Balance is something I really want to stress as a health blogger.  It’s easy to search the web and find pictures or websites labeled “thinspiration.”  And while there’s nothing wrong with using a picture of a healthy, fit person, or a pair of jeans in a smaller size to motivate you to lose weight, it’s important to use these tools ONLY if you truly have weight to lose.

It’s all too easy for us girls to seek our satisfaction and fulfillment by the number on the scale or the size of our pants.  That is NOT what this blog is about.  America has an incredibly high rate of overweight and obese adults (as well as children.)  But somewhere amidst all the health promotion and programs designed to help people lose weight, being ‘underweight’ or ‘struggling with your eating’ has been forgotten.  I bring it up because it is something that I have personally dealt with.

I want to start by defining what ‘healthy eating’ is and isn’t about.  First of all, eating healthy is NOT obsessing over every last calorie, feeling guilty for enjoying a scoop of ice cream after dinner, or eating less than your body needs.  Eating healthy is eating to fuel and nourish your body.

As a follower of Christ Jesus, I know that I can do all things through Him.  I know that ‘through Him’ I am more than a conqueror.  I also know that while in Him I am strong, but in and of myself, I am weak.  I know that in my fleshly desires I am tempted to eat (or NOT eat) for my own selfish ambitions, rather than eating to glorify and honor Him.  But what exactly does it look like to eat honorably and not selfishly?

While it means ‘not overeating’ it also means ‘not under eating.’  It means eating nutritious foods that fill your body with energy and vitality to go and serve Him.  I just went on a trip with some friends to pass out water and share Christ’s love in NYC.  If I in my selfishness, I choose to eat less than I should, I would not have had the energy to serve Him in this way.  At the same time, if I over eat and eat more than I should, I am eating in an attempt to satifsy myself with God’s creation (food) rather than with Christ Himself.

Ultimately, throughout my ‘health journey’ if you will, I’ve learned a lot physically, but I also learned a lot spiritually.  I learned that the physical discipline of ‘eating right’ is not the ‘end all, be all.’  Rather, it is a tool that can be used to glorify God through my body…glorify GOD and not myself!