S3. E12.
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I thought healing would be, I don't have those thoughts anymore, but I reshaped those thoughts now. I'll get thoughts of. Well, when I was skinnier, oh, well I should not eat because of this, or, oh, I need to run more 'cause of that, and no, I actually don't.
No, that's actually a gift from God. No, I'm actually healed now.
You don't have to control the first thought, but you have to control the second thought.
Y'all. I am so excited for this episode. I am being joined this week by my old client and now dear friend, Lauren Braford, y'all, she is such a delight and we just praise God for her courage and her vulnerability in sharing her story healing from an eating disorder with the faith-based counseling that we did.
Y'all all, glory to God for this healing For real. I am so excited for you all to be inspired by her story and her testimony, and I [00:01:00] just know that the Lord is going to use this episode in profound ways. So if you have found yourself listening to this episode, it is for such a time as this.
I truly believe, and I really feel that I'm saying this prophetically. I just do not believe that this is an accident. That you are hearing this episode and I know and I pray that the Lord has something for you specifically in this episode, and there's a reason why you were divinely led to this episode and Lauren's story is, is going to lead to healing for in freedom for so many people.
It makes me think of Galatians five one. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free and it is such a joy. Y'all know I've brought clients on with the show before. It is such a joy to see clients now telling their testimonies and to see where they were in the beginning, like as, as their dietician, and to see them from point A to point B on their journey.
It is such a gift to see the wonder working powers of our God. So I will pray us and Father [00:02:00] God, thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you. For revealing yourself as Jehovah Rafa. Thank you for the healing work that you have done in Lauren, and thank you for the healing work that you have done and will continue to do in every single listener.
I pray that this episode is a blessing. I pray that your hand is on this episode, Lord, and that this. Has greater reach than what we've seen before so that it can impact people and reconcile hearts Back to you in the name of Jesus. Lord, I pray that through this episode that people receive their belovedness.
I pray that they feel seen by you, heard by you, loved by you, supported by you, and I pray that this paves the way for healing. I pray that this paves the way for greater surrender and that they get the support that they need if they have an eating disorder or disordered eating. Lord, I pray that people have ears to hear and soft hearts to be able to receive the messages that you have for them in this episode.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
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Welcome to Your Daily Bread podcast. I'm your host, Abbie Stasior, a registered dietitian and certified intuitive eating counselor. My prayer is that these bite-sized episodes will help you heal your relationship with food, improve body image, and ultimately help you grow closer to God. Now, I can't personally heal you, but I'm gonna be directing you to the one that can, and that is Jesus. Also disclaimer, I'm not a pastor, but a sister in Christ that's offering you some food for thought that you can take into your quiet time with the Lord as your daily bread. Let's dig in.
Hey Lauren. Hi, Abby. Hi, girl. I am so excited to have you on the podcast. Thank you so much for being here. Oh, thank you for having me. Oh my gosh. Of course I'm just, I'm so excited for this conversation because the Lord has done so much in you with healing your relationship with food.
Crazy work. Yeah. Amazing. Aw girl. All right, well, tell us a little bit, about yourself, where you're from, what you [00:04:00] do, and , just a little bit about where you've started out with your relationship with food. I am Lauren. I'm 24 and I live in Michigan. I just got married in July, so almost a year.
And that's kind of what started my relationship with food struggles, I guess. . That whole sweat for the wedding and needing to be as skinny as possible for one specific day got in my head and I just couldn't control it and I lost myself in that process. , And it was really that loss of control that made me realize that I needed help and that led me to you.
And now I am in a place where I'm able to hopefully help others. I work with the high school ministry at my church and I love those girls and I hope that my story's able to help them one day or my future children one day. , God has just led me in such a beautiful direction and really just turned everything to good.
Man. I mean, that's what he does [00:05:00] and I know that that's been a huge motivating factor for you in healing when times have been tough and you're like, it would just be easier if I just started re restricting and tracking and just going back to old disordered habits, that's what's been so motivating for you.
