Image Source: Stock Exchange
Entitlement can be something we *learn*! Some of these thoughts we want to recognize may be “left overs” 🙂 from our dieting days. Two of these are:
1.) Snacks don’t count
2.) I am entitled to eating/drinking artificially sweetened foods/beverages all day without consequence (in dieting, we actually thought this was virtuous! I hate to burst your bubble now!)
Here is a sound byte from Sound Cloud. I hope this helps! 🙂
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/100228370″ iframe=”true” /]Thoughts For You to Consider:
1. Do you sometimes pop something in your mouth but don’t “consider” it a meal if it consists of certain foods or is only a couple of bites of something?
2. If so, do you see any lie lurking in the belief that this doesn’t count? What would “renewing your mind” look like in this situation?
3. Have you ever found yourself shaky without sensing an earlier hunger signal?
4. Is there any chance that you are using artificial sweeteners (gums, mint, beverages) inbetween meals? If so, do an experiment…consider not using any for a day and see if your hunger signals become “more polite” and more manageable. 🙂
5. Consider any ways that God is drawing you into deeper intimacy with him. Spend some time thanking him for that fact. 🙂
Bible Verse to Ponder:
…we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place. – Isaiah 28:15b
What lies have you found refuge in? In what falsehood have you hidden away in, safe from the emotional tidal waves of life? Are you like me, trying to hide from the wounds of life behind a carton of ice cream or within the confines of a candy bar wrapper?
======
NOTE:
I will be trying to keep this page – Renewing the Mind Study – updated with links, including registration links for the online classes.
This week, the online class on Entitlement Eating is on Wednesday at 3pm Pacific Time. Please register by clicking here.
Next week, I will be offering the class for our Renewing of the Mind Study on THURSDAY, July 18th at 4pm Pacific Time. Please register by clicking here.
There are times I just want to chew. I chew gum for many reasons: to freshen my breath, delay eating, help me focus on a task, keep me awake when drowsy. The only one I see in this list to really make me wonder is when I am using gum to delay eating. I guess I am using it in place of using God’s power to help me delay and define what kind of hunger. Heidi you sure are helping me to find those thin layers that need to be peeled away.
Blessings, Joyce
Will the study be regularly on Thursday now? This is a better night for me. Look forward to continuing the study. See you We’d night this week.
Hi, Joyce. Have you ever evaluated why you may want to chew? Sometimes, I want to crunch on something and I don’t give it any thought…but if I DO give it thought, sometimes I find an emotion underlying my reason…and God wants me to recognize it and deal with it. In my case, when I chew, I am covering right over the top of something he wants me to deal with.
I wanted to see if Thursdays work any better for people.
See you later today, Joyce! 🙂
Hi Heidi!
Thanks for the reminder that every “snack” we take can be consider a meal! I needed that reminder because I’ve done that sooo much in the past & still working on breaking that habit! Every little bite adds up!
My coffee & cream in the morning is something I’ve been thinking about.I love something warm every morning and just dont feel like eating anything as I’m not a morning person.
Any suggestions??
Thank you for helping us with things to ponder & go to God about.
Hi, Michelle. To me, the greatest way that “bites” outside of 0 and 5 add up is that callous illustration again. If I don’t believe God is inviting me to that bite, then I feel like I am turning my tail to him…reminds me of Esau…selling my birthright for the sake of food (only Esau was, at least, hungry!). Every time I saw no to God I am hardening my heart just a bit to his voice. I don’t want to do that!
One of the things that we can do if we want either something hot in the morning or to be able to eat breakfast in the morning, adjust how late we have our last meal the night before and what foods we consume (and in what quantities). Yesterday, I had a mid-afternoon main meal of left over carnitas fajita. I was hungry for it and stopped before I was done with the portion I served myself (Bummer! I had a mini-tantrum over that one). I intentionally planned this so I could have ice cream in the evening…served in a coffee cup. I was hungry for that and enjoyed it about 8pm. This worked great for me to wake up this morning, ready to eat breakfast (or to have a favorite beverage).
The tricky thing is…even as I write the above, I realize I want it ALL. I want the full meals, the snacks in the evening, the special beverages in the morning and to eat breakfast. The truth is–and it really is a wonderful truth when you think about it–my body is efficient. I don’t need that much “energy” (coming into my body in the form of food)! I will have to give up *something*. This is where I struggle with the attitude of entitlement again and again…
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. — 1 Corinthians 6:12-13
In the above passage, Paul applies this freedom of choice directly to eating. He says, “Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them.” In other words, both food and the stomach are temporary. Therefore, let us not expend energy thinking about food—counting calories, reading labels, or fixating on food in any other manner. It is far more important that we consider how to fatten up our souls, than to spend time worrying about how to best slim down our bodies. Jesus said, “Give no thought for what you will eat or drink…” (Matthew 6:25). Food and our physical bodies are temporary. Eat in moderation, enjoy what you eat, and then get on with what is truly of value—pursuing intimacy with Jesus Christ. This is an exerpt from a past study that I did by Mike Cleveland from SettingCapitvesFree . Thought it was applicable!!
Thank you for explaining the shaky headache hunger, I hadn’t put that together. I also need to be mindful of snacking while cooking to “take the edge off”. because then I’m sitting down and no longer at a zero.
So true, JoAnn! So often by the time we sit down to the meal we have prepared, we aren’t hungry any longer. For me, I still feel “entitled” to having the same dinner that I intended to have–especially after preparing it!
I am so guilty of this, especially when it comes to drinking tea or coffee with creamer. When I did WW I would always always give myself one “free” warm drink every day whether I was hungry or not. I’ve been thinking about this for some time and realize that it’s something I feel entitled to now. In fact, I just made myself a mocha before sitting down to listen to this sound byte and um…I quickly pushed the mocha away and decided I’m not actually even hungry for it right now.
Great insight, Christina.