Gratitude

Former Stress Eater 2

Do you not know that you are a temple of

The ten top reasons you know you are a stress eater?

10.  Your new pants you just purchased a week ago are tight on you.

9.  You unload your groceries and discover that you only bought snack foods.

8.  Your mad because someone ate the left over pizza.

7. You ate your lunch for breakfast.

6. You know every fast food place on your way to your house.

5. You ate at a fast food place but now you need to hide the evidence.

4. Your husband finds evidence of the meal you had on the way home.

3. You have to lay down to zip up your jeans.

2. You have food amnesia and cannot remember what you ate, you are sure you lied on your food journal.

1. You ate the Christmas candy at Halloween.

Beloved, I never had a problem knowing I was a stress eater. The real reason is that I did not need a reason to eat. Hi, my name is Diana and I was not only a stress eater but a compulsive eater. I tried every diet including being anonymous at meetings for overeating.  For me, I disregarded the fact I was the temple of the Holy Spirit. Oh, I memorized the verse in Philippians that says “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who gives me strength.” I would suffer when I ate too much and would resolve to start fresh the next day. After all, “God’s mercies were new every morning, great is His faithfulness.”

Then I met Dr. Nick who wrote, “My Big Fat Greek Diet.”  He said, “You need to change the way you see before you can change the way you look.” Oh I needed to change the way I was seeing because I blamed everyone for the stress I was under. The reality is I had an idol problem. I loved food more than I loved God.

Here is the simple truth, I ate more food than I needed. I realized that food had a hold on me but could not break the pattern. In order to have the gastric surgery I went to class for six months before my surgery. Keeping an honest food journal, I discovered the cost of food in calories. Exercising to make a deficit of 500 calories per day was a sure-fire way of losing one pound a week. During that six months, I lost twenty pounds. The first twenty pounds I lost eating food and not being on a liquid diet.

Instead of eating to cope with stress, I learned to journal, to walk, to sing, to pray, to read and yes to exercise. I counted calories and started making good choices. I know that this surgery gave me a new less on life but so did coming to grips with the fact that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Whether you cope with stress by eating or running your fingers through your hair, God wants us to bring our problems to Him. I made a rock solid decision to never overeat again and to not use food as a solution to my stress. I repented of the sin of gluttony.

stress less peace

Beloved, what do you need to do to stop eating in response to stress? What activity can you add to your day to help you feel less stress? Will you be honest in your food journal?

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6 Comments

  • Reply
    Dr. Michelle Bengtson
    September 19, 2015 at 6:16 am

    Diana, the same pattern exists with any addiction whether it’s food, television, shopping, drugs, or even work. We seek a counterfeit to fill a hole where only one thing satisfies: a close relationship with Him. Writing, journaling, praise and worship, reading my Bible, talking with a trusted friend who also loves the Lord, or anything else that draws me close to Him helps reduce stress. He is the ultimate stress-reliever.

    • Reply
      Diana
      September 21, 2015 at 10:55 am

      Dear Dr. Michelle, I so agree, one of the difficult things is giving up stress eating and then turning to another thing like shopping compulsively instead of turning to God. Love you my friend. Thank You and Blessings. Diana

  • Reply
    denise
    September 19, 2015 at 6:10 pm

    appreciate your honesty, bless you.

    • Reply
      Diana
      September 21, 2015 at 10:56 am

      Dear Denise, honesty is the only way to handle the short comings of stress eating. Blessings Diana

  • Reply
    Shannan Williams
    September 20, 2015 at 12:51 pm

    Thank you so much for your honesty my friend. I have a lot of similiar issues and am now trying to lose the weight. It is so hard, but I am going to try some of the things you did. I think the fact of keeping an HONEST food journal is a huge part of the plan. Blessings to you ~Shannan

    • Reply
      Diana
      September 21, 2015 at 10:58 am

      Dear Shannan, Often I had food amnesia as well as not the correct amount of what I ate. The problem was it always showed on the scale or in my clothes. Blessings Diana

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