Praise God!

Praising God for His faithfulness and provision of strength this weekend. It felt so intentional thinking about all this ahead of time and "planning for trials". It was awesome as I was able to be more on guard against temptation and stay within 0-5 eating despite challenges. And, as Heidi pointed out in one of her comments, it builds confidence in me for future trials.

So, for those who didn't read my updates on my food log I'll give a summary of how things went.

Friday - Dinner at Mom & Dad's
I went into it very mindful of conscious eating and planning for trials. I was very hungry and ready to eat when I got to my parent's place. I took small servings, but should really have taken even smaller ones as I feel awkward leaving food on my plate at their place. I slid the other 1/2 of my meatball over to my husband when my mom wasn't looking! *lol* I noticed my mom took note of how little I was taking...not sure if she thinks I didn't like her food or if she thought I was eating too little... (I made sure to profusely thank her for the meal and told her how delicious it was) Then when it was dessert time I made sure to have a wonderful mug of hot mint tea along with the chocolate pudding pie and savoured each and every bite of my small slice. My mom sent some of the pudding pie home with us, but I resisted temptation and didn't eat it. I felt completely satisfied after our family dinner. Praise God for this answered prayer!

Saturday - 12th Anniversary Celebration
Well, first of all our anniversary isn't until June 1st technically, but we wanted to go on a date to celebrate so this was the best possible time for our date. What a day! I was hungry so many times it was almost annoying! Imagine that! Being annoyed with being hungry *lol*! Thanks to God for helping me prepare for this "trial". I don't really like calling this weekend a "trial" as it really is all pleasant friend/family oriented activities, but I do know that each of these occasions presents challenges to 0-5 eating which are hurdles I am working on overcoming in God's strength.

So, what can I say about tonight.... Went bike riding with Jon for our anniversary date. What fun we had and my heart was just soaring with praise to God for a wonderful husband (who I had a lot of fun with!) and for His beautiful creation. I seriously felt overwhelmed with gratitude.

Then we stopped midway through for supper at a little fish & chips restaurant. Very neat little restaurant. The servings were fairly large so I right aways dumped over half my plate of food on Jon's plate....maybe will need to change this as the poor guy has a hard time not finishing up the food on his plate. I don't think it would have worked to take food home today as we were biking and the food wouldn't have stayed cool.

I was very present for the eating and really practiced conscious eating. Then we stopped for dessert another part way through our bike ride and had some ice cream. I seriously thought I could have eaten a few cones of ice cream... People around looked at them and would say "wow, that's huge!" and I kept thinking, "I could easily eat all that plus a few more." Then I watched the slim people around me and saw what they were ordering and thought "this is what I need to become more like. I need to become more content with smaller servings and just really savour it and not be greedy for too much." So I ordered a small cone . And I relished and enjoyed it:-) It was plenty, I felt comfortable and satisfied and very pleased to be within 0-5 eating.

I really feel convicted of the need to re-adjust my appetite for food. I need to be content with less. I need to view food as a naturally thin person does. As Heidi so wisely pointed out, I need to find other non-food treats in life. I shouldn't be expecting ice cream to be the ultimate treat. Eating outside of 0-5 does not fulfill and leaves a trail of brokeness and extra weight. So I'll be looking to God to grow more in this area.

Sunday - Church Potluck
I went into the meal very hungry which was positive to begin with. I took a small portion of food and was "present" and "conscious" for the entire meal. I made brownies in advance and set aside four small pieces for a later dessert (one slice for each of us). I thought this would help me resist eating any sweets at the luncheon....which it did. I didn't feel deprived of desserts, even though everyone around me was eating desserts. I just knew I'd have my dessert (that I'd set aside) at a more appropriate time.

Sunday - Dinner with Friends
Then we went to a friend's place for dinner...and I was hungry for that too, praise God! I was once again focussing on conscious eating and enjoying the company of friends. It was a wonderful meal, delicious food (that probably tasted all that much better because I was so present while eating plus was hungry to begin with), and also such a blessed time with friends as we shared from each other's hearts and prayed together. Thanks God.

The friend I was visitting happens to be the lady who is my "naturally thin eater" mentor. I have often observed her natural approach towards food. She never counts calories (and seems actually quite opposed to that or any other kind of diet mentality!), eats a balanced diet including sweet treats and coffee with those yummy flavored creamers. I was watching her a bit more closely tonight to see how she was eating. It's interesting how naturally it just seems to flow for her. It's interesting how it is so evident food doesn't hold any mastery over her.

In conclusion, PRAISE GOD! What more can I say! And thanks to those who remembered me in prayer. I'd love to do the same for you!