This time of year is always difficult for my diet control. It's hard enough being a compulsive eater, but when all that good stuff is around, ooooh, how do you say no? How do you limit portion size? How in the world can you control your blood sugar?
I go through a typical cycle—get off my meal plan and eat carelessly, feel guilty, eat to soothe the feelings of guilt, get stressed, eat to settle myself...you get the picture, right? Sometimes it's really hard to pull myself back up "on the wagon."
When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.
Well, this morning I think I've been reminded again that there is a hand extended from that wagon that is STILL HOLDING ON. If I will just quit struggling and cling to that hand, I'll be pulled up out of the mud and back on the wagon. The problem is, I'm trying to pull myself up. I really have to release myself and quit struggling so I can be lifted up!! I guess I get the mental picture of myself as an angry, kicking toddler. It's a lot easier to pick up a child who is surrendered than one that is still flailing.
Even when we stumble, we won't fall headlong. That is so comforting. I stumble FREQUENTLY. I think the lesson I'm learning is that I need to stop struggling to get up. I need to rest in His arms and let Him lift me up. Then, when I'm there, in His arms, I need to quit struggling to get down and get a new grip on the world and its pleasures. I hope that someday I will be satisfied with the good things He offers rather than the fleeting treasures of this world.
Here are a few other comforting verses about our constant stumbling:
Psalms 40:2 – He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
Psalms 66:9 – he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.
Psalm 145:14 – The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
Mary, I've been able to lose some weight recently, and keep most of it off, but it's a struggle. Overeating is an addiction, and like any addiction, it takes hard work to overcome it.
ReplyDeleteI find that I cannot just "let go and let God," especially in the evenings. I must have some kind of preset strategy, or I am bound to fail. I know that God loves me regardless of whether I fail or don't fail, but I know *I* will be happier if I beat this thing, day by day.
But when I fail, I don't beat myself up about it any more. And I've started adding in things that help, such as drinking at least 10 cups of water a day, and taking good supplements. I need to exercise more, though, beyond walking the dog.
Yeah, I've always been a compulsive eater, and have been overweight most of my life with "periods of thinness". What makes it really tough is that I'm not so bad compared to my family. They've always been obese. I have a hard time considering myself as obese because I've seen huge people. They lived until their late seventies and early eighties even with diabetes and heart disease. The diabetes is hereditary, but can be controlled better than I do with less medication than I take, if I lose weight.
ReplyDeleteI'm an addict for sure, no bones about that. But I also know from years of working on this diabetes thing (I actually gained 25 pounds on some of the diabetes medications I was on) that diet and exercise are the keys to success. However, I get SOOO "weary in doing well", and I grow envious of the good things my family can eat that I really should avoid.
I cannot "let go" either, I've been doing that for too many years. However, I've found that when I attempt this struggle in the flesh rather than in the spirit, I lose the struggle. My flesh screams for satisfaction, and I have to tackle it by means of the Spirit -- Spirit control rather than "self" control. Instead of resisting, I need to run to His arms for protection on this one.
I'm working at staying on a 1200 calorie diet -- Dr says if I eat 1800 on Monday, I need to eat 900 on Tuesday and Wednesday to make up for it. That's really tough, but by God's grace, I hope to accomplish it. I'm aiming to lose 25 pounds by my birthday in May
I need to join the weight loss club too. I need to lose weight before I see Mary again. I was thin and buff when I last saw her (and so was she). Of course, we were really young too. That might have had something to do with it.
ReplyDeleteI'm committing to getting back on my bike regularly (hopefully daily) and riding at least 10 miles at a shot. Maybe cutting back on the brownies and ice cream would help too.
Mary - my sister has given very similar encouragement to what you've said here. We need to find our satisfaction and comfort in God--not in food.
The hardest thing for me is that I still WANT to sin. I still crave the things of this world which is IDOLATRY. And James says, "He that knows what is good and does not do it is sinning." I have got to seek a new view of this through the Spirit -- His body, His temple, His vessel.
ReplyDeleteWell, y'all, I'm planning on updating my weight loss ticker at the beginning of January, and it will show a loss, but alas not the 50 lbs. I kind of knew it wouldn't. But I aimed for the moon and at least got off the ground.
ReplyDeleteThis all needs to be put in perspective. What this thing is is a lack of self-control, which is one of the manifold fruit of the Spirit. We are doing it because it's the way we perceive ourselves to actually experience being comforted, and it winds up ensnaring us and making us unhappy in the long run.
If that mode of temporary comfort is taken away, and there isn't a healthy replacement for that comfort, then we are bound to return to the behavior.
Richard, the problem for many women who are wives and mothers is that we are always near a kitchen, which is usually loaded with food. Kind of like asking an alcoholic to mind the bar, if you will. It becomes very difficult in this kind of a set up, but it is possible.
I am taking some good supplements, but plan on adding a good quality Valerian (probably cut the tablet in half) in the early evening. Also celery. I've just read somewhere that celery contains chemicals that have a calming effect. I don't need the Valerian or the celery to sleep, but to soothe the ragged edge in the evening, when my major battle occurs.
Well, I need to get on with drinking my 10+ cups of water for today!