This week we have had the opportunity to look at the freedom we are invited to experience in setting aside dieting rules, dieting laws, dieting “Good Foods” and “Bad Foods” lists and dare to trust the God who created our bodies fearfully and wonderfully.
Is Psalm 139 beginning to take root in your heart? Do you believe you are fearfully and wonderfully made?
In the material we studied this week, what resonated for you? If you aren’t doing the book or your book hasn’t arrived yet, share what rang true for you or was impressed upon you here at the blog or in the comments. So much wonderful discussion has been going on! I would love to hear from you about it!
Have you been a “die hard” dieter in the past?
Are your dieting thoughts affecting you even now as you try to set them aside?
Do you have an accountability partner yet? If you go to the Accountability page here at the website, post your information and if you see someone you might like to connect with in email, please send me an email. Please don’t post to me in the comments on that page, as I probably won’t see it in a timely manner. Shoot me an email instead.
Turn to page 36 and have a look at the HEAL pyramid. You will refer to that during this video. If you don’t have the book, I think you will be able to visualize the pyramid just fine as I describe it. You will want to have your book or a journal to write down responses to the questions as we go through.
FOUNDATION – Relationship with God. When you get to the spot in the video, turn off the video, pray, then write down what God is leading you to establish as a goal for this level of the HEAL pyramid. What goal will you have for your relationship with God? We would love to hear in the comments, too. What action steps will enable you to realize your goal?
Second Level – Relationship with FOOD. Again, when you get to the spot in the video, stop, pray, and then write down what God is leading you to establish as a goal for your relationship with food. What action steps will enable you to realize your goal?
Third Level – Hunger/Fullness Eating. In the video, I indicate when to stop. Then pray and jot down what God wants for you in this area of your life. What action steps (or perhaps secondary boundaries) will enable you to achieve this goal?
Tip top level – Beneficial Food Choices. I urge you to approach this category with caution. If you have a history of obsession with dieting, it may not be time for you to establish a goal for this area. You want to learn to trust the Lord that you can eat anything between the parameters of 0 and 5 or hunger and satisfaction.
I hope that you have experienced God’s personal leading as you have established your goals in each of the areas of the HEAL pyramid. Please feel free to allow God to lead you to adjust these as we continue.
I would love to hear what your goals are! Let us know in the comments which area of the HEAL pyramid and what your goal is. If you like, share your action steps, too. In fact, you could use this for your accountability with your partner, too, if you like.
How can we pray for you?
I’ve tried on and off for years to consistently practice eating between “0-5,” but always stopped after a couple of weeks–on the surface it was because I would get impatient with the slow weight loss or even a weight gain. Believing the LIE, back I would hustle to dieting and MORE BONDAGE. 🙁 To be perfectly honest, I think I’d simply get scared and uncomfortable with no diet rules. Without the boundaries of a diet of MY choosing, I was no longer “the BOSS of ME,” and I didn’t like that AT ALL. I also didn’t want to give up the “dream” of THIN that comes with every diet . . . the excitement of MAYBE THIS TIME . . . very seductive .
I’ve finally reached the point where I KNOW that diets don’t work. (It only took me 45 years! 😉 ) I LOVE the pyramid illustration in this lesson–my relationship with food was my foundation, NOT GOD.
GOALS: RELAXING into waiting for hunger and asking God to meet my emotional needs instead of medicating with food. CHOOSING daily to call a “truce” and LIKE my body –that “fearfully and wonderfully made” deal. 🙂
Hi, Debbie. It may be important, too, to toss your scale or have someone keep it for you for a season. But…WOW…great insights. Dieting does sort of put us in the driver’s seat and this approach is more difficult to feel “in control.” True. I hope you are experiencing joy in this journey, my friend!
I am really enjoying this study. My eyes are really being opened to my need for more of God and less of me. It is also encouraging to know that I am not the only one struggling in this area. I am tired of food being my stress relief–time to be the new creation that IICorth 5:17 speaks of. My my main goals are: spend time with God every day renewing my mind and purposefully planning my day for any temptations that may hit, set food boundaries of only eating from 0-5 and when tempted go to my careless eating questions and journal. This is my prayer request as well ..that I would put this into action today and the rest of this study…total commitment. I liked the blog about not quitting…I will persevere!
HI, Marie. Praying for you today to persevere. God is calling each one of us to a moment-by-moment recognition of him as sustainer and giver of all life…including the abundant life. He wants our moment-by-moment dependence. He has laid that on my heart afresh this morning.
Wonderful word Heidi,
Made my goals and praying them through…Eating at a 0-5 and making my pyramid goals. Praying before each meal for God’s grace to stop at 5 Satisfied. God bless and praying for us all to do well and make our goals with God. 🙂
Yes, Jamie! So glad to hear it. I have also found that God’s grace also leads me to be willing to adjust and shift my goals over times as my needs change. Asking him to show me along the way is HIS plan instead of my throwing in the towel when I fail or taking pride in my accomplishments. Hard to be so dependent on the Lord when my flesh wants to be so independent.
Foundation
1.) I SET UP PRAYER 1ST THING IN THE MORNING: even before I roll out of bed or have my 1st cup of coffee, doesn’t have to be long, but just to get the day started on the right foot.
2.) PRAY BEFORE I EAT: that God would teach me to to hear those 0-5 signals, to recognize them & His leadings.
3.)READ MY BIBLE DAILY: I read it, but carelessly at times and I need to hear it more deeply, where HE can minister to me through it. Storing it in my mind for battle! 😉
4.)PRAY FOR PEOPLE ONLINE: I waste a lot of time online, I need to lift these people up more, praying for their needs, not just mine.
(I bought the books “Heal” and “Thin Within” this morning ..already read 3 chapters in the Thin Within [love owning a Kindle] wish the “HEAL” book was offered on the Kindle, would sure make it easier to get… 🙁
I pray everyone takes the time to be still before the Lord today. My favorite prayer time is in the late evenings [in fact, it’s never too late to spend time with God].. I love the quiet of the night when my husband is sleeping or at work.
Great Blog Heidi!
I love that #1, Peacelily. Yes…we don’t have to make a huge production out of it. We can–even before we roll out of bed–acknowledge, praise, and thank God for his presence. Thank you for the reminder. THanks for the prayers, too. You are so right. We can use our time online to pray for one another, even as we read the comments posted by one another!
I sure see this in a different light! 🙂 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:5-8
I have found I do not have enough willpower to stop this overeating and need to rely on the power of God’s will to have a better relationship with him and food. I had something happen this week that I am wondering if it might be a message from God: on our last night at Frankenmuth we bought a two slabs of fudge at a local candy store there. We had a small piece off of each then put it in the fridge to bring home with us Friday. Hubby got the sausage we purchased at Kern’s out and put it in the cooler, but left the fudge. I was very upset as I was looking forward to that fudge, but perhaps this is all part of me letting God be in control. I am in a contemplative prayer group at church and this listening to God rather than just talking at or to God is something new to me. I think my main goal is to learn to truly listen to God daily. I also am trying to slow down with my eating so I will better recognize my 0-5 eating.
Hi, Sue. Great insights that you have gleaned there. God is showing me that I have 1) not been listening to him much at all compared to how often he is speaking to me! 2) I do this because I don’t want to hear what he says…I can hardly believe that! I have been doing a new kind of journal praying that is revolutionizing my life. On the one hand, I am thrilled to be so in touch with what he is saying. On the other hand, I am devastated to be so in touch with what he is saying. LOL! My rebel’s heart is still alive and well. SIGH!