Sugar, Food, and Body Image

I fight with myself on a daily basis on whether to satisfy my taste buds or to eat the food that I know to be healthy and good for my body. Unfortunately, I have found that for me at least, I cannot satisfy both; at least I have not reached that point yet. I never really was someone that gained weight in high school, and in college I might have gained 5 pounds or so but it was during a summer break in college that I decided to go on weight watchers, just for the time I was home. I remember it being really difficult but by the end of the summer I was proud of myself that I had weighed the least amount that I had ever remembered myself to weigh as an adult or even a teenager.  But I still wasn’t satisfied.

Throughout college and even after, I found myself periodically keeping track of what I ate and even counting calories. During the times I was keeping track, I would find that I had such a huge sweet tooth that I would actually sacrifice eating the amount of food that was good for me just to get in my sweets that I so much desired. I still got the results I was looking for but I was ever so hungry and sometimes after work I would find myself stuffing my face after a full day of eating less.

After getting married, I gained 10 pounds that first year and quickly started seeing it in the mirror. I decided to hard core count calories and 6 months to a year later I was down 18 pounds, but still not eating the well-balanced diet that I needed.

Over the past year I have been doing some research about healthy eating and I have become overwhelmed at everything out there. I have found though that the general consensus is that the healthier you eat, the more you can eat! What a concept, hah. I have been more concentrating on whole wheat/ whole grain items, fish, nuts, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Of course, I eat things other than that, but that is a lot of my concentration with going to the grocery store.

I always focused on what I ate and based that on what I wanted to look like. I never really considered that the food I was eating was affecting the inside of my body one way or another. This has also helped me in determining what type of food I eat. Along with trying to be healthy on the inside I have never been someone to regularly exercise. If I didn’t see results on the scale, I would stop (because I hated it anyway). I now am realizing the importance of staying active and the health benefits of it. So, last week Hubert and I started this crazy program called Insanity. It is a 60-day workout program and in this, my goal is not to get super skinny and flexible, but for it to kick-start us in staying active. We are also eating from the nutrition menu they have provided to make sure we are eating the food appropriate for this workout. I have vowed not to jump on the scale during these 60 days and only to use a tape measure as I hope to gain strength in muscle.

I am still far from being healthy and doing everything that I need to be healthy, but I find it concerning when so many times that I am “caught” out in public eating healthy, I almost get scrutinized for it. I haven’t figured it out yet if it’s because of my size (not overweight but still eating right) or due to the unpopularity of healthy food.

I have one more little tidbit about this topic; obviously I have had a lot to say about it! I get very irritated when there is judgment about people smoking, tanning, drinking, and other things that people are saying is harmful to your body. According to I Corinthians 3:16-17, it says:

"You realize, don't you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God's temple, you can be sure of that. God's temple is sacred-and you, remember,  are the temple."

I feel people like to pick and choose as to what is harmful for you body. This reference just ensures me that how you treat your body is also highly related to the food you put in your mouth as well as the activities you are making your body participate in.

Like most girls, I constantly struggle with my body image and never being satisfied with outcomes, but I am trying to change my outlook, remain healthy, and constantly remember that I am God's temple.

That’s My Life at Current