Day 6 - Managing the pounds over the Holidays

21 DAY CHALLENGE : THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS

Before conquering the pull of excess food, it was typical for me to gain 20 pounds from November 1st to January 1st.  

With the help of God, his Word, many mind renewal tools, support of friends on and off my Facebook groups, and lots of prayers, I feel this is conquered. 

If God will do it for me, he will do it for you.  It is not an easy fix, it takes perseverance, but it can be permanent.

My biggest challenge in the holidays with weight management has always been when I was baking.  I was able to conquer the eating of too many sweets during the celebration before I was able to conquer eating the sweets while I was baking.

My personal food boundaries are to not eat until hungry and to stop eating when satisfied.  There were times when I would purposely wait until I was hungry so I could taste the batter and ingredients while I was making the product. 

 At the time I had no restrictions on what foods I ate.  Later I changed the boundaries for sweets to no more than three bites per occasion.  Now I have changed it to no more than 3 bites per day.  

The problem was, it didn’t matter what the boundaries were. Most of the time if I took one bite I could not stop.   

So how did I overcome this?  I must say that it was a slow process. 

I just kept trying. Many people said, “Renew your mind before you begin.”  I would and I would tell myself, “Judith, you can do it, with God, all things are possible.  You know, you can do all things through Christ.”   I did the questions in I Deserve A Donut over and over about indulgence, greed and lust, justification, or whatever the problem of the moment was.  I still gained weight.

 But it really felt like a victory when I only gained five pounds from the first of November to the first of January instead of my usual 20 pounds.

I tried all the practical things too.  I would put plastic gloves on so I would not be tempted to lick my fingers.  I brushed my teeth before starting.  I chewed gum while baking. (once maybe.)  I tried.  

Even when I made it through the mixing part of the session without a taste, I would find a way to taste and eat afterward. 

 I would lick the beaters or the bowl, I would turn the leftover frosting into candies and eat them, I would eat the parts that stuck to the pan, and I would eat the broken cookies.  There were all sorts of ways to feed the flesh when it is really stuck in fulfilling the desires, the lusts, of the flesh. 

But it was the mind renewal that did it. 

I put verses I use for affirmation inside my cupboard doors.  Even some were in my baking utensil drawer.  I am not sure when it finally really clicked, but now I bake two or three times a month and don’t even taste it.  There are some occasions when I plan a few bites, but I don’t think I have gone way out there more than once in the last 10 months.

Believe me, VICTORY is possible.  You too can maintain, or maybe even lose weight through the holidays. 

Do you believe it?  I do.  

You can use affirmations before you bake.  Read them during the session if needed.  Then if you still break your boundaries, read them afterward.  Think on what they say.

Mark 10:27 says, “And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” 

Here are two that go together for this situation, it says in Philippians 4:12 and 13 “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” 

 It will not kill me to stay hungry until I get away from the food that is “lawful for me, but not expedient.” (I Corinthians 10:23) I think this is part of what finally became a part of me.  

Share in the comments:  What you are going to do this year when you are tempted to lick your fingers or sample your baked goods?  Do you have a plan?  Will you use one of these affirmations, or do you have another favorite, to renew your mind before you start? If you do break your boundaries, what are you going to do to renew your mind afterward?  Think of an affirmation to use and share it.