What Will It Take to Surrender The Way You Eat?
You know the old adage, “The meaning of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Why do we do this? What will it take for us to do something different than what we’ve been doing?
That old saying can really be attributed to anything in our lives that we are not taking seriously. If we did, we’d be searching for a different avenue of problem-solving than the same old path that we know doesn’t work. It’s my hunch that we do the same things repeatedly because we, either, don’t know any better or we are comfortable with what we’ve always done.
Going on perpetual diets was one of my insane journeys in life. I searched for and followed the latest fad diets that I could afford. I was always looking for that one needle in a haystack or that one magic bullet that would keep my weight off forever. I just wanted to look and feel “normal.”
These are just some of the diets that I’ve tried in the past:
Restricting Exercising Commercial Diets Pills Richard Simmons
Jack LaLanne Jazzercise Step Aerobics Walking/running Run the bleachers
Gels Low Carb Diets High Protein Diets HCG shots 5K runs
What will it take for you?
The only thing I knew 10 years ago, was that I didn’t have the answer, so I gave up! I felt defeated.
I was desperate for God to show me what I needed to do.
It was at that point that I felt God was waiting for me to give up so He could step in. I had to concede defeat and powerlessness over food before I could step into a life of recovery. It was at that point that I was shown a way of relating to food that didn’t involve perpetual dieting and obsessing over food.
I got support and tools to help me with a new, healthy way of living. I didn’t need to starve myself, look for another diet, or exercise! And the “icing” on the cake was that it was free! It was what I had been in search of most of my life.
This group is a 12-Step program. You may be thinking, “Isn’t a 12-Step program for alcohol addiction?” Well, yes. You’d be right. However, in this 12-Step program, we use the word “food” in all the places where the word “alcohol” would normally be read. So, instead of saying, “We admitted that we are powerless over alcohol…, we say, “We admitted that we are powerless over food…”
Admission is the First Step
Admitting that I have a problem with food was the first step in my journey of recovery. After that, I had to believe that God could restore me to a sane way of relating to food. I then made a decision to turn my will and my life over to God.
With the support of my 12-Step group, a sponsor and a healthy eating plan, I’ve been able to expand my life to include new friends, open opportunities, and better relationships, new clear perspectives.
I never thought, in a million years, that I could live in my right-sized body without going on diets. After 10 years of being in recovery from addictive eating, I’m still maintaining a healthy weight. I live in gratitude, faith, and hope because I have a lifestyle that supports living my best life.
I hope that this post has encouraged you to live your best life and to not let food control you. If you are struggling with controlling how much you eat, ask yourself, what will it take for you to do something different- something that works?
Write back and share your thoughts.
Blessings to you!
Cynthia
