Week 3 B
A TESTIMONY: How I became abstinent from certain food
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FIRST: NURTURE MY BODY |
For years I’ve tried to STOP eating sugar, STOP drinking coffee, STOP staying up late, and STOP watching too much TV. I finally saw the insanity of my repeated failure and switched the method:
- I started eating veggies, lean protein, fruit, and low fat dairy (with everything else)
- I started drinking lots of water (with all the coffee)
- I started getting up early to pray or exercise (regardless of late nights and being super tired)
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I started adding fun things I used to love to my days (in spite of still watching lots of TV)
And sure enough, the good things started pushing out the bad.
IT’S THE SAME PRINCIPAL WE LEARNED IN WEEK 2:
COME TO JESUS JUST AS YOU ARE, WITH YOUR BROKENNESS AND SIN (OR IN THIS CASE SINFUL HABITS) AND LET HIS LIGHT DRIVE OUT THE DARKNESS
At first I thought cold turkey was the only way to go, but I always crashed and burned trying to “just quit”.
I would go back to God and ask again “How Lord?” It seemed to hard, even impossible. The longest I could stay totally sugar and white flour free was about six moths. You can just imagine how bad I felt after each “big fall”.
Finally I started to get the message: Falling and getting up was part of the process. If I didn’t fear or worry about the “fall” and just saw it as an opportunity to get back up again, I would fall less and for one thing enjoy life much more.
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SECOND: LET THE GOOD PUSH OUT THE BAD |
Looking back I realized that I tortured my poor body. I would for years mainly live on pasta, deserts, deep fried meat and half a dozen cups of coffee a day. Then when I made my decision that it was time to remove the idol I would jump to salad, chicken breast, and water. No wonder it never lasted long. It was just a diet, and that is how my whole being perceived it.
I finally broke the addiction in my body when I started being good to this body that God created:
- I kicked off by adding vegetables and fruit with a glass of water, three times a day, to my meals without changing anything else. So now I had pasta, dessert, deep fried meat, salad, fruit, water and coffee. I know, scary!
- I then started to replace all the white flour with whole grains. So now I had all of the above, but with whole grain.
- When my body was used to that I tackled the sugar and replaced it with some Splenda in my coffee and more fruit instead of dessert.
- I then went after the deep fried stuff and replaced it with seafood and other meat stir-fried in olive oil.
- Last, and the biggest thing for me, I scaled down my coffee by replacing it slowly with decaf coffee or tea, low fat milk.
This worked so great, because the withdrawal symptoms was minimal and I never felt like I was on a diet. I did however feel that I was taking back my body from the enemy by ridding it from all addictive substances.
It still amazes me how my body feels when I eat like this: no sugar, white flour, or excess fat (after going through initial withdrawal)
- I don’t want a second helping or even dessert
- I don’t feel like hanging around the kitchen to pick at something
- I feel full but never stuffed
- I don’t have to go put on sweats, my jeans still fits
- I feel rejuvenated not tired
- I want to go for a walk, not a nap
- I don’t feel the cloud of depression I used to feel after a meal
- I actually feel light and happy to have a body that’s free from food addiction
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THIRD: GIVE UP MIND NUMBING ACTIVITIES |
It was hard for me to turn my back on most of my “mind numbing” activities, but once I did it, COLOR came back to my life.
God was waiting to take me and my kids on a nature walk and surprise me with His wonderful creation. He was waiting for me to have a good belly laugh with my husband while we danced to our favorite music. He was waiting for me to play a piece of classical music and be amazed at how anybody could write such beautiful music. I believe he was just waiting to thrill me with the wonder of life through the things and people around me, and all along I was hiding among my idols, too scared to try living without them.
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IMPORTANT: Have I never gone back, and am I free from these food forever? Are you kidding me! I fell again lots of times, but each time I recognize what’s going on faster, I realize that I have to get back to basics faster (the same thing), I’ve stopped looking for diets (I go back to the food plans that work long term), and the times I “fall” are getting less and less. |
The most important lesson I have learned is that the victory lies in walking the journey, getting up every time you fall, and finally finishing. It’s not in walking without falling.
Have a look at this verse in Proverbs: 24:16 (NIV) “for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.”
Click here to go to the next section: “You can do it!”
PS: Please help me improve the quality of our members area by using the comment box below to let me know if you pick up on any technical errors, spelling errors, or typos. Testimonies are always welcome as well:) Thank you
ty for this helped me to see what i need to do
This has really put a new spin on things for me. Makes perfect sense. Do believe this is God inspired! I’ve been working on eating more healthy at each meal. I haven’t had sugar for 5 days. I do feel great about it. Cold turkey never has worked before. So for today I can be sugar free. I don’t know about tomorrow. If I do have sugar (which I don’t plan on it) this time I won’t beat myself up. Because I’m going to look at all the positive changes I’m making. Thank you God, and Heleen!
You’re very welcome Debbie!
The body type diet I’ve been following off and on this year is based on eliminating the foods I crave and focuses on eating lots of good food. When you talked about what happens when you let the good push out the bad and how you felt it dawned on me how much better I felt when I stayed on the diet than when I go back to eating what I crave. I’m still having problems with my food addictions, but now I can see why. My goal is to not only lose the weight I need to lose for surgery, but to go through your program and learn how to finally deal with these addictions. Thank you!
I love the concept of letting the “Good push out the bad”!! I have never heard that before and it reminds me of what Jesus does with us when we get saved. Little by little the bad goes and is replaced with the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Today I woke up and made the choice to eat whole grain rather than white pasta.
Patty,
It has been a great blessing in my own life to make the switch from trying so hard to fix myself, to allowing God to change me from the inside our:) We are truly only changed by abiding in Christ. If we surrender to Him we are changed by the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit even in the areas we thought impossible.
In His Love
This section was powerful for me! I’m such a perfectionist and always try to do it the perfect way. I forbid myself from eating certain foods and then when I slip up I’m so hard on myself and go overboard and binge. I need to get away from this all or nothing mentality. Thank you for this!