I’ve written many times about overcoming binge eating disorders since that was my struggle for many years.
Lately God has led me to look at the physical part of that issue more – from a “fight fire with fire” approach.
Just the other day a question popped into my head: “Why do people eat?” My first thought was to relieve hunger.
Then another question: “Why do people get hungry then?”
Have you thought about that?
God designed you so that you must eat to supply nourishment to your body. God gave you taste buds so that eating is pleasurable.
Because it feels good, you want to do it.
God also gave you hunger so that it becomes uncomfortable when you don’t eat. So he gave you two “insurance policies” to ensure that you eat so that your body receives the nourishment it needs to stay healthy.
Here are 4 things proper nourishment does for your body. Just remember the word MINT.
- Metabolism – Your body needs nourishment to convert the food you eat into energy for you to work, play, love
- Immune Function – Your body needs nourishment to defend itself against disease
- Nerve Strength – Your body needs nourishment to maintain the messaging network that the brain uses to communicate with your body
- Tissue Growth and Repair – Your body needs nourishment to build muscles and heal wounds
But what if the food that you are eating is not nourishing?
What if the foods you are eating are so addictive that not only do they crowd out the foods you need, but you are unable to control the amounts that you eat?
It is clear to me that this is an overlooked key to healing binge eating.
The physical part of healing occurs when you begin to fulfill the purpose of food, which is to nourish your body.
Healing foods are used to replace any addictive foods from your diet so that you can exercise self control in your eating.
Think about your current eating pattern – if you suffer from binge eating disorders, I doubt that you turn to salads or broccoli when you are emotionally upset.
Instead you probably crave carbohydrate-heavy foods since the body breaks them down quickly, giving you an instant sugar high. You feel calmer – that is until the next craving hits.
To get off the roller coaster and start healing, then you must supply your body with the foods that keep it in MINT condition – foods that God made originally for your body like dark green vegetables (rich in magnesium, which is needed for all MINT functions) and fruits like apples, oranges, pears, and strawberry.
You also need limited amounts of lean protein like beans, fish, turkey, chicken, lean beef, eggs.
And you do need some carbohydrates but they must be the slow processing kind like brown rice and sweet potatoes. That way, you won’t trigger the sugar hits that compel you to overeat.
Be sure though to pay attention to how you feel when you eat carbohydrates until you know how much you can tolerate to stay in balance.
So in addition to prayer, using a journal so that you can identify your binge eating triggers, you must eat for nourishment to restore balance to your body.
Your body will thank you for it!
Be blessed with health, healing, and wholeness,
Kimberly Taylor
Author of the Take Back Your Temple program
P.S. When it comes to weight loss, do you often know what you should do but have a hard time doing it?
I struggled with this issue on my own weight loss journey, but I discovered that “Nothing is different until you think differently.”
The value of the Take Back Your Temple program is that you will learn how to think differently through using Biblical keys to overcome obstacles. You’ll discover how to win the Spiritual and mental battle that often causes us to become inconsistent and get off-track on our weight loss journey.
Join a community of like-minded Christians losing weight and keep it off.
Click here to learn more about the Take Back Your Temple program
WOW–EXCELLENT ARTICLE
Thanks Pat – I appreciate the feedback 🙂
I am on my 5th day of obeying the Lord. I can see where if we go back, our flesh will want even more. The flesh is never satisfied. It always wants more, more , more.
Wow, Giselle, that’s what I always think when reading testimonies and spotlights in health magazine. Great for them. You are definitely correct, although after a set back a hour ago, I am not feeling as confident right now. But there’s always tomorrow, if it’s apart of God’s plan for me.
I have been sitting in front of this computer reading articles after articles about people’s success, about scriptures, watching videos suggested on this site and my mind is saying: “That’s nice, but it’s for other people.” So, I continued to read, continued to ponder about the articles and the posts that people are leaving behind. It was like a tapestry that was being made for me this morning. First start with this, then knit that with this other articles and then step back & look at it.
Meditation on the verses that were shown and on the testimonies increases my desire to fight…or should I say to be more determined to trust Him, rely on Him, depend on His guidance.
