About the Author

Kathi lives with Roger and a bunch of chickens in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. There they host writer retreats, and Kathi writes about how to do life with God a little closer today than yesterday. She’s a best-selling author and absolutely loves her Clutter Free Community on Facebook.

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
Find more at DaySpring.com
(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
Recent Posts

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Eating “right” & losing weight is relatively new to me and the supposed health experts are not helping. Is it lots of coffee, no coffee, no salt, use salt, NO eggs, eggs everyday this week? You are spot on, in all areas we need to seek Jesus’ perspective on our struggles whether they be food, exercise, gossip, pride, busyness….May we have His eyes to see clearly & His guidance & strength to be healthy physically, emotionally & spiritually. Thanks for sharing Kathi! Blessings on your journey!

  2. Thank you for sharing. The title caught my eye as I have wanted to lose an amount of weight before a milestone birthday and sadly it did not happen as it was a very stressful year. I didn’t want to put it on a New Year’s resolution as that’s pretty much setting yourself up for failure. But with acceptance with my age I am learning to appreciate my body. I prefer to get fitter and be healthy then fit into a certain size. Food is meant to be enjoyed and shared, so here is to a more accepting journey and being kind to ourselves!

    • Thank you for this post! I have gained weight over the past ten years while coping (or not so coping) with job loss, my mom’s dementia and eventual passing and a very difficult sister. I have always been very thin (a born picky eater who was not allowed to fill up on junk food) so the extra weight has really weighed me down! Thank you for providing a healthier perspective!

  3. This is definitely something lots of us need to read and think about. Thank you for your honesty.

  4. Beautifully written, realized and shared. In my recent years, I have lost weight that burdened me for years. Ironically , when I relaxed my self- pressure and insecurities, I also learned the meaning of balancing my input. My golden years seem to maintain the balance, with the help of faith and self love. Thank you for sharing your journey, as many of us have.

    • Lyn – this is just beautiful. Thank you for sharing you mind and heart shift. Just beautiful.

  5. I too have made food my lifelong enemy. Yet I know it’s not the food that’s my enemy but the way I use it to bring me false comfort. So I pray to view food as a gift that nourishes my body and only God can nourish my soul.

  6. Thank you so much for this encouragment. Food is something I have always struggled with and hearing the perspective the Lord has given you has spoken to me in a new understanding. I will be praying for you in this new year.

    • Thank you Nieca! I love when we have a new way of thinking, even if it’s just a small shift.

  7. Thank you for your willingness to share. You are spot on about the truth that we need to be gentle with ourselves as we learn new things. I made a decision several years back to drink more water, find movement I liked (and would keep me returning to it to build strength), and eat whole food. I’ve maintained my weight for more than 3 years now. I am cheering you on!! You go, girl!!

  8. Kathi,

    I get so tired of all the diet & exercise programs out there. Most don’t work. What is really needed is to get healthy & fit. Try adding more fruits & veges to your meals. Skip some of the junk foods & choose healthy alternatives. Don’t berate yourself but be gentle. Pray about it & see what God has to say. Remember Jesus made meals a big part of His ministry. Enjoy in moderation.

    Blessings 🙂

  9. I. Love. All. Of. This. Thank you for sharing so bravely here, Kathi. May we live in such freedom!

  10. It’s clear to me that many dark forces from many different directions have converged to attack people, and especially women, in an area that is a pleasurable, sustaining, social gift from God. So many struggle with fear, rigid thinking, shame, from many different sides. Some struggle and then find “salvation” (fruits and veg! no processed food!) and often are rigid and spread approaches in a way that shames others. (But it makes me feel good! I want to help!) We need Jesus. We need the gospel. We need freedom. And more and more research is divorcing weight from health. So many lies. It’s often about how we look and we use faulty science to support. So so so hard to get freedom from that chain/jail. I’m telling all this to myself!! It’s so hard to fight the lies. Thank you for sharing.

  11. Friends- if you’ve come on here to give advice about food, please stop. We all have heard it ALL before. It is not helpful. Please don’t ever do that with someone you love or someone on the internet. PLEASE.

    • I hate that you had to put this reminder out. Can we all just STOP with the unsolicited food and body talk?! Thank you Kathi for speaking truth in and bravely doing so knowing this reminder would be necessary. Your fresh perspective on food and faith is SO needed! Please write more on this!

      • Thanks Erin. It breaks my heart that when we are talking about breaking diet culture, we are still talking in diet culture language. I know we are all growing and dismantling at our own rate. Deep breaths ;), right? And will do on writing more on this!

  12. I appreciate this post; thank you for sharing it. The Lord is working in me, too, to recalibrate my relationship with food and with my body. I want to see food as nourishing, as a gift from the Lord to fuel me well, rather than as my comfort or entertainment or reward or relief. I want to have the self-control God intends me to have as a fruit of His Spirit in me, rather than to be controlled by my cravings for foods that don’t nourish my body. I want to care about being healthy and fit for good service to my King, rather than about looking “acceptable.” I want to be able to rightly enjoy what God intends me to enjoy, to His praise and glory, without letting that enjoyment become my purpose (or an idol).

    May our good God help us all to have right thinking about food and honor Him with our bodies.

    “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31)

  13. Thank you for sharing and going first. Your brave step will teach other women that food is not the enemy because they see “that you’ve been there.”

    I understand the culture in which food is good or bad. What I am learning is that food is not the enemy. The enemy is the enemy.

    May we as women step out in faith and learn to walk in freedom from the shame and guilt we have placed on ourselves for years.

  14. Yes! Thank you for putting this into words. I was in the same place about a year-and-a-half ago. I kind of thought of what I was doing at the time as “throwing in the towel,” but now I realize I was actually breaking free of something that was hindering my life and my relationships in countless ways. I just wish everyone could find this same freedom.

  15. Thank you for this. I too was at Weight Watchers at 12. I remember reading Purpose Driven Life and feeling shamed that I was fat. I am so tired of food being something to deal with instead of energy to fuel my life. I will continue to pray as I have since I was 12 about my relationship with food.

  16. Thank you so much for this wonderful post. May it be a catalyst for much change, especially within the body of Christ.

  17. This article will help so many who have struggled with disordered eating and food and body image issues, as I have, for so many years. I find myself on a similar journey and I am inspired to imitate Jesus in His relationship to food and how it was an important aspect of His ministry here on Earth.

  18. This is the word women need right now. Not Optavia, not Medifast, not WW, no more MLM “health coaches.” This.

  19. Thank you for sharing this! As I have explored scripture around food and body I am amazed at the freedom we find and also the beauty of how he understands our physical needs and meets them generously! Blessings to you as you brave this year without dieting and seek Gods wisdom