It's been a week since I started this journey. Things were going good. I was losing about a pound or half pound a day. I had lost two pounds by Sunday.
I was having a wonderful day, Sunday. Friends invited me out to eat at a Mexican restaurant. I ordered a simple meal (on the cheap side of the menu) - just a chile releno, taco and beans combo. I ate just a little that evening at home, not much at all. It was healthy and balanced.
Monday morning I have gained three pounds and weigh more than I started! Why is it that whenever I eat out, I gain weight? 'T'aint fair!
This morning, I am back to 263, right were I started a week ago. At least I am holding and had lost what I gained on Sunday.
When I read about the struggles of the others in the group, I feel compassion. I know how it feels to work all day, come home tired and a family who needs their supper. I can identify with stuffing one's self with food regardless of taste when preparing supper for hungry children. I used to do that. I realized one day when I was stuffing stale crackers down my mouth, that the crackers didn't taste good at all. So, why was I eating them? It dawned on me then, that it could be sawdust I was eating, and I would still be stuffing it in my face. It was stress eating. Maybe. Or maybe I was so tired that my body was asking for food to have the energy to cook supper, do laundry and all the other chores that had to be done before I went to bed. I don't know the answer. But when others in my group have told of similar things they have done this week, I felt compassion and prayed for them.
This is not just about losing weight. It's about praying for others; thinking about others rather than ourselves. And it is also about listening to God. Asking him what we are really hungry for instead of cramming some tasteless junk in our mouths.
Our devotions this past week have been on faith. How does faith fit into getting healthy and losing weight? I think it is realizing that we can't do this in our own strength, because we will fail. But God can help us overcome any temptation, help us become disciplined, help us to depend upon HIM and not upon food or some other addiction to meet our inner needs.
Father, I need you to help me choose the right and good things for my body. Help me to check in with you before I act and to obey when your Spirit nudges me and says, "Don't buy that. Don't eat that." May all I do, whether eating or drinking be for the glory of God. Thank you for giving us the power to live the right way. In Jesus name, Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment