Tag: bad habits

Power Exchange: Part 1

Margaret2 Comments
Beaver Dam, Rock Spring Nature Trail, Natchez Trace Parkway, North Alabama

I began rebelling against the rules and regulations of diets and food plans years ago.  A lifetime of struggling taught me that the struggle had a way of always winning in the long run, and way too often in the short run.   Binge eating was my way of life I could see no way out.  What a helpless feeling to believe you can’t change!

When we are in the woes and throes of gaining weight, it can be very difficult to follow any of the numerous diet plans available out there.  But we can find ourselves instantly derailed for eating something we consider forbidden or not on the plan.  We then slide so easily into the pattern of the weeks and months, and even decades of eating with abandon.  Why?   Because it’s comfortable. Familiar. Habitual. 

Habitual. There’s the key.  We tend to blame our failures on the lack of our own willpower to do (or not do) whatever the newest diet fad dictates.  I remember over the years asking God, myself, and my mother, “What’s wrong with me?!”  It really felt as if I was controlled by cravings, like I had no power to overcome, and as often and as hard as I prayed, God seemed to be ignoring me. 

How I’d prayed, or rather I begged God fervently for freedom, but now I realize that I didn’t understand freedom at all, and I refused to listen to anything that wasn’t my preconceived idea of freedom, and I would get angry when someone suggested I had choices.  I sure didn’t feel as if I had any choice but to the way I was: bound!   After all, I didn’t choose to be this way, and I sure wouldn’t choose to remain in bondage, right?

Well, not exactly.

I know first-hand the iron grip a binge can have on you.  I know it is so much easier to believe you can’t rather than saying, “Oh, yes I can!”   But if you want out, you must get your head around the truth:  You do have a choice. 

This week, I plan to share a lot about freedom, change, breaking habits, and a complete power exchange…from your (lack of) willpower to God’s will in your life.  If you want to start on the road to freedom, then your assignment today is to believe. You can’t control everything in your day, but when it comes to what goes into your mouth, you are in control, and that’s a fact, no matter what your mind is telling you.  If you binge again all day, do it with your eyes wide open knowing that you have a choice.  Then start telling yourself that you don’t have to live this way:

  • “I don’t have to live this way,” as you gobble down fast food in your car. 
  • “I don’t have to live this way,” as you privately eat all those cookies. 
  • “I don’t have to live this way,” as you polish off two quarts of ice cream. 
  • “I don’t have to live this way,” as you keep eating even though you are so full you are uncomfortable and already feeling guilty. 

And if your find yourself in the store stocking up on carbs for the evening, as you toss those Snickerdoodles in your basket, admit to yourself that it is a choice you are making.  Accept responsibility.  Yes, not eating them would be a whole lot harder, but again, it is a choice, that’s all you need to acknowledge right now:  If you eat it, it is your choice.

I need to be clear on one thing though.   If you are reading this and the main goal you have is losing weight, you may as well stock up on Atkins bars and peanuts.  If, however, you are ready for a closer walk with God, to begin to understand all that was paid for on the Cross of Christ, and to have life and life more abundantly, come visit me again.  I’m not saying I have all the answers, but I know the One who does. 

Rock Spring Nature Trail, Natchez Trace Parkway, North Alabama
(Above and below.)

Read Power Exchange: Part 2

Monday Musings: The Great Habit Exchange

Margaret2 Comments
Sunset on Fort Walton Beach

I spent a few days in Fort Walton Beach, Florida last week. I’m not usually a beach lover, I tend to be a mountain girl, but who doesn’t like the roar of the ocean, the birds, and the beautiful sunsets and sun rises every now and then?
As I was editing the photos for this blog, what I remembered most about the sunset was all the time I spent snapping pictures, instead of sitting back to enjoy the disappearing sun and the sound of the waves. Like the time I spent trying to get the perfect image, I realized that I’d spent a lot of my life trying to accomplish something for the future, but not enjoying life right now. It’s a little phenomenon I call living in the future.
For me, it is all the time I wasted trying lose weight believing that next year, when I’ve reached my weight loss goal, I’ll do this, or go there, or go see my old friend who I’ve avoided because I didn’t like my weight. True friends wouldn’t care about my size!

Gulls in the sand

Around a year ago, I had a profound experience where God began to answer my years of prayers for freedom. I have learned so much since then. Some of it has been some hard lessons about choices, habits, personal responsibility, and change. Change often involves a bit of crucifying of self, and that, my friends, is difficult and painful.

Sand weeds (I have no idea what they might be called.)

Something I was reminded of in Florida is just how easy it is to slip back into old habits. They are so welcoming and comfortable! The more I learn about freedom, the more aware I become of my personal responsibility and my choices. I went to the beach without a plan in place, and I acted just like a girl without a plan. I didn’t weigh this morning…my scales are broken. Thankfully! If I can’t prove I’ve gained any weight, it must not be true, right? No? :::Oh:::
Once while discussing weight loss with a friend, I argued freedom didn’t include a diet plan. She quoted the scripture, “Without a vision (plan), the people perish.” I countered that our hope wasn’t in a diet, but in Him. We may have both been right.
We do need a plan. The plan needs to include a complete power exchange. Instead of letting bad habits have the control, we take control of our habits. Bad habits don’t change themselves, and they don’t let go of us easily. That’s where God’s beautiful grace comes in.

This view is five floors up, and it is my favorite memory of the trip. I spent some quality time with God here, looking out over the ocean.

I’m not saying you should ditch your diet plan. But if you have repeatedly lost weight and regained it using the same plan, it’s not working for you. If it was, you (and I) would be thin by now. Getting to know your appetite, pinpointing your bad habits, and figuring out which good habits to replace them with takes patience and perseverance. It is a process, but once the power exchange has taken place, it is no longer a struggle. You really are in control, not your appetite, no matter what your appetite is yelling at you. Over the next few months, I’m going to be working on Habit Builders like the ones below. I sure hope you join me. Five for Five. Five good habit for five days….the first one should always include God.

The Emerald Coast water tower in the distance

Five for Five Suggestions:

  • Give a sincere, head bowed, eyes closed blessing over your food, not just a quick “Thank you, Lord,” as you pop the first bite in your mouth. Take a moment of true gratitude. Not everyone has something to eat today.
  • Start off with smaller portions.
  • Slow down!   Chew more.   Put that fork down between bites.
  • Remind yourself often, “I am not a glutton. I am free from the chains of sin because of the cross of Jesus Christ.”
  • No sugar (cookies, cakes, candy)
  • No junk food (chips, colas, snack crackers, etc.)
  • Choose to not be a glutton…which is a LOT easier with no sugar and no junk food.
  • Read scripture every day, even if it is just one Psalm or one chapter in Proverbs. (This should be a life-long commitment, even if you are extremely busy, or on vacation, or whatever.) If you are going to skip something, skip a meal, not Scripture.

If you are interested in reading more about Five for Five, I wrote about it HERE.