Exploring Biblical root issues for our eating struggles

A few years ago, I wrote an article—my thoughts on the Bible and food/weight obsession—that happens to be most my popular article (that people are somehow still reading today—what?!?) and one that a lot of my readers resonate with. Because of the large positive response I continue to receive from that post, I thought it might be helpful to provide some more content about food and eating concerns from a biblical perspective. As I’ve mentioned before, I know not all of my readers connect with Christianity, so if that is you, I understand that this post won’t resonate with you. I promise to be back with yummy recipes and intuitive eating/eating disorder recovery posts. But for those of you who are searching the internet for Christian resources (which seems to be pretty common) and are feeling at a loss when it comes to your eating struggles and walk with the Lord, I pray I can provide some encouragement and points to consider.

As a disclaimer, I want to point out that I don’t have it all together and certainly don’t know everything there is to know regarding faith and eating struggles. But I am constantly asking the Lord how His Word and gospel informs these areas of food, body, and health. It’s something He is going to be continually teaching me about and challenging my views on. But that’s part of sanctification—the ongoing work of becoming more like Him through the Holy Spirit. If you feel like anything I’ve said is not in line with Scripture or the gospel, please graciously express your concerns with me. I want to be sure that I am sharing truth—it’s a BIG responsibility handling and sharing the Word of God! I also want to point out that our struggles are complicated and multifaceted. So although I am addressing the spiritual side of things in this blog post, that doesn’t mean that we just “need to have more faith” or that if we “just prayed about it more, we would get better.” There is trauma that deeply impacts and changes our brains and bodies, hormonal and chemical imbalances that need medication, etc.

A lot of my believing clients or readers who reach out to me express a degree of desperation in their search for freedom with food and body. And I get it. I can remember countless tears, prayers, and petitions to the Lord to free me from my food obsession. I remember reading Christian books that created turmoil for me because of what I thought the Lord was calling me to with food, and my actual lived experience. I had so much shame and guilt when it came to my struggles with food. Why couldn’t I get it together? Why did I have to think about food so much and love it above God? Why couldn't I stop eating the dessert at parties, when I would beg and plead with God beforehand?  And I’m guessing for some of you, there are questions like: “if I have the Holy Spirit, why do I keep bingeing/purging/restricting?”, “why can’t I overcome my eating disorder?” “what do I do to no longer be a glutton?”, “how can the Lord love someone as disgusting and undisciplined as I?”, “why do I keep failing at taking care of my body, His ‘temple’? And the list goes on.

So. Much. Shame.

So. Much. Condemnation.

I see a common theme with a lot of my clients (and general chatter) experiencing shame and guilt regarding what they view as gluttony and the idolatry of food and pleasure.* And I’m not here to make light of sin. I don’t want to minimize what Jesus died for. But I also know that shame does not bring us to the foot of the cross, nor does it fuel us towards truly healthy behaviors. I believe gluttony and idolatry (of anything) absolutely can be the heart issues for some, but I think there are a lot of other ones that need to be explored, repented of, and then surrendered to the Lord so that we can walk in the life He has redeemed us for. If we don’t know the root cause, we can’t do the work of uprooting it and planting something different.

So here are a few common roots that I would encourage you to consider…

Idolatry of our bodies. Um, hello, this was me. What I thought was the idolatry of food was actually the idolatry of my body. Everything I did revolved around what it would or wouldn’t do to my body. I spent countless hours (and brain space) exercising, researching recipes, looking up calorie counts, planning out my meals or snacks. Controlling my body and making it look the way I wanted it to dictated everything and caused me to miss out on many opportunities to connect with others and to connect with my Father. I was constantly asking the Lord to take away my love for food and constant thoughts of it (at every church event I was thinking about how I wanted to get home so I could eat a snack or was planning out what I was going to eat next). What I didn’t realize at the time was that He wasn’t asking me to give up food, but instead give up control of my body, trusting that He had designed it and had good plans for my life, regardless of what it ended up looking like.

Which leads me to…Not trusting God is good or that He alone is enough. It is incredibly scary to give up control over the size of our bodies. But the reality is, God created our bodies with incredible wisdom. And He created them to be all different shapes and sizes, and yet still deemed them all as good. However, regardless of where your body ends up compared to your or society’s expectations, God is good and had YOUR good in mind when He created you and still has your good (and His glory) in mind. Fearing that He designed it to be a size that won’t allow you to live an abundant life doesn’t trust that He wants what is for your flourishing. And I get it, there are certainly certain sizes that aren’t accepted in our culture, but that doesn’t mean your body is a mistake or the problem—culture is. The Lord is near to those who are brokenhearted and can provide the comfort, acceptance, and reassurance that we need. I remember one time in marriage counseling that our counselor gently reminded me regardless of whether or not my husband fulfills the roles he is supposed to, the Lord is enough for me to fill those voids and heartaches (thankfully the Lord has done SO much in our marriage!). He alone satisfies our deepest longings, not a certain body size, degree of acceptance, or health status.

