When I was in high school, I was on a dance team. Before each performance we had to weigh in. If we made weight, we performed. If we didn’t, we had to sit out. Because of this policy, those of us who were border-line in the weight department got started on some bad habits.
We’d diet like crazy before each weigh-in, then eat like crazy afterwards. We were so happy to be through dieting (and performing in our fat-revealing leotards) that we celebrated by eating everything in sight.
This is what I learned from that experience: Eating is fun. Dieting is terrible. And if I’m not on a diet, I better live it up because who knows when I’ll have to go on a diet again?
It took a long time to truth journal those lies out of my system.
This is what I learned:
- Just because it’s there, that doesn’t mean I have to eat it.
- More is not necessarily better.
- Boundaries make my life better, not worse.
- I’m far happier when I live by design rather than desire – even when I’m standing at the counter in the Dairy Queen, ready to place my order.
Bible Study
- If you were to eat “what you want, when you want” 100% of the time, how much do you think you’d weigh?
- If you were to eat “what you want, when you want” 100% of the time, would you happy? Why or why not?
- What can you learn about this subject from the following verses:
- Is your life better or worse with boundaries? Seriously.
If you feel like eating just for fun, try using these questions from I Deserve a Donut (And Other Lies That Make You Eat) or the I Deserve a Donut iPhone app to renew your mind:
Indulgence Questions
- Why don’t you feel like following your boundaries today?
- What do you feel like eating?
- How much would you need to eat before you could honestly say, That’s enough. I don’t want any more? Be specific.
- At that point would you be:
- More satisfied than you are right now.
- Less satisfied than you are right now.
- About the same as you are right now.
- Wishing you could take back the whole eating episode.
- How often will you follow your boundaries if you only follow them on the days you feel like following them? (Be honest.)
- What will you gain if you follow your boundaries today, even though it’s hard?
- Do you think God wants you to follow your boundaries? Why or why not?
- Are boundaries easy to follow or do you usually have to give up something to follow them?
- What will you have to give up to follow your boundaries this time?
- When you think of what you’ll gain, is it worth the sacrifice?
Taste for Truth: A 30 Day Weight Loss Bible Study is now available on Amazon.
Loren Pinilis says
June 28, 2012 at 8:14 am“I’m far happier when I live by design rather than desire.”
What a great quote. The heart is deceitful and we’d never trust it in some areas of our lives. Yet, in other seemingly small areas (like what we eat), we can just go with the flow of our desires.
sonjapeterson says
June 28, 2012 at 7:49 pmWow, thats terrible that they made you weigh in before being able to dance. I’m sure that caused eating disorders for many girls!
Barb says
June 28, 2012 at 8:55 pmIt sure caused a lot of unhealthy eating habits for me – and I was skinny to begin with. I was 5’1″ and had to weigh 107#.
sharon says
September 30, 2017 at 1:19 pmI too had to weigh a certain weight to dance and we were told when we were fat and i was always right below the cut off. I played with bulimia before I went to college to dance on the dance team and then I went full time bulimia to lose weight. Your study is helping me see how I have been a slave to food and how I can stop it through God’s word. This is what I have been needing for a long time. I am not anorexic or bulimic anymore but the thoughts have creeped back in the last couple of years. Thank you!!
Barb Raveling says
September 30, 2017 at 5:42 pmI’m so glad the study is helping, Sharon. It’s crazy what they do in dance teams, isn’t it? I’ve heard that cross country runners deal with the same issues and wrestlers too in high school. Not good for our future relationship with food!
Kay says
May 16, 2017 at 12:04 pmThank you for this reminder…., I have struggled with an eating disorder, on and off to varying degrees since I was 16. I will be 48 in August….. sigh. Some days are better than others but I will often “erase” binges with a super long workout. I used to do distance running and developed ( oh, who am I kidding… they were there already), some healthy/unhealthy ways some to manage overeating/binging. I have tried everything over the years but know that the key is the continual renewing of my mind and accountability. Thank you for your daily encouragement.
Barb Raveling says
May 18, 2017 at 7:59 amHi Kay! I’m glad to be here to encourage you. :) Have you discovered the Taste for Truth Podcast yet? That also has some helpful interviews on it. Praying God will help you work through this – I know how hard it is! Praying for more good days!
Theresa says
November 13, 2017 at 5:56 amI’ve recently found your posts , and feel the Lord led me to them , Thank you , I’ve always over eaten , never felt like I’ve had enough , felt I deserved to eat , used any excuse to grab food , ate food in secret , and that’s what hit me hard , as I always tell my kids , ” if you have to hide what you’re doing , you probably shouldn’t be doing it , ”
Knew it was sin , but brushed it off telling myself it wasn’t drugs or alcohol , couldn’t be that bad , but with these posts I’m able to recharge my thinking every morning and think of how I’m dishonoring God with those bad choices by going beyond my boundaries .
Barb Raveling says
November 22, 2017 at 1:01 pmOh, I’m so glad the studies are helping, Theresa! Food doesn’t have the same devastating effects that drugs and alcohol have, but it still messes up our lives when we can’t control it – and it’s still hard to break free from its control! So glad the studies are helping!