I had just launched into an hour long temper tantrum as I wrestled with God over the fact that I had gained two pounds that week. I simply couldn’t believe it! So I stood my ground with Him, listing all the things I had worked so hard at that week. I was diligent in waiting for my 0 each day. I made food choices that were in line with my Whole Body Pleasers. I took great care to plan my hunger around the Christmas parties I had attended that week, ensuring that I arrived at a 0. I renewed my mind to avoid temptation lurking in my kitchen (homemade sugar cookies, yummm!) when I wasn’t at a 0. I had done all these things, so how could I possibly have gained two pounds that week?!
“Surrender your 5, Becky.”
I heard it again. And it was in that moment that things became very clear to me.
In my Thin Within journey, I have gotten to a point where waiting for my 0 has become like second nature. I can wait for it and recognize it pretty easily before I begin eating (Praise God! What an awesome victory!). My 0 is glaringly obvious. I can’t ignore it, I can’t pretend it’s not there, I can’t quiet it. A 0 is a 0 for me, no doubt about it!
But the 5…..ohhhh that 5 is much more of an elusive target fore me to hit! 5 has always been a bit difficult for me to define and find. The margin for a 5 is rather wide. On one end of the spectrum, a 5 can be “just enough,” where you stop eating at the first moment you begin to feel satisfied. On the other end of the spectrum, a 5 can be “one bite shy of a 6”. And in between those two marks is a vast area that can contain ten more potato chips or five more bites of a sandwich or another spoonful of yogurt. When you add in the fact that it often takes my brain twenty minutes to register just how satisfied I truly am, the 5 is pretty easy for me to misjudge and blaze right by!
And that afternoon the Lord revealed to me through the Holy Spirit’s conviction in my heart that I had been selfishly camping on the far end of the spectrum, trying to see just how many extra bites I could take and still stay under a 6. I justified it because I had been so patient to wait for that 0 to come around, I “deserved” to eat those extra five bites of my sandwich. Oooof, that’s not fun to admit!
With this realization, He also gave me a technique to use to ensure I have the opportunity to recognize my 5 and gravitate towards the other end of the 5 spectrum, where I first begin to feel satisfied. He showed me that I can 1) ensure my meal is truly a fist-sized meal 2) I can stop eating 2/3 of the way through my meal, put my fork down and prayerfully ask Him if the remaining food on my plate is something my body truly needs or just something I selfishly want.
If it’s not something my body needs, am I willing to surrender my 5 and the rest of the food on my plate in obedience to the Lord? I can’t say that surrendering my 5 has been an easy exercise! In fact, it is the single most difficult thing for me to do in my Thin Within journey right now. But I do know that those two steps above can help me ensure that I get closer to hitting the mark with my 5. I am also armed with the knowledge that this is indeed possible since I can do all things through Christ (Phil 4:13)! Not only is it possible, but this is a step I can take towards lasting freedom!
How about you?
Is it difficult for you to define your 5? How do you know when you’ve reached it? Are you ever tempted to eat a few more bites once you have first realized you’re satisfied? Do you sometimes just get so excited to finally eat that you blaze right past your 5? Do you have any effective strategies for knowing when you’ve reached a 5 and surrendering the rest of the food on your plate? Are you willing to surrender your 5?
Written by: Becky Y.
[Editor Note: Hey, ya’all! Feel free to respond to the “How About You?” questions right here in the comment section of the blog. We would LOVE to see you share your thoughts and insights–or even your questions! 🙂 Thanks! ~ Heidi]
Another Editor Note: If you have chosen to “Follow” this blog, you will not receive any more notifications as of tomorrow (I think). We are integrating with the Thin Within website and you will want to “Follow” the new blog once it is alive and active. It will be all of the same content moved from God Is Doing a New Thing over to Thin Within. So sorry for the inconvenience.
Is overeating really sin? Is that one extra bite rebellion against the Lord?