How has the Lord shown He is good or trustworthy in the past? Are there examples in Scripture that encourage you? How can you apply this head and heart knowledge to your current struggle?

People pleasing. So many of my clients report fear of judgment over their body size or food choices. This fear ends up dictating all of their food choices and getting in the way of being able to care for their bodies and minds. Again, it makes sense that people would fear judgment or poor treatment when they have seen others be treated this way or have experienced it personally. I’m not here to argue that it doesn’t happen or isn’t wrong. But I see the desire to be loved and accepted (I believe a God-given desire—HE is relational) becoming ultimate. Food and movement choices are fully at the mercy of whoever they around and how they believe those choices will impact their acceptance and approval.

What would it look like for me to seek God’s approval above all else? How can I seek to please the Lord over man? What would it look for me to realize I am already fully known, accepted, and loved by my Father?

Envy or discontentment. Ooph. This one hits hard for me as well. I struggle with envy and discontentment specifically in the areas of other’s bodies and other’s finances. My heart is so quick to think “why can’t I have what they have?” I remember listening to a sermon by Matt Chandler about discontentment and he said that ultimately, when we want what others have, we are accusing God of not having our best interest in mind. Essentially, I’m saying, “God, if you really knew what is best for me, you would have given me her body…or you would have given us the same income as them.” Talk about a heart check! We also believe that whatever we are envious of or wanting for will make us truly happy, secure, or confident. In reality, if our hope, happiness, or security is rooted in anything other than Christ, we’re not going to find it. At least not for long.

Is it possible that your desire for changing your body (and subsequent restriction, overexercise, or purging and then rebound bingeing/overeating) is rooted in a discontentment with the body God has given you? Do you find yourself comparing your body to those around you, constantly condemning theirs or yours?

The need for control Gosh, this plays out in so many different ways. Controlling our food, exercise, health status, or weight can be a way of us feeling like we are in control of our lives. But here’s the reality. We’re NOT. And that’s actually good news! Our good Father, who has our best in mind, is ultimately in control. And even better, for those who belong to Him, regardless of what happens to our bodies here on earth, there is nothing that can separate us from His love or eternity with Him. Trying to control our lives is exhausting, anxiety-provoking, and ultimately fruitless.

Do you feel the need to control your body or health because life feels overwhelming and out of control? Is this something you could stop and pray about when you feel the need to start micromanaging?

Pride. Again, a major one for me. We’re taught that our body size is within our control. So following that belief, if you’re small, it’s something you’ve “earned” and should be praised for. And eating only “healthy” foods is absolutely praised. Being thin, fit, and “disciplined” was something I placed my identity in and found pride in. I believed it set me apart from others and even made me better (yuck, I don’t like admitting that). Jesus came to tear down any dividing walls between Himself and us and between one another. May we not build them up again because of our pride in our bodies or food choices!

My goal in providing this is not to be condemning. I want to encourage you all to explore the deeper reasons behind your struggles with food so that you can repent and give them over to the Lord in order to walk in freedom and joy. I am so grateful that we don't have to pay penance for our sins—Jesus has already taken care of our sins on the cross!

 “No guilt, no shame, no curse, no chains, oh God, You came, Redeemer” -Gracious Redeemer song

So…I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you identify with any of the above struggles? Did you uncover anything new in your heart?

*I think there are some that struggle with glutton or idolatry of food/pleasure, but I think that often times, restriction is really at the center. Restriction makes us think about food ALL the time. It makes us desire it and crave it strongly. It causes us to overeat the off-limits foods when we DO eat them. And this is because our bodies are wired to keep us alive. When food is limited, our brains thinking about it drives us to eat. Our bodies can’t tell the difference between chosen restriction and famine.

Thoughts on Overeating on Thanksgiving

Dreading Thanksgiving tomorrow? I can relate. Maybe family dynamics are difficult and bring pain. Maybe you have no family to celebrate with tomorrow (I am so so sorry if this is your circumstance). Maybe you’re afraid of how to navigate conversations around food and body. Maybe you’re terrified about all of the food that’s going to be available. Or maybe you’re already dreading the shame and guilt you foresee yourself experiencing. For me, Thanksgiving (and any food gathering) brought on so much anxiety, shame, and guilt.

