When I hit the elliptical trainer, I like to read candy for the mind (as in junk). It’s a guilty pleasure and perhaps one I need to give up this Lent and beyond, especially after reading this while flipping through a fashion magazine this weekend: “There’s a backlash against diets that don’t include food because they just aren’t sustainable.”
I’m not joking.
Isn’t a diet that doesn’t include food also known as starvation? And has starvation ever been sustainable?
I know so many women who blame their lack of willpower for not being able to lose those last five pounds or for not being able to maintain their slimmer silhouette after a diet.
I don’t blame them at all. I blame diets – or at least the diet mentality that food or certain groups of food are bad, bad, bad.
It is not your weakness that has led you to fail at losing weight or squeezing into those coveted jeans. It is your repeated attempt to diet and to deprive yourself of nourishment. Eat when you’re hungry. Stop when you’re full. Easier said than done, I know, but give it a try. Listen to your body. Lent is about being mindful. Resolve to be mindful of everything that passes through your lips and remember this: Food is not the enemy. Food is also not your friend although it’s so easy to vilify it or use it to soothe emotions frayed with stress or sadness. Don’t feed your feelings. Don’t complicate the eating process. Food is fuel. Eat wholesome foods. Sometimes eat what you crave, and don’t feel guilty about it either. But, please, do eat. Because as someone who waged a war against her body and food for far too long, I have to agree with the fashion magazine on this one: Denying yourself of food just isn’t sustainable.
We all need to stop obsessing with being skinny and focus on being healthy. And being healthy includes healthy eating and exercise. Our bodies are a gift and we should treasure and treat them as such. I would much rather be ten pounds overweight but healthy and active then be skinny and unhealthy. Thanks, Kate for sharing your wisdom and past struggles with women everywhere.
I suspect they meant diets with ordinary food, as opposed to all liquid meals-in-a-can or some such. But you're still right about "eat when you're hungry; stop when you're full."
Salome Ellen, you're right on. That's exactly what they meant, but that's just my point: Any "diet" that doesn't contain real food is starvation not a way of eating. We need to start thinking of diets as the types of food we habitually eat – not some crazy means of starving ourselves into being thin.
I hate the word diet because of what it has come to mean to so many people. I know some would argue that a diet has helped them achieve health goals. But I'd it's a lifestyle of healthy eating and a balanced attitude toward food that helps us achieve real wholeness – whether in the form of slimmer shape or just better health.
I'll get off my soapbox now. :) Thanks for the comment! Blessings!
Good food for thought. Ha! I'm doing the "depriving myself of sweets" thing for Lent, but this really is a huge sacrifice for me and I expect transforming results…of the soul. We'll see. I really need to go eat something really decadent now… (Am I totally off point here? I must be hungry…)
Roxane, we always give up sweets as a family for spiritual reasons, too. I think it's so beneficial because it helps to detach us from letting things like chocolate (not that I'm addicted to chocolate or anything – ha!) and keeping them from having power over us.
The girls and I just finished some whopper sundaes, so I recommend splurging on something decadent before the fast. :) We always have ice cream for dinner on Fat Tuesday. What's wonderful about my daughters, though, is as yummy as their sundaes were, they stopped when they were full. They eat instinctively. They don't treat food like it's a stolen pleasure. It's such a good thing.
I know you're new to my blog, but I actually suffered from a clinical eating disorder in high school and then had a relapse in college, so I'm probably a little more sensitive about these sorts of things. I just pray I can raise daughters who feel beautiful because God dwells in them and sees them as lovely and worthy.
God bless, and good luck with your Lenten journey. Let's lift each other up in prayer! :)