Tag: madetocrave

It’s been a few weeks since I have written an update on my health journey. I guess the primary reason is that not much has happened.

I weighed in again today, as I do every Wednesday, only to find I’m stuck at the same weight I’ve been at for the last three weeks.

It’s most frustrating this week because I took some extra steps toward healthier eating (like not eating after dinner) and being more active. In my mind that all should have added up to some small result on the scale. But it didn’t.

As I contemplate this, I’m reminded of other areas in life that I get frustrated by lack of results, too. Parenting – I can speak the wisest words to my children, but they won’t necessarily heed them. Friendship – sometimes my investment never is reciprocated. Even cleaning! – I can clean for an hour yet still be dissatisfied because it doesn’t stay clean for longer than a day around here.

So, I’m tempted to ask myself, “Why keep trying?”

I keep trying because the unseen results are far more valuable than the seen. The obedience I am learning, the ability to say no to cravings, and the peace and comfort that comes with filling up on God rather than on food – All of these things are conforming my inner self into the image of my Savior.

Whether my outer-self will continue to change, that remains to be seen.

So, I’m not on a diet. I’m on a journey with Jesus to learn the fine art of self-discipline for the purpose of holiness. ~Lysa TerKeurst Made to Crave

My result this week wasn’t what I had hoped for. But, it led me to inspect the more beautiful and lasting results this journey has wrought in my life. In recognizing those results, I’m motivated to keep trying and to endure – to pursue holiness in every area of life.

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

1 Peter 1:14-16

Today, my feelings deceived me. As I woke this morning, I groaned at the thought that today was Wednesday – Weigh-In day. I certainly wasn’t feeling any lighter than last week; truth be told, I felt as if I had gained a couple pounds.

Did I really have to weigh in today?!

If it weren’t for the fact that I’ve committed to report my weigh in to my Facebook group of friends joining me in this journey, I would probably have stayed home from the gym and opted for sugary cereal instead of the scale and exercise.

So I went (out of obligation), exercised, sighed heavily, and stepped on the scale.Up went the numbers as I barely dared to look down at them. Then they stopped. Two pounds shy of last week. Really? I looked stared. It was true! I was down two pounds!!

And yet an hour earlier I was convinced I had gained two pounds. My feelings deceived me.

Had I listened to my feelings and stayed home and overindulged, I would never have felt this victory and probably would have packed on a pound instead.

Today, the truth was much more pleasant than the lie I started to believe.

But sometimes, the truth is much harder than a lie.

Like when I’m feeling good about this health journey and weigh in only to find I’ve gained a pound. Then there’s that other pesky lie I’ve caught myself believing on this journey – the lie that blurs grace and overindulgence. It tells me to give myself a little wiggle room, to give myself some grace and not be so ‘legalistic.’ But the hard truth is that giving myself ‘grace’ is just a nice sounding way of excusing my overindulgence.

Overindulgence is overindulgence. And limitless indulgence in food always has consequences – it compromises our health, diminishes energy to pursue our calling, and affects the way we feel about ourselves, just to name a few.

~Lysa TerKeurst from Made to Crave chapter 13

So today I’m reminded that on this journey toward health and victory (both spiritual and physical), I, we, must always come back to what is true, no matter how painful. Because our feelings are often full of faults, and even full of lies. They will lead us astray if we follow them. The only trustworthy guide is the Truth.

God,

I want to walk in your truth. Walking – it requires movement and initiative. Help me to move in Your Truth and to initiate pursuit of it through study of Your Word. Help me discern between feelings that come from lies and feelings that come from Truth. Help me to stay the course in pursuit of physical health, but even more help me stay the course in pursuit of spiritual health. Thank you for these bodies you have given to us; may we please You, and not substitute You, with them.

It’s been three weeks since I weighed in. A trip to the other side of the world and back convinced me to take a hiatus from the more intense aspects of my health journey. Today I’m back at it.

I cringed at the thought of stepping on the scale this morning; I didn’t want to face the potential results of my time away. The number that greeted me was not as dreadful as I had imagined.

After three weeks, I weigh the same. What a relief!

I tried to be sensible while traveling, but I also splurged on a few different things. So this result is very encouraging.

I do wonder why, though, it seems harder to maintain a healthy weight at home than while abroad. Why didn’t I gain weight from my splurges? And I only exercised once the whole trip!

I’ve learned a few things about myself as I ponder these questions:

1. Much of my temptation comes from the fact that I spend significant amounts of time in the kitchen preparing food for my family. Food is always within reach. When I was abroad I was rarely hanging out in the kitchen – someone else prepared the food and I ate at mealtime. If I got hungry I ate a small snack. This always-in-the-kitchen struggle is one I don’t yet know how to overcome. What do the rest of you homemakers do to avoid this temptation?

2. Seafood is good for me and you. I ate more seafood in two weeks in Okinawa than I have eaten in the rest of 2016. And my body and my taste buds love it. It’s too bad seafood is so expensive where I live. However, incorporating a bit more into my diet would be well worth the expense – it’s a healthy splurge :).

3. When I’m on mission and investing in something bigger than myself, my food desires fade. When I’m finding joy and motivation in doing kingdom work, I don’t crave the flimsy joy of food. In Okinawa, I was so focused on the ministry at hand, that I only thought of food when the hunger pangs called.

Providentially, the chapter I’m working through in Made to Crave this week ties in perfectly to this last point. Lysa talks about where we find our ‘happy’ – is it in our pant size or in our Savior? She emphasizes that all of us are incomplete, and it’s hard sometimes to deal with other incomplete people. But when we derive our joy from Jesus instead of junk food or even our successes, we can love other incomplete people.

The bad news is, we’re all incomplete people. The good news is, Jesus loves incomplete people. And He wants us to know we can have complete joy by being secure enough in His love to reach out and love other incomplete people. – Lysa TerKeurst

She goes on to encourage ‘afternoon acts of kindness’ as a way to show love and also avoid the temptation of unhealthy food. She encourages these things in such a warm and loving manner, but there is a stinging truth behind it all that I am beginning to understand.

There is a connection between my overindulgence and my self-centered tendencies. Think about all those excuses we use to give in to unhealthy things, whether food or otherwise. I’ve earned this. I deserve it. It will make me feel better. I am the center of all these excuses. Is it possible that I’m loving myself and my body more than I love Christ and His Body?

Ouch.

Maybe this is partly what Lysa was getting at, maybe not. But it’s what’s getting at me.

Lord,

I want to be so filled with Your love and Your joy, that my own desires and pleasures become light as a feather and float away. I want to be so consumed with Your work that my temptations toward unhealthy indulgence are only whispers, no longer screams. Help me to see that even the little mundane tasks of the day are service to You and service to Your people. Help all that I do be for You only. May Your thoughts become my thoughts. May You increase and I decrease. 

Amen