Thinking about the women that you can pour into your future children, getting your hormones right and optimizing your fertility we need something outside of ourselves to motivate us.
Yeah. I'm so proud of you, girl. So amazing. , What was intriguing for you about faith-based counseling? 'cause obviously this is the first time you've ever done this, and I believe the first time you've ever worked with a dietician before. So how did you know that you really were ready to hire a dietician and what intrigued you about a Christian dietician?
Yeah, honestly, I didn't think I needed a dietician. I didn't think I had a problem. I didn't think I needed help. I thought I had it all under control. , My husband was the one who was like, please go get some help. And I was like. Okay, whatever you say. [00:06:00] So since I didn't think I needed help with food, I was like, you know, I might as well work with someone who has a faith that could maybe help me grow in that also, because I didn't think I needed to grow with my food, so I was like, might as well do something that would be beneficial in some way.
I also was really in a place in my faith where I was trying to get. Everything in my life centered around God. I felt like I was really in tuned with the Holy Spirit. Finally. I didn't even know much about the Holy Spirit, but I was going to a new church where I was just really filled with his direction and I was called to find a faith-based dietician.
I remember I found you and I was like, this just makes sense, I tell everyone, I just got so lucky because. It wasn't confusing. It wasn't hard. I just was like, oh, great, and I felt comfortable right away, so, oh good. And God is not a God of confusion, and I think when the journey is confusing or we're [00:07:00] kind of wavering back and forth, sometimes that can be our own mindset limiting us or just operating from a place of fear.
But when you know something is truly from the Lord. He makes it clear. And even in Revelation, it talks about doors that God opens No man can shut. And this truly was a door that no man can shut, and he made it so clear that this was the time for you to walk through. So I'm so happy he made that easy for you.
Now, if you came in. And you were thinking, I don't know if I really need the food stuff, but I'll work on the faith stuff. Was there any moment where you were like, Ooh, you know what, I actually do think I have a problem with food.
What was that moment for you? Yeah. I don't think there was one specific moment. But I do remember talking where you would be like, well, how about we try adding this to your diet? And I would just be like, no. Like it wasn't even a thought. Or, Hey, maybe you shouldn't run seven days a week. And the thought of doing that was so scary that I was like, oh, maybe I do have a problem.
Like maybe if I can't [00:08:00] not do these things, then there's something wrong. And that's also what started your journey of actually taking a Sabbath. Yeah, that was really scary. I remember the first night before my first Sabbath, I was bawling. I was having a panic attack, like didn't think I could do it. I remember I had tried the week before to do it and I couldn't.
I was like, this is too hard. I can't do this. I don't actually have a problem. Like those kind of thoughts. And I gave into it. So then that next week I stood my ground. I told my husband I was doing it. I told other people I was doing it. So I had that accountability and. I had to do it, and I'm so grateful I did because then other times down the road where I needed to because I was sick or I was out of town or things like that, it wasn't as scary because I had already done it once and had that data of, oh, I was okay.
Yeah. That you were safe and Yeah, I love that. And nothing's a failure. Everything is feedback. You know, the amount of times I tell [00:09:00] myself that in my head is insane. Yeah, yeah. But that's okay. You know what? If you have to repeat that to yourself, I think that that's good that you have that to call on.
And now you have that as data, and it was so cool watching you in live time. Really embody that scripture. It's Mark 2 27 that says that Sabbath was made for man, not man, for the Sabbath. And you were working and eating and exercising in a way where you were earning your rest, earning your food, and you felt like you couldn't take a Sabbath.
So to see that flip around and Sabbath enough, rest enough, trust God enough with your eating. Where actually that rest and that nourishment was the gift from the Lord and it took a bit for you to get there. It took several weeks, especially with you taking a Sabbath to like come down and actually see the effects of you not exercising as much and just really resting on on that one day per week.
And. It was so cool to see that flip. Mm-hmm. And, and it took, so it was cool to feel it. [00:10:00] Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Now, when you actually started to practice Sabbath, what were some of the things that you were feeling the panic of? Well, now I can't eat. That day was the biggest thing is I was like, how am I gonna get through the day?
