Many of you know how I used to eat whole Pepperidge Farm coconut cakes. It was my binge eating food of choice.
Many years ago, I received a thoughtful question about my past bingeing behavior:
Our group…is on the 4th lesson of your Program. One of the ladies had shared one of your articles about the cake, that was one of your trigger/trouble foods. My question to you is this: I was just curious as to whether you can bring that cake into your home now without a problem OR it is a food that you can never bring into the house again? Thank you so much. I am LOVING your program.”
I thought other people who need help for binge eating disorder may want to know the answer as well, so I decided to write an article about it! My response is below:
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Why I Won’t Go Back to Binge Eating
“Thank you so much for your email – I am glad the program is blessing you! You asked if I can bring Pepperidge Farm coconut cake into my house.
This answer is that I could – but I don’t want to!
In considering your question, I just realized that I haven’t bought that cake in over 20 years.
I left “binge eating cake” behind at my old apartment.
To me, bringing that cake into our current house would be like going back to Egyptian slavery was for the Israelites (see Exodus 1:8-22). The Lord had already delivered me from that place.
Why would I want to go back to that pain and bondage?
Some of the Israelites wanted to go back once delivered because of fear.
But I don’t fear because God’s perfect love has cast out my old fears (1 John 4:18).
Bishop Dale Bronner once said: “Either love will bring you back or lack will drive you back.”
The Lord’s love always brings me back to Him. I feel complete in Him.
He is my last place of known comfort.
Since the five steps of TBYT are part of me, two foundational things have changed within me now:
- My identity is transformed: I am a royal daughter and a soldier who has joined her Father in the family business. Our family business is winning other people to Christ.
- My heart has changed too: I don’t have time for any behavior that would take my focus off of our mission.
I have learned how to trust the Lord with my negative emotions when they come. I have learned to run to Him when distressed rather than burying my feelings under food.
So once again, even though I could have the cake if I wanted it, I don’t want it.
I think about Hebrews 11:6 also:
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
I have faith that God exists.
I have faith that He will reward those who seek Him – just as He says in His word.
With the Lord’s reward in mind, I strive to follow Paul’s advice in 2 Timothy 2:4 every day:
No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”
While food is enjoyable, I don’t allow it to entangle my life anymore. I value the Lord’s reward more.
The cake is a symbol of my past entanglement. I won’t go back.
A TBYT reader wrote the following and I related:
“I am afraid when I quit eating to numb myself, I will experience the full harshness of reality and it will be too overpowering…”
That old feeling was part of my binge eating symptoms! But through God’s power, I was able to overcome fear and live in freedom.
I am determined to move forward into all that the Lord has for me.
I hope that is your heart’s desire too! His reward is greater than anything this world has to offer.
Be Blessed with Health, Healing, and Wholeness,
Kimberly Taylor
Author of the Take Back Your Temple weight loss program
P.S. Have you struggled with binge eating? If so, you are not alone.
I struggled with binge eating for years and know about the discouragement and frustration that comes with it.
But there is hope! You can overcome binge eating, enjoy food freedom, and develop a healthy relationship with food.
If you’re ready to finally overcome binge eating and experience food freedom, click here to learn more about our newest online course: How to Stop Binge Eating (Satisfaction Guaranteed).
Interesting.
Would like to know more about your specific program.
Hi LeNora – thank you for writing! You can learn more about our programs here:
* How to Stop Binge Eating online course: https://takebackyourtemple.com/stop-binge-eating/
* Take Back Your Temple weight loss program: https://takebackyourtemple.com/program/
May the Lord bless you on your wellness journey!
Thanks for sharing this. My feelings are the same as I don’t want to bring Mr. Trouble into my home. I have discovered praying for strength and meditation are helping me to stay away from the emotional eating and to get back on track right away if I eat something my body doesn’t like. Again, thank you and may God keep you healthy and able to inspire us.
Wise decision, Michele – I pray for God’s best to continue to manifest in your life!
Thank you for the comment on your binge eating of Pepperidge Farm coconut cake. That is also one of my trigger foods. If I buy it when my granddaughter comes to visit, I will eat a piece and send the rest home with her. Butttttt then I might sneak another piece before she leaves. They don’t have much money and she has huntington’s disease so I want to buy it for her. My husband does not eat it. Next time if I buy it I will leave it frozen until she is ready to leave and give the whole thing to her. Thank you so much. God Bless
Awesome, Pat! As I always say, our habits are meant to serve US, not us serve them. May the Lord continue to bless you on your wellness journey 🙂
I know this is largely an excuse but it’s difficult nevertheless. I live with my husband, my mother, and my older brother. They all have their own versions of what they like to keep in the house for their sweets and other foods that are desirable for me. I would love to just say, it’s my house and I need you not to bring these foods in. But that seems awfully harsh. Has anyone else dealt with having others in the home who aren’t fighting the same battle?
Just a suggestion, Diane…..would it help if they stored all their snacks in one cupboard that you then consider off limits to you?
Great suggestion, Cindy! I used to have to do something similar when my husband and I first married. As long as he kept his sweets where I couldn’t see them, I was good. Thankfully, he sees benefits of eating healthier now and doesn’t buy them anymore. But it took time for him to make that change.
If I am honest, I say I buy the things for my husband, but in actuality it is for me. This writing is making me be honest this morning. I am not going to buy any of those any more. My husband is diabetic and he don’t need them. I am the sugar addict and need to cure myself. Thank for writing this today. Just what I needed. God Bless.