God Help Me! My Diets Aren’t Working

Diets Aren’t Working!

I have struggled with my weight since I was about five years old. Looking at my childhood pictures, I can see my chubby face staring back at me. When I was in the 4^th grade, I had a crush on a boy at school. I thought if I’d go on a diet, he would like me back. So, at nine years old, my journey down the diet path began.

I decided to restrict myself to only one meal a day. I skipped breakfast, but for lunch, I’d only eat half of a sleeve of crackers that I brought with me to school. By dinnertime, I was starving. I couldn’t believe how uncomfortable hunger pangs could be. I believe I lasted only one day on that diet!

At an early age, I was especially drawn to eating candy bars, donuts, cakes, cookies, Doritos, chips, homemade biscuits with syrup, and any food that was made of flour and/or sugar. Back then, these types of foods enticed me all the time.

As a kid, living in Los Angeles, California in the mid- 60’s, an ice cream truck would regularly cruise up and down my neighborhood every day, playing a funky little tune that rang out of the truck. The minute I’d hear that music, it signaled to me that Mr. Joe, the man who drove the truck, was close by and would soon be driving down my street.

Although, many times, I wouldn’t have a nickel to my name, I’d still look out of the front door or stand in my front yard and look at other kids buying their favorite candies or ice cream treats. But, when my father thought I was of the age to receive an allowance, guess where I spent my money? You better know it! I was out there with the rest of the kids around that ice cream truck, buying my favorite candy bar or ice cream treat.

Now, throughout my teenage years, I saw my mom go on and off diets. Sometimes, we’d go on diets together during the summertime – when I was out of school. I can also remember my mother getting diets from various magazines at the checkout lines, which advertised magical claims like losing 20 pounds in one week. I eventually realized that those outrageous weight-loss claims on the front cover of magazines were to entice people to buy them. That advertising worked, because people like us were desperate to lose weight and stay slim.

Throughout the years, I have paid – let’s just say, a LOT of money looking for the needle in a haystack. For many years, I was on a hunt for that one diet that would cure me once and for all. But I never found it.

However, after 40 years of trying different types of diets, potions, pills, drinks, and shots to take off my excess weight, I finally realized that I was looking for answers that only God could provide. So, when I gave up and admitted that I didn’t have the answers, the Lord was able to show me the path to my freedom. I soon discovered why diets didn’t work for me. Yet, more importantly and with God’s help, I found out what did work.

After attending a 12-step program for food addiction, I had an “Aha!” moment. I was amazed at what I’d heard and seen. It was there, where I discovered people who shared some of the same struggles that I had with food. They shared their stories and experiences with constant dieting, hiding of food, constantly eating throughout the day, trying to control their weight, the attraction to certain foods, and more. Through these testimonies, I felt like I was finally with people who understood me.

The most exciting part was that they had a solution. 

At that point in my life, I was ready to do what it took to stop eating the way that I was eating. I no longer wanted food to control my weight, my thoughts, the size of my clothes, how I felt about myself, and my life. I’d prayed throughout the years for God to help me stay on a diet, because that was the only thing I knew to do. But this program was different – and it was FREE!

Soon, I began to find out that I was addicted to flour, sugar and processed foods. Most of the foods that I was eating at that time were made of flour, sugar, or both. It actually kept me in a never-ending craving cycle that I could not get out of.  Since I was, admittedly, addicted to flour, sugar, and processed foods, I had to eliminate them from my diet altogether.

Eventually, I took the challenge and got a sponsor to help me walk through the process of what to eat, how much to eat, and the tools that I would need to stay on track. My menu consisted of proteins, grains, fruits, and vegetables; and it still does today. I knew that it would not be a quick fix, but a journey. I was ready for the road that was before me! However, it was also scary because I had to step out of my isolation and become part of a community and learn to connect with others. This definitely was a lifestyle change – not just another diet.

This is my story. What’s yours?

If you’re struggling with food addiction and your diets aren’t working either, know that God can help you – just as He helped me. Also, if you would like to learn more about how flour and sugar can be addictive and how these substances affect the brain (similar to how drugs do), click on the following link: Food Addiction Research. Lastly, check out a few organizations that I recommend for additional assistance on my Resources page. Until next time…trust God to help you break the chains of food addiction.

~Cynthia