Real and Determined Reviz

I said I was going to lose twenty-six lbs by April.

Well, April is almost over, so I figure I owe you all an update.

I didn't lose twenty-six lbs by April.

I switched goals midway - since we don't own a scale it was hard to keep track of my progress - I decided to lose four inches around my waist.

I didn't lose four inches around my waist.

It was weird. The first few pounds came off easily. Then they stopped. I oscillate between one and almost-two inches lost.

The good news is that the weight gain at least stopped.

The bad news is that I can't seem to kick this plateau.

And I was sort of stressing a little bit about it, until I heard a speaker this weekend. She was talking about her tussle with an eating disorder and the search for control in her life, and she read Matthew 6:25: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"

Lightbulb!

Stop being so anxious, I seemed to hear the Holy Spirit whisper to my heart. I gave you food. I meant for it to be yummy. I meant for you to enjoy eating.

Wait, if food is supposed to be enjoyable, then maybe it isn't the enemy I thought it was. If I am supposed to relish a good meal or an afternoon treat, maybe I should just do so and stop feeling guilty.

Life is more than food.

My dear husband has a gentle way of reminding me of this. When I reach for seconds or pull out a snack or a dessert, he just asks me, "Are you hungry?" It gives me a moment to pause and actually think about my hand-to-mouth motions. If I am hungry, I eat more. If I'm not, I stop.

You see, this isn't just a battle to control what I eat for a while, just so I can get back to eating whatever I want later. This is a lifestyle of eating and moving and living and praising God for all He is and does and says. This is a giving over of myself to God, not to a diet plan or an exercise regime.

It is so much easier to swing to an extreme of super-healthy eating or of convenient junk foods. But the fact is, God made carrots and He made sugar. (And He made all those plants that are naturally poisonous. And He gave us the sense to know the difference.)

So I enjoy my carrots fully, and I eat my sugar without guilt (most of the time!).