The Habit of Eating

One reason losing weight or even controlling what we eat is so challenging is because we have to eat to live. That’s nothing new. Eating is what nourishes our body, keeps us healthy, and can be overdone. Eating is a conundrum.

I was raised by a generation that knew the Great Depression. They knew life without…without anything extra, without money, without gas, without sugar, without food. My mother was a wonderful cook and made do with little. Her greatest joy was feeding company or making sweet treats to give to those she cared about. 

Mary Pipher in her book, “Another Country” explains, “The women encouraged one another to eat, a habit that came from a time when food was scarce.” I have made eating a habit of pleasure, rather than of need. I eat for enjoyment and celebration. It makes me happy to eat. I eat to cheer myself up.

Instead, I should eat out of hunger, for nourishment and good health. I need to ask myself, “Am I hungry?” before I eat. Is my stomach growling? Or do I just eat because the clock says it is time? And do I quit when I am full?

Scriptures offer a reasonable way to eat. “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God!” (Deuteronomy 8:10a NIV).

Gloria D. Stewart