Contentment

I finally finished reading Reshaping It All! What a great book!!! If you grew up in the 80's and 90's you may be familiar with Candace Cameron Bure. She was DJ Tanner on Full House. She has written a book talking about her weight struggles and how she overcame them spiritually and physically. It's always so exciting to hear stories from actors and actresses about the work God has done in their lives. Something you don't get to hear from Hollywood very often.

Throughout the entire book she talks about her struggles with food, binging and bulimia and how with God's strength and grace she overcame that. Now she uses her testimony to speak to thousands of people everywhere. I could relate to so much of what she talked about. How she used food as a comfort from a very young age and that her life revolved around food for many years.

There was something in particular that hit home with me. She wrote a whole chapter on contentment. Contentment is not necessarily a word I jump for joy about when I hear it. We are supposed to be content in whatever state we are in, the Bible instructs us on that. She spun contentment, or lack thereof, in a whole new way that I had never even once thought about. Being content with what God has given us, husband, children, house, car, clothes, stuff, etc.... is a no-brainer. But being content with eating right and living a healthy lifestyle is not something I ever thought of in terms of being content.

Can you name the #1 reason most people won't eat healthy? I bet if they took a poll the answer would be because it doesn't taste good (although many healthy foods are indeed quite good). Candace writes in her book "But I think we all have to come to terms with the fact that first and foremost, food is fuel for our bodies. Let's get the entertainment aspect of it out of our heads for a minute and realize that it doesn't have to be a 24-7 buffet." She goes on to write "A content person will be just as happy to eat an entree in a restaurant as she will a salad on the go." That really hit home with me.

Let me just say that I am not at all against eating out, I still love eating out, but I don't want to find my contentment in it. There have been times when I wasn't content with eating leftovers or a sandwich so I ran to the nearest drive-thru because it was convenient and I felt like I was getting something special by eating out. Many times I have been discontent with how my day was going so I drove myself to Sonic to get a Dr. Pepper because it has been "one of those days" and I "needed" it. There have been times when I wanted to eat out because all our friends were eating out and I didn't want to be left out. I wasn't content with going home and having a quiet evening with my family. And when I did eat out I wasn't content with ordering a salad or a smaller portion. I felt the need to order greasy, fried stuff, because it was a "treat" afterall.

Before WLS food was a treat, it was entertainment and on some days, it was my world. Instead of finding contentment in God, I ran to food. I wasn't content with who I was in Him, I wasn't content with what I was doing or what was going on. No matter how bad I thought things were, food always made me happy. I still stuggle with head hunger and there are some days that I am not content with eating cottage cheese and refried beans. But I can say about 80% of the time I eat because I need the protein or I am feeling a little weak, not because I need comfort.

It will always be an on-going struggle with me, but I pray and believe that it will get easier and easier. Candace writes, "With a bit of practice and good attitude, contentment is something we can all train ourselves to accept. Approaching weight loss with a sense of contentment will bring you a lot further than a sense of entitlement ever will." So very true! Contentment is vital in every area of life and now I see that it is vital in living a healthy life.

PS ~ I highly recommend reading Reshaping It All if you have ever struggled with food issues. It will speak to you in many ways!