Are there Good Foods and Bad Foods?

This entry is part 5 of 26 in the series Faithful Fitness

Faithful Fitness

When it comes to healthy eating and weight loss, are there good foods and bad foods?

Are There Good Foods and Bad Foods?

Should we feel more virtuous eating carrot sticks and more guilty eating ice cream?

Or are all foods equal and anything is okay in moderation?

Can good girls eat bad doughnuts? (Check out Voodoo Doughnuts, all the rage with their new Denver location.)

This girl does.

Are There Good Foods and Bad Foods?

Straight up — I don’t have all the answers on this topic, but let’s delve into this can of gummy worms.

I’ve swung the pendulum on this. I’ve shared openly about my years of challenge with compulsive overeating and binge eating.

I’ve gone through jags (by jags, I mean months and years worth) of not eating certain foods. I could not handle these foods in my life. One bite would lead to 10 bites would lead to a whole row, carton, package, or box.

For years after I lost 100 lbs (click here to read my weight loss story), I did not eat french fries or keep breakfast cereal or ice cream in the house.

Like an alcoholic, this was my way of staying sober.

There’s No Abstaining From Food

The issue is that a person cannot go sober with food. I can live without alcohol or cocaine in my life. I cannot live without food. Programs attempt it. Overeaters Anonymous (OA) uses this method. The participant reports to his or her sponsor the meal plan for the day and if he sticks to the plan, he is considered sober. Liquid diets are another method, and programs that send you all your food pre-prepared or frozen are also similar. Giving up sugar is yet another.

There is a more recent diagnosis added to the list of eating disorders called Orthorexia. It is an unhealthy fixation on eating only healthy or “pure” foods. This might be seen in someone who is obsessed with eating only organic foods, for example, to the point it affects social interaction.

Dieting Obsession

I’ve not been diagnosed with orthorexia, but I have been obsessive about dieting, and let me tell you that is just as much a bondage as the extra pounds were. I counted every calorie, exercised for hours, carried food with me everywhere I went, and thought about food constantly.

I was still obsessed with food — just instead of obsessing about eating it, I was obsessing about not eating it. Kinda same dif spiritually, though. My focus was still way off of God and way on the wrong issue.

Intuitive Eating

There is another way of thought called Intuitive Eating or Gentle Eating. I listed 5-6 titles in my ebook that I read about this concept I found interesting and helpful, such as Overcoming Overeating and It’s Not About the Food. This idea is that you can eat anything you want — yes, anything — if you tune in to your body’s signals. Eventually your body is not going to want chocolate ice cream all the time. It will want salad and protein, and a good balance of healthy foods in just the right amounts of you really listen. Inside of each of us is a healthy eater.

I learned a huge amount from reading these books and I’m so thankful I did. I really do believe in these concepts — in theory. I can’t go all the way with it, though.

For all my years of therapy, every day I inch a little closer. But for 4 years of weekly then monthly therapy, and years more of going when needed, 9+ years of maintaining my 100 pound weight loss, I’m still not there. I still cannot fully eat intuitively.

So there you have it. Some people can and for them, I am thrilled! For me, I still have to be conscientious on a daily basis. I suspect I always will, but I’m open to whatever God brings into my life. I don’t need to track every calorie like I used to, but I am not totally intuitive either. I am paying attention.

Moderation in All Things.

Are there good and bad foods? Yes, of course. Can we eat all foods in moderation? For me now, yes. There was a time, for me no.

Don’t worry about what other people around you are doing. What is God calling you to do? It might not be the same as yesterday or the same as what you will need to do tomorrow. What is He calling you to do today?

What do you believe? Do you limit the types of foods you eat? Do you eat intuitively? What is God calling you to do to be healthy with your eating?

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