Gluttony

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At what point is it considered a sin?

For example: I don’t eat as well as I probably should. I eat a lot of junk food, and frequently chow down on burgers and fried food. However, I don’t think it’s hurting my health. At the very least, I’m nowhere near obese. But is it still a sin?

Also, since gluttony and sloth tend to go hand in hand, I have another question. Am I sinning by not working as much as I can/should? I ride my bike to build up cardio, but there’s a free gym on campus. I don’t go to it partially out of laziness, and partially out of embarassment (I can only do low setting on the weights, and even then, not very many reps of those).
 
At what point is it considered a sin?

For example: I don’t eat as well as I probably should. I eat a lot of junk food, and frequently chow down on burgers and fried food. However, I don’t think it’s hurting my health. At the very least, I’m nowhere near obese. But is it still a sin?
First off (although I am not a priest or theologian), “unhealthy eating” and “gluttony” are not the same; just as “fasting” and “dieting” are not the same.

If you are genuinely hungry when you consume burgers or whatever, and are not seeking an immoderate caloric amount just for comfort or pleasure; then however unhealthy your food choices may be in any one instance, you are not a glutton. Gluttony is concerned not with caloric count, obesity, or other modern health issues, but with an excessive attachment to food related pleasure. It can be thought of as the spiritual equivalent to addiction, in relation to food.

(It is possible, for that matter, for an excessive fixation on HEALTHY food to become gluttony, if the drive to “eat healthy” and to urge others to do so were to become a dominant force in your life.)

Apart from gluttony, though, we are to tend to our naturalbodies. You are only issued one human body, and it needs to remain a suitable instrument to live life in. Also, bear in mind that your metabolism will slow down as you increase in age.
Also, since gluttony and sloth tend to go hand in hand, I have another question. Am I sinning by not working as much as I can/should? I ride my bike to build up cardio, but there’s a free gym on campus. I don’t go to it partially out of laziness, and partially out of embarassment (I can only do low setting on the weights, and even then, not very many reps of those).
With the exception of pro or college athletes and military personnel, almost everybody “can” do more exercise than they end up doing. Our LORD never taught us to become muscle-builders.

As with gluttony and “unhealthy” eating, “laziness” and “sloth” are not the same. Sloth is “spiritual” laziness, a lack of motivation to develop in Spiritual life. A lack of motivation to work out with weights is not sloth, however much your soma may benefit from such an effort.

I understand your feelings. I, too, would not want to go to a gym among hundreds of muscle-builders, when I am not “in shape.” But if you feel you should anyhow, then choose a time when fewer people are there. If you stick to it, your muscular performance will improve sustantially (although depending on your body structure, your external build may or may not change much).

God Bless and ICXC NIKA.
 
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If you are genuinely hungry when you consume burgers or whatever, and are not seeking an immoderate caloric amount just for comfort or pleasure; then however unhealthy your food choices may be in any one instance, you are not a glutton. Gluttony is concerned not with caloric count, obesity, or other modern health issues, but with an excessive attachment to food related pleasure. It can be thought of as the spiritual equivalent to addiction, in relation to food.

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Define excessive - since it isn’t necessarily related to a negative impact physically (obesity), exactly how much enjoyment is too much?
 
Gettie nailed it on the head. 👍

Gluttony is when it goes from need to an unhealthy desire.
 
Gluttony becomes a sin when we put to much importance on the eating or drinking, to the point of being willing to hurt yourself or others to get it, or being willing to offend God for it,
or to be more specific, it is an inordinate desire for the pleasure connected with food or drink,
although it is really only rarely a mortal sin, but mortal or venial, we must never willingly commit a sin, because to sin purposefully offends God much more than if we fall from weakness,

what would fall under mortal sins would be things such as drinking to the point of drunkenness, or stuffing yourself and then forcing yourself to vomit, or making food your god, living for food, being willing to offend God just to have the food you love, or willing to deprive your family for it, such as only wanting the finest or more expensive foods…or some other extreme case along those lines.

