Triggers

I was elated one day when the number on my scale finally dipped below the plateau weight I’d been stuck at for two weeks. I did a little happy dance and thought, “Finally, I’m making some real progress in this journey. It’s going to be such a great day. I’m super motivated. Bring on the raw veggies. Nothing’s gonna stop me now!”

Too bad things didn’t stay that way. Life, like math, can be unpredictable.

I’m no math whiz, but I do remember there being these things called polynomials. Polynomials are algebraic expressions that include real numbers and variables. That’s the way my food issues are — they contain real numbers and variables. I suspect yours do as well. And while we must pay attention to the real numbers by eating less and moving more, we would do well to consider the variables in our lives as well.

Variables are those daily triggers we didn’t account for but will detour even the best of intentions. Triggers can be as large as the stab of loneliness from a broken relationship or the memory of a childhood trauma. Triggers can be as small as a discipline “chat” with a teen out past curfew or stumbling across fresh doughnuts in the office break room. Any trigger can prompt the thought, “Life will be better if I eat that.”

My blog readers have shared some of their triggers and the emotions behind them …

Notice, these triggers have nothing to do with physical hunger or the need for legitimate nourishment. They are lies that we’ve thought so routinely they’ve become well-worn paths to careless eating. Life is not made better because we overindulge in an unhealthy choice.

The best thing we can do in these triggered moments is to pause. Pause and ask ourselves, “Do I want to eat this right now because I need nourishment or because I’m feeling empty emotionally or spiritually?”

If I need nourishment, I can choose a healthy option. If I’m just feeling empty, I must realize food can fill my stomach but never my soul.

The only way to negate an emotional eating trigger is to match it with truth. The truth is this: “I’m not physically hungry right now, but I need to be filled in another way.” The Bible tells us that we can be rooted in love, not emptiness; that we have power to choose truth; and that as we comprehend the love of Christ, we will be filled to the measure of all the fullness — not of that brownie — but of God (Ephesians 3:17 – 19). And here’s the great thing about truth: it contains no variables! Truth is stable, secure, and a surefire way to get me through the unpredictable moments of life.

Take time to pause and use God’s truths to challenge your triggers. And, when you’re truly physically hungry, that pause will give you the moment you need to choose a healthy snack. Then you will be truly full!