one drink“Forget it, I’m eating what I want!” is my primary point of abstinence; it is my booze, my forbidden fruit, and the timber cry of every diet I have ever employed for its season in my life. In addition, I have identified the following problem foods from which I will also abstain (emphatically refrain): ice cream, cakes, sweets, and nachos.

In order to support this abstinence, I plan to eat wholesome foods as naturally as I can, when possible avoiding any product with added sugar among its ingredients, refined wheat as its primary ingredient, genetically modified products, or those items preserved with sulfates, nitrates and nitrites. In general, I will avoid the ball-park meats and circus treats, but to do so will require certain actions which I will plan in advance. I will avoid ordering food from drive-through windows. Products dispensed from such cater to my greedy sloth and not my well-being. I will not walk into a grocery or convenience store without spiritually preparing myself for that experience. Spiritually fit, I can rise above the food that is not mine and meet the purpose for which I am in such a hostile territory. Unfit, I will be assailed by temptation and called to resist with my own will, which has proven insufficient.

Because I am a living organism, I will always be compelled by some force, be it divine, psychological, philosophical, mechanical, or biologic; but I choose to follow the guidance given me since seeking the will of my Higher Power (who chose to call Himself “God”) rather than the impulses and desires of my lower nature. This calls for constant reliance, faithful obedience, and careful attention. I have developed and will maintain a plan of eating, which will comply with what God reveals is His will for me; will articulate not just what but when, how, and how much; and will always maintain a safe distance from my abstinence, so that fumbling this helpful tool will not equate with plummeting into the deep darkness of relapse.

As God broadens my understanding of His providence I will amend my plan of eating, recognizing that what God has provided was intended for my good, and what man has corrupted for the sake of cost and convenience serves the same purpose as the destroyer’s purpose for self-serving sin in my own life: to steal, kill, and destroy. I will not willingly offer the thief such a foothold in my life.

I will offer, by some means (usually an electronic food journal), honest accountability for my eating, acknowledging that what I hide corrupts, but that darkness is expelled by light.

“Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” Genesis 1:29, NIV

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (Words of Jesus) John 10:10, NIV

My plan is no secret. My food is tracked online. You are welcome to browse and learn more about me.