A plan. I knew it would come down to this. For the past two chapters as we’ve been reading Made to Crave, I’ve enjoyed the prose, laughed at the examples and dreaded the road ahead.
It’s one thing to talk about eating better, to pontificate about the benefits of low fat food and to announce boldly that in the near future (near is such a delightfully nebulous word) I will be healthy, fit and wise. It’s another thing to actually do it!
Commitment Required
What am I really willing to do? What am I actually going to do? For me, this eating plan has to be easy to follow, adaptable to a variety of eating situations and bring strict accountability. That last part is VERY important.
Past dieting failures have typically been with plans that have loosey-goosey boundaries. Like the dieting guru who told me just to eyeball each portion size. But the words ‘fist-sized’ portion really never answered the question of whose fist the portion should match.
Then there was the diet that gave me permission to have a ‘free day’ each week– which quickly disintegrated into an ever changing definition of the word ‘day.’
Counting calories seemed like a great idea except for the fact that I was willing to spend all my calories on cookies even if that means I couldn’t eat for the rest of the day.
It’s not that these plans were bad; they just didn’t work for me.
The New Plan
I need something that will hold my feet to the fire or, in this case, away from the frig. The lines need to be clearly drawn, include fruit and vegetable requirements, and have a reporting system for each and every bite.
Weight Watchers here I come. The new online Weight Watchers PointsPlus system seems to embody all of the above. And hey, if it worked for Jennifer Hudson surely it can work for me.
You’ll be proud of me. I paid for 3 months in advance to demonstrate my firm commitment. I’ve logged in, weighed in and then entered in my food for the past few days. They have also suggested told me to take my measurements (yuck) and throw out all tempting, delicious, high fat, high sugar, tasty, wonderful food.
I haven’t done the last two things yet so check up on me! I am hoping planning to do that later today.
For Him and Through Him
Proverbs 16:3 says, Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.
“Lord, I give this plan over to You asking You to decrease my reliance on food for pleasure and to increase my hunger for You.”
Jump Right In
To increase accountability and encourage others PLEASE take a minute to comment below: introduce yourself, share your successes or struggles, add your food list or simply say ‘hi.’
The journey to change will be more successful if you walk it with others.
What reasons motivate your desire to eat healthier?
What plan are you going to use for the journey ahead?
Please join our discussion and
leave a comment here.
Made to Crave ~ Index to Previous Posts
Ok - Well, plan-wise I do not have one specific. I am concentrating on more vegetarian choices and using water/broth to saute vs oil.
I have been doing this for a month - little slip ups along the way (breaded chicken breast, sometimes too much pasta with my broccoli) but overall feeling healthier and less bloated!
Went away this weekend and did not have many veg. and had pizza - wow - my stomach reacted!!! So that showed me something is working!
I want to thank Kim for this forum - I really do not have anyone to hold me accountable for this length of time, so checking in here is great.
God is always around - I am starting my day with the devotional book and this book, so He is holding me accountable also!!!
Hi Katey,
Your eating plan sounds like it’s working for you - as your tummy can attest to :).
We are go glad you are here and joining us. I agree that the accountability has incredibly helpful for me!!
When I have a plan in place I do better in most areas – plan for the day, plans for my future. In the last few years I’ve felt so de-railed that plans don’t seem to matter. I don’t trust them, or myself, when I make them and I don’t commit to them. Because I’m not sure they are the right plan, or I start them and they seem not to be the right plan, or something drastically interferes with the plan so I abandon it. Or I just get afraid and I abandon it.
But in the end, I know having a plan is the best way for me to approach my life and my eating. I do “love it when a plan comes together”.
My food plan is basically the protein, veggies/fruit and good grains. I’m afraid to throw out the sugar and junk but it needs to be done…
And all of last week I was reflecting on the connection between food cravings and anxiety, fear, frustration etc etc and that if I pray about those situations when I have the craving that will help. So it’s becoming more than asking God to take the craving for a food away, but to help me let go of the need to control my circumstances.
