Monthly Archives: September 2011

September 22, 2011

Man Vs. Food = David & Goliath!

By Angie Bullock
David gegen Goliath

Image via Wikipedia

I recently started a 10-week Beth Moore video study on David at our church in Austin, TX, Gateway Church. Having done a Beth Moore study before (Daniel), I was overjoyed when I saw this study and quickly registered. I’ve always been drawn to David, as he is a deeply flawed human who committed adultery and had someone murdered, yet he is described as a man after God’s own heart. I don’t know about you, but that gives me hope!

If you’ve ever done a Beth Moore video study, you are familiar with the format of a weekly video teaching by Beth herself, which is about an hour. There is an accompanying workbook to follow along and fill in blanks. Then, before you meet again for the next video, there are 5 days of homework, each last about a 1/2 hour. I really like doing my homework first thing in the morning, because being in God’s word first thing in the morning sets a positive tone for my day.

So what’s interesting to me is that pretty much everyone is familiar with the story of David & Goliath, but it’s one of those stories that I’ve never really given much thought to, or studied in depth. It was NOT what attracted me to this David study and it’s not the first thing I think of when I think of David. I certainly didn’t think that the day’s homework that would inspire a blog post would be the day studying the story of David & Goliath, but it was!

So what is it that first grabbed my attention and made me equate David & Goliath to dieting? Beth’s second point for the day got me: Measure the size of your obstacle against the size of your God.

She points out that we tend to measure our obstacles against our own strength, so we feel overwhelmed and defeated before the battle begins. I did not feel that way when starting SlimGenics, because I gave it God and looked for victory through Him, not through myself. I knew I would have to do the work and rely on what strength I did have, but He would give me victory; the victory would not come on my strength alone.

However, since reaching my goal and striving to find balance, I have somehow fallen back on my own strength and stopped looking for the victory in Him. I guess somehow, subconsciously, maybe I thought that since He brought me this far, now I would be expected to go it alone. Or that maybe I couldn’t keep bugging Him for the same issues over and over. But that’s ridiculous.

So then the study asked this question: Is there an area in your life in which God wants to give you a victory but an obstacle seems too big to overcome?

Bam!

Can you make a commitment today to begin measuring your giant obstacle against your God and not your strength?

YES!! Why have I been relying on my own strength, which is lacking, when I should be continually relying on His strength? I mean, I’m doing ok in this battle, but my own strength is not sufficient!

Philippians 4:13 (ESV): I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

ALL THINGS!

Is food, a food addiction or gluttony your Goliath? If David could defeat Goliath with just a sling, stone and, most importantly, his faith in the living God, surely I can find victory over food and find balance!

4 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Dieting, Gluttony, Prayer, Weight Loss

September 13, 2011

Thin People Eat Mexican Food!

By Angie Bullock
Delicious Mexican food in Flagstaff Arizona

Image by Al_HikesAZ via Flickr

Really, they do!!

I remember back when we lived in Phoenix, there was a running “half-joke” that if you went down to Mexico (which I actually never did), you didn’t want to buy food from any woman who wasn’t overweight, because it meant she wasn’t eating her own food and therefore, you were at an increased risk of getting food poisoning.

Now, while this is obviously an actual risk in Mexico, it’s also poking fun at how fattening mexican food is (which, of course, is it). But, that being said, go into your nearest Mexican food restaurant and take a look around. The place isn’t just full of fat people! There are going to be lots of thin people in the restaurant too!

Are these people simply one meal away from becoming fat people? Of course not, they have just mastered that balance thing that I spoke of. They probably exercise regularly and they don’t eat Mexican food EVERY DAY! Yes, there are those people who can eat it every day and their bodies masterfully break it down and they don’t gain weight, but we all know that not every thin person in the restaurant falls into this category.

As you’ve probably guessed, I’m still struggling to find that balance. But, my hope lies in an unlikely place: the weather. Fall is coming! Every year, around this time, I find renewed motivation for all things healthy! I started SlimGenics last year right around the 1st of September and spent the winter with an intense focus on learning to eat healthier foods and losing weight. 9 1/2 months and 100 lbs later, I’d say last winter was successful.

Now, this fall and winter’s focus will be incorporating that new knowledge into still being able to enjoy the foods I love and exercising. And the best thing of all? I’m starting the journey from a far healthier place than I did last year!

3 comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Dieting, Weight Loss

September 1, 2011

A Fickle Little Thing Called BALANCE

By Angie Bullock
balance

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday I talked about coming to the realization of just how unrealistic it is to maintain virtually no water retention and just how frustrating it is to try. So, no more. I even removed the sodium tracking from my MyFitnessPal.com settings so I wasn’t tempted to look at it (this will not be easy for me; I’ve trained myself to look at sodium only second to calories).

However, even with that gone, it still leaves me with the struggle I talked about at the end of the post=finding balance. I admit that this is something I’m terrible at and it’s still so difficult. I feel like I’m either losing weight or gaining weight, never just holding steady. I know that’s not entirely true, but it still feels that way.

It’s ALL in my mind; I need to change my way of thinking. I prayed and prayed that God would help me through the dieting phase and find the discipline to stick to such a strict plan and change my eating patterns fast. He answered; he gave me the strength, desire and willpower to make it through successfully. Now, I need to stop trying to again rely on myself to keep the weight off – it’s a lifelong struggle and therefore, I need to give it to Him as well!

Here’s my issue: I get going on eating healthy and all is good. I’m good at dieting. I have willpower. I’m good at counting calories, measuring portions, etc. It’s when I’m not being extremely anal and precise in that area (celebration meal, etc.) that I have trouble and throw it all out the window. I feel this sense of “well, I’ve already blown it, so I might as well buy some candy while I’m not dieting and not bother exercising, either“.

Of course, when I am enjoying food that isn’t as healthy for me, that is when exercise becomes even more important! So the question is, if I KNOW this, why don’t I do it?

I’m trying not be overly down on myself for this, because I know I’m not alone in this struggle. I mean, almost 70% of the American population wouldn’t be overweight or obese if I were alone in this. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to become empowered to break this cycle!

A big part of it seems to be that I’m so used to dieting now, depriving myself, that when I get the chance/excuse to eat something like pizza or cake, I just go nuts, like I haven’t had those things forever. It’s not that I overindulge in those items, per se. I’ve actually done a decent job and learning portion control. But it’s like I feel like I’m still dieting and now that I’ve eaten pizza or whatever, I need to get in all the other things I love before I “go back to dieting’”.

The change starts there: I’m NOT dieting anymore. I’m finding balance. I can enjoy pizza one day and eat healthy the next. BALANCE.

Father God, please help me find balance. Help me to maintain overall healthy eating patterns without completely depriving myself or being able to ever enjoy the foods you’ve designed me to love. I know that you’ve given us diverse foods to enjoy; please help me to enjoy them in moderation and realize that I can do that without being either dieting or not dieting. It’s just food. I need food to survive. I’m blessed to live in one of the richest nations in the world where I should be so lucky as to struggle with having too much food and too many choices at my disposal. Help me to enjoy and fuel myself in a healthy way. I pray all these things in your precious Son’s name, Jesus.

3 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Dieting, Exercise, Gluttony, Prayer, Weight Loss

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