Are You Overwhelmed by Culture’s Obsession With the Body?

Some questions I have been asking myself lately–

What would happen if we got back to God’s good plan and design for both food and our bodies?

What would happen if we began guarding ourselves against the messaging and narrative that perpetuates and supports the idolization of our body?

Would we as women, be better able to steward our relationship with food and ourselves?

I started working on my second book manuscript, and while I can’t share too much of it yet, you can expect to see some of this throughout.

You see as a mom to three girls, I often wonder and even sometimes worry about the pressures they face growing up in an AI generated, appearance driven world.

I mean if you look around, it isn’t hard to find women constantly using food as a means to contort, control or comfort themselves. I have been (am?) one of them.

I recently joined a season of prayer and fasting with my church family. I have long struggled (maybe like you?) with body insecurity. After getting sober over 11 years ago, I jumped into the fitness world with both feet, and learned to do hours of cardio and calorie counting. What was helpful for me to stay sober at first, slowly became just another means of self harm and sabotage.

While I don’t *do* those behaviors now anymore, the remnants of why I did still live within me. I still think about what I eat and why, often not from what Lisa Whittle describes as a “glory mindset” but from a SELF mindset. If I trace deep within the well of my own heart, I will find my motivation often isn’t ever about or for my Creator, but for me.

I want to look a certain way.

I want to feel attractive and confident.

I want to lose the baby weight.

I want to fit into a certain size jean.

I want to eat that for comfort.

I want to fit in or grab at the trendy thing that might work.

I want to restrict that for control and to cope.

It’s exhausting, really. And here’s the startling thing- I didn’t realize I was doing any of this until my girls began asking me really hard questions about their own changing body, why they should eat certain things, the importance of movement, and what beauty really is.

For the first time I felt truly held accountable in this area, like they were putting up a mirror for me to look at myself more clearly. I hated that I loved Jesus, but that I didn’t always function in God honoring ways in how I ate or cared for my body. As Paul writes, I often did what I didn’t want to. And was not able to do on my own what I did want to do. I functioned in self serving ways more times than not.

Maybe you can relate?

Since I began to take personal inventory, the Lord has been so kind in revealing some practical steps for me that may be helpful for you too:

• I have the ability to guard my heart and mind against the world’s obsession with body idolatry. One easy way I did this was I began unfollowing all the fitness influencers online. I also stopped subscribing to the lie that my body is simply a project that needs to be managed, improved or fixed. This is reflected now in my pursuits and how I talk about myself, and it the new study I have started (listed below).
• I started feeding and moving my body in a way that honors God, not me. Some days, this means rest or heavy activity. Other days, it means fasting or feasting. I check in with the Spirit and led Him lead and I don’t follow anyone’s else’s rules or routines. I quit trying to keep up or compare myself to what other women in my circle are doing.
• I began grabbing at more of what matters, and less of what doesn’t. The world is so loud- offering remedies and quick fixes like creams and juice cleanses etc, some that I have fallen into. None of these remedies are “wrong” but at the very least they can be distracting. I think the answer to feeling more settled and at peace in our bodies and our relationship with food is often found in not adding things to what we are doing, but removing some of what we are doing. I have committed to realigning myself with the truth found in scripture about why I am here, and why Jesus came in body too. Knowing this and remembering it daily helps me stay unwavering and grounded.
• I worked my way back through Genesis to better understand that food is a GIFT that the enemy tries to distort, and this distortion is one I can often participate in by using it against myself. Instead of considering how food can serve me and my selfish desires, I now wonder, how can I use it to serve others? How can I bake an extra loaf of sourdough and bless someone with it this week? How can I open my home up for fellowship over a meal? How can I enjoy cooking with my kids? Keeping in mind that food is a gift has allowed me to use it rather than let it use me.

I created a free download for you based on a process I used to better understand my relationship with food through the lens of scripture. Don’t wait until January and the New Year to start healing today. You can download it below.