Many of us are familiar with various types of eating struggles which arise from situations other than hunger. Not all of us are familiar with how to overcome them. When it comes to walking in victory with food-related battles, it is important to understand that—in addition to problem patterns with eating behaviors—there are also different types of hunger. Furthermore, they can overlap, making it even more complicated at times. Whether we are working on something as complex as restoring a healthy relationship with food, or simply learning to navigate hunger in a way that sets us up for success, each situation needs to be addressed in its own unique way. In this post, I’m breaking down the most common types of hunger and reasons for eating. We will be discussing what they are, how they can go awry, and how to navigate them in a way that honors your physical, spiritual, emotional, relational, and even mental needs without crossing healthy boundaries. Food is fuel, yes, but it is also sooo much more. Not every area may pertain to you, and I am by no means the definitive expert on this subject, but I have walked through every one of these issues, and am confident that at least one will be helpful for every person reading. Let’s dive in and discover God’s good design for nourishing our body and enjoying food!

Physical Hunger:
This is the kind of hunger that we feel in our physical body to let us know it is time to eat. It is the sensation we get when our stomach is empty. It usually comes on gradually and is often accompanied by a slight discomfort and growling noises if we don’t begin to eat when we feel it. If we wait too long to eat, other symptoms like shakiness, brain fog, and even mood changes can occur—hangry is real a thing! Physical hunger was designed by God to be our body's way of letting us know that it needs energy.

For anyone who has ever dieted for any length of time, physical hunger usually falls in one of two categories: it is either something they fear or something they take pride in.

If you fall into the first category of fearing physical hunger because you worry you'll ever-eat it is important to know that allowing ourselves to get hungry is actually important. It keeps us in tune with our body so that we are able to make decisions about food based on what it truly needs (rather than ignoring those needs or not understanding them). If you never allow yourself to experience physical hunger, but instead always eat to keep yourself from getting physically hungry, you won’t actually get to a place of self-trust with food. We all want to get to a place where we eat when we’re hungry and stop when we’re comfortably full, but that can be very difficult if you always avoid feeling physically hungry. There’s utility in that sensation. It allows you to know what amount of food is required for your energy needs so that you don’t ever under-fuel* or over-fuel. (*See note below)

If you fall into the second category where you take pride in ignoring physical hunger, it is important to address this mindset around why you do so. Usually this stems from a place of wanting to control our physical body’s appearance. We think that if we don’t give the body what it needs, we will be able to lose some weight, or perhaps even make up for overeating events. There’s a few problems here. First, not fueling our body properly is not good from a spiritual standpoint. Ignoring physical hunger is a sign that we are focusing on something less important than God’s best for us (like physical appearance). This is a slippery slope to creating an idol that stands before God in our life. We also need energy in order to do all of the things that the Lord has called us to do, o that we make the most of every opportunity (Ephesians 5:16). That is not possible if we don’t steward our body well, and one of the ways we do that is to make sure we have enough fuel. Second, not fueling puts us at risk for damaging hormones—and ultimately our health—if done over a long enough period of time. Instead of looking at food as the enemy, begin to look at it as a gift from God. It is meant to be enjoyed as a means to energy and abundant life. If this is difficult for you, try to think about it in the same manner as drinking water. We all know that it is important to get enough hydration to stay energized and feel our best. Nobody fears water. Food should be just the same way! When we get to a place where we trust ourselves to eat when we’re hungry and stop when we’re full, and allow food to be a tool rather than an idol, physical hunger won’t be something we respond to negatively.