but then what falls under venial are things such as being to fussy or picky with your food, like it has to be just right, or if there’s something in the food you don’t like then you won’t touch it, or you will only eat particular things.
also being impatient with your food; wanting it when you want it, like eating when you want and not eating when everyone else does at the family table, or making your own food because you don’t like what moms making(although that doesn’t apply to you right?)
another form of gluttony is eating to fast, like inhaling your food, which is something that is actually bad for you, because remember that digestion starts in the mouth, and as i’ve been told by my doctor, eating to fast can cause obesity,

but as i said, it becomes sinful when you put to much importance on food, there simply needs to be temperance, it’s ok to be alittle picky, it’s ok to have things your way as long as it’s not effecting others uncharitably, and it’s ok to eat more then you should when it’s just alittle snack or if it’s because someone offers it to you,
and it can actually be sinful to refuse someones offering, even if you are full, because it is by their charity that they offer it, and it would be uncharitable to refuse, of course i know that can sound ridiculous, and it’s obvious that it would not be sinful if you just couldn’t cram anymore down your throat, but the point is, it’s not the eating of the food itself that’s sinful, it’s the importance and greed and eagerness you put on the food that makes it sinful,

the remedies for gluttony are, for the most part, the same remedies for any other sin - prayer, mortification, frequenting confession and communion,
it’s important to practice mortification in your daily life, and if food is your weakness, then it’s more important to practice it in that area, although you should only do it in little ways, it’s very important not to overwhelm yourself, just do what you feel that you can do, and don’t do what seems to hard.
so for example, deny yourself certain foods you favor, replace them with things that you don’t enjoy as much, or with something healthier for you, or do little things such as not seasoning your food, or don’t use certain condiments or other extras such as cheese on your sandwich or dip with your chips, or just whatever little things you are accustomed to, and by doing smaller things like that, you will be training yourself to have more control when some bigger temptation does come along.

also, make sure to pray before each meal and give thanks afterwords, even with your snacks, both to show gratitude to God for His gifts and to ask for strength not to misuse them, and by getting in the habit of doing that every time you eat, it will also be a helpful reminder for you to not over indulge,
and meditating on the Passion of Our Lord is also another powerful means in regulating your appetite, especially meditating on how He was so hungry and thirsty, to pay for our own sins of intemperance,
also, and especially during this season of lent, set what times you will eat throughout the day, and stick only to those times(as best as you can), and by doing that you will be practicing self control and self denial,

the one difference with gluttony though is that it doesn’t always feel like a temptation like other sins do, because we need to eat and it’s a good thing to eat, and our body tells us when we’re hungry for our good and not to temp us, we must eat, so it just doesn’t feel the same as other temptations,
so it’s just important to regulate your eating, train yourself to eat when you need to and not when you want to, not because you shouldn’t eat when you don’t need to(it’s really ok to eat when you don’t need to) but in your case it’s important because it’s something you are weak to,

other than that, just pray on it, and never neglect to ask for Gods grace and strength in resisting a temptation, because it’s only by neglecting to ask for help that we fall.
if you want to learn healthier eating habits and how to lose weight, here is an excellent site for that - www.naturalnews.com
and also this guy(who is a doctor) nepadrdan.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10&Itemid=10
everyone i know who listens to him have improved their health so much, and likewise(those who had weight problems) got to a healthy weight by all natural means.

alright, so i hope this helps, take care.
 
Individual acts of overeating…intemperance (gluttony in this sense) are “ordinarily” a “venial matter” for venial sin…(such would be also the case I would think with eating too much junk food (in quality))

(though it can be grave such as when one is getting drunk where one looses ones reason is mortal for example (or if it leads to other mortal sins)…or uncorrected habits of eating in a way that will “seriously harm ones health or life” --at least in the “short term” that is…)

Ones confessor can help in this…

We need to seek to grow in the virtue of temperance…

Catechism:

1806 Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it; "the prudent man looks where he is going."65 "Keep sane and sober for your prayers."66 Prudence is “right reason in action,” writes St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle.67 It is not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation. It is called auriga virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues); it guides the other virtues by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. The prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid.

