A New Find!

Just within the last week or two, I found out about this book called "The Eden Diet", written by Rita Hancock, M.D. It's a Christian weight loss program based on the principles of hunger-fullness. And, if you know me, you know that I'm a BIG fan of those principles! ;)

I first learned about this method for weight loss (via a different Christian program) in 2005, and I had great success with following it! Just by waiting until I was hungry to eat, eating the foods I wanted, and then stopping at "satisfied" (instead of "stuffed"), I lost 25 lbs in just 6 months! It's the only thing that's ever truly worked for me.

But, when I stopped following my internal cues at Christmas-time, that year, I ended up slowly putting the weight back on. And, that made me upset with myself, which caused me to eat more, and gain more. Of course, I ended up right back where I started, with about 20 lbs more that I now need to lose. :-?

Over the last 5 years, I've been reading and reading, trying to find a way to get the weight back off. While I know --and believe -- that the hunger-fullness method is the way to go, I guess I still hoped to find that "magic cure" (you know, the one we ALL know does NOT exist?), and nothing ever helped. I couldn't get back to following my cues, no matter how desperately I wanted to, and no matter how many times I tried.

Then, just recently, I got frustrated and fed up, and I asked God, "Am I still supposed to follow my hunger-fullness cues, or do you want me to try something else?" I also asked Him, "If you DO want me to continue to follow my cues (h/f), please lead me to a new Christian book that has the principles in it so that I can have renewed motivation, and please show me why what I've been doing isn't working -- why I can't seem to get back to it".

And, since He's awesome like that, God answered both of my questions! :D

The first, He answered in a 'round-about way. I'd been planning, for months before asking Him these questions, to go see Beth Moore at a Living Proof Live event. And, while at the event, the topic was "God is Doing a New Thing". This led me to keep thinking about my friend, Heidi, and her blog, aptly named "God is Doing a New Thing". ;) I hadn't been to visit her blog in a long time, so when I got home from the event, I couldn't help but go over to read a few posts. And, when I did, I found out about "The Eden Diet"! :D There's answer #1 (yes, I'm still supposed to follow my hunger cues)!

I got myself a copy of the book (it just showed up in the mail, yesterday), and I started reading. And, last night, I got answer #2: the reason why I haven't been able to get back to following my h/f cues... it came in the form of something Dr. Rita wrote in the book:

"If you continue to micromanage your eating based on your worldly knowledge rather than submit to your God-given hunger pangs, you won't be able to relax and unwind toward your cure." (p.95)

"Aha!," I thought. The reason why I haven't been able to get back to following my internal cues is that I've been too busy filling my head with "worldly knowledge" (about other diets and plans), and getting so frustrated (unable to "relax") that I can't lose the weight. Hmmm...

And, proof of this is that I've literally felt so much more R-E-L-A-X-E-D this past week, as I've begun to remember how to follow my internal cues, and as I've been waiting for true hunger -- not panicking that things aren't going to work, or that I'm not going to be able to lose the weight.

I feel like my eyes are being reopened, and that all of the worldly stuff that has been "cluttering" my brain is falling to the side. I feel FREE! :D

So, I'm hoping to chronicle this new journey of a "renewed mind" here on this blog. I found this old blog to be a fitting place for these new "chronicles", as the book frequently mentions Romans 12:1-2, and the "renewing of our minds".

Stay tuned for more! ;)