Not eating or. Because I would only let myself eat certain amounts based on how much I worked out that day. So in my brain, if I didn't work out a certain amount, well then how little am I gonna be able to, and that panic of I'm going to be so hungry would set in. And I think that's what caused me so much anxiety.
It wasn't not doing the workout, it was how am I gonna make up for this? Wow. Mm-hmm. Wow. Then when you really receive that truth into your heart that you don't have to make up for it and that no, no, no. This is a gift for you to receive, not something that you have to earn, and it takes time for the Lord to renew your mind.
I feel like your anxiety started to soften. [00:11:00] Oh yeah. And even working out became a gift again, rather than, oh, this is something I have to do in order to blank. Right. Right. What a gift, girl. I love it. Yeah, you really lived that in real time. And something that I wanna celebrate about you is that you really have given yourself grace on this journey.
I mean, it has taken time, it's not just like spinning a dial, but it happens in small clicks, right? Yeah. And each week you would always have a win and something that improved. And , even if you felt like you had taken a couple steps back, you were able to recognize the things that had gone well and call those things out, and that kept you moving forward.
Mm-hmm. So, praise God. What do you feel like was the hardest part for you about the healing journey with your relationship with food? The weight gain, it's still something I struggle with, especially with it getting warmer out. Putting on the clothes that I had bought when I was at my skinniest is hard because part of me still glorifies that version of myself and [00:12:00] still sees that as.
The ideal body when I know that that's when I felt the worst. I couldn't even do the things I wanted to do last summer because I didn't have the energy to do them. So putting those clothes on, I have to reshape that thought of, oh yes, I might not be able to fit in this, but now I'm able to do all these other things and realizing that like it's a good thing.
I can't fit. . Like, praise God, I can't fit in this anymore. I should never have been able to fit in that. So. Right. Like you were actually so undernourished. Yeah. Right. Like, yeah. Wow. Mm-hmm. One thing that you said on the coaching call that always stuck out to me was that before you were sweating for the wedding and before you had lost the weight. You said it was really difficult for you to walk up a set of stairs. Mm-hmm. And then you lost all the weight, were undernourished over exercising, and you were like, it's now difficult again for me to walk up a set of stairs.
And so I did this. It was the opposite extreme. Right? [00:13:00] Exactly. You were on either end, uh, either end of the, of the spectrum, two different extremes, and. That always stuck out to me. Mm-hmm. It's like, wow, we, we do this almost in the name of health. I'm losing weight to be healthy. I'm exercising more to be healthy.
But when you keep going with it mm-hmm. And the number on the scale becomes where we find our worth. It's never enough. The goalpost is always moving. Right.
No, that's so funny you brought that up. I, yesterday at work, I was carrying so many things up and down the stairs and at the end of it I was like, I was able to do that and I, I feel fine. And it was such a cool. Total shift because if I were to have done that months ago, I would've been lightheaded, my face would've been flush.
I would've felt like my sugar was low, I would've been shaking. It would've been a whole thing. Mm-hmm. And this was just, oh, I did that and I feel great. Wow. Wow. That's amazing. And in those moments, you don't think about the weight gains, you actually think about [00:14:00] the healing. Yes, a hundred percent. Yeah. And that's why you adequately nourish yourself.
So good. So are there things now you mentioned that the weight gain has been the hardest. Totally understandable, and I hear that from a lot of clients that I work with and for everyone, there's always something different that helps. Are there any scriptures for you or things that you say to yourself that have been helpful when those negative body image thoughts come up or the anxiety around waking comes up?
I heard you don't have to control the first thought, but you have to control the second. And that's been something that has really stuck with me because I still have those thoughts. Even getting dressed for this, I was like, wow, like I hope people don't think I look bad, or oh, this shirt fits me differently than it did. You don't have to control the first thought, but you have to control the second thought. And I'll even get those thoughts of. Oh, well, when I was skinnier, oh, well I should not eat because of this, or, oh, I need to run more 'cause of that, and no, I actually don't.
