Myself, Food and God

As a teenager I never thought about what I ate. I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I spent a lot of my money on eating out. When I went to college I couldn't afford to eat out as much so I ate cheap food. I gained the usual freshman 10-15lbs but it didn't really bother me because in high school I only weighed 95lbs and it was nice having a woman's body as apposed to a 10 year old girl's body. Then reality hit after I was married for a year and I got pregnant with Jaxson. I ate fast food and ice cream everyday. I thought I was eating for two but when he was born he weighed less than 6lbs. I had gained over 40. My husband had gained it along with me and he weighed over 200lbs. We were huge. Here's the proof.


After I had Jaxson we both vowed we would never be that unhealthy again. For the first time I began to educate myself about nutrition and I started exercising regularly. By the time we moved to VA a year after Jaxson was born I (and Steve) had taken off some serious weight. It started to become my passion and our way of life. I am very passionate about what we eat. I believe in eating real food in their purist form. We eat whole grains, whole milk from a local dairy farm, grass fed meat, and eggs from cage free chickens. I eat more fruits and vegetables than I ever have in my life. There was one problem though. I LOVE food. So much that I would eat almost every meal like it was my last. I hated the feeling of being hungry and when it was a special occasion all bets were off and I would eat whatever I wanted. This last December I had a whole month of "special occasions" and I gained 5lbs. When January hit I decided I wanted to explore my over eating tendencies even more and I researched the book Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth. I had an Oprah show about it that I had previously taped and I began to apply it. It has everything to do with your relationship with God and why you over eat. But, the general guidelines are as follows:

Eat when you are hungry.

Eat sitting down in a calm environment. This does not include the car.

Eat without distractions. Distractions include radio, television, newspapers, books, intense or anxiety-producing conversations or music.

Eat what your body wants.

Eat until you are satisfied.

Eat (with the intention of being) in full view of others.

Eat with enjoyment, gusto and pleasure.

I don't know if I will ever be able to eat without distractions. I mean honestly I have three children. But, I can however eat only when I'm hungry and eat until I'm satisfied. It has been a challenge to get over the hatred of being hungry and to stop eating when I really want to keep going. It's also been a challenge to not eat because of cravings, stress, boredom or for reward. I am really excited about this new way of thinking about food. Before, I felt like I had the knowledge about what God wants me to eat I just didn't always control how much I ate or why I was eating. Since December I have lost 7lbs. Steve has lost 8 (of course he's a guy so all he has to do is cut out junk food and do a few sit ups every night and the weight melts off.) We are both skinnier than we were when we got married almost 8 years ago. I feel great and I don't feel deprived like I have when I do a cleanse and cut things out completely. I feel in control of my eating and my body tells me when I eat too much of something I shouldn't.
The human body is amazing! I thank my Heavenly Father for this amazing gift and for the knowledge about how to care for my body. For me it's a spiritual process that doesn't have an ending date. I want to be who my Heavenly Father wants me to be and that will take a lifetime to accomplish.