1809 Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will’s mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable. The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion: "Do not follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of your heart."72 Temperance is often praised in the Old Testament: "Do not follow your base desires, but restrain your appetites."73 In the New Testament it is called “moderation” or “sobriety.” We ought "to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world."74

To live well is nothing other than to love God with all one’s heart, with all one’s soul and with all one’s efforts; from this it comes about that love is kept whole and uncorrupted (through temperance). No misfortune can disturb it (and this is fortitude). It obeys only [God] (and this is justice), and is careful in discerning things, so as not to be surprised by deceit or trickery (and this is prudence).75

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving 1 Tim 4:3 (I think it was RSV …or maybe ESV)
 
Gluttony is not just excessive eating it is also what you eat.

You can be eating normal amounts of food but what you eat most of the time is extravagant food then that also constitutes gluttony. (i.e. always eating Kobe beef, $1000 deserts, expensive wines, etc.)

It is ok to have those once in a while but if that is your eating habits then I would reconsider.
 
Define excessive - since it isn’t necessarily related to a negative impact physically (obesity), exactly how much enjoyment is too much?
It definitely is not connected to physical obesity. If it were, all recognized Saints would have been thin; and we know that not to be the case. Saint Thomas Aquinas, for example, was reported to have been a heavy man.

There is no “excessive” value that would hold for everybody. That value is not only different for each human being, but changes over the course of life, with health condition and ageing, among other factors.

But rather than the external body, one should examine how the life one lives is affected. Is food – especially high carb – a primary source of comfort or consolation? Does it get in the way of one’s realtion to others, or one’s spiritual life? Is an excessive amount of one’s effort directed to getting a particular food item?

There could be other questions that I haven’t thought of.

ICXC NIKA
 
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But rather than the external body, one should examine how the life one lives is affected. Is food – especially high carb – a primary source of comfort or consolation?
I like sugar in my coffee and salt on my srambled eggs in the morning, not for greater nutrition…they taste better that way… so that’s a form of comfort. Couldn’t that be gluttony?
 
I like sugar in my coffee and salt on my srambled eggs in the morning, not for greater nutrition…they taste better that way… so that’s a form of comfort. Couldn’t that be gluttony?
Well, I don’t know. How much would it screw up your morning if you ran out of either?

How much of an effort is it worth for you to obtain either one?

ICXC NIKA.
 
Gluttony is not just excessive eating it is also what you eat.

You can be eating normal amounts of food but what you eat most of the time is extravagant food then that also constitutes gluttony. (i.e. always eating Kobe beef, $1000 deserts, expensive wines, etc.)

It is ok to have those once in a while but if that is your eating habits then I would reconsider.
Extravagance is relative though. To a multi-billionaire, eating Kobe beef, etc. would be pocket change. To a homeless person, the amount of food anybody in middle class consumes on a daily basis would be an extravagant banquet.
 
Extravagance is relative though. To a multi-billionaire, eating Kobe beef, etc. would be pocket change. To a homeless person, the amount of food anybody in middle class consumes on a daily basis would be an extravagant banquet.
Extravagance is relative only to a point.

Say you were rich enough to eat Kobe beef all the time. Say, too, that you lived in an area so mired in poverty that human need was visibly obvious.

Sounds a lot like Lk 16:19ff; non?

This would be one area where “gluttony” would involve, not one’s body state, but one’s Godly state. You would not even need to fast, just make a minor downward adjustment of your menu choices to perform an action pleasing to God.

If you were unwilling to do so, that would mark the line for “gluttony.”

ICXC NIKA
 
Extravagance is relative though. To a multi-billionaire, eating Kobe beef, etc. would be pocket change. To a homeless person, the amount of food anybody in middle class consumes on a daily basis would be an extravagant banquet.
Eating extravagant is not relative. The novelty of it might wear off but the extravagant food does not change from one person to the next - only the novelty does.
 
Well, I don’t know. How much would it screw up your morning if you ran out of either?

How much of an effort is it worth for you to obtain either one?

ICXC NIKA.
that’s a consequences type of argument (emotional dependency, too much time and money put into food etc.) I could still be guilty if gluttony is associated with enjoyment, not merely a negative impact.
 
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