Hi, all. I’ve been on 5:2 for four weeks now. I’m down about 11 pounds, which I’ve heard is not at all the norm. 5:2 is generally a gradual, but steady weightloss approach. But I’m extraordinarily encouraged by more than the pounds down. For me, this isn’t just about losing weight. It’s about fighting addiction (and the forces behind it) and regaining self control.
I’ve been heavy since my first metabolism change between 5th and 6th grade. Seriously, I was a toothpick until the end of 5th grade and then, WHAM, suddenly I looked like Pugsly from the Addams Family. Thankfully, I hit a growth spurt in middle school and played varsity tennis for four years, so I leaned out for a while. Fast forward to marriage and kids, metabolism change #2 at about age 26, and I steadily gained. I went from 180lbs at marriage in 1994 to 305lbs by the winter of 2012.
But I’d be lying if I tried to blame this on metabolism. It’s mental, emotional, social, and not-just-a-little-bit spiritual. I’ve spent years, telling myself I’m entitled to eat everything I want when I want. I got mad at the consequences as if it’s not fair to get fat when I live on calzones, doughnuts, and nachos. I rationalize: “I’ve had a hard week, I’ve worked hard, It’s the weekend, It’s the holiday, It’s my birthday, It’s summer (and 10,000 others) and SO…I should ruin myself with more food than I need.
I’ve discovered that this addiction to food and lack of self control was also masking other “hidden” character flaws. I was self medicating with food because I had social anxieties and even bouts of depression. I was hiding from the realities that I didn’t want to face. Hiding in food. You’d be surprised how much you can hide in a vat of cheesey mashed potatoes.
All of that is treacherously unhealthy in a hundred ways. And worse still, my behaviors and attitudes were being monitored by my family, especially my children. And, unfortunately, some of my kids have taken after their dad in their eating habits, lack of self control, and rationalizing…even in the shape that they are allowing themselves to get into.
All this to say: the problem isn’t just food. It’s not just overeating. It’s not as simple as calories in, calories out. There are social, emotional, mental, and spiritual forces working against us. Not to mention that life is freakin’ stressful. And not to mention that the governmental authorities have been screwing us with wrong nutritional guidelines for fifty years. So no wonder we have an obesity epidemic. And no wonder, I allowed myself to become 1.5 times the man I should be. 😀
Enter 5:2. I can’t speak for anyone beyond myself because we are all complex, multifaceted individuals. But what 5:2 does for me is it puts to death the addictive process. Oh, it comes back. Like the Walking Dead, on non fast days, I deal with the addiction and compulsive ideas. But each fast day, I kill it all over again. And it feels spectacular. It’s no accident that the Bible shows fasting to be an invaluable too to A) think clearly and B) fight against the voracious “SELF.” There’s a difference in my thought patterns now. It’s a kind of addiction kryptonite. Even on a nonfast day, if I’m eating smothered quesadillas, I know—KNOW—that tomorrow is the reckoning for that impulse. I will (by God’s grace) kill it again.
And I’ve discovered something amazing: it feels good to fast. Sure, I’ve had hunger pangs. Duh. And it doesn’t help to have my kids ordering pizza at 10pm on my fast day. lol But still, I’ve got the forge heating up inside me. I can feel the warmth within, and I can think straight. Last night, at bedtime, after another successful fast day, I felt euphoric. I turned out the light, lied down, and prayed for a half hour before drifting off. I woke up this morning and, as it has been each day after a fast, I felt freaking incredible.
What I’m discovering, slowly but surely, is that 5:2 is not a punitive, confining thing. It’s actually helping me regain freedom. See eating whatever we want whenever we want, the consequences be damned is NOT freedom. That’s subtle, manipulative, cancerous SLAVERY. Every time we rationalize doing something we KNOW hurts us, we KNOW is wrong…we are bowing to a cruel taskmaster. But 5:2 unlocks those shackles. You have freedom to eat as usual, to enjoy the pleasure that God provides through food, but not to be controlled by them. I know that (by God’s grace) I can go without food. I don’t need it the way I always thought I did. And I know that, the next day, I will go without. Each and every success builds confidence and pushes addictive control farther back in the rearview mirror.
If you’re reading this and thinking: “That’s great for you, pal, but you don’t know me,” I answer: No, I don’t know you. But I do know our enemy. He sucks eggs. And he can be defeated. Kill him twice a week with 5:2.
2:12 pm
16 Apr 14