A Time to Eat

As I was reflecting on this week's Bible verse this morning, I had a sudden 'aha!' moment. Under the umbrella statement, 'there is a time for every activity under heaven' (Ecclesiastes 3:1), falls 'a time to eat and a time to refrain from eating' (my addition).


How often do we eat when we're not even hungry? - We eat when we're bored. We eat when we're stressed. We even eat when we're happy. Sometimes when our tummies growl, we feed them, mistaking thirst, or that moment when our bodies switch over to burning fat, for hunger. It's not. Just as we need discipline to accomplish the other  goals we want to achieve, we need to discipline our stomachs to understand that there's a time to eat, and a time to avoid eating.

In The Beck Diet for Life, author Judith Beck talks about having set times for meals and snacks and using cognitive techniques to discipline yourself to eat only at those times. 'It's not time to eat,' you tell yourself. 'I'll eat in a little while.' As you stick to the schedule, most often you'll find that the feeling of hunger passes and you are able to make it all the way without passing out.

A way to 'refrain from eating' is to do a fast (take a break from eating). While fasting may not be suitable for everyone (check with your doctor first), it can be beneficial for some people to do on occasion. It gives your body a break, and teaches you that you don't actually need to eat every day. Whether you fast for religious reasons (to focus and meditate on God; to pray for a specific person, situation, or country) social reasons (to identify with the homeless or those who are experiencing famine), or health ones (part of a detoxification program), you still need to take in your liquids - just make sure they are clear fluids like water or tea, and don't cheat by making yourself smoothies and milkshakes!

If you're trying to lose weight, try a couple of things this week: identify the times you eat that you know aren't helping your cause (emotional eating or bedtime eating, for example); determine a schedule for eating meals and snacks and do your best to stick to it; and, if medically okay, try fasting. If you're not ready for a full fast, try a 'Daniel' fast (certain foods are restricted and certain foods are allowed. Check out the list here) or fast just two meals instead of all day (fast either breakfast and lunch or lunch and supper).

I think I'll do a Daniel fast on Thursday.