Daily Archive

Part of my baggage that came with living on restrictive weight loss diets for several decades is an aversion to eating. I hated the feeling of getting hungry. It was like a punishment to feel that growl in my stomach. I’d have to go into the kitchen, see all the food I wasn’t allowed to have, choose something I didn’t particularly like and eat as little as I possibly could. Thinking that the numeric value of a food item is my enemy and must be kept in low numbers, knowing I’d just be hungry again in several hours, it all led to an anger at my body for making me feed it yet again.

What would you think of a car that sputtered and stalled all the way to the gas station, not because it needed fuel but because it didn’t want it? What would you think if, instead of jumping in circles joyfully and licking your hand, your dog growled and threatened to bite you when you broke out his food dish? Why would a loving God curse us with such a strong desire to eat and then curse what He has given us to eat with the ever evil calorie?

If you are there today, I want to encourage you that this is no way to live your life. Seek out food. Real food doesn’t come in boxes, bags, or cans. If it has a bar code, it is probably NOT real food. Real food won’t turn to blubber on your hips or cottage cheese on your thighs. Real food won’t trick your brain into thinking you’re still hungry when your stomach is begging you to stop. Real food won’t fill your body with so much soy and corn that you develop cancers, hormonal imbalances, sugar dependency, diabetes and heart disease.

This is real food.

Don’t know where to start? Go to a farmer’s market. Pick out four things. Any four things that look good. Ask the seller how to cook them. Go home, wash and cook one, or eat it raw if it is appropriate. Later today, wash and cook another. Simple, huh? Tasty, too. Choose one meal this week to set aside all the boxes, cans, jars and barcodes, and instead just eat real food. You might find it addicting, as I did, and take your first step on a journey of discovery.

I have to admit: I no longer hate getting hungry. I love it. My kitchen is full of delicious foods that satisfy me. A hunger pang is an opportunity to taste something delicious, share it with a friend and thank the good Lord who made it.