I really struggled with those questions. It was one of the things in the Thin Within material that I had a hard time grasping. To be honest, over the years, when I would get to about Day 7 in the Thin Within book, I wouldn’t be able to push through any further. I really didn’t think I needed God’s forgiveness or grace when I took that one extra bite or overate. I would think, “Come on! It’s just food! It’s just one extra bite! What’s the big deal? Doesn’t God have other things to be concerned about? Why does this have to be so spiritual?”
And then my eyes were opened.
I had been praying about this and asking the Lord what His truth was about it in my life. Then one evening, I really wanted to make popcorn to eat during a movie my husband and I were going to watch. I knew I wasn’t hungry for the popcorn, but I just kept on thinking about it. Finally, I decided I was going to make popcorn. As I poured the freshly popped popcorn into a big wooden bowl, I heard the Holy Spirit gently ask me if I would not eat the popcorn since I wasn’t hungry. And like an annoying fly buzzing around, I flicked that request off. How could I resist now? Oh, the delicious scent of hot-buttered popcorn! And then, as I scooped some popcorn into my smaller bowl, the Holy Spirit asked me again if I would refrain from eating the popcorn. Flick! No thank you, I’m going to EAT this popcorn, thank you very much! So I sat down, began the movie, and about 2/3 of the way through my bowl of popcorn the Holy Spirit asked again, gently, if I would stop eating since I wasn’t hungry. Obediently, I put the bowl down and didn’t take one more bite.
He was so gentle. I was so rebellious. I lusted after that popcorn. I hardened my heart against the Holy Spirit’s guidance. I was like that Israelite demanding my way as I puttered around in the wilderness; just give me the leeks and onions! I didn’t want God’s manna or His provision. I wanted MY way in MY time! In essence, I wanted to go back to that slavery. Instead of deliverance and freedom, I wanted the easy way out.
Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. Hebrews 4:7b
I don’t want to harden my heart. I want to love the Lord with all of my heart, mind and soul. I don’t want to hold anything back. I have to die to myself, to my fleshly, selfish desires in order to live for Him.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. Romans 13:14
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
Matthew 22:37
And it was at that moment I realized that I am not honoring the Lord when I take that extra bite knowing I don’t need it or when I overeat. I was placing food over Him.
This has been a hard truth to swallow. I would rather not digest it. I want to be in denial, but I clearly saw my rebellion that day when I hardened my heart. I chose to fall into temptation—to sin. Temptations will come, but I had a choice to make. I chose to follow my flesh instead of following after the Spirit. God provided a way out of the temptation, but I chose to take the other path.
When we are hungry, we eat. Food is fuel for our body. So what happens when we consistently go outside of God’s bounds of eating outside of hunger? We gain weight, we feel stuffed, we don’t like the way we look or feel, etc.
Why would we need food outside of hunger? What are we truly “hungry” for when we want to eat when we aren’t physically hungry?
I could replace that “hunger” with food, alcohol, sex, drugs, or any other substance or addiction, but it will never fulfill what I’m truly hungry for. As Heidi says, only God can fill that God-size hole that needs Him in our heart.
Maybe you are reading this and you might think that this doesn’t make sense for you. Maybe you feel that it’s legalistic to say one extra bite is sin. I would encourage you to ask the Lord about this in your own life. Ask Him to show you the truth about this for you. Maybe you aren’t at that place in your journey where it’s clear. Maybe the Lord is working on other areas right now.
Another thing I do is I check the motivation of my heart. Something I think about often is something that is asked in the book Intuitive Eating: would I deny a bride and groom their bites of wedding cake after the cake cutting if they weren’t truly hungry? It’s not their motive to indulge. There have been times after a meal at a friend’s house where I’m not really hungry anymore, but I will eat a little serving of dessert. I will check in with the Lord and there are times where He says that it’s ok, that my heart is in the right place. But I really think this is something personal between you and the Lord. This isn’t an excuse to eat whenever you feel like it. It’s not to justify eating another bite when you know God is saying it’s time to stop. You will know because the Holy Spirit will show you.
God is bringing me to a place of wanting to honor Him more and more with eating. I want to glorify Him in all that I do. My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I don’t want to follow after the flesh. I don’t want to lust after food. I don’t want to harden my heart. I want to follow the Spirit and grow closer to Him.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. Romans 8:5
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. Titus 2:11-12
If we do choose to purposely overeat, we can ask the Lord to forgive us.