Lucinda, I can relate so much to what you said here about fear and abadonding plans. A few months ago I was sitting in church and thinking about a new food plan I’d started. I was just a couple of weeks into it and ready to give up when I heard a voice ask me, “What if you didn’t let fear make these decisions for you? What if you just stuck with it and waited to see what happened?”
Wow.
Fear motivates so much of what I do/choose and it’s mostly a fear that I won’t choose correctly, that I’ll pick “the wrong” thing, that I will look like an idiot or that I’ll somehow be trapped with the results of my decision.
Just know you aren’t alone in this. . .
Thank you Lucinda. Thank you for putting into words, much of what I feel about planning in general and as well as craving and food.
Hi Lucinda,
Wow - that learn to let go of the need to control my circumstances really hit home.
Thanks for the reminder!
Kim
good stuff youre doing ladies, glad to know were not alone on this journey to figure out what works best for us to be healthier inside and out. I am doing a high protein low sugar diet to encourage my husband to also loose weight. I intend to switch to a move vegetarian diet once we reach a weightloss goal. I have spent significant time reading, watching youtube cooking and health coach videos, and definitrly praying about how to move forward from here in a healthier way. You ladies are on the right track, we may not have it all figured out, but were on our way!
Hi Robin,
I think it’s neat that your husband is on this journey with you. That is definitely an advantage!
What appeals to your about being a vegetarian? I ate that way for awhile but it was so hard to figure out things to eat (especially since I hate vegetables :)).
My plan is to eat with chopsticks! It just makes so much sense that in my own feeble attempts / efforts, I would use food to fill the cravings I should be having for God. So, instead of drawing closer to God and more dependent on Him, I have created more of a barrier and allow myself to be ineffective. Food, that is meant to provide nurishment and strength, instead I have abused and has made me weaker and unhealthy. I have been on WW for the majority of this year and with God’s help, will continue. Looking forward to when my craving for pizza is replaced with my craving for Jesus. Talk about a God thing!
I love the chopsticks idea! It would definitely make me slow down and be intentional!
Hi Cyn,
Love that idea about chopsticks - I’ll have to give it a try :).
Congrats on doing so well on the WW - it’s sounds like God is already at work.
Good energy here-I really REALLY struggled to determine a plan for myself. I’ve been on so many (and failed) in the past and I absolutely hate restriction where my eating is concerned. Tell me I can’t have broccoli and I’ll be craving nothing but that!
I’ve been a vegetarian since childhood (Kim, or anyone else-if you have ANY questions about this, I’m an open book!). I am reading two books on whole foods: Eat to Live and Thrive Fitness. Because it’s a goal of mine to someday be an endurance athlete, I want a plan that will make me feel my best, help me lose and then maintain my weight, and most of all maybe, end these cycles of moodiness and desperation when it comes to sugar cravings and junk food obsessions.
So, I’m following a whole foods plan. My goal is to eat 90% plants. I love beans and fruit and am learning to love many veggies, too. That’s my GOAL, though. Right now I’m working on portions, eating less when I’m not physically hungry and eradicting processed foods.
I truly believe that eating whole foods is the way to kick cravings-the first week was the hardest, but I’m already noticing increased energy, better sleep, and nearly no sugar cravings and that’s a miracle in itself as I used to eat sweets with abandon every single day!
“Learning to love many veggies” - that’s exactly the mindset I need to have. Pray for me in this.
I, too, am feeling more energy throughout the day. And that’s just cool…
Since we really are what we eat, our whole lives are affected by the food we put in our bodies. We think and feel better with the right fuel. That’s a pretty powerful motivation for me.
Thank you for the reminder of the magnitude of this issue of eating! I think God has something each of us is to be doing for our bodies just as He has different stripes on each zebra…all have stripes but just a custom shape for each one. My plan is to reduce insulin resistance and increase intuitive eating (eat when hungry and stop when satisfied, not stuffed). I pray all of us will be satisfied in Him and find the peace with food that we are seeking.