No, that's actually a gift from [00:15:00] God. No, I'm actually healed now. I'm not still in that. So switching that thought and not letting myself dwell in that I think has been huge because I thought healing would be, I don't have those thoughts anymore, but I reshaped those thoughts now. Yeah. Oh, that's so good.
I actually think the enemy knows you're sensitive in this area and it's gonna bring you those thoughts and continue to attack you in this way. Mm-hmm. But it's where you linger.
So don't dwell there. It's not bad to have that first thought, but you don't wanna dwell and linger there and have that turn into a negative shame spiral because that will spiral into disordered actions, things that are harsh towards the body exactly.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. Wow. I love that. And breaking out of that backside is really hard. Yeah, yeah. But hey, God's grace is sufficient and he gets you there. I just think about that spiral of healing image, which I know you and I have talked about a million times. Sometimes you have a kink in the chain, you have a valley , and that's okay.
Or a season where you do backslide, but you [00:16:00] learn from that. It's not a failure, it's feedback. Even if you fall down seven times, scripture says you get back up eight. You know, as long as you continue to return back to the Lord. . You're not gonna fail. God makes all things work together for your good.
Are there any things about this journey that have actually surprised you about your faith and how you've grown and your faith and grown closer to the Lord through this healing process?
Yeah, I truly learned God's love and grace during this. I was so frustrated with him at first, 'cause I'd be like, heal me. Get rid of this. Just heal me. And I realized how his timing truly is so perfect, because if he would've just flipped a switch and healed me, I would've panicked. It would've been too much.
I have needed such a slow process with this and slowly healing step by step. 'cause I'll look back and I'll think of times where I was really struggling and something happened that was really hard. But now because that really hard thing happened, I'm able to get [00:17:00] through this and if I were to have gotten to this point without all of those little checkpoints on the way, I would've failed.
But he brought me through every single little path to get to this end point. And I'm not even at the end, but just his slow progression and his love throughout it has just really shown me how that book, gentle and Lowly, I remember reading that during some really hard times and. I was like, I really understand God's love as much as I can as a human.
That, that makes me really emotional. Honestly. I'm so happy for, and that's like the point of all of this, like when the Lord told me I have you in the Ministry of Reconciliation, it's not only that people are healing their relationship with food, improving body image, but their hearts are being reconciled back to Christ.
And I just see that with you. That testimony is gonna be so helpful for other people. But it's also a testimony to you when you go through hard times. Hey, I got through this hard time. God provided for me. [00:18:00] He was there for me.
He met me there. He's gonna meet me here too. So it's for others, but it's also for you. We want to rush things, but God, he does things in a slow burn sometimes, and that's for our benefit, and that's actually his grace because he knew that you needed to do things slowly and just one step at a time.
Exactly even the answers. I remember praying to God and being like, just give me the answer to how this is gonna look for me. Show me what it's gonna look like when I'm healed. Show me if he showed me what it looked like while I was healed months ago, I would not have been okay with that. So it's like, you know, just 'cause it's a no or he doesn't respond, doesn't mean he is not hearing you.
It just means he's probably protecting you from what's actually gonna come. Amen. Amen. And seeing that not as him withholding, but him preparing you actually for being able to be receptive to that conversation, even when we don't see it, he is working. Do you mind talking a little bit more about your bride season?
Especially with my wedding [00:19:00] coming up and, by the time this airs it'll be officially wedding month. So I'm excited to talk about that. What was it like for you as a bride? Where do you feel like the pressure to sweat for the wedding was coming from?
I don't know how Instagram knows, but I swear the moment you get engaged, it's like all your feed is engagement wedding, literally. Um, and sweat for the wedding was definitely on there. I had that mindset as soon as even before I got engaged, I was like, I need to start losing weight.
