Setback :( BALANCE!

Today I was supposed to turn a torqued work-out....but alas! I was drawn into my old fleshpot modus-operandi, and fell off the Pilgrim path. What was that all about? Okaaaaaaay...

Got up. Ate a grapefruit. Went to church. Went to a restaurant.....finding absolutely nothing on the menu that I could have, I succumbed to a baked potato. No butter. I ordered some red onions on the side - plain.
"It's natural, whole food" I says to myself; and it was until I glopped 1/2 a cup of sour cream on top. I had my own sea salt container in my purse, and I enjoyed the pepper, too. Drank lemon water. Sooooo, what's so bad about that?

Uh, what COULD I have done? I refuse to eat iceberg lettuce (tastes like aluminum foil) or dead, bland tomatoes, no high fructose corn syrup salad dressing for me. Well, I could have brought my own tea bag, ordered the baked potato, and a "to go" box. Eating half a portion! What a concept! Forget the sour cream....I am not a baby calf. The onions would have been fine.

Fast forward to dinner. Not being at home is always a challenge, if I am at a restaurant. Went to a Mexican joint and ordered guacamole and lemon water with a side of cilantro and onions. No chemicals. Perfectly natural. No sugar, no refined carbs, no chemical-laden meat; but of course, while making conversation with the DH, I followed his lead and had chip after chip after chip after chip, dipping into the salsa like a dipstick.

What could I have done differently to achieve success? Well, I could have fasted and watched him eat. Gotta get some practice on that one....OR, I could have skipped the chips altogether, poured the wonderful salsa on top of the otherwise bland guac and ate verrrrry slowly, sipping my lemon water all the while. I just need to program my mind differently. Axshully, I would be fine going to the grocery and having a cucumber and an apple. Maybe some pine nuts. Nice, neat, quick. Done. It's not too social, though even though  it costs little, and I would have fuel for energy.

Well, hey. It did not stop there.We went to the evening meeting and were home by 10pm. Walking in the door there was the smell of the garbanzo beans in the crock pot. Hummus just does not taste the same when using canned garbanzos (chick peas). "You have to blend it all while the hummus is hot." I was taught by an old Lebanese lady way back in the 70's.  So my DH and I talk while I put together the hummus. Of course, I cut up the whole wheat pita into wedges. I could just as easily cut up some veggies and had crudités and hummus. I mean. after all, I had gone a whole month and one week without bread, why start now? Uh, I was being social? Lame excuse! So, we sat there, and ate. AGAIN.

Went to bed. Could not sleep. My body's sayin', "Hey, ya fed me, alright? Is not food meant for fuel? Aren't we gonna do something, now?" Yup. It was 2am before I finally nodded off. And when I got up, my mouth felt parched, like someone had stuffed cotton balls into it. My belly felt flabby, not tight. I felt tired still. Definitely not ready for a good hearty work-out.
I hurried over to the scale. 163 pounds. Crum. How could I have gained 2 whole pounds in 24 hours????

Then, this verse came to my mind.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. And, yeah, I can hear you laughing, "That's not sin silly!"
Well, yeah, it is- for me. Overeating is the beginning of gluttonous behavior.

Romans 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. NKJV


We forget how are bodies are designed, 
and for what? For Whom?
And that food is merely fuel;
albeit a pleasure,
a pleasure divine.


Yes, eating is wonderful, but we cannot just sit around and eat all day, anymore than we can just sit around and read the Bible all day. The food is sustenance. The Word is The Bread of Life, and The Living Water. We are meant to WORK! That's what food is for, both spiritual and physical. In the same way that Jesus Himself and us become one through His Presence manifest in the scriptures, so the food we eat becomes the very cells that we are comprised of. Yeah! We are what we eat!


I need to remember that the natural things speak of the invisible, and the whole concept of eating in the fleshly realm, is a type and shadow of our feasting on the Bread of Life. "HE is my portion and my cup." Psalm 16:5. He wants us to have pleasure, and in doing it all His way, we get joy unspeakable and full of glory, we get LIFE!


It is when I attempt to fill my aching soul up with food that will not satisfy my "God-shaped-vacuum", that I am most prone to temptation. It is not necessarily the group setting, it is the quiet times all alone with Him where the Table of the LORD is set. He loves for us to participate, He is the Meal, we set the table, the time and the place.


So, how can I avoid falling down again? Well, firstly, I can have regular meals of feasting on God's Word to keep myself full to over-flowing in Him. Then, I can PLAN AHEAD for days when I will be out of my own kitchen. Bring some wholesome snacks, some tea bags, and for now, just avoid restaurants! Most of all I can ask the LORD to grace me with the power to flow in the spirit of self-control. 


He is for us. 
Let's give Him all that we are. 
Let's live like He owns us. 


"For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's"
1 Corinthians 6:20


I am taking time to pray for each one who is on this journey to health together with me. Hopefully, each one of you has a plan that you know works for you. Press on!