This post is very near and dear to my heart. I won’t bore you with the whole story of my body obsession, dieting, and eating disorder because I’m sure it’s a story that’s been told hundreds of times.
As women become more and more vulnerable on the internet, we are learning that we are not the only ones who struggle(d) with differing forms of eating disorders.
The love yourself, love your body, body-positive movement is attractive at first glance. But any Biblical Christian will quickly realize any attempt to love and worship yourself will simply fall short. You cannot heal yourself alone and you cannot fix an obsession with self by obsessing with yourself more.
You can be free from this obsession. This idolization. Before you think my obsession wasn’t as bad as yours, think again. I promise you, it came to a point where my weight consumed my every thought and action. It robbed my life for so many years. It robbed the joy of pregnancy and postpartum for me.
You can be free. You have to do some work. The Lord will do what you cannot. Here is a starting point – How to Let Go of Body Obsession in 5 Steps.
This post is not medical advice. This information does not substitute seeing a counselor or seeking help within your Church family.
Repent and Pray
Your obsession with your weight, no matter how you try to justify it, is a sin. Do you think about your weight more than the Lord? Read about diets more than your Bible? Are you willing to do sinful things and think sinful thoughts in order to be thin? Boom. Idolatry. It’s simple. If you cared about your health, you would do things to be healthier that will ultimately result in weight loss if that’s what needs to happen. If you are covering up your obsession with being 120 pounds, all in the name of health, you are wrong.
Repent. Right now. Tell the Lord you are sorry for idolizing being skinny and beautiful. For doing things that harm your body to get there and valuing things the world told you to value. For wanting people to glorify you for your thin body instead of using your body as a tool to glorify your Father in heaven.
Pray and ask Him to help you let go of this obsession. Ask him to TAKE it away. Tell Him you do not want to be this way anymore.
Eat Like a Normal Person
Nourish yourself well. Do not follow a diet. Just eat real food. Don’t say, “I’m just going to eat vegan” or “I’m just going to eat gluten free”. Eat mostly real food and nourish yourself. If you’ve been restricting yourself, you’ll probably need a lot of food for a while.
If you have no idea what “normal” looks like, I’ve found this website to be helpful. You probably need a lot more food than you think. Eat 3 meals. Maybe a snack or two. Stay away from fads. Remember that today’s Keto was yesterday’s low-fat. Just eat real food. Slowly work on habits. SLOWLY. As you learn to eat normally and get into more of a routine, maybe do some healthy-swaps.
It’s important to not think about this too much. You’ve been idolizing your food and diet and now you need to stop. So, yes, take care of yourself. Feed yourself and your family well…but do not obsess over it. This will take time, but it will happen if you pray and work at it.
Feed Your Soul With Truth
When Jesus said, Give us this day our daily bread, He was not talking about food.
The word of the Lord is our daily bread. We must fill our minds and captivate our thoughts with the truth. It is so easy to become inundated with before-and-after images. With fad diets and false promises.
Protect your vulnerable heart, sister. Unfollow body-and-health-obsessed influencers. Gently trail conversations elsewhere when friends and families start discussing weight loss.
Meditate on the truth about your creator. Meditate on the truth about your body, your soul.
Adorn the Beautiful Body You Have
You do not have to think you are the most beautiful, sexy woman on the planet in order to recognize your body’s inherent beauty. You are beautiful because the creator of the heavens and the earth created YOU, flaws and all.
Adorn the body you currently have in a beautiful, modest way. Learn how to dress for your body type. Learn what colors compliment your skin tone and make your eyes pop.
Get Outside Yourself
A lot of body-obsession issues stems from just that, self-obsession. Maybe you’ve been isolating yourself all in the name of living your best life when you are at your goal weight.
The world needs you now. The Lord does not command you to go out and make disciples only if you are a size 6. Go out now. Do all the things you said you would do when you were thin. Start that Youtube channel. Join that Bible study. Wear those white pants. Be intimate with your husband. Be the woman the Lord commands you to be, now.
Our days on earth are numbered — we don’t know how long we have. Make the most of it.
Happy homemaking, my sweet sisters.
Need help becoming a real food cook? Check out the Free Cooking Guide: How and Why to Glorify God Through Home Cooking.