Self Control and Body Image
I really wasn't sure how to title this article since this is such a tough subject to read and write about. The words of this article are meant to encourage and inspire, not to make anyone feel inferior or bring up feelings of insecurity. Nor is this meant as something for you to compare yourself too. Each of us are fearfully and wonderfully made, and we each need to respond according to ourselves.
Self Control, those two little words that make every human being cringe. It is the one thing we all need more of and the one thing we always put off. It one of the fruits of the spirit and mentioned at least 52 times in the Bible. Although we all have general assumption of what these two words are we can boil it down to this: Self Control knows when it is enough. Self Control knows when we have enough shoes, enough clothes, enough things to do during the day, enough money in the bank, enough gadgets, enough food. Truly the list can go on.
In American Culture, it is easy to make the connection between self control and food. Which is where I am taking this. While I am directing this at women, I don't want us to limit this topic to women. Men are just as easily affected by this issue just as much as women. However, since this blog is focused on women, I will be using more feminine language.
The story and thoughts below are entirely my own and, once more, the last thing I want you all to do is to compare yourselves and lifestyle with mine. What works for me may be different for someone at a size 6 or someone at a size 12. Each of you must find out what works best for you, your lifestyle, and your uniquely designed body.
My Story:
I have been everything from a size 4 to a size 16. When I was in college, away from home for the first time, I gained quite a bit of weight. They say when you go to college you gain the "Freshman 15" mine was more the like Freshman 60. I went from a size 8 to a size 16 in the space of two years. How? I didn't exercise at all. I ate whatever I wanted. The school cafeteria made getting cheeseburgers and French fries just as easy as getting a salad. Good Ole Wally World was a five minute walk from my college campus and it was easier to buy frozen instant meals than it was to buy produce. There were also three fast food joints near the campus as well.
I got addicted to coffee my first year of college, but not black coffee. I liked my coffee with tons of flavored creamer. I loved mochas and lattes too and would frequent the school coffee shop to pick up a sugary coffee drink at least three times a week.
On went the weight. On went the insecurity. Like most girls I compared myself to everyone around me. I wanted to be thin and beautiful. I tried working out my last year of college. Yet nothing worked.
Then I moved to Korea about six months after I graduated from college. Granted the diet is much healthier, but I still had access to fast food. Once I was on my own overseas, something changed. I can't quite place my finger on it. It might have been the up hill walks I had to take to get to the Elementary School where I worked, but I slowly began to lose weight. I didn't lose a lot of weight, but just enough for my friends to notice.
That made me feel really good, and triggered something else within me. I began to eat less. Much less. One meal a day less. Then I started walking to work from my down town apartment. That's when the weight really fell off. Dangerously so. My friends started to notice and started to ask me questions, like if I had an eating disorder. Now I would say yes, but then I quickly denied it and moved on. I went from a size 16 to a size 4 in about 8-10 months.
In both of these cases I had no self control. I wasn't motivated by a desire to honor God with my body, nor did I ever care that my body was a temple of the Holy Spirit and deserved to be respected. On both sides of the spectrum I was a slave to self indulgence. When I was a size 16, I was a slave to over eating. When I was a size 4, I nitpicked my self and my diet and became a slave to vanity.
Things have changed now. While being a size four would be awesome, I know I would have to go back to starving myself to be there. Nor do I wish to go back to over indulging in food. I am quite comfortable at where I am. For me, a 5 foot 2 inch girl, that spot is at a size 8/10. But remember, where you are comfortable with your height and weight will look different from person to person.
What do I do that is so different now?
1. I eat better. I limit my sweets. Unfortunately I have inherited a sweet tooth from both my dad and my late grandmother. I like sweets, especially donuts. Do I eat sweets all of the time. No. Do I enjoy a sweet treat from time to time. Yes! Every once in a while I need an apple fritter. I am also a vegetarian. Granted not everyone is suited for the vegetarian lifestyle and if you love your steaks, go eat your steaks. For my body and slow acting metabolism, being a vegetarian works just fine.
2. I exercise. There is a beautiful walking path near my house that I just love to go to. I walk for an hour, weather and circumstances permitting, 5 days a week. I have made this apart of my devotional time. Sometimes when I go for my walk, I use it as a time of prayer. Other times I bring my ipod and I listen to worship music (and occasionally I really get moving when I start skipping, jumping, and dancing). The point is, I have chosen this walk time as a time for worship and fellowship with God. Some of my favorite bands to listen to are: The David Crowder Band, Jordan Feliz, and I Am They.
3. Bye-bye coffee creamer. While I do enjoy a sugar filled latte or mocha, I save those for special treats. I go to Starbucks once in the fall to get a PSL, and twice (once on my own and once with my brother and sister-in-law) during December to get a peppermint mocha. Outside of those occasions I drink my coffee black.
I had to learn self control the hard way, when it came to food and my body image. My dear readers, I don't want that for you. Only you know what works best for your body and your lifestyle. It is great to enjoy food and life, but it is only that way when you know when enough is enough.
