoy!
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