Health and Freedom

My journey to health is about freedom. Before I got sick, anything I learned was good, I tried to incorporate. Anything I learned was bad, I tried to replace. When I was 15, I learned how bad soft drinks are & haven’t had one since. Before, I never restricted myself, never counted calories, could eat more than some male coworkers, & was extremely fit, yet a high metabolism never came naturally to me. After I got sick, my relationship with food began to change. Instead of seeing it as fuel & enjoyment, I started seeing it as numbers & restrictions. Instead of incorporating the good & feeling the effects of the bad, I started restricting so much, that those things started forming strongholds in my mind. I found myself craving things harmful to my health, looked forward to cheating, & felt awful for binging.

Recently, I started not restricting myself. If I have a craving, I’ve been allowing myself to give in & really feel the effects of it. I’ve been trying to eat whenever I’m hungry rather than forcing myself to wait. I boxed up food when I was full rather than treating myself like trash because I was too stressed by the sight of excess waste. I ate a donut & didn’t enjoy how I felt after, rather than eating 2 & wishing for a 3rd but denying myself.

Little by little, I’m finding out that I like eating healthier because it makes me feel good. I like eating when hungry because it gives me energy & tastes better during that time. I’ve fasted for so long at times that I wouldn’t even feel hungry, when being hungry is healthy & natural. Slowly but surely, God is restoring my mind & my body as a result.

I know what it’s like to feel incapable, to feel trapped in my own skin, & I don’t ever want to be in that place again. I love the freedom being healthy brings. As long as I look at anything through a lens of something good being withheld from me, rather than God knowing what’s best for me, I will be mastered by the law that enslaves rather than the grace that empowers. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, but not all things are helpful, so why would I want them anyway? #freedom #health #fitspiration