Moderation: Confessions of a Secret Foodie

Do you know what makes me flap-my-flippers-like-a-seal in excitement? Donuts--the plain, glazed kind. Add a fresh cup of coffee, and I am in wonderland. 

There are so many tasty treats and so many types of delightful cuisine. I try to be healthy, and sometimes even get teased about "eating like a bird" or "dieting", but the truth is…I love food. 

A few of my best friends are the types of people who forget to eat. This baffles me. Forgetting to eat has never happened to me. I do not forget. But with my short frame, a few pounds here and there seem to add up quickly, so I try to keep it under control. It has been the struggle of my life. 

Around the time of college it was at its worst. Although I was never emaciated and actually looked really good and healthy on the outside, I was not healthy on the inside. My mind was obsessed with being thin.

Thankfully I moved on from that, but then due to a particular stress in my life after college, I began to binge eat, cereal being my food of choice. And I would tell myself I would start a super intense diet…the next day. I was trying to fill the deep hole of sadness and loneliness, but overeating only made me feel more insecure and full of guilt. 

The problem? I was looking to food for comfort--just like others might look to drugs, alcohol, or sex. Sure, I was never obese, but I was miserable, and my heart was so very, very heavy. I avoided going out places, and I was jealous of my friends who were thinner than me.

Food makes a horrible god. And after having struggled for a little over a year with on-and-off binge eating, I just got tired. I fasted, prayed, and decided to be at peace with who I was at that moment, not looking to fad diets that promised quick results. 

Shortly after this calm resolution, I met my (future) husband, and we eventually talked about food, dieting, and moderation. The Lord used him to steady my heart and remind me that eating healthily is a day-by-day process, treats are okay, and beating myself up over a few pounds is just plain stupid.

Good food is a gift from God, but when we turn it into an idol, it will (like all idols) become a devastation. Do I still struggle with this? Yes. And my guess is that I will continue to struggle at various times throughout my life. But I know that there is victory in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. HE is my Bread of Life. And whether I am thin, overweight, or somewhere in between, the point is that live for HIM, not for my waistline.

Keep the Faith,

Audrey Ann

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 

1 Corinthians 10:31