“The surest way to return to the path of God’s provision is by repentance. As we observe, we identify the truth about our behavior and agree with God that a correction is in order. We then confess the truth we observe, and identify the faulty thinking and fleshly behaviors. He further places with us a desire to make the godly correction. This is repentance, and it results in returning to the path of God’s provision where we are filled with peace, joy, and rest” (Thin Within page 248-249).
And knowing that God has forgiven us as we repent, we can continue on our journey of honoring Him. There’s no need to beat ourselves up with the club of condemnation. You don’t have to eat with the attitude of, “Well, I messed up, I guess I will just eat whatever I want, whenever I want the rest of the day.” This isn’t a diet we’ve gotten off track with or have eaten up all of our daily calories, points, fat grams, carbohydrates, etc. This is observing that we’ve overeaten, repenting, and then continuing on the path of God’s provision. And then you just wait until you are hungry again to eat. I find this so refreshing!
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1
There are times I find myself being tempted to eat when I’m not hungry. I’m learning to ask God for help during those times. And He is always willing. We can call upon Him!
I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:1-2
How about you?
Where do you find your thoughts when you think about overeating or one extra bite as sin? I want to encourage you to ask the Lord what this looks like for you. Are you eating because you are trying to fulfill a hunger only God can fill? Do you find yourself lusting after food and eating with a rebellious attitude? Ask the Lord to show you: He will! And He won’t just stop there, He will show you how you can turn your eyes from lust to fixing your eyes upon Jesus!
“Yesterday is history”… “Put your best foot forward”… “Leave the past behind”… “Today is the day”…
Well, tomorrow, that is…
“I’ll start tomorrow…” How many times have we said this for different situations in our lives? It’s not necessarily intentional because, of course, we ALWAYS have the very best intentions, right? But intentions don’t change anything. Action is where change begins! Why then is it so hard for us to exact change in our lives? What is it that makes it so hard to take that first simple step in the right direction?
It could be something as simple as a bad habit that we would like to break or maybe a positive change we would like to bring about in our lives. One of the most common examples of this is that common phrase that we use to excuse bad eating choices before beginning to eat healthy again…”Oh, I’m going to start TOMORROW.” Maybe you can relate to this, I definitely can! Why is it that we always want to start “tomorrow”? Why not NOW?
Apparently we want one more night with the frogs. In Exodus 8:8-10 there is a very interesting story about Moses and Pharaoh and the plague of frogs:
8 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”
10 “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.
Tomorrow?! I know that if I was faced with a plague of frogs, and was asked when I would like for someone to pray that they would leave, my answer would be NOW! However, this story shows our own mindset as we face moving forward in our lives. Just give me one more night with my bad habit, one more night with my addiction, one more night with mysin, etc., etc.
We don’t have to wait another minute; there is no need to wait until tomorrow. Change begins now. Take that step in the right direction now. We can leave behind the junk in our lives, whatever it may be, and not have to spend one more night with the frogs.
Don’t wait until tomorrow. Don’t even wait another minute. This is the moment…today. The time is now. Take hold of God’s promises for you and His very best for your life and move forward NOW!
What About You?
What is it that’s holding you back from making a commitment to eat 0-5 daily and experience freedom from the bondage of gluttony or dieting? For me, it was a little of both. I would just overeat because the food was so good, but also I would overeat because of the diet mentality. I was trying to eat the “good foods,” but wasn’t satisfied and would still go back and eat the “bad foods.” What I have learned though, is that it’s not right foods vs. wrong foods or good foods vs. bad foods. Instead, it is a heart issue. I was continually running to the kitchen instead of running to God. And I had to spend another night with the frogs over and over because of it.
It’s time to break the diet chains off of our minds by giving ourselves completely to God, completely committing every aspect of our lives to Him, including our eating. Food and the scale had both become idols for me, and I have lain both of them down at the feet of Jesus. I made the 90-day commitment, and I will not look at the scale until the end of those 90 days. Yes, I’m excited about how my body will change through this, but the most exciting part is what God is doing in my heart and mind during this time! And while I have made the 90-day commitment, I’m not stopping there, that’s just a milestone for me. I’m moving forward! Will you say, “I’m NOT spending one more night with the frogs!” and move forward into freedom as well?
