Since I have used this Bible passage as an example of how the Lord God has positively influenced my overeating, this doesn't necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the verse. Debbie

COE Support Note:

If you REALLY want to read how Christ helped me throughout this weight loss and even when I was tempted, you should read some of the 100's of previous posts on https://christianovereaterssupport.blogspot.com/

Being Unthankful

Luke 6: 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

 I've posted several times about how Christ has given me His Peace Which Passes All Understanding during this pandemic. Instead of worrying and feeling like eating the doorknobs off, like I might have done before I started turning my food, body, eating, and stress over to Christ's capable hands, I've had a sense of calm and little desire to overeat.

 I've lost about half of the extra twenty pounds I had gained back over the years, but I have been very thankful, because Christ has allowed the vast majority of the 80+ pounds to stay off the vast majority of this time. Since, I hadn't really been trying to lose that extra weight and thought it was a sign of aging, I started getting worried about losing too much. 

 The other night, I woke up and it felt like my hip bones were sticking out. I prayed about it and went into the bathroom to weigh to make sure this wasn't happening. What I saw was that I had instead gained 2/10 of one pound. Instead of being grateful that I wasn't continuing to lose weight at an unhealthy rate, I was unthankful for having gained a mere 2/10 of one pound! I know this Bible verse says that God is also kind to the unthankful and to the evil, but I never figured I would fall into that category. I need to get my faith aligned with my Savior and not worry about gaining or losing weight, since it can become a false god.

 Because these posts are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my life, they don't necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verse. Debbie

Feeling Cocky during COVID-19

Writing these posts helps me refocus on Christ when I start falling back into old patterns. When I wrote and scheduled the last few posts, I realized that I am having risky behaviors that threaten the balance in my life that Christ gave me over 30 years ago when I told Him that if He ever wanted me to be thin, He'd have to do it, because I couldn't.

 I was so surprised that day, because Christ took away my urge to eat large quantities of food, especially ones that weren't good for me like sweets, carbs, and ice cream. In writing these posts, I realize that I've been getting cocky. I taking chances with my eating that are not necessary. I've been sampling items I've baked. I tasted a broken piece of cookie to see if it was fit for consumption. I've eaten extra breads and amounts of carbs, when He showed me how many I can normally use without gaining extra weight.

 Why am I doing this? During COVID-19, Christ gave me His Peace Which Passes All Understanding and I even lost some of the extra weight I had gained back years ago. Sure, the vast majority of the 80+ pounds I had lost over 30 years ago stayed off, because of Christ's positive influence in my life, but I had lost half of the 20 pounds I had gained back. I always chalked it off to aging, so I didn't worry about it much. The thing is, I started getting cocky, with thinking I can try a little of this and a little of that or I can have the second piece of regular bread, because I had lost extra weight thanks to Christ's influence amidst this stressful time. The thing is, Satan knows when we Christians are vulnerable and I have been taking his bait and threatening my health, but more than that, threatening my close relationship with my Lord and Savior and no bite of something, even something scrumptious is ever worth that. I need to make Christ my priority right now and get off my high horse by taking undue risks!

 FYI: In that I am trying to focus more time on doing research on Biblical Inconsistencies to see if they are significant, I will be posting Christian Overeaters Past and Present Blog on Thursdays only, instead of two days a week. Thank you for being supportive for this research project that I have felt led to do. You can read this research at either of these two blogs: Do Biblical Inconsistencies Really Matter? at https://Biblicalinconsistencies.blogspot.com/ and Biblical Proof! at https://BiblicalProof.blogspot.com/ Share these links with those who might benefit. Thanks! Debbie

 Because these posts are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my life, they don't necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verse. Debbie

Baking During COVID-19

My husband has a sweet tooth and was used to eating lots of store bought goodies. I never quite understood that, because I always felt home-made baked items was much better, but that's what he liked. Additionally, I'm not so tempted by store baked items that can sit on the shelves for 16 years and still taste fresh, so I didn't complain.

