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! ;)
