Do you  need any more proof that dieting is spiritual?  If your soul is full, you will loathe (which means turn away from and not want) the sweets, the comfort food, which is what honeycomb represents in the Bible.  Honeycomb is used in Proverbs more than once in this context, to paint the picture of the person who is tempted to overindulge while eating.  But if your soul is hungry, every thing is sweet.  You will eat--eat anything all the time--if you are spiritually empty.

You could just see the big light bulb come on over my head.  It is so obvious!  How much time have I spent in my life living in this spiritually empty state, trying to fill myself with ANYTHING.  Weight loss has been an issue to me for years and years and years, until He finally showed me how to fill myself with HIM. Lord, as I begin this journey once again, please keep me full of You!

Fill yourself with His Spirit, and you will not be hungry.  Walk in the Spirit, pray without ceasing, give thanks continually and for everything (which is praying).

I have taken some practical measures to help break me of the sweet tooth, which grows while I am pregnant.  I am never used to eating as much as you have to eat while pregnant, so while pregnant I often find myself shaky and faint three or four hours after eating last, because I'm just not used to eating more often, and needing to find anything, QUICK.  I had to eat a Snickers bar from a gas station once, and I NEVER eat Snickers.  It was heaven that day!  A life saver (it felt like)! I also generally eat such a low fat diet that when I get pregnant, I crave nothing but cheeseburgers and fatty food for the first few months.  This amazes my children and husband, who can't believe that the only thing that calms my nausea and helps me to feel better sometimes is a Big Mac or a big bag of greasy potato chips and dip.  Also, adding to the fun, during my last three pregnancies, I have become very hypoglycemic, needing to carry a blood sugar tester.  My blood sugar would drop so low so quickly that sometimes I had to yell to my kids, "Get me juice, get me sugar, get me something, quick!"  I ate a lot of sweets and sugar on the fly just to keep my sugar up (and no, a high-protein diet did not work).  I get used to the taste of sweet very quickly, and it makes it worse when the sugar is also what rescues me from feeling bad and helps me feel good again.  Sugar and fat.  I gained 55 pounds this last pregnancy.

So, here's what I have done the past few weeks, to take steps of faith in the right direction:

I have stopped putting sugar on my cereal.  I switched to sweetener, which I don't like the taste of as much, and therefore, cut back each time until I don't need the sweet.

Drinking  more hot tea.  Hot is comforting, and the flavor helps curb unnecessary appetite.

I stopped keeping the baking supplies fully stocked and am back to baking just once a month.  I remember last time after I had a baby, I was so used to eating sweet, I would eat chocolate chips straight from the bag if I had them in the house.  Now, I don't have them in the house.  I would bake up a batch of cookies or brownies quickly, and if I had no chocolate, no matter, I would make molasses cookies.  Now I'm not keeping enough sugar in the house to bake sweets.  I will buy it as needed for planned baking.

But God certainly has a sense of humor. Yesterday my son received an email showing how to make 5-minute  chocolate cake in a coffee mug in the microwave, using only 4 Tbsp of sugar.  Of course, we tried it and it was delicious and very fun.  Does this mean I have to keep less than 4 Tbsp of sugar in the house?  No. It means I need to be full of the Spirit. 

I am keeping the candy jar empty.  I actually turned it into a "binky jar."  Why do I have a candy jar in the first place?  It was my grandmother's.  We fill it at Christmas or on Mother's Day, or Father's Day.  If the children receive candy at a party, we put it in there.  Now, all the binkies are in there. I'm breaking my 18-month old from his, now that all his 1-year molars and eye teeth are finally in, and keeping them mostly out of sight and out of mind. My newborn only needs one once in a while to calm down and relax.  I'm tired of looking for them all over the house.  The new rule is, if you see a binky that is not being used, put it in the jar.

I am back on the treadmill.   I am so thankful for my treadmill!  It allows me to work out in an air-conditioned room, free of bugs. I don't have to take babies in a stroller, Snugli, or backpack. If my arthritis flares up, I can get off or adjust my incline, speed, or gait accordingly. Today was my seventh workout since the baby was born (7 in the past two weeks, four in the last four days).  My goal is to spend at least 30  minutes at a good exercising pace, adjusting as necessary to avoid injury and inflammation to the arthritis joints.  The first couple of days, I had to adjust to be sensitive to my abdomen muscles, which were still healing. If I felt any pain there, I adjusted my  pace down until I did not feel pain there.  Each day, I am usually a little stronger and able to go a little further, a little faster.

I have cut back my calories.  Eating more appropriate amounts at meals, and cutting out snacks if I am not fainting from hunger. As I am nursing, I am just trying to be responsible and mindful, and walk in the Spirit when making eating choices.  I drink hot tea and pray if I find myself struggling with my flesh.

It has been two weeks, and I have lost 7 pounds. 28 pounds to go.

Who's with me?  If you are with me, dear reader, I am praying for you in this area, each time I pray for myself.

The Lord is with me. Thank you Lord. May I live only for Your glory, pleasing to You!

Until next time...

Mrs. E