I need to be ready. I need to be prepared. I wanted to look good in every single photo I saw of myself and in my brain. That meant I had to look good at every angle. And to do that, I had to be as skinny as possible. So there wasn't a goal for me in the sense of like, oh, I need to get down to this weight or this size.
It was just, how low can we go? I was determined to like the way I looked and like the way I felt. And to me that just meant losing as much as possible. [00:20:00] So, and then I think it did get to the point where I knew I didn't like the way I looked anymore, but I was like, well, if I just keep going, I will.
Wow. See, the goalpost is always moving. Mm-hmm. It's just, it's there. There's only five more pounds. Wow. Wow. And I wonder if that's helpful for you now that you're not in that season, you're in a healing season, but then you'll always try and bring that back up. Like, oh, remember when you were smaller?
Remember when those jeans fit or that top fit this certain way? And like, is it helpful for you to recall in that and be like, you know what? When I was that size, that actually wasn't healthy. I was miserable. I was hungry. A hundred percent. And I wasn't present. Like I remember our first few sessions, I don't even remember them.
My brain was so just foggy. 'cause they were like right before dinner time and I would be so hungry during them that I was so spaced out. I couldn't recall anything we talked about. Like I was looking through my notes earlier and I [00:21:00] was like, my handwriting is even awful. Like I was so just like going through the motion.
Um, even, you know, last summer, I'm like, I just feel like I don't remember parts of my summer as much as I normally did because I was so undernourished. , And the things I do remember was me thinking about what am I going to eat? What am I not gonna eat? When am I gonna work out? It wasn't joy or love or peace, I even those things.
It was just stress and anxiety. And when we're undernourished, our body is under a state of stress. So that is heightened and the food thoughts are heightened because you're, that is a hunger cue when your body brings those thoughts of food to your remembrance to front of mind. And I know it can be all consuming, but eat, your body's just trying to get you to eat and
i'm so sorry that. You went through that and experienced all of that, but what a gift it is that you have done this work to heal and how much better this summer will be, that you can actually experience it and be present, and that [00:22:00] you're eating enough now you're nourishing yourself adequately, or you actually have a fueled brain and good function, yeah, I can look forward to playing pickleball and going for hikes. Spending time with friends and family around food and not feel stressed about it, and the fact that you can actually do a variety of exercise now I think is also huge because I think sometimes we pigeonhole ourselves like it has to be a run, it has to be for this long, has to be this intense.
I have to be sweating or I have to burn this many calories, X, Y, Z. So I love that you've been able to expand what movement looks like. Yes, me too. Yeah, that's so huge. That's so huge. So looking back on your wedding prep and that process, is there anything that you would change? I would not have lost as much weight as I did.
I remember during my prep I saw a video of a girl saying, I lost this much weight in preparation for my wedding, and I wish I didn't. And I remember laughing and being like, when would you ever lose so much weight you [00:23:00] wish you didn't? Like? I thought it was the most outrageous thing to say. I couldn't have imagined ever saying that, but I was just looking at wedding pictures.
I haven't printed out any of my wedding pictures because part of me hates the way I looked in them. Wow. I feel sad to see them. I look at that person and I'm like, Yeah. It just makes me so upset to even see. How sick I was. And I saw a picture of myself when I picked up my dress and it was like four months before my wedding and I lost a lot of weight those four months up before it.
And I looked at that picture and I said, I looked better in my dress then than I did on my wedding day. And that part of me broke. Like I was so upset that I did all that work for nothing or. You know, didn't eat for nothing, I guess, you know, it was like a failure almost that I let myself get that skinny because I loved the way I looked in it then, and I didn't need to lose five more pounds, 10 more pounds when I was [00:24:00] perfectly beautiful and happy months before, wow. And that's why through this work, we have to root deeper in the Lord first so that you can receive your belovedness, see yourself the way that God sees you. So in moments like that, when the world's saying, oh, you're too big, or You need to lose weight, and culture is putting all this pressure on you, social media is putting all this pressure on you.