Here are some pictures of my walking path! Seriously, I love this place!
Self Control, those two little words that make every human being cringe. It is the one thing we all need more of and the one thing we always put off. It one of the fruits of the spirit and mentioned at least 52 times in the Bible. Although we all have general assumption of what these two words are we can boil it down to this: Self Control knows when it is enough. Self Control knows when we have enough shoes, enough clothes, enough things to do during the day, enough money in the bank, enough gadgets, enough food. Truly the list can go on.
In American Culture, it is easy to make the connection between self control and food. Which is where I am taking this. While I am directing this at women, I don't want us to limit this topic to women. Men are just as easily affected by this issue just as much as women. However, since this blog is focused on women, I will be using more feminine language.
The story and thoughts below are entirely my own and, once more, the last thing I want you all to do is to compare yourselves and lifestyle with mine. What works for me may be different for someone at a size 6 or someone at a size 12. Each of you must find out what works best for you, your lifestyle, and your uniquely designed body.
My Story:
I have been everything from a size 4 to a size 16. When I was in college, away from home for the first time, I gained quite a bit of weight. They say when you go to college you gain the "Freshman 15" mine was more the like Freshman 60. I went from a size 8 to a size 16 in the space of two years. How? I didn't exercise at all. I ate whatever I wanted. The school cafeteria made getting cheeseburgers and French fries just as easy as getting a salad. Good Ole Wally World was a five minute walk from my college campus and it was easier to buy frozen instant meals than it was to buy produce. There were also three fast food joints near the campus as well.
I got addicted to coffee my first year of college, but not black coffee. I liked my coffee with tons of flavored creamer. I loved mochas and lattes too and would frequent the school coffee shop to pick up a sugary coffee drink at least three times a week.
On went the weight. On went the insecurity. Like most girls I compared myself to everyone around me. I wanted to be thin and beautiful. I tried working out my last year of college. Yet nothing worked.
Then I moved to Korea about six months after I graduated from college. Granted the diet is much healthier, but I still had access to fast food. Once I was on my own overseas, something changed. I can't quite place my finger on it. It might have been the up hill walks I had to take to get to the Elementary School where I worked, but I slowly began to lose weight. I didn't lose a lot of weight, but just enough for my friends to notice.
That made me feel really good, and triggered something else within me. I began to eat less. Much less. One meal a day less. Then I started walking to work from my down town apartment. That's when the weight really fell off. Dangerously so. My friends started to notice and started to ask me questions, like if I had an eating disorder. Now I would say yes, but then I quickly denied it and moved on. I went from a size 16 to a size 4 in about 8-10 months.
In both of these cases I had no self control. I wasn't motivated by a desire to honor God with my body, nor did I ever care that my body was a temple of the Holy Spirit and deserved to be respected. On both sides of the spectrum I was a slave to self indulgence. When I was a size 16, I was a slave to over eating. When I was a size 4, I nitpicked my self and my diet and became a slave to vanity.
Things have changed now. While being a size four would be awesome, I know I would have to go back to starving myself to be there. Nor do I wish to go back to over indulging in food. I am quite comfortable at where I am. For me, a 5 foot 2 inch girl, that spot is at a size 8/10. But remember, where you are comfortable with your height and weight will look different from person to person.
What do I do that is so different now?
1. I eat better. I limit my sweets. Unfortunately I have inherited a sweet tooth from both my dad and my late grandmother. I like sweets, especially donuts. Do I eat sweets all of the time. No. Do I enjoy a sweet treat from time to time. Yes! Every once in a while I need an apple fritter. I am also a vegetarian. Granted not everyone is suited for the vegetarian lifestyle and if you love your steaks, go eat your steaks. For my body and slow acting metabolism, being a vegetarian works just fine.
2. I exercise. There is a beautiful walking path near my house that I just love to go to. I walk for an hour, weather and circumstances permitting, 5 days a week. I have made this apart of my devotional time. Sometimes when I go for my walk, I use it as a time of prayer. Other times I bring my ipod and I listen to worship music (and occasionally I really get moving when I start skipping, jumping, and dancing). The point is, I have chosen this walk time as a time for worship and fellowship with God. Some of my favorite bands to listen to are: The David Crowder Band, Jordan Feliz, and I Am They.
3. Bye-bye coffee creamer. While I do enjoy a sugar filled latte or mocha, I save those for special treats. I go to Starbucks once in the fall to get a PSL, and twice (once on my own and once with my brother and sister-in-law) during December to get a peppermint mocha. Outside of those occasions I drink my coffee black.
I had to learn self control the hard way, when it came to food and my body image. My dear readers, I don't want that for you. Only you know what works best for your body and your lifestyle. It is great to enjoy food and life, but it is only that way when you know when enough is enough.
Here are some pictures of my walking path! Seriously, I love this place!
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