Self-Control

For the past 13 days I have been cleansing. I've given up Dr Pepper, sugar, bread, cheese and anything processed in general. I've gone through some major withdraws I never imagined I would experience. 

I had no idea how addicted to certain foods I was. 

These past 2 weeks have been a big learning experience. 

I never thought I had any self control.
Really, I didn't.
I have never had to control what I eat to maintain my weight. I've never had to work at all to get the baby weight off after each baby. 
Until now. 
So, this is has been a new experience for me.
A very humbling experience. 
I feel like for the first time in my life I can understand how and why people struggle with their weight. 
Over the past 8 months when I would complain about my pre-baby clothes not fitting my sweet hubby would respond with something like 'well, if you would just give up Dr Pepper and sugar you would probably lose the rest of your weight'.
I would always agree but end it with...'but, I just can't'. And I really didn't think I could. I depended on my Dr Pepper to get me through the days. 

About 4 days into this cleanse, once I was getting over the caffiene withdraw headaches, I began to crave sugar and bread. BAD. I already went over this but in short, I really was going crazy wanting some bread or sugar. 

Here are some thoughts that went through my head during this period of cravings:
"Ok Lord, I know taking care of my body and eating right is important because we're made in your image and this body is your temple. ANd, I know eating a diet chocked full of sugar could make me get all kinds of diseases and make me live a shorter, less than full life. But.....so? Is that so bad?? So, what if I get cancer, or whatever, when I'm older. I want some sugar and bread NOW!"

What a temporal way of thinking! As Christians, if we're called to a higher calling and to be eternally minded, we've got to think that way in every area, not just some areas. If I'm not eating well and its causing me not to do the best job in this calling of motherhood then I'm not being eternally minded or  doing a good job of 'dieing to self' to serve the Lord! 

Through this journey of learning, and developing, self-control (in the area of food) I did some searching through Scripture to see what the Word says about self-control. 


Proverbs 25:28 says
A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.

Do you get how powerful self-control is? This verse is telling us that without self control we are vulnerable to the Enemy (enemies)! This could be applied to so many areas of life where self-control is needed, not just food. 

2 Peter 1:5- 8
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ⁸For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Self-control is so important to God that its listed as a quality that, if you are lacking it, can make you ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord. Wow. Just wow. I know I do not want to be either one of those things! If I can't have self-control in the area of food then how weak am I in other areas?!

Galations 5:22-25

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Self-control is such a powerful thing that developing self-control is a fruit of walking in the Spirit. In these verses its followed by that fact that if you belong to Jesus, and walk in the Spirit, you WILL be able to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires. Um, hello sugar and bread cravings.

While eating sugar and breads isn't a sin or entirely wrong in and of itself it IS a sin and wrong when we begin to depend on these foods (or any food) for comfort or to meet any other needs. When I'm stressed and grab a Dr. Pepper to drink instead of stopping, regrouping and crying out to God then that Dr. Pepper is taking the rightful place of the Lord. Then its a bad thing.

I'm so grateful that the Lord put it on my heart to take this little cleansing journey. I feel I have grown and learned more about myself. All from depriving myself of some foods I really enjoy!

My friend, Abby, and I decided we're cutting our cleanse short by a week. So, we're only going to 14 days instead of 21. I think, for me, doing a cleanse like this for the first time for 21 days was a pretty big goal to set. I've made it most of the way through and I'm proud of myself! I only cheated once *gasp* and it wasn't that bad. (It was a teeny tiny cheat.) So, tomorrow is our last day of the cleanse.


Heres the thing though. I've developed eating habits that I don't want to break! I will be adding bread back into my diet but I won't be eating it with every meal and in between now. A little won't hurt but a lot will. 
I'm not sure if I'll start drinking Dr. Pepper again. It honestly doesn't even appeal to me right now. Maybe occasionally I'll drink it. Balance is the key in everything. We don't eat bad around here. Actually, I'm pretty sure we eat better than most families. {I think my extended in-laws think I'm a weirdo because I limit my kids sugar intake and don't let them drink cokes (thats soda or pop for any Northerners reading this)} But, I still don't feel like we eat good enough.

But, I'm working on it and this cleanse has really helped!


If you made it this far MAJOR props to you!