We can have. God's mind, like the mind of Christ. It talks about in Corinthians and we have eyes to see things from an eternal perspective. So praise God that through this process you have rooted in the Lord and you do see yourself how he sees you now and you're speaking truth over yourself and you're taking every thought captive.
And you know, I think it would be really good to actually sit with those photos in the safety of the Lord and ask the Lord what does he see? And because there's still beauty there. There's redemption there. And those pictures are not the full story.
It's a snapshot in time. And look how much victory and [00:25:00] glory, his glory is on the other side of those photos. Right. Definitely. Yeah. It could be such a testimony too when you show those photos too. Like I don't think you should shy away from them. Not that you're like, you know, people on social media are like gloating about here my weight, here's how much weight I've lost.
But it's like, no, no, no. Here's what the Lord has done. This is my testimony here is my story, and I'm not gonna shy away from it because God's grace is sufficient and he's a redeeming God.
And, he didn't allow me to stay there. He met me there, so anyway, I don't know if that would, would be helpful or, , yeah, it's something that you're ready for. I mean, be spirit led about that, but that just kind of came to mind is like, wow I understand why looking at those photos is painful.
100% understand. I think when you see it through God's eyes, you'll see more of his grace and more of his love and like, wow, he healed me from that. He delivered me from that, and I'm not there and I never wanna go back there. I even hear about brides that didn't like how they did their hair on their wedding day.
So on an anniversary they'll put their dress on again and just hire another photographer and take some [00:26:00] shots with, with their husband, you know, a year later or whatever. So maybe you should do that or something. Yeah. Definitely like red, like a redemption photo shoot. Yeah. Oh no. Even if it's just, you don't post it anymore, even if it's just for you guys.
I don't know. Like, yeah, yeah. No, I remember a couple days before my wedding, I panicked because I had lost too much weight between my fitting or my last fitting and my wedding day. And I had to sew in a corset into my dress so I could have it fit. 'cause otherwise it would fall. Oh my gosh. And so like even those little things, like I was like, I was uncomfortable 'cause my dress was.
Tied to me and glued to me. And so having, I wanna put it on again so I can feel beautiful and comfortable in it. So I like that. Yeah. Wow. I think that would be really awesome. And I think the Lord can renew your mind around all of that too, and to like almost forgive yourself for that season. Like, it's [00:27:00] okay, God's not looming that over you.
He's not mad at you. There's no shame, no condemnation in Christ Jesus like that. That is not your portion girl. Yeah. So I feel like he could really speak into that and just be so, so loving. Like he just meets us in those moments. Even when you were at your lowest moment, low, lowest weight, lowest moment, he's looking at you, he's like, that's my beloved child.
That's my daughter. That's my bride. Yeah. He probably thinks about how that's like the start of me. Growing even deeper in love with him. You know, like, yes, that was a kick. Exactly. God used that to bring you closer to himself.
One thing that my pastor said a couple years ago, and I've never forgotten it, is that hurt people become healed people and then healed people can help people and you. Or a walking testimony of that, and I just see even more impact for you with this healing story.
Nothing that you have been through is going to be wasted. I hope so. I hope I can help [00:28:00] somebody not feel or fall into the same thing I did. If I could go back and even protect myself, I would. So if I can protect someone else, I hope so. And it's such an invitation in the wedding season, and even if you're not engaged yet, but you're a bridesmaid in a wedding, or a guest at a wedding, or just going to the beach this summer and wearing a bathing suit or shorts, short sleeve shirt, it's an invitation to have the Lord reveal himself as your refuge, your fortress, a strong tower, a protector or redeemer.
Because there are so many pressures in the world to, lose weight or do things, how culture does things or diet culture and, the Lord can protect you from that. So let him, we don't have to take control, take the reins and try and figure things out, or fix our body.
It's like, no, no, no. Let the Lord protect you from falling into those temptations of the world. Yeah, yeah. Are there any scriptures that have been really helpful, either on your journey or even [00:29:00] now, things that you clinging to that have been really helpful? Yeah, like we talked about, the Sabbath is made for man, not the man for Sabbath.
