Thursday, September 6, 2012

Old Habits Die Hard

This morning I was able to get both kids off to school and for the first time in a while I had no obligations. Sure there is plenty to do but I get choose from them. The temperature outside was slightly cooler than lately and me being an all things Autumn junkie my first instinct was to hit the local coffee shop for a pumpkin spice latte and a pumpkin scone. I have a house full of healthy food choices AND I had already had my breakfast shake. On top of that I have lots of other things I could spend my money on besides the local coffee shop. So the question is why? Why after 5 months is it still so hard sometimes to make the right choice? Why do these cravings come out of no where even when I'm not hungry?

I was talking with a friend the other day and she said she doesn't eat because of emotions. This interested me because she is a woman and I've never met a woman that felt this way. So I've been thinking. What triggers cravings or just the desire to eat or drink something in general aside from true hunger. I think many of us don't realize that we eat for other reasons than hunger because we associate emotion eating with sadness and stress. Its not just sadness, depression or stress, many of us eat when we're happy, or bored. But what I realized today is that sometimes the choices we make are just a bad habit and associations we don't even realize we have.

I associate school starting and cooler weather with Autumn. I have had a habit in the past of using my time to myself to eat soothing foods and cuddle under blankets. Mix the weather and the alone time and I get pumpkin spice latte's and pumpkin scones. Now is there anything wrong with me doing this? No and yes. No - it is not wrong for me to indulge occasionally. Yes it is wrong for me to indulge because I crave it so badly that I give the yummy treats control of me. I guarantee you that I will have a pumpkin spice latte and pumpkin scone between now and Thanksgiving but I will do it when I have planned for it. When it will benefit me most, both my mind and my body. I will make adjustments in my diet and my exercise for the indulgence and I will be the deciding force for when it is right to indulge - not my tummy, not my taste buds and not my bad habits. 

This was a hard step for me. My car almost pulled into the coffee shop parking lot on its own. I tortured myself for the 10 minutes it took to get to that area trying to come up with every justification possible and then I prayed. I prayed for God's forgiveness of my weakness. I recognized that my body is His temple and by taking care of it I give glory and honor to Him. I asked God to help me feel more in control of my choices and my cravings and I turned the wheel toward home and away from the coffee shop. Victory! Thank you God - you are ALWAYS there for me. 

Every obstacle you overcome makes you that much stronger and that much more capable of handling the next thing that comes your way. If I can do this - You can do this!

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

2 Corinthians 12:9


2 comments:

  1. Skinny lattes are a habit of mine as well. But you are right, you have to treat yourself sometimes. The latte without the scone isnt soo bad if you get the skinny version :-) Christy

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  2. Great post! Gonna share some of it tonight at bootcamp. Paul writes about transforming your mind, body, spirit, everything you are, to be Christ-like. You are truly going through a transformation and it is so awesome to see. Thanks for sharing!

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