 Then, there was the food shortage during COVID-19 and we couldn't get all the goodies that my husband liked to eat, so I started baking. When Christ took away the urge to eat large quantities of food over 30 years ago, He also showed me which foods and amounts were good for me and which weren't. I especially can't have items with refined sugar, because I'm Hypoglycemic and it messes with my blood sugar and I get cranky when my blood sugar crashes after a sugar high.

 With Christ's guidance, I generally stay clear of desserts and treats, but I threw everything off kilter when I started baking treats for my husband, because of the food shortage. I have found myself wavering some, in that I tell myself that I need to taste a small serving of whatever I've made to make sure it tastes good enough to share with others. As you know, I've been deluding myself, because that is putting sugar into my blood stream, even though it may not be a large amount of it. In the last post, I let you know that I tasted a large crumb of a cookie that was dried out and it made me want to eat the whole container of them. Christ is showing me that I'm taking undue risks that have the potential to lead me in a counterproductive direction. Writing these posts are helpful, because writing the previous post and this one, show me that I am taking risky chances. I need to ask Christ to be in control of my food, body, eating and stress, like I asked Him over 30 years ago. He took care of then and will now, if I let Him!

 Because these posts are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my life, they don't necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verse. Debbie

Just a Bite of Oatmeal Cookie...

Over 30 years ago, Christ took away my cravings for excessive overeating, but every now and then, I make a choice where I stand at the edge of slipping back into old patterns. I had tried all types of diets and some of them, several times, but never lost much weight and gained that back plus some in short order!

 I got to the point that I decided that I just need to give up the thought of ever being thin, so I prayed telling God that if He ever wanted me to be thin, He'd have to do it, because I was giving up!!! The funny thing is, that very day, Christ took away my urge to overeat large amounts of food and types that my body didn't handle well, especially desserts, carbs, and ice cream! I am very blessed that He has allowed the vast majority of the weight to stay off all this time, but as I said, there are times where I stand at the edge.

 The night before last, I found that my husband hadn't been eating the Oatmeal Pecan Raisin Cookies I had made for him. He had left them out on top of the fridge and I had to remind him that when I make cookies from scratch, they don't have all the preservatives like store bought ones do, so they won't be lasting 16 years and might dry out. With that said, the following day, he hadn't eaten one, so I ate a large chunk that had broken off of one. Of course, it was to see if they had dried out or if they had started to taste bad-at least, that's what I told myself. When I ate that piece of cookie, it was dried out, but tasted so wonderful. I could have eaten the whole batch of cookies all by myself. I was tempted, but went to my husband and explained that if he dips his fingers into water and sprinkles the cookies and nukes them for about 20-30 seconds, it refreshes them. I stood on that edge for so long and could feel that sugar rush, even with that chunk of cookie. Fortunately, I put it in Christ's very capable hands and explained to my husband that if he no longer wants them, I'm going to need to throw them out, because I don't want them to tempt me. Usually things like that don't get to me anymore, but I don't usually eat a bite of them. It lets me know how tempting and destructive one little bite of something can be to my resolve. Fortunately, Christ refocuses me when I start debating making choices that could lead me to slip-sliding back into old patterns.

 Because these posts are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my life, they don't necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verse. Debbie

Tortilla Chips During COVID-19

I've I said in other posts, when I turned my food, body, eating and stress over to Christ's capable hands over 30 years ago, He allowed me to lose 80 plus pounds and for the vast majority of it to stay off all these years.

 Instead of my trying to be in control of my eating and weight loss like I did all those years prior to this, Christ guided me and showed me which things I could eat and not eat and in what amounts. An example is that I found out that I can't eat things with refined sugar, especially ice cream. That's because I'm Hypoglycemic and the sugar raises my blood sugar really high, especially after eating ice cream, but then drops it really low usually the next day and I get really cranky when my sugar levels crash! After trying this more times than I'd like to admit, I've come to the conclusion to not eat, or hardly ever eat ice cream or other foods high in refined sugar, because they make me cranky with the ones around me, which are usually the people I care most about.

