My Sister, Andrea, Breezy (notice his tongue), and me!
Another post about the scale? 🙂 Yes. It seems to be something we need encouragement about!
In 2001, I had the joy of getting to be the collaborator with the Hallidays on the writing of the Thin Within book. Something that not many people know is that, in writing the book, I got to share stories from my own life throughout. (Don’t tell anyone!)
So the part about the Naturally Thin Eater at the top of page 136 was about my sister, Andrea. We changed the names of those whose testimonies we included, so I am “Teri.” 🙂
A Thin Within participant, Teri, tells of her sister’s eating habits: “She always eats small amounts, making a huge deal out of each bite, moving the food around in her mouth. I never could understand it before. Also, she is quite happy taking a single bite of someone else’s chocolate mousse pie instead of ordering her own. She eats strange things at odd hours. She always leaves food on her plate. It seems like she never eats much of anything at a sitting, but you can tell she really enjoys whatever she eats. When I asked her about when she likes to eat, she looked at me like I had a third eyeball and stated, ‘When I’m hungry.’ She’s been living and using the Keys to Conscious Eating all her life. I wish she had clued me in.” Thin Within, p. 136
That section of the book was written 13 years ago. Andrea visited last week and I had the chance to learn a bit more about her eating habits. We went out to a wonderful dinner and she ate what seemed to me like an enormous quantity of food given my prior claims. 🙂 I never noticed her do that before. I didn’t say anything of course. 🙂 The next day, we were talking about a dinner out with her friends one night. They expressed incredulity that she could eat such a big meal and not be larger than she is. She pointed out that she doesn’t eat that way all the time. An “occasional” meal where she eats that much is followed by eating the modest portions she almost always does. It doesn’t lead to another meal large meal, and another and another. And it also doesn’t lead to condemnation. She has found a rhythm in her life that works well for her to be a healthy size.
I shared with Andrea that the most popular post *ever* on my blog was last week’s post: Your Body – What is Your Natural God-Given Size? I told her that I think people are eager to be convinced that getting rid of the scale is a good idea and that life won’t fall apart if we do it. She shared with me that now, at age 62, she has never had a bathroom scale her entire adult life. Whenever she has had an occasion to see her weight (annual physical exams), she has been the same weight since she was sixteen years old. She gets on the scale and, PRESTO! there it is again…the same number that the scale has told her for 46 years! Without doing anything differently. (She sheepishly mentioned that, even with a regular Yoga session, she finds the weight has “redistributed,” but she is still the same number on the doctor’s scale.)
She eats when she is hungry. She typically doesn’t eat when she isn’t hungry–or, if she does, it is a bite (literally…one tiny taste) of this or that. Occasionally, she enjoys a large meal and then gets back to eating modest portions again after that. That’s it. No strangle-hold on her scale or on calorie counting or some other approach. She is free.
Note: She doesn’t know Jesus. I would love for her to know that freedom. Could you pray for her real quick just now?
Have you experienced freedom from the bathroom scale and discovered that you are approaching or found your natural God-given size and maintained it? How did you deal with the doubts and questions of “Shouldn’t I be weighing?”
You look so happy here. Thanks for the post, and prayers underway for your sister and others like her. I know how painful that can be; I have a number for family members who are far from Jesus or have never accepted him at all.
This was while I was still not submitting to God in this area. My sister dreamed of bareback riding someday. She didn’t think she ever would. So this was a SUPER special moment! (Breezy wasn’t impressed. LOL!)
Prayed for her. 🙂
No more scale’s gonna tell me how to feel. Jesus is enough for me.
Amen, Tina!
I put my scale away and took batteries out of it. They are hidden in the closet. I’m not letting that scale determine who I am anymore! 🙂 Staying in the boundary’s of 0-5 is my goal each new day by the grace of God. My clothes are all loose. I can wear things that I couldn’t in years. So I know that there is progress. I was in a 24 size now in a size 20…I plan to keep going until my God given size arrives and when that happens, like you said Heidi my body will maintain. This has been a wonderful journey learning what true freedom is in Christ Jesus my Lord. 🙂
Have a God blessed day today all you gals. : )
1.2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:16-18 (in Context) 2 Corinthians 5 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2.Galatians 6:15
For neither is circumcision [now] of any importance, nor uncircumcision, but [only] a new creation [the result of a new birth and a new nature in Christ Jesus, the Messiah].
I love that you were proactive to take the batteries out. How smart that is! Then, if you ever feel compelled to weigh yourself you have to go to the trouble of finding batteries and then stick them in there…God can remind you of truth before you get that far. Great idea! Congratulations about LOOSE CLOTHES! WOOT! See there? You don’t need the scale to tell you anything! You already know!
Thank you Heidi…I just put on a pair of my new jean capris today.
I had stashed in my closet for when I would some day be able to wear when I lose enough weight…I could not wear them 2 years ago. Well they are brand new and I can wear them now! whoo hoo! I don’t have to buy new clothes.
Thank you Jesus. : )
WOOT!
Hi, thank you for the post today. I quickly prayed for your sister too. I prayed for myself that I would become like her in the area of eating! LOL………still standing not perfect but standing!
I love that, Aretha. AWESOME! Thank you for your prayers, too.
Wow! Thanks for sharing! Makes me think I really need to slow down and listen to myself and ask if I’m really hungry. It’s cool how she stays the same weight just by listening to her body! A great example of how we should listen to our bodies! Prayed for your sister & you!
Crazy, right? Thanks for the prayers, Michelle.
This was so affirming…I feel like this is where I am heading. It seems like once a week, I overindulge, then go back to hunger fullness the next meal or next day. I am forcing myself not to condemn and most importantly not to continue in the behavior. This is God, I know it, balancing me out, letting me know there is freedom and healing every time I do this. I am excited to continue on the path of His provision and to make new lasting, healthy, normal habits 🙂
Wow – overindulging just once a week and then a quick recovery?! Sounds like God is really at work.
Yes, Michelle! Me, too! There is a rhythm of his Spirit that He is working in me…and I just need to cooperate with that!
I find it so interesting to watch non-dieting/naturally thin people eat. I have seen them eat danishes for breakfast, cake in the middle of the day, leave food on the plate, etc. My 8 year old will leave her favorite foods on the plate declaring that “I’m full.” I have a regular lunch with a friend who doesn’t diet and it’s almost painful to eat with her (not really)! We order the same meal and it takes her forever to eat! I decided to eat at the same pace and I always bring home about half of the meal. She eats the whole thing, but very slowly.
I don’t weigh myself, although now that I am fitting into some of my smaller clothes, I’m curious about the number (how much released.) But, I will not pull out the old scale – it’s been put away for 2-3 years. Praying for Andrea and Bob.
Thank you so much, Carrie. I appreciate it more than I can say!
I would love to have stayed the same weight since high school! Funny thing is… we never had a scale in the house when I was growing up, and my mom STILL doesn’t own one! She checks her weight at the doctor’s office or when she visits one of us girls. So – I honestly have no idea what I weighed when I was a kid growing up. I got teased for being fat by kids at school, but I didn’t know how fat I was (or wasn’t, more likely). Makes me wonder if I’ve done wrong by my daughter all these years, having a scale in our bathroom. And myself? Most definitely! I haven’t stepped on the scale for the last three weeks, but I am just not ready to get rid of the thing altogether.
Praying for your sister, Heidi, to know the freedom of Jesus’ forgiveness and love!
Thank you so much, Melissa. I appreciate it so much!
I only use the scale when I am curious about how much I weigh especially if I have to purchase new caprees every two to four weeks. But I praise God that He helped m to release all the weight that I did. My friends are hugging me and telling me that I look great.
Such a great post! Prayed for your sister, too! 🙂 My hubby is totally like that with his eating. If he eats a big dinner, he doesn’t eat much of anything for breakfast. I’ve been watching my daughter eat and she follows a similar pattern, except her biggest meal is usually breakfast, and then lunch and dinner taper off.
Oh, and when I was an “intuitive eater” many years ago, I was always the same weight when I stepped on the scale. I only weighed myself when I went to my dad’s house and it wasn’t every time. This was back in high school, before I got all goofy about food and body image.