Grace and Weight

Grace & Weight – A Bible Study for Those Who Weigh Too Much
© 2020 Marlene Bagnull

 

 

But I Don’t Eat that Much!


God has given us an appetite for food and stomachs to digest it.
But that doesn’t mean we should eat more than we need.

1 Corinthians 6:13 (TLB)
 

 

I’ve always resisted counting calories. And I detest kitchen scales almost as much as the bathroom scale. Unlike the scale in my bathroom I can “adjust” by the way I lean, kitchen scales can’t be fooled. (controlled manipulated sabotaged)

Perhaps I can blame my childhood or at least use it as an excuse.

Because my father was a diabetic, my mother tried really hard to follow the diet his doctor had prescribed. She carefully measured and weighed everything she gave him to eat only to endure his complaints that she was starving him. (I didn’t have a happy or peaceful childhood!)

You can imagine my dismay when I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about 40 years ago. At least I don’t need to give myself shots of insulin every morning as I watched my father do. But I do stick myself with a tiny needle most mornings to check my blood sugar. I should check it throughout the day, but I don’t like needles either.

I would be a challenge for a weight loss coach, but since I can’t afford one, I need to get over my hang-ups.

While both the kitchen and bathroom scale are a “necessary evil,” they are tools I need to use. But as for counting calories, I have found a solution.

I’m an enthusiastic believer in the resource I found online. MyFitnessPal.com* does for me what I don’t have the time or patience to do for myself. Its database provides the calorie count for most everything I eat. I still need to measure or weigh a lot of foods unless that information is already on the package label. (Yes, I do read labels. That’s a good carryover from my childhood when I read cereal boxes as I ate breakfast.)

MyFitnessPal.com does more than just give me the number of calories in the food I’m about to consume. It also tracks the nutrients—things like fats, carbs, and proteins. Since I hate math, I love that it does all the calculations and so much more.

By faithfully recording everything I eat, it’s clear there is a reason for the pounds I gain. I do eat more than I realize!

The Bible says, “God has given us an appetite for food and stomachs to digest it. But that doesn’t mean we should eat more than we need” (1 Corinthians 6:13 TLB).

As I endeavor each day to eat what I need—not more than I need or what I crave rather than what is good for me—I’m grateful for what Jesus said. “Remember, your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” (Matthew 6:8 TLB).

So let’s be certain to ask Him and to weigh and measure our food rather than tell ourselves “I really don’t eat that much!”

Thank You, Father, for giving me so many good and healthy food choices. Forgive me when I choose to overeat. Help me, please, to ask You what I should eat and to control my appetite.

*There is no charge for MyFitnessPal’s basic program. I am not paid for this recommendation.