Intro Have you ever gone out on a Friday night and ended up eating and drinking way beyond what you would have liked? Then, you just feel frustrated and broken and defeated. You wonder if you’ll ever be able to handle a night out without behaving like a maniac around the food and beverages. Well, sweet sister, this is definitely an overdue conversation. Let's have it today. ***2024 Quiz Promotion*** www.loraarmendariz.com/quiz *** Personal Did you know that lent is just around the corner? Every year I like to do some soul-searching to see how I could concentrate on my growth in Christ and have some special time with Him. If you’ve been following my podcasts here lately you’ll know that I’ve been noticing my lack of rest and truly desiring to trust God better so that I can relax instead of chronically over-working because it is currently still a trigger for cravings and over-desire around food. Does that sound familiar to you? In fact, if I were to go out on a Friday evening I would feel like I was finally out of my overworking prison and I could definitely find it hard not to over-do the experience. No one should feel this way. And, because I hear many ladies I coach complaining of this same problem, I wanted to touch on it today with you. Concept Over-eating can come from many different needs but I’m going to break it down into two simple areas. 1. Using food or beverages to provide something you are needing emotionally or 2. Not making a plan for the evening and then making choices out of hunger and cravings. First, let's talk about the emotional component of this. You have to figure out what you feel like food is providing for you that you are missing in your life. Are you snacking on chocolate while you do housework because you are just trying to keep going when you really need to sit down? Do you pour yourself a glass of wine or two at night because you just want to take the edge off the stress instead of talking to a friend or doing some journaling? Maybe you are so angry and frustrated at the people who are supposed to have your back and you feel like you deserve something, anything, that would just make you feel a little better? All this is normal. However, eating and drinking for emotional reasons is not actually solving the problem. It’s like going to a medical clinic and asking to be seen by the lady with a phony medical license instead of the professional with a medical degree and years of experience. Why would we choose the faulty help? Sometimes when we overeat on a night out or weekend off it is because we are not taking care of emotional, mental, or physical needs that have nothing to do with food. The second issue is much more simple and very common. Often we simply don’t have a plan. We simply figure that we’ll go out and we’ll be “good”. However, we just leave it up to fate. As if we can look at the menu, have no desire for anything off our eating protocol, and magically choose the food items and quantities that serve our bodies. Or, we have the vague idea that we might “splurge” a little, but we haven’t settled on what that is going to look like. In fact, if you like to eat a certain dish, it might be very beneficial to decide ahead of time that you WILL have that and enjoy it. That way you don’t go into that all or nothing attitude feeling like you’ve messed up. Spiritual Application The other day I was reading a very familiar set of verses in Galatians about the fruit of the Spirit. It is in Galatians 5:22-23. In the New Living Testament the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control. I’ve always loved this reading, but I’ve also seen it in the lens of how I treat others. The other day I felt God nudge me that so much of what I struggle with stems from not treating myself with the fruits of the Spirit. So, are you doing the same? Are you loving yourself? Taking joy in life? Cultivating peaceful thoughts? Having patience with yourself when you are human? Do you treat yourself with kindness? Are you faithful in your promises to yourself? Do you practice self-control toward what your body needs? Practical Application The difference between making proactive eating and drinking choices and being reactive and doing whatever seems or feels good at the time comes from two things: Taking genuine care of your physical and emotional needs and making a plan for what food or beverages you will consume at any given time. This is simple on paper, but like any good skill, the more you practice the better you will get at it. Journal Prompt Today I challenge you to sit down and answer three important questions: When/where do you tend to struggle with overeating or overdrinking the most? What could you do to take care of your emotional or physical needs so that you don’t turn to unhealthy quantities of food/drink to bring you comfort? What is a plan you could make ahead of time to support your health goals and still enjoy your time? Sign Off Just in case no one has told you today, I want you to know that you are spectacular. Don’t be hard on yourself as you learn. We don’t become good at any skill overnight. It takes practice. All my love to you! I’ll talk to you next week!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
by Lora ArmendarizYou Can Do It!Do you want to fall out of love with a destructive habit? The first 42 episodes of this podcast are a resource for anyone who wants encouragement and information as they take a six week break from a habit in order to fall out of love with it. Archives
April 2024
|