Weight Loss, Self-Denial, and Deeper Spirituality

A year ago I decided to change myself for the better, though exercising, eating healthier, and losing weight. In addition to losing fifty pounds this past year, I have begun to have a different relationship with food. I have noticed how intense some of my cravings can get, especially during times when I am bored or stressed.

I knew some people had a negative relationship with food, but I never really considered that I had that problem as well. However, in the last two weeks with multiple call backs for future employment and five job interviews, I noticed my anxiety went up and it was a lot harder to control my impulse to splurge. This made me think about how we look at food in this country. Is it something to nourish us, to help us have happy and healthy lives? Or is food more of a way for us to enjoy ourselves, to seek pleasure in the bite.

For so long I ate whatever I wanted. I was never eating a lot but the food I chose to eat was not good for me. The food I ate tasted good, so my mind and my senses were told "This taste good! Give us more of that!" This got me thinking this week about the connection between food, weight, and our spiritual life. I think sometimes we slip on the rules, not realizing the rules and boundaries of faith are not chains but ways to help us life happy and healthier lives, while also making us closer to our Creator, self, and those around us.

When we indulge in our temporary pleasure or satisfaction, which we call sin, we are not thinking long term. We are not thinking about the affects it will have on us, others, or our relationship with God. We are not thinking about how much we may regret those decisions in the future. When we indulge in sin, our flesh desires more and more, our senses and our past experiences have told us that those things taste good despite the fact those things weigh us down and burden us.

Pondering about all these things this week has made me curious: Why do we not fast more in the United States? Are you aware that in most other nations, fasting is a regular spiritual discipline for most Christians? Perhaps this speaks to our overindulgence of things here in the states. Perhaps it speaks to our overabundance which signifies our lack of simplicity. Perhaps it showcases our desire to get pleasure fast, only worrying about the present while neglecting our happiness and livelihood into the future.

Might there be things we can fast from, where even once a week or a month it could positively affect our lives? What about fasting from food, television, movies, smart phones, cell phones, or one of the many other hurried and habitual things we do in our lives, taking no time to ask why we do these things or if they are good for us.

Maybe it is time to reassess some things. Maybe that is what fasting is all about, self-denial... and in that self denial we grow to know God, others, and self in a more profound way.

Do you think America over consumes?

Do you think you over consume? How so?

What do you think about the disciple of fasting?

Have you ever fasted? If so, how and why?

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~ Daniel Brockhan