There is a verse in 1 Cor 6:11 that says “…..and such were some of you but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of God.” I AM NO MORE!!
and Rom 5:10 states: For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more [certain], now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved (daily delivered from sin’s dominion) through His [[a]resurrection] life. (amplified bible)
It’s a daily adventure of Christ living in me, daily delivering me, daily setting me free.
So why did all my reading this morning keeps saying to me that this was for other people? I was reminded that the enemy comes to steal the Word, comes to kill my hope and comes to destroy my vision of what Christ has said in His Word. That He has made me a NEW creature. I don’t have to be like I use to be, I AM NEW. I don’t have to listen to the voice of the enemy, I choose to listen to His voice and HE says I CAN !
Oh…. it is worth every moment, every day, every pound, every size of clothing and most of all, it is worth me hanging on to Him because there is no where else to go. That is why I read testimonies. It is fantastic to discover that I am not the only one doing this, not the only one trusting Him in regards to food so I am thankful for this website and thank you all for your posts !!
Wow,just reading the praise report gives me so much hope and strength to continue on this journey.Gods word is right when it says there’s no temptation that comes to us that is uncommon,the beauty of that scripture is the assurance that God will make a way of escape available unto us.God bless you all for being a part of my journey.Kim you are a blessing to this generation.Children of God lets make up our minds to see this through and to come out victorious knowing that we have the power of the most high God backing us all the way and the assurance that at our weakest points His strength is perfected in us.Hallelujah,we must “take back Gods and our temple”.
This is amazing, I never knew there were others that have testimonies so similar to mine. My story isn’t done yet, but I have Jesus and He is greater. I picked up this nasty sin habit in high school. I would have to binge eat when I got home from school or practice because I couldn’t deal with my emotions. The truth is I still don’t have to handle my emotions right now but I am doing better since the love of Jesus became my everything over 10 months ago. I am ashamed to say that I still binged and I struggle with self loathing, destructive thoughts, depression, and anxiety as before. At first I so desperately wanted Jesus to take all of this away but I know He has healed me. My healing is coming through a process and sometimes I don’t listen to the truth. I am so sad with my circumstances even though I know I have victory in Christ.
Hi gals, my name is Julie. I have also struggled with binge eating and not eating all of my life. Recently I have been having to rely on God more since times are tight with money. I have gone to the food bank which is a humbling experience. It is humbling because I am eating foods I wouldn’t normally eat like peanut butter with hydrogenated oils and some of these sugary oatmeal. What I ate today I wasn’t as happy with myself which was these bars and some instant oatmeal. Oatmeal is one of my trigger foods. I am asking God to help me to overcome this addictive behaviour and help me find my worth not in what I eat but in Him. Food I shouldn’t look at as good or bad because I don’t have to be perfect at eating. I want to establish a normal relationship with all food. The more restrictive I become the more frustrated I feel. I am currently trying Overeaters Anonymous to help me see if that will help me using a twelve step program. I am recognizing that my strugglesome times are around bedtime and dinner time. I will work on these in time and it isn’t about doing it perfectly. My binges are getting smaller and I am making progress. It is one day at a time. All I can say that God reminds me of who I am in him and it doesn’t matter what size I am because I am his masterpiece. I need to see myself this way. Ladies and gentlemen just take it one day at a time and give all of your habits to God and allow some grace on yourself. God bless you all.
I have radically changed my diet during the last few years. I am so much healthier now! But I still binge eat! My weakness is sugar/chocolate. I have noticed that when I eat healthy for about 2 weeks, the cravings pretty much go away. Meaning, I don’t just crave bad food out of the blue. But then what usually triggers a craving is seeing it. So being at a social gathering, for example, I am often tempted to eat something I should not. Also, I eat when I am stressed!
So thanks Kim for your website. I’ve been browsing your site and you are so right that we need to pray about this! Also I am going to start eating a healthy sweet (fruit) when I have a craving as opposed to fighting it by trying to eat nothing… which usually fails!
It’s so important that Christians give everything to the Lord… including our eating habits.
