Overcoming Gluttony

[pensmama87]

I know I can’t be the only person out there dealing with gluttony who’d like to try tackling it from a spiritual “angle” (for lack of a better way to put it). There’s a lot of diet and exercise advice out there, but much of it seems lacking, or if it is spiritual it’s more pantheistic than Catholic. I know there are 12 step programs like Overeaters Anonymous, but what other spiritual resources are out there for those who use food inappropriately? What have you done to battle this temptation?

 

[SuperLuigi]

I know I can’t be the only person out there dealing with gluttony who’d like to try tackling it from a spiritual “angle” (for lack of a better way to put it). There’s a lot of diet and exercise advice out there, but much of it seems lacking, or if it is spiritual it’s more pantheistic than Catholic. I know there are 12 step programs like Overeaters Anonymous, but what other spiritual resources are out there for those who use food inappropriately? What have you done to battle this temptation?

Prayer helps.

Also, if you cook your own food, learn to appreciate where it comes from.

When you eat, take smaller bites and savor the flavor.

 

[the]

100% guaranteed way to lose weight

1- Eat fewer calories then is required for your body to maintain its current weight.

 

[bouncebanana]

I’m guilty of emotional eating, habitual over-eating, and eating just because…idk why.

Good questions. I have to change the way I look at this problem, especially when it crosses into being sinful.

 

[NeedsMercy]

As someone with a weight problem and a multitude of other ills, I offer you this prayer that I found a while ago:

O Lord Jesus Christ, Mirror of abstinence, Who, to teach us the virtue of abstinence, didst fast forty days and forty nights, grant that, serving Thee and not our own appetites, we may live soberly and piously with contentment, without greediness, gluttony, or drunkenness; that Thy will being our meat and drink, we may hunger and thirst after justice, and finally obtain from Thee that food which endureth unto life eternal. Amen.

 

[Joannm]

100% guaranteed way to lose weight

1- Eat fewer calories then is required for your body to maintain its current weight.

That is easier to say but if you are an emotional eater, like I am and probably the OP as well, it is not as simple as that. I lost 57 lbs over 10 years ago and basically kept it off. However a job change last year to a more stressful position had me gaining over 20 lbs in one year. Eating is how I deal with the stress. I know the routine. I know what I should be eating and what I should not be eating. It is easy to say cut the calories, eat slower, take smaller portions, count your points. I know all this. It is like saying to an alcoholic, “just don’t drink.” It’s not that easy.

The key is to get support, to pray, to focus on getting things straight in your life. Emotional eaters have problems with self esteem and many of us were brought up by loving mothers who were big on comfort food. The food fills a void that we should be filling with God. Yet like any temptation, it can take hold of us. The problem with food is that it is necessary for life. Drinking isn’t necessary, sex isn’t necessary, all those things that people overindulge with are not necessary. Food is…you can’t avoid it.

I know you mean well, but it goes deeper than just saying to eat less.

 

[pensmama87]

Many Catholic parishes will offer a bible study weight loss program called the Light Weigh program. I have seen it advertised in parish bulletins:

lightweigh.com/index.php?p=Home&num=123

You are correct in wanting to turn to Jesus instead of turning to food! I will pray for you. God bless you.

Thanks, Monicad! I have looked for programs like this in my area but it doesn’t seem to have caught on yet. The cost is a bit high for my budget (though, if I cut out the unnecessary food I consume, I could probably find it pretty easily…)

bouncebanana:

I’m guilty of emotional eating, habitual over-eating, and eating just because…idk why.

Good questions. I have to change the way I look at this problem, especially when it crosses into being sinful.

This is basically the same boat I’m in. I have a pretty good sense of how it originated and why it continues, but beating myself over the head about I should “just know better” isn’t a really effective technique to stop it. I suffer from the delusion that I am in/must be in control at all times, and the fact that my eating can get so out of control really shows that I need to think about it very differently.

I do have a therapist that I really like and I’ve discussed this some with her, and she told me that she has a lot of clients who have various addictions and they all have perfectionistic tendencies like I do - they have to be the perfect spouse, the perfect parent, have the perfectly clean house. I never linked my perfectionism to my eating habits but it makes a lot of sense, especially because I overeat secretively. Eating is the coping. And while it’s good that it’s not alcohol or another hard drug, it presents its own health issues and the difficulty that it’s something I need to live. You can’t just quit food cold turkey. (Although, I have heard that some people have success cutting out an entire category of trigger foods - and I’ve never heard of that food being vegetables! )

NeedsMercy, thanks so much for that prayer! I have been putting together a prayer journal of just a bunch of things like this that I like and need, and this one is going in! I also found this novena which sounds like something I should try.