I still have to remind myself that one, um. First Corinthians 10 23, that you talk about a lot, that everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial, is super helpful. Especially for working out with me because the world says that working out as much as you possibly can is a great thing.
And while God allows us to work out okay, doing five workouts in a day isn't beneficial, right? Not taking a essay is not beneficial, so. That one has still been one that I have to remind myself of and I still, one of our first sessions you told me about Matthew 6 26 and I wrote it out and I put it on the wall in my bathroom and I still read it all the time because I have to remind myself that God provided for the birds, he provided for the lilies and he will provide for me.[00:30:00]
Amen. Girl, those are so good. And for listeners, that whole section in one Corinthians from one Corinthians 10 23 to verse 31 is so good because that verse ends with, and so whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do it all for the glory of God. And that's your motivation now for why you steward your body and why you rest and how you eat and how you exercise it.
Just all of the things. And it's not for weight loss anymore. Ugh. Those are all so good. And I remember that you took Matthew six. And you put that on your mirror and you recited that every day, and you spoke that of yourself. And that was even when we first started working together. When you said like you didn't really remember that much because you were still under fueled.
And it's cool because. Physically, you might not have been as capable of being present, retaining a lot, but the spirit of the living God was still working greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world. So even though you felt like you didn't have capacity, and maybe from a [00:31:00] physiological standpoint, couldn't really retain much, had a lot of brain fog, but God was still planting seeds.
I think that the first Corinthians 10 23 is good for you. Now, in this season, ask yourself like, Hey, I have given myself permission. I've made peace with all of these foods.
I've made peace with rest. All of these things, uh, made peace with different forms of exercise. You've made peace with it all. Everything is permissible, but what's gonna benefit me most in this moment? What is my body calling for? And that's your filter. Now moving forward. Right. Yeah. And even if it's beneficial, 'cause it brings me joy.
The other day at the gym I did handstands because I haven't done handstands in so long. And I was like, that sounds really fun. And you know what it was. Oh wow. Yes. That has definitely been one that is still such a great scripture to cling on to. So good And joy is a benefit because it's a fruit of the spirit, you know, and even in Romans it says for the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
So doing those [00:32:00] handstands just because it gives you joy eating a cupcake because it gives you joy, like it having a salad with dressing because it tastes better and it actually helps you absorb the nutrients better with the fats in there with fat soluble vitamins. But it also gives you joy. Like it's, it's okay to do that.
And that is a good enough motivation. To do something. And I think when we're in the thick of diet, culture and eating disorder, we don't see that as enough. We actually see enjoyment as the same thing as indulgence, right? Yeah. It's like a failure if you're having fun or enjoying what you're eating.
Because it should be torture and this should be, you know, a sign of us picking up our cross. No, nourish yourself. Like it shouldn't, it shouldn't be torture, but there actually should be joy at the table. Like God gave us nourishment as a gift.
Are there other things that you would say, to listeners maybe to. Brides, potentially people that are considering signing up for faith-based nutrition counseling. Any [00:33:00] piece of advice that you would give them? Yeah. , If you are thinking about signing up, sign up, like there's no harm in it.
I wish I would have signed up. Before I had a problem, I wish I would've when I was like, oh, I wanna start losing weight for my wedding, got set up with a dietician and had that been our goal, because then I might not be at the point where I needed help for my other struggles. I could have just gotten help to get to a healthy weight and feeling good.
Um, and that's the other thing is like. I wish I would have prepared myself for my wedding to feel good rather than look good. I think that those were things that I did not. I thought if I looked good, I would feel good, and it was so the opposite. So remembering my why of why am I getting married? I'm getting married to be one with my husband to have a day revolved around God.
