I’m sure you’ve seen them, the weight loss program commercials where the woman claims to finally have gone from a size 10 down to a size 2. Well, the poor dear, a size 10, no wonder she paid hundreds of dollars for prepackaged food to get down reed thin – I guess size 2 is in!

Then as my size 10/12 self (sometimes 14) is sitting there watching this commercial thinking – and what in the world is wrong with being a size 10 (or 12 or 14, etc.. for that matter!)?!! It is no wonder society as a whole (and I’m talking generally about the United States here), lives in extremes. We’re either too fat (as in morbidly obese) or we’re too thin (size 2, or even a zero). I think we’ve forgotten what “normal” is; what healthy is and instead of focusing on overall good health from the inside, we focus on the outside looks.

I am not making any new revolutionary statements here – this has all been said before, but I’ve never said it here on my blog. What I have posted about here is my own battle with obesity and my weight loss surgery to overcome that. I’m doing well. But I can see how someone with damaged self-esteem, a skewed self-image and/or an eating disorder could see these TV commercials and look in the mirror and see nothing but faults – and not a positive, healthy and normal person. I’d say throw the TV out the door, but then magazines are probably worse! Wherever you go – you will be confronted with this twisted impression of beautiful and “normal” and eventually, you will still have to overcome your own individual issues in this area.

What is normal weight? Normal weight, according to the medical community, is generally based on body mass index (BMI). God may have set your true metabolism, when it’s functioning at it’s peak condition, to have your weight above or below the BMI chart.

I have friends who are naturally very thin. Twiggy thin. This is the way God created them – with metabolisms of a freight train and they can quite literally I believe, eat anything they want and not gain weight. I also have friends, who are overweight, by standard weight and BMI charts. They do not overeat. They eat healthy, exercise and are active, yet they are still overweight. God also made them this way, with slower metabolisms. I also have friends, based solely on their BMI’s, that would be considered normal weight, some overweight and yet others obese – and these would be so because of their own actions or efforts in maintaining their weight (whether conscientiously or not). I believe the majority of people fall into the latter category, and I believe their efforts (conscience or not) are often (although not always) influenced by society, primarily through TV and magazines.

So what do we do, as Christian women, in taming this battle between the scale and society? Remember the first commandment:

You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3

Don’t worship the scale. Don’t worship the standards set by society. God created every one of us as unique individuals, in His image. We need to overcome our gluttony. We also need to eat when we’re hungry. We need to let go the control issues with food. We need to stop focusing so much on the scale, the mirror and ‘does this make me look fat’ and concentrate more on getting healthy physically, mentally and spiritually. When we can overcome our mental and emotional hangups and issues, then our negative and bad habits that affect the way we eat and live will normalize and so will our weight.

MOVE! Get off the couch. Get out from in front of the computer and MOVE! Clean your home. Ride a bike. Go for a walk. If you can not walk, do arm exercises, or deep breathing exercises – if you’re alive, you can breathe! Stop making excuses for why you can not do – JUST DO!

When you get your focus off the false gods of scale and society – and back on the one true God in heaven, then all else will fall into place. With prayer, patience and often a moment-by-moment effort to stay focused in the right direction and not fall back into old habits, you can become healthy and at the normal weight God would have you.

God Diets Just as society has it’s fad diets, so too does the Christian world. I think most any “diet plan” that offers a balance in nutrition and a variety of foods from different food groups is fine; but the problem I have with these “God diets” is two-fold.

1. You’re falling back into the trap of society and dieting. It’s focusing on food and really, not much different than society’s many diets, it just has a God label on it.
2. Mixing theology and food can give one heartburn – in more ways than one. “I am fully convinced that no food in itself is unclean.” Romans 14:14 “All food is clean.” Romans 14:20 These God diets that try to state we should only eat certain foods is putting God back into a law-living box. Romans is clear on this subject, and goes so far as to state that those who will only eat certain foods are weak in their faith! “One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.” Romans 14:2 Romans goes on to say that in order to avoid causing another in Christ to stumble, we should act in love and not eat the food the weaker in Christ believe unclean. Ahhhh – heartburn to those who do not obey! Yet, so unnecessary if we could all overcome our food issues!

Food is not the enemy. Food is used by the enemy (Satan) to lure us into sinful behaviors, rob us of our money, our time, our focus and attention which should be spent on God, prayer and serving God and His kingdom. I shudder to think of the amount of time, money and physical and emotional energy Christians have spent trying to follow society’s standard – basically, worshiping the scale.

So, how should we eat?

• Use common sense. If no food is unclean, then eat what you have available. I am not suggesting, or even hinting, that the whole box of Ding Dongs is an acceptable diet! Hello – I said use common sense!! If you can do away with as much processed food as possible – that would be better, if not, then eat what your budget can afford for you to do! Don’t stress over it! Just avoid excessive sweets, junk and empty calories. If it’s going to pass your lips and on to your hips – make every bite pack as much nutrition as you can possibly get in. What is possible for you (financially speaking – as real/whole/organic foods can be costly), may not be so for someone else. Do the best you can do to work toward as little processed foods as possible.
• Portion control. Measure out and know what a true serving size portion is and looks like. Most of the time, we eat too much and don’t realize it.
• Eat more often. I am of the opinion that most folks don’t eat often enough. I believe there to be great benefit in eating 5-6 smaller meals ( or 3 meals with 2-3 healthy snacks ) throughout the day, to keep the metabolism going (and to let it know that food is a plenty and it’s not starving!) and our blood sugar levels stabilized.

Throw out the scale Instead of standing on the scale every morning, try falling to your knees and praying for God to help you with your body image issues, your food issues and heal you from the inside out. Being healthy is more than just a “normal” weight, because normal is relative to each unique individual. Our sinful behaviors, addictive lifestyles and habits are what mess us up – and God can help us overcome all that. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13 Don’t worship the scale or the latest diet: worship God and follow the common sense (the Holy Spirit’s promptings!) He gave you and you can eat healthy and be healthy inside and out.

Traci Knoppe is a Certified ObesityHelp.com Support Group Leader