Renewing My Mind – Evening Eating Part 3

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On Monday and Tuesday, I posted parts 1 and 2 in this series. Today is the final installment. Evening eating is one of the things that many of us struggle with–it is that “bewitching hour” between dinner and bed-time. Often the kids head off to bed and we want the reward for a day well done! Or conversely, we are lonely and want to comfort ourselves. Whatever the primary reason is for giving in to eating in the evening when we aren’t hungry, we can FIGHT the lies we believe with truth. I have been sharing my truth cards with you this week. I hope it is helpful. I would love to know what other truths you use to fight the lies that lead to night-time eating. What you share may help one of the people who visits this blog! 🙂

  • My enjoyment of my family/husband is NOT dependent on my eating with them when I am not hungry.

If my husband or kids start munching on something in the evening, there is nothing that says I have to join them. I can relish their company even more when I focus on them instead of the food. I wonder what it is that has created the lie that fellowship is equated with eating in our minds? It certainly doesn’t need to be that way. I can absolutely enjoy my family members without eating!

  • My enjoyment of movies, games, etc., in the evening does not hinge on eating too!

This is another lie that I tend to believe…that if we watch Netflix or play a game together that it is made all the better by eating. Truthfully, I feel like my conscience kicking into overdrive and the physical misery I end up in diminishes the enjoyment of the food AND the movie or game that I might be enjoying (AND the company of my husband and kids!).

  • I can RELISH the precious hours before bed and TOTALLY enjoy them—ALL THE MORE when I don’t blast through my boundaries and eat outside of 0 and 5.

This gets back to yesterday’s truths as well…that it FEELS SO WONDERFUL to be tender hearted to my boundaries. Don’t you think? Those hours before bed when I am not hungry are made so much more rich…so much more of a blessing when I don’t defy my conscience!

How About You?

Do these truths sound like they might work for you? How might you amend them to be more applicable? When do you use your truth cards for the most victory?

Feed the Toilet

How you folks doing with Halloween Candy? We didn’t buy any this year, but if we had, I would have inhaled it all last night, I think.

Throw it in the trash!

Or, if you are like me, throw it in the toilet and HURRY!!! FLUSH!!!!! Then just don’t answer the door when the Trick Or Treaters come! (Aren’t I just awful?)

True confession…if I were to throw something in the trash that I knew was causing me to struggle…and then change my mind later about “wanting it anyhow”…I would actually FISH IT OUT OF THE TRASH can!!!! Ok…that is extreme sickness…that is why I said above…maybe don’t just put it in the trash, but put it in the toilet and flush!

Is no one else like me?

If we had had candy here in the house last night I think I would have eaten it….just because “dangit!”

The question someone posted at the TW forums is a good one.. “Lord, what am I feeling right now that I want to feed with food?”

I have been praying and been in the Word this morning. I do have a lot of emotions I am feeling.

One of my horses, Doc……I am just heart broken. Winters are so hard for him. He is only 9 and he has been like this the entire time I have had him (just before he turned 5), but some times things are worse than others…we live in a mild climate…but he is in such pain even with our 40 degree nights. I wonder when is it selfish to keep him alive and when is it selfish to put him down?

And my son has really been establishing himself as a major liar…he is 15 and he is just too old to be a liar…and to blow it off. It is breaking my heart….I fear for his future. An Aspergers man has a tough row to hoe as it is, without intentionally being a liar…how is it that someone who categorizes things into two groups: “all or nothing” “good or bad” “evil and good” can choose YUCK so much??????? (Unless someone ELSE is speaking, then by golly, you better not come near to doing something he interprets as a lie!!!!)

There are so many other things…and I realize…these are all the churning feelings that I have that I would be tempted to stuff with food. How on *earth* will stuffing them with food help??? It won’t!!!

The enemy loves it when I believe that lie.

I learned something about my Heavenly Father today…He is busy working…He does things…and one of them is seen in this verse:

2 Corinthians 1: 3-4a: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles…

How can my Heavenly Father comfort me, if I am so busy stuffing my face? Or running from Him? Or busying myself with some distraction intended to numb? (Like computer junk…)

Hoping all of us feed the toilet some candy (or whatever) today and invite God the Father to comfort us in what is *truly* ailing our hearts.

First Day in a Long time

I am going to be posting some things that I sent to the Thin Within Support list. I would like to have a chronicle of my journey all in one spot. So some of these posts are older…from before I started this blog, if that makes sense! LOL!
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God has been showing me just how many old (bad) habits I have returned to. Yesterday was my first full-fledged day of being willing to submit to eating between the parameters of hunger and fullness in a LONG time! I found myself mindlessly grabbing a catalog to read at the table while eating and realized that I needed a chance to enjoy my meal with God as my only company, not a silly catalog!

Focusing on what I was eating with a grateful heart helped me stop when I wasn’t hungry any more! YAY! If I had been reading that catalog, I am sure I would have “cleaned my plate” which was a partial portion from a previous dinner out. Thing was…even a partial portion of a previous dinner out was too much food. Thankfully, my brain was engaged and my heart was willing to submit when I had had enough. This is a big victory for me. Even caring is a big victory, I must admit.

The entire day wasn’t perfect, certainly, but three steps forward and one back is still progress! I can observe and correct by God’s grace!

Have a wonderful day.
Heidi