 

[pensmama87]

That is easier to say but if you are an emotional eater, like I am and probably the OP as well, it is not as simple as that. I lost 57 lbs over 10 years ago and basically kept it off. However a job change last year to a more stressful position had me gaining over 20 lbs in one year. Eating is how I deal with the stress. I know the routine. I know what I should be eating and what I should not be eating. It is easy to say cut the calories, eat slower, take smaller portions, count your points. I know all this. It is like saying to an alcoholic, “just don’t drink.” It’s not that easy.

The key is to get support, to pray, to focus on getting things straight in your life. Emotional eaters have problems with self esteem and many of us were brought up by loving mothers who were big on comfort food. The food fills a void that we should be filling with God. Yet like any temptation, it can take hold of us. The problem with food is that it is necessary for life. Drinking isn’t necessary, sex isn’t necessary, all those things that people overindulge with are not necessary. Food is…you can’t avoid it.

I know you mean well, but it goes deeper than just saying to eat less.

Thanks Joannm. I agree and was going to post something similar, and then you nailed it.

I know what a healthy weight for my height and size is. I know what my diet should look like. I know what my calorie intake should be, and what vitamins I really need at the moment (I’m a nursing mother, so that adds another layer of complication to this whole thing). But that knowing doesn’t stop me from feeling sad, or angry, or depressed, and rushing to the nearest drive-thru (which is what happened once I learned I could not keep trigger foods in the house without eating it all immediately.)

Some of the suggestions here at CAF for those with sexual addictions have actually helped - making it harder to keep it secret. Part of the reason I’ve been able to keep this up so long undetected is that I manage our finances all by myself. So I can increase my accountability by involving my husband more. We have switched to cash so there’s a limited amount that can be spent on groceries, and I now keep every single receipt to account for everything spent. I had my husband help me make the budget for this month. He doesn’t even know the passwords and logins for our online banking information, but I’m going to tell him that and have him check in so he can see where our money goes. That will be a huge incentive for me to not “cheat.”

 

[UpUpAndAway]

Okay, I will start with a disclaimer: YMMV.

To address my gluttony, I fast. The decision to do so was finalized only after consulting both my doctor and my spiritual director. I strongly advise against adopting a rigorous fasting program without the guidance of a medical professional and a spiritual director.

Fasting has allowed me to lose a significant amount of weight, but more importantly in light of my spirituality has also enhanced my appreciation for food as well as increased my awareness of and solidarity with the poor, many of whom do not have consistent access to quality nourishment. Fasting has brought me closer to God as well as to my brothers and sisters in Christ. I used to eat anything and everything with no regard to quantity or quality. I ate when I felt like eating, not just when I needed to. Through fasting, I’ve learned to be satisfied with simpler meals in more reasonable portion sizes.

I won’t go into the details of my fasting routine because it is tailored to my own physical, psychological and spiritual needs. To find out if this is an appropriate course of action for you, please speak to your spiritual director and your doctor. I went to my SD first because I knew my doctor would want to know the extent of the proposed fasting before he giving his own recommendations and ultimate approval (I have a chronic medical condition that we had to work around).

God bless!

 

[NeedsMercy]

NeedsMercy, thanks so much for that prayer! I have been putting together a prayer journal of just a bunch of things like this that I like and need, and this one is going in! I also found this novena which sounds like something I should try.

No, thank YOU, pensmama–I did not know about St. Margaret of Cortona! I’ll be starting this novena asap! :hug1:

 

[pwlj_christ87]

for my personal experience with gluttony it comes down to virtue… when you discover the goodness and beautifulness of virtue it doenst even compare to the vice, of gluttony that is. So when you eat say 2-3 cookies and the taste is there and you eat until you are well full… then you have time to pray and be thankful for the food and appreciate it… when you consume enormous amounts without regard of its value, for its goodness, for god that gave it to you… I don’t know where im trying to go with this other than trying to share my personal experience that appreciation and education of virtue will help shape the way you see your everyday actions

I will pray for you and I everyone has there own struggle just continue fighting!