Food for Thought

Fears

Do you eat when you are afraid? Many of us do. When we were babies, being fed brought the safety of our mother's arms. As adults, we subconsciously give food a sort of magic ability to ward off real or imagined danger.

There are times when food may serve as a temporary tranquilizer, but overeating prevents us from facing what we fear and learning how to deal with it. Eating compulsively, moreover, usually produces a feeling of guilt and a fear of "getting caught." The fear that we will not be able to stop eating is added to the fear that prompted us to reach for food, and the more we eat, the greater our fears.

Many of our fears are groundless and irrational. Through contact with our Higher Power, we are given the sanity, which causes them to disappear. Those fears that remain are often the result of the self-centeredness, which prevents us from turning our lives completely over to God. When we give Him absolute control, we have nothing to fear.

May I love You enough to let go of my fears.

From Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L. ©1980, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation.

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What a vicious cycle: I eat because of fear, and that creates MORE fear! Food does not mean safety or security. Food is fuel to keep my body alive, when used properly. When I am eating compulsively, there is no such thing as 'enough' because I am eating to fill a void............and food cannot FILL a void!

 

A Binge Too Far (A Blog)

 

 Have you reached a point in your program where you’re ready to give UP? To quit entirely, because you can’t seem to get back on track? 

We see an awful lot of people re-committing to abstinence after having regained all the weight they’ve lost on the first go-around.  I know that feeling myself, since I spent 4 decades losing and regaining weight, yo yo dieting like a madwoman. 

Why do we DO this? Why do we work SO hard to lose a lot of weight and then wind up regaining it after we give up?

Usually, it’s because we’ve taken a few too many off plan bites. Which led to binges. Which led to one binge too MANY.  There seems to be an invisible line we cross at some point…………..where we lose the battle with self-control………….and we give UP. 

 A binge too far.

Do you know what I’m talking about? 

We stay abstinent for a long period of time; the cravings subside and we’re feeling peaceful about food.  Then we fall off plan for whatever reason.  Suddenly our taste buds are all revved up and the cravings come back with a vengeance.  The food obsession kicks in, yet again, and we’re not quite sure WHAT to do to get back on track.

We’re back in the clutches of food addiction rather quickly, and we’re struggling mightily.

We don’t want to give up, but the food is very alluring.  It’s beckoning us constantly, it’s calling our name wherever we go. It’s everywhere and we’re finding it impossible to resist.

Unfortunately, this is the nature of food addiction in general.   And, we’ve given in so many times already, why not give in again? Just for one more day………..one more time…………..one more binge.

Will this be the binge you can’t recover from? Will this be the invisible line you cross over? I don’t know…………and neither do YOU.

Right now you’re faced with a big question: Do you give in AGAIN? Do you quit  and regain all the weight you’ve worked so hard to lose?

Or, do you recommit yourself NOW, before you get even further into the muck?

There is no ‘easy’ way. There is either adherence to the Food Plan or there is chaos.

Today, choose peace.  Today, say NO to the chaos.  Today, take YOUR program BACK before it’s too late.  Don’t find yourself back to your starting weight and needing to recommit to abstinence again.  Do it NOW. Because you know you WILL be back if you regain this weight.  And while it may seem like all this delicious food is ‘worth it’, it ISN’T. And you KNOW that.

Don’t fall for the lies the food is promising you. That you’ll feel better after you eat it. You won’t. You will feel worse……….you will feel like a failure.

Come back NOW. Don’t question WHAT to do……………recommit ……don’t tweak your food plan, don’t question it………just come back TO it, today. NOW. In the end, it’s easier than going back to the hopelessness of obesity, isn’t it?

You CAN do this, one day at a time!
Hugs
Chris

Published Wednesday, January 23, 2013 06:45 PM