I remember one Thanksgiving in particular that we spent with my sister’s in-laws. The morning of, I bathed the day in prayer, asking the Lord to give me discipline around the food that was going to be there. I asked him to help me focus on the people and conversations instead of the food available. I begged him to help me put food in the “proper” place and to eat until comfortably full instead of stuffed. And don’t get me wrong, these are not wrong prayers; in fact, I think they are wonderful in the right context. But I fundamentally misunderstood something—my overeating in these occasions was not due to a lack of love for the Lord or lack of discipline. My overeating in these occasions was simply due to the fact I WAS HUNGRY. I would feel so much spiritual shame and guilt about eating high caloric foods, desserts, and overall too much. What I didn't realize was that my body was hungry and wanted food and therefore drove me to eat too much on occasions like these. Food was an idol, but not because I loved it more than God. Food was an idol because I restricted it and made the size of my body the most important thing in my life.

So I want to encourage you about tomorrow. If you have been manipulating your food intake, reducing portion sizes, exercises solely for caloric burn, OR if you’re a normal eater, you may end up overeating tomorrow. And that’s OKAY. In fact, if you’ve been underfeeding, it might actually be a good thing (getting out of calorie deficit is absolutely essential for eating disorder recovery). Realize that it’s not some moral flaw. It might be because you’ve been undereating. Or restricting. Or simply because you love a certain food or were enjoying time with family. Give yourself permission to eat tomorrow, and to possibly eat until you’re uncomfortable. And then move on and continue to feed your body regularly and enough. It might just impact your experience next time.

In defense of sugar

I kid you not, as I'm beginning to type out this blog, I'm eating a chocolate chip cookie...and it's delicious.

There is a lot of controversy in the health and fitness world over what diet is healthiest, what foods should be avoided, what should be consumed, the optimal ratios of foods, etc. But what most people can seem to agree on is their take on sugar. I mean, there seems to be an all-out war on it. I hear people talking about it ALL the time: "that has way too much sugar," "that yogurt is practically like eating ice cream," "sugar is the cause of all of our health problems, and we should cut it out", and on and on. 

And while I don't encourage people to eat donuts for breakfast, Little Debbies for lunch, skittles for a snack, and cake and a coke for dinner, I do think we need to give sugar a break. You guys, ANYTHING in excess is harmful. You can drown by drinking too much water. Vitamin A in high doses can cause tumors. Too much calcium causes painful bone deposits in the joints. So I would agree that too much sugar is not a good thing. But sugar in itself is not the problem--it's about the totality of the diet. 

It's interesting to me that major proponents of cutting out simple sugars or refined sugars often turn to alternative sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup, organic sugar, dates, etc. because they are "healthier" (don't get me started on people who say we should cut out fruit because of the sugar content...). But can we break those things down for a second? All carbohydrates--I'm talking ALL of them--regardless of whether they come from table sugar, maple syrup, white pasta, or beloved sweet potatoes (side note: did you guys know sweet potatoes are rated the #1 most nutritious vegetable?) are eventually broken down into the same three molecules--fructose, glucose, and galactose. The foods we eat are a complicated combination of those three molecules with varying linkages. Some have linkages that are easily digestible and some have linkages that our body can't actually digest (fiber). BUT, they are all going to be broken down into fructose, glucose, and galactose.

I get that this is an oversimplification and that a lot of other factors come into play. And I'm not saying that we should just forgo our veggies and whole grains and instead eat all refined carbs and simple sugars, but what I am saying is that we need to let go of the fear of refined sugar. It's broken down into useable energy, just as our sweet potato is. And energy isn't a bad thing. And if our sweet potato is broken down into glucose and fructose, then why do we fear table sugar that is broken down into glucose and fructose? The fear and morality we form around eating sugar is going to do far more harm that the sugar itself. Restricting sugar and then overeating/bingeing on it is far less healthy physically and emotionally than having moderate amounts on a regular basis. Fearing any food is going to wreak havoc physically on your body (um, hello cortisol!), your ability to foster relationships, and your ability to truly nourish yourself.

So I encourage you to challenge those beliefs you have around sugar. It's broken down into the exact same molecules as other types of carbs, and your body knows how to handle those other carbs. Again, I'm not promoting eating sugar all day everyday--your body is not going to feel good, and I promote eating in a way that makes you feel energized and good. But let's stop the fear-mongering that is going on around sugar and just eat our food, enjoy it, and move on.