~ Aprille Roberts is the women’s minister and worship leader at her church. Find her blog, “Chasing After the Heart of My Father” at praisemom13.blogspot.com.
Have you been tempted to throw in the towel and just say FORGET IT to this entire boundaries/renewing the mind/losing weight/having a healthy relationship with food project?
It is totally normal to feel that way.
This is the 12th and final week of our Renewing the Mind Bible Study and the truth is…it IS hard to stick to your boundaries. If it wasn’t hard to stick to your boundaries, they probably wouldn’t be boundaries. Just think about it for a minute. If you don’t have any temptations to go into a certain store at the mall and spend up your credit card, you don’t need to have a boundary about that store (or the credit card)! If you don’t feel tempted to overeat shrimp scampi, you probably don’t have a boundary to give shrimp scampi a wide berth.
We establish boundaries because we know that we are likely to venture across a line or to welcome outside forces in that would influence us in a way that wouldn’t be best for us.
So, of course it is hard! We are training ourselves which implies that, left to our own devices, we would behave differently than we know we should.
Barb does a great job of exposing a lie that we want to RENEW OUR MINDS ABOUT. That lie is this:
Life should be easy.
Think about it for a minute. Do you have a feeling that you will only follow through if something is fun or easy? If you get tired of working at something, maybe you believe this lie that life should be easy. God never has promised us that life will be easy. In fact, if we read the Scriptures there is much there that speaks to us about being diligent, persevering, hanging in there. If life were meant to be easy, I don’t think these exhortations would be in Scripture!
Monday
1. It’s that time again! Evaluate your feeling about 0 to 5 eating. Has God called you to 0 to 5 eating? Are you convinced in your heart he has? If you have written this commitment in your journal previously, review the dates and entries when you were convinced that this was so. How about now? If you are convinced today, add a statement reflecting that conviction and date it with today’s date.
2. Visit Barb’s blog page on “Losing Weight is Hard.” Read her introductory material.
3. Complete the “Life Should Be Easy” bible study on the same page.
Tuesday
1. Looking at yesterday’s bible study, what are some truths that you can add to your truth cards? Take some time to do this and renew your mind with truth!
2. Visit Barb’s blog page again at the same link. Please remember that Barb isn’t a Thin Within participant and don’t be put off by any “dieting” jargon that you see in her material. Complete her “Dieting is Hard” questions.
3. Are there any additional truths that you can add to your cards? If so, take some time to do so now.
Wednesday
1. Visit this page here at this blog. Take some time to read the introductory material and to watch the video on that page.
2. Can you list some situations that you have been in that are similar to what I describe? What upcoming situations might you face this week that fit this description?
3. What are some truths about situations like these that you can possibly renew your mind with?
Thursday
1. Visit this pageagain. Complete the “Preventative Eating Questions” on that page. (When asked in the questions about “now”, just insert in your mind a recent experience when you have done this…or if you are currently facing a situation where you are tempted to “preventative eat.”)
2. What are some of the possible solutions that God might want you to consider? Are you willing to use any of his solutions? If not, why not?
3. If you are not willing to use any of God’s solutions right now, please take some time to review your thoughts from Monday, Question #1 where you evaluated your commitment and God’s leading to 0 to 5 eating. Following boundaries IS hard, but if we are unwilling in these moments to do what we can (work!) to do so, when do we really expect to be willing? If we only follow our boundaries when it feels good, how often will we follow them?
2. If fear isn’t something that fuels your preventative eating, how about if you evaluate what IS? Then create a bible study to share with us here so we can all benefit! What other emotions might possibly fuel the desire to eat outside of 0 and 5 in anticipation of not being able to get near food?
3. What truths can you add to your truth cards today? Take a few minutes to add two or three.
What’s Next?