Maybe plant some seeds for people who have never been to church before, [00:34:00] and remembering it's one. Stay like I lost my period for one day. Are you kidding me? Like if I could just go shake myself and be like, it's not worth it. I wish I could. Um, yeah. Wow. I really appreciate you saying that. I know that that takes a lot of courage and I want you to know like there's no shame, no condemnation there and look how much healing has come since then. I think it's wise too. I love that you said that, that hey, you know, as soon as you get engaged or you said you were thinking about losing weight, getting stuff right, even before you got engaged.
So if you know engagement's on the horizon or you want to be married and you know that that season is going to invite a lot of spiritual warfare, start now and get support, get, get ahead of it so that when you're in that season, you feel more of a peace. I praise God for what he has taken me through. I've talked about in the season of the podcast some body image struggles that I've had, and I've done a lot of work for years leading up to this.
And it still has been a struggle. There's still more to unpack with the Lord, but I can tell [00:35:00] you that it has not been as bad as it would've been if I had married the guy that I thought I was gonna marry five years ago. Great. Crazy work. So even if you're doing the work, it's still difficult in this season just because of spiritual warfare and the enemy hates Christian marriages, uh, hates women, hates our bodies, hates the fact that we can procreate.
So of course he's gonna attack your fertility 100%. Anyway, all of that to say is that we want to, we wanna get ahead of it. Right, and you don't have to wait until you're sick enough or you're like, I think that was something too, is I was so convinced I didn't have a problem because I wasn't as sick as.
Blank, or I've never been hospitalized or X, Y, Z, I was like almost embarrassed because I was like, I don't need help because I'm not that bad. Mm-hmm. The enemy would try to tell me like, you made this all up in your head. You don't actually. They have a problem, you're not actually sick. All of those mindsets where it's like, okay, well I don't actually need to heal [00:36:00] because there's nothing to heal from, or I don't actually need help 'cause there's nothing to get help for.
And I wish I would've as soon as I realized like, oh, this is getting a little obsessive, or, oh, this is not going down a right path. Just gone and gotten advice and help from somebody who's literally qualified to do that rather than just keep trying to do it by myself. Yeah. And that's not weakness, that's wisdom.
Yeah, yeah. But we also know, hey, even if you missed that boat and didn't get ahead of it, God's grace is sufficient. He connected us. It was a divine appointment. It was the right time for you, and you're not late. You're not missing out on the healing. And that's the thing about the Lord. He doesn't just restore, but he redeems.
So he makes us better on the other end than where we were when we started. So you're actually gonna have better health, better fertility, better hormones, better relationship with better body image than you did if you. I had never gone through all of this because that's how good our God is and how redeeming his grace is.
Yeah. Praise sad. [00:37:00] Amen. Girl, I love this. So if anyone's listening to this right now and they are curious about a faith-based approach to nutrition counseling and what it could look like to work with me, head to the show notes and book a free 20 minute call with me. And on that 20 minute call, we'll talk about what your struggles are with eating the season that you're in, things that you've tried in the past.
We'll go through how you're currently eating. And I, on those calls, I always like to give people some initial tangible nutrition. Advice, a couple tweaks that you can already start implementing that day or the next day. So you'll get some nutrition advice, you'll get some scriptures that speak into your situation,
but you also get to try out for free, Hey, what does it look like to work with Abby? What is a faith-based approach? What's all this about? And you get all of your questions answered and see if working together could be a good fit. So we got that linked up in the show notes, so awesome. Lauren, thank you so much for this conversation today.
And just your spirit of vulnerability and your heart and just sharing the, the real, the real struggles, but also God's glory. Amen. Yeah. Yay. Love you sister. Love you.
. [00:38:00] Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of Your Daily Bread Podcast. Now, if anything about this episode resonated with you, I wanna encourage you to send it to three sisters in Christ who may also wanna steward their bodies better.
I read every comment, every review of the show, and I love hearing your testimonies and how the Holy Spirit is meeting you through these episodes. And if you haven't left a review yet, I wanna encourage you to do so 'cause it truly does help the show grow and it. Ultimately benefits the kingdom. And if you need any personalized support with your nutrition and your relationship with food or your body image, head to the show notes and you'll see all the different ways to work with me.
See you next week.
