By Debbie Wilkins

“Willpower:  the strength of will to carry out one’s decisions, wishes, or plans; the ability to control oneself and determine one’s actions”

Before:  I WILL NOT eat that piece of chocolate cake.

After:  Why could I not resist that piece of chocolate cake?!

Willpower.  We want and yet cannot have.  There’s this internal battle that can easily consume us.  Cravings are vicious and unrelenting.  We can’t help it.

The culprit:  dips in blood sugar levels.  Your blood sugar level goes down which affects your brain; the part of your brain that is in charge of your emotions and impulses, which leads to the inability to say no to tempting treats.  You know you should eat something nutritious but those chips are seductive and you cave.

Which brings me to Romans 7:15-19:   I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.  And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.   As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.  For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.

Willpower is exhaustible.  Put down the ice cream scoop and listen up.  Let’s make long-lasting lifestyle changes, one meal at a time.

WEEK 1:  RECORD

1.  Grab a journal.  Part of the reason you give in to the lure of junk food is because you justify it.  At the top of it write an encouraging Bible verse, like “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
2. In your journal, record when and what you’re eating.  Every morsel.
3. Next to the “when” and “what” of each snack or meal, jot down your hunger level before and after, your energy before and after, and if you were feeling stressed/bored/happy. “4:00 bag of Doritos because I was mad at my boss.  After I felt guilty.”
4. Review your journal at the end of the day AND the end of the week.   Start looking for patterns.  “Wow, I am always snacking at 9pm, “ “I only eat breakfast on Saturdays,” “I was so tired that afternoon that I only ate pepperonis for dinner.”

WEEK 2:  DETECTIVE

1.  Write an encouraging Scripture at the top of your journal for this new week.  Go ahead and pre-time your meals and snacks (8ish: breakfast, 10ish: snack, 1is: lunch, 4ish: snack, 7ish: dinner).
2. Next to eat time slot, create reminders to eat lean proteins, veggies, fruits and complex carbs.  It’s an outline of “shoulds” that you can “check off” at each meal.

For example:

8am Breakfast

___ 3 kinds of veggies

___ Lean protein

___ Fruit

___ Complex carb

10am Snack

____ Lean protein

____ Fruit

____ Complex carb

1pm Lunch

_____ 2 veggies

_____ Fruit

_____ Lean protein

_____ Complex carb

ETC.

3. Write down when and what you eat.  Note hunger, energy, cravings, stresses.
For example:

8am Breakfast  (I am so tired after 5 hours of sleep)(stressed about my meeting at 9:30)

__X__ 3 veggies  (spinach, tomatoes, onions)

__X__ Lean protein (4 egg whites)

____ Fruit  (aaagh we have no fruit in the house)

__X__ Complex carb (1/4 cup of oats)

10am Snack  (Meeting went south, thanks to my coworker blaming me.  Stressed!)

__X__ Lean protein (I had a spoonful of natural peanut butter; so glad I keep that in my desk)

__X__ Fruit (Staff lounge had a fruit basket so I grabbed an apple)

__X___ Chocolate (Dug into my Hershey kisses stash, but only ate 1 instead of 12)

ETC ETC

4. Evaluation time.  See any patterns?  “On days I drink 3 cups of coffee I always end my nights with milkshakes.”   “Biscuits with dinner make me sleepy.”  “If I don’t get an afternoon snack I am cranky pants.”   Pay attention to the timing of your meals, the content of your meals, and your feelings (cravings, stress, hunger levels).

WEEK 3:  CHANGE

1.  Have grace with yourself.  Change isn’t a great multi-tasker, so don’t expect to become magically perfect in all this.  It’s a process.  Label the top of your journal with another awesome Bible verse you love.
2. Eat every 2-4 hours, staying on top of hunger.  It’s called preemptive eating and it requires you plan out what you’re going to eat BEFOREHAND.  A great idea is to prepare foods in bulk one day a week; most rash decisions are made because you didn’t plan ahead.
3. Know your triggers during the day; things that will wreak havoc on your nutrition and things that can help overcome weaknesses.  You’re staying AHEAD of the game.  Maybe rice at dinner makes you sleepy and bloated.  Maybe eating 3 times a day is not enough.  Maybe 2 cups of coffee, instead of 3, keeps you from needing a nap at 3:00.
4. Tweak your plan.    “I’m going to stop after 2 cups of coffee,” “I am going to increase my veggies to 2 cups at dinner,” “I will take a bath after the kids go to bed so I won’t eat pie.”
5. At the end of the week, evaluate how things are going.  Celebrate successes.  Remember, change is long-lasting when done one bite at a time, pun intended.

Okay, this is a lot to take in.    We’d love for you to share your successes AND your struggles with us!