If you made it through this entire study, then you deserve extra KUDOS! We started strong, but many of us got swept away by the fun, freedom, and busyness of summer! In January, I will likely lead a Thin Within workbook study here at the blog. I will do so with a renewing of the mind focus. Start saving your $$ for the workbook packet (about $50 on Amazon) if you don’t own a set. More information to come later this fall, but for now, just know that I will continue to provide support here at the blog (as I have been) with a study launching the first week in January 2014!
When I was a young girl, if a boy had my heart, I would write his initials and mine inside a heart. Putting this declaration on the front of my school folder or book-cover (made with a brown paper grocery sack) seemed to somehow make my intentions more intense–more true–more powerful.
I have never had my initials carved on a tree trunk that I know of, or a marriage proposal engraved on a tree trunk, though twice I have been proposed to by water–once by the river (by the man I married) and once at the California coast (by the man I didn’t). Both men knew that I wouldn’t take favorably to carving the proposal into a tree trunk (unless the tree was already dead), I suppose! LOL!
Though now, I suppose I might look at the declaration of love as more intense, more meaningful, more powerful had it been carved into a stately oak or poplar tree. True confessions! It certainly would stand as a monument to refer back to later in the marriage, wouldn’t it? A great way to remember youthful longing and dreams for what could be. Sigh! 🙂
I want to urge you again…evaluate if eating 0 to 5 is something that God is calling you to do and then if you are convinced–convicted–in your heart that it is, jot that truth down and then date it so you have it as a touchstone, a point of reference, to return to when you waver. It is a declaration of your intent!
Barb Raveling has asked a challenging question at her blog and, today, I ask you: “What is Your Commitment Level?”
Are you committed to this for now…are you “trying on” 0 to 5 eating and, as long as it feels good, you might keep at it?
Are you not quite even to that point yet, but only just now considering trying 0 to 5 eating?
Are you pretty committed–as long as it doesn’t take any more work than sticking with a diet?
Or are you committed as long as the scale shows results right away and every day?
Are you committed to 0 to 5 eating because of some deeper reason than weight loss? Maybe because you are sure God is calling you to moderation and you know this is the path he has for you no matter what?
Are you committed so that even when you fall off the horse you are going to get back on again–for the rest of your days on this planet?
As you can well imagine, the willingness to work at 0 to 5 eating will vary depending on the commitment level and that commitment level may be affected by if you are sure God has called you to it and what your commitment level to God is!
Several people who are convinced that this is God’s call for them have shared with me that they consider the commitment to 0 to 5 eating similar to the commitment in their marriage–they know that it won’t always be easy. In fact, sometimes, it might be downright UG-LEEEEE! They know that at times they may want to just throw in the towel as that would be easier. But they also know they just will never quit. Period. End of conversation. It is a non-negotiable.
While it is definitely possible to “over spiritualize” everything in our lives, including our eating and use of food, I also think that when you look at significant events in history in the bible and how many of them had food as a pivotal part of the scene, it certainly seems to be something that God values. We need look no further than the third chapter of Genesis before we see that a lack of commitment to godly boundaries relative to food had dire consequence!
Thoughts for Consideration:
1. How about you? Have you sensed the 0 to 5 eating is something that God has called you to? Jot it some place that you can record it with the date. If it helps, draw a big ol’ ink heart around it! 🙂
2. What is your commitment level to 0 to 5 eating? Refer to one of the options mentioned above or come up with your own and jot it down. Evaluate if you are happy with your commitment level or if you want to “woo” a greater commitment to moderation in all things relative to eating. Journal about this.
3. If you want to “woo” a greater commitment to 0 to 5 eating, you might consider creating a truth card (or a list) of all the benefits of 0 to 5 eating. On another truth card, you can list truths about dieting (don’t forget the truth that dieting DOES work to help lose weight, but include the other truths, too!). Another card, you could list truths about eating whatever you want, whenever you want, in the quantities you want. Give these lists of truths some careful, prayerful consideration.
4. You may need to go even deeper. Commitment to anything is pretty empty if a commitment to God is weak. Where do you stand relative to your relationship with Jesus? Are you willing to go wherever he calls you?