Hi Bella - That’s beautiful. And I pray that you, and each of us, will find our total satisfaction in Him as we walk this journey. Thanks for coming along for the ride. Many Blessings, Kim
I think my major issue is with irregularity - and I am not talking about bodily functions. I joined a ladies only gym and “meant” to go at least 3 days a week during the summer. Sometimes I do; sometimes I don’t. I “meant” to eat better foods on a somewhat regular schedule - sometimes I do; sometimes I don’t. I “meant” to have devotions every morning at about the same time. Again - sometimes I do; sometimes I don’t. Sometimes “things” or “life” gets in the way. Sometimes “I” get in the way. Irregularity - gotta get more regular about…. everything.
Too funny! I only wish that they had a pill for ‘life’ irregularity like they do for the ‘other’ kind.
I’m looking forward to hearing updates.
Have a great week.
I, too, was struggling for a plan….I’ve tried so many. WW gave me too much freedom. I could eat whatever I wanted; just had to count the points. Problem was, I would add foods that were not healthy and were trigger foods which caused greater cravings.
This week I signed up with a personal trainer/nutritionist at a gym near where I work. I’m encouraged to think someone will be holding me accountable, actually looking at what I eat and telling me what I need to change or add.
Hi Diana,
I love that you signed up with the nutritionist at the gym. What a great idea. I hope you’ll keep me posted and let me know how that’s working for you. It sounds good!
After doing my lesson yesterday I started praying and asking God what “plan” He would have for me! I really don’t want to spend $$ because I really feel that He has a special “plan” for me; but yet I need some guidance. So, I told God that I would be willing to pay the $$ if that is what He wanted for me; but didn’t know how it would work in the budget. Then today, I opened my email and there was a Lifestyle Improvement Program email from the company that my husband just retired from! It’s FREE for employees and family members (even retired)!! Included with the program is an exercise program geared for my specific needs, a food plan based on my profile and counseling services! How great is that! Thank You Lord for hearing my requests and providing for me.. now help me to be obedient to Your plan that You have put before me!
Hi Diane,
Don’t you just love it when God answers our prayers in such a visible and tangible way?
What a great sign of His love for you and His blessing as you walk out this journey of faith.
Thanks for sharing the good news!
Hi,
I just wanted to say that maybe we shouldn’t use the word “diet”. Diets were meant as temporary and to fail. Food plan is a PLAN which means ACTION! As long as it is legitmate (you know, not slimfast for example), food plans can mean a lifestyle change. Postive and realistic choices. Mine is to be abstinent (now I use abstinent rather than restrictive because I fail with the word “restrict”) from trigger foods (any thing that has caused me to binge) like flours (even whole wheat), processed foods and sugars. That is how I eat anyway. But one little bite sends me over the edge. So my next choice is to be abstinent from purging. That is my plan. Going to God with my cravings, planning my clean food intake, and staying away from purging. Abstinence is empowering for me! Faith plus action equals victory and I know that we all have our individual plans but we all have the faith. Let’s put it in to action and get well! Praise God!
Awesome! I am praying for you today, Amy.
I know how to eat healthy. I know portion size, best cooking methods, & good food choices. I just need to do it. Accountability is what I need. I’m far too lenient with myself.
And that’s why I need God - I can’t do this in my own power.
I’ve been on so many plans and constantly teeter between believing that I should “pay close attention” to the types of food vs eating only when hungry. I am beginning to believe its a combination of both? All food is good if its eaten with thanks and all food is permissible but not all food is beneficial to my body. Since I feel like I am a walking encyclopedia where diets and nutrition are concerned, for me it’s getting the heart right in terms of “why” I should eat to care for the body God gave me. Don’t want to be obsessed with food choices though. The thing that has worked in the past has been limiting myself to a nutritious SMALL list of foods and eating them regularly when hungry! The list is things I enjoy eating also.
Hi Myra,
I agree especially with the word, “list.” I’m finding that I can’t be trusted to make a good choice in the moment of temptation, so I do much, much better when I’ve pre-decided what foods I will choose instead of going with what I feel like at the time :).