When we are unhappy about who we are, we are sometimes led to food to make up what is felt to be a deficiency.However, as Christians we need to create a relationship with God before anything else. I am not trying to make anyone guilty, but drawing close to God gives us a discipline that we cant get anywhere else. God made each of us in his own image and I am sure he wants us to work towards realising it. We are not perfect but our relationship with God decides a lot of choices that we make. May the Lord help us to draw nearer to him so that we leave behind the things that take hold of us. God bless you all as you overcome.
Stick in there girl. You are right where you need to be, in God’s hands.
My struggle with binge eating and addictive behavior toward food went on for 6 years after I went on a crazy restrictive diet and lost a lot of weight. When I stopped my diet, I felt guilty for eating and it triggered me to eat more. Soon it became a cycle. I felt ashamed for eating. I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t know how to fix it, and that just increased the cycle.
I tried EVERYTHING to stop binge eating, and I put it on myself and my efforts to do it. When I continued to fail, I hated myself for it and all the blame went onto me. My self esteem took a really big dive. I cried in a dark house and felt so hopeless. Then I met Jesus. It didn’t automatically stop, although I do think it is possible to be healed instantly by Jesus, it’s not always the case when there is something greater to learn in the struggle that will make you stronger in Christ. It was a journey and I knew Jesus was with me.
And after a year of giving it up to him, choosing to stop obsessing about it, it became the past. Of course, the emotional healing was hard at times. Dealing with those feelings was painful, but ultimately they lead me to freedom in Christ. I remember the day it took a big turn. I was eating mindlessly something that didn’t even taste good. Suddenly a thought popped into my mind. “The Fruit of the Spirit is self control.”
It is a verse in Galations 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
That thought really helped me. I know Jesus is in us, I know his Spirit lives in those who call on Him and therefor you DO have the fruit of the Spirit! I believe that the impulse to binge eat and emotionally eat is temptation from Satan. God says that if you resist the devil, he WILL flee from you. When I caught myself eating mindlessly, I would say that out loud or even just to myself, “The Fruit of the Spirit is self control”. It sets the truth straight and confronts the enemy saying, “NO, I have self control and I resist to give in to temptation because Jesus gave me His Spirit.” When I do it, that drive to destruction, that temptation flees from me.
It wasn’t until I relied on Jesus that it changed, so I really happy to hear that you have given it up to Him. It WILL change. Have patience with yourself, rest in your Father’s love for you and never put anyone’s opinion of yourself over GOD’S OPINION OF YOU, including your own. God’s opinion is all love, and perfect love drives out ALL fear! His Grace is enough, and you WILL be healed. Choose to follow him and resist the devil. It WILL change. I am witness to the fact.
ROMANS 5:3-6 “Not only so, but we[a] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”
Have Hope girl, the creator of the ENTIRE UNIVERSE is on your side. And He has poured out His love for you, how do we know? He died for you, so accept your destiny! To be loved and cherished for exactly who you were created to be. YOU. And YOU are beautiful.
Wow, what encouragement, Mia! I know your powerful testimony will help set many free. I could not have written this better myself. God bless you on your desire to minister to others!
“The Fruit of the Spirit is self control”… Thank you Mia. This verse is on repeat in my mind. It really helps a lot in times of temptation.
Well said Ayanna,
Everything you said sounds just like me. A big ball of Christmas lights. Thanks for putting my thoughts into words….I’ll pray for you too.
I have struggled with self esteem and weight loss since highschool, and to be honest I have memories of comparing myself to my sisters in terms of weight in grammar school. I’m 5’2 and 160 pounds. I can’t look in the mirror without cringing or making a negative comment about my body. Even years ago at 136 pounds I went through the same thing. I am consumed by a feeling of self loathing and I don’t think loosing weight is going to solve anything. I desperately need to renew my mind. I rededicated my life to Christ on March 7, 2010, and I continue to feel in bondage when it comes to eating, self esteem,lonliness,fear,sadness and purpose. It seems to be tangled up like an impossble ball of christmas lights that you’d rather throw away and buy new ones than to deal with. I can’t throw myself away, so I have to deal with these issues and begin to untangle these feelings with God’s help. Your website gives me hope and I feel God has led me here. Thank God for his mighty love for us. He loves us when it feels impossible to love ourselves. I pray for everyone who can relate to my story. Help us all father, because without you this journey is futile.