 In addition, I was shown that my body handles up to three servings of breads: 1 slice of bread, pizza, pasta, baked potato, rice, etc. When I eat more than that very often, my body gains weight, so I generally try to pay attention to my serving limits...but... during COVID-19, I was eating cottage cheese and crushed pineapple in water for lunch. I realized that I hadn't eaten a bread and got to have a serving. I was trying to think about what I wanted and decided to have some tortilla chips for my bread. Did I do it within reason? No, I ate a third of the bag. I let myself get carried away with this instead of measuring out a servings worth of the tortilla chips. I have to put this and other lapses of judgment into Christ's very capable hands and He will take care of it, if I let Him! 

 Because these posts are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my life, they don't necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verse. Debbie

Sandwiches during COVID-19

I have been really blessed, because over 30 years ago, I gave up and told Christ that if He ever wanted me to be thin, He'd have to take care of it Himself, because I couldn't. He started that very day, which amazed me, because I was just basically giving up on the bazillion diets I had tried over the years, to only gain back more than I started with. I was giving up on the thought of ever trying to be thin, because I had tried so many things, including acupuncture for weight loss, but only ended up with an infected ear. I was just giving up!

 I've tried to figure it out over the years, why God took control of my food, body, stress and eating on the same day that I gave up, because they seem so opposite of each other. That was what was the difference! All those years, I had tried to stay in control of my food, body, stress and eating, to no avail. Sure I would ask Christ to help me stop eating so much, but that was the problem. I was trying to be in control and have God wait in the wings, in case I couldn't do it on my own. 

 Over the years, Christ has shown me what works for my body and what doesn't. I can't eat more than 3 breads a day or else I start gaining weight, if I eat a fourth portion very often.  In that I mean: 1 slice of bread, rice, baked potato, pasta, slice of pizza, breading on fried chicken, etc. Well, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it's difficult to get light bread. I've used that for years, because instead of having half of a sandwich for lunch, I can have a whole sandwich, because each piece of light bread has half the calories of regular bread. It's difficult to get light bread, because of the food shortages, so I've been making whole sandwiches. I love eating a whole sandwich of regular bread, but that is the problem. When things or particular foods become too important to me, they become false gods in my life. Christ showed me that all those years of being so overweight, I was turning to food for comfort in time of stress, etc. rather than turning to Him. I need to make sure that regular bread doesn't become too important to me, that I don't enjoy it so much that I start gaining the weight back. More important than that, I don't want it becoming a false god in my life, something I need to turn over to Christ's very capable hands, because He can free me from this, like He's done so many times over the years. The thing is, He can do it for you too, if you turn your food, body, stress and eating over to Him to be in control instead of you. Giving up control wasn't easy, but was one of the best decisions I ever made, because I lost weight, but of more importance, I gained an even closer relationship with Christ, my Savior.

 Because these posts are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my life, they don't necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verse. Debbie

The Pants Fit, but I was Hoping for More

It amazes me about how quickly I get into the mode of ingratitude. I don't like it when others do it, but it's different when I do it, right??? Of course, it isn't!

 Since the COVID-19 pandemic and Social Distancing Christ has given me a very strong sense of calm and He continues to remind me that I need to turn to Him in times of stress and not food. That's been wonderful and He's even allowed me to lose some of the extra pounds that I have been lugging around for about 20 years. These are some of the pounds that I gained back after Jesus allowed me an 80+ pound weight loss and His allowing it to stay off for over 30 years.

 I didn't stress much over the 20 extra pounds I had gained back, mainly because I had rationalized it. I felt it just had to do with maturing and the extra pounds that go with it. Anyway, I went from feeling O.K. with my body, bulges and all and now that I've lost 10-12 pounds, all of a sudden I'm looking to see if there is a physical difference in my body and I was disappointed that although my pants fit, they didn't fit as loosely as I had hoped for. I need to turn this all over into Christ's very capable hands, because I don't want to fall back into old human patterns!

 Because these posts are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my life, they don't necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verse. Debbie

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