Practically speaking, I recommend utilizing a hunger and fullness scale to assess when it is time to eat. This means gauging hunger on a scale from 1 to 10, where 10 is completely full and stuffed to the point of feeling ill, and 1 is absolutely ravenous to the point of eating whatever you can get your hands on. Most people will need to eat when they reach somewhere around 3 to 4 and stop at 7 to 8. This will of course vary by how frequently you eat and/ or how large of a meal or snack you plan to have at any given time. Checking in on the hunger scale throughout the day, as well as during meals, allows you to put some time and space between the “danger zones” (1-2 and 9-10) so that you avoid energy slumps, poor food decisions, and/or breaking healthy guardrails with food. We want to eat in a way that keeps our energy stable throughout the day (i.e. without the highs and lows that can occur when we under or over-fuel). If you frequently find yourself in a situation where you are so busy that you forget to eat, set reminders on your phone to alert you to check in at various times throughout the day. If you struggle with stopping when you’re full, be very diligent to practice mindful eating. This means eating while seated not standing, eating away from distractions, eating slowly and chewing through thoroughly, setting your utensils down between bites, noting when food stops tasting as enjoyable, not eating directly out of packages / multi-serving containers, etc. Eating mindfully will allow you to process and note how far along you are on the hunger scale with better accuracy, as there is a bit of a lag time between when the stomach is full and when you register the physical sensation of how full it really is. If you still have trouble with when to stop during meals, it can be extremely helpful to look for “the sigh.” If you pay attention, you will notice when you begin to take a few deep breaths towards the end of your meal. This is your body’s cue to indicate it is time to stop, even if you don’t feel the physical fullness quite yet.

One final way to help you discern if you are physically hungry or not when you aren’t sure is to ask yourself if food is the only solution to what’s taking place. If eating is the only solution, it is truly physical hunger. If something other than food is the solution, it is not physical hunger and is likely one of the following situations.

*It is important to note that if someone suppresses physical hunger for long enough (especially if there is disordered eating behavior involved), it may be difficult for them to feel physical hunger, even when they are physically needing food. In this case, it is imperative that they seek help from either a trained professional like a registered dietitian or medical provider, or a coach familiar with this type of circumstance. Regulating hormones and guided eating will be necessary in order to return appetite regulation back to normal.

Emotional Eating:
This type of eating takes place when we use food to cope and is the result of a recurring trigger (event, feeling, etc.) that is unpleasant or stressful. It is brought on instantaneously, rather than building gradually like physical hunger will. It can overlap with physical hunger, but in and of itself, it is a purely psychological (i.e. not physical / physiologic) desire for food. Additionally, when we turn to emotional eating, there are usually very clear healthy guardrails and boundaries that are crossed. Typically, it involves eating past comfort level, perhaps even venturing into binging territory—especially with less nourishing foods which might not make us feel our best. It usually places importance on the desires of the flesh, rather than meeting our needs in a spiritually healthy way. You can see why we don’t want it to become a habit.

Emotional eating can be hard to break when it results frequently as part of a repeated habit loop where we turn to food for comfort in order to cope with an unpleasant feeling or stressful sothat pops up regularly. Sometimes we know what we are doing and other times we may not be aware. Addressing and overcoming emotional hunger is usually multifactorial.

Unlike physical hunger which will continue to build if not addressed, emotional hunger usually comes in wave-like sensations that crescendo and then dissipate. Learning to “ride the wave” without responding is an essential part of breaking free of the habit loop which results from turning to food to cope.

The skill of learning to “ride the wave“ without giving in strengthens your ability to make positive decisions every time you do it. Most of the time, this battle is largmental and requires a change in thought patterns in order to change our actions. What we say and think is crucial. In moments when you feel weak, begin to rewrite the narratives in your mind. Instead of saying things like “this is too hard,” or “I just can’t do it,” or “I’ll never be able to change,” begin to say things like “I am learning to do things differently,” or “Christ in me is stronger than the wrong desires in me,“ or “I can do hard things.”

In the setting of emotional eating, it is also important to make sure we begin addressing our emotions properly in the moment as they arise while simultaneously working on the inciting issue (eliminating it if possible, or changing our response to it if not possible). Journaling your feelings and thoughts about what is taking place as well as how you plan to address it in light of God’s truth can be extraordinarily helpful. The more honest you are willing to be about why it is happening, the easier it will be to adequately address it and ultimately work toward eliminating it. This takes time, but we can still mitigate the impact of emotions and triggering situations in the meantime by “riding the wave” as discussed above. Addressing the issues that result in emotional eating could look like something as simple as turning to the Lord in prayer or opening up our Bible instead of the pantry. It could also mean reaching out to someone to help us stay accountable to our choices in stressful moments. In extreme cases where there is a continuous cycle of over-eating that feels out of control as the result of emotional eating, a counselor or therapist may be warranted.

Furthermore, emotional hunger is often a sign that we need to implement other self-care practices besides using food to cope. First, we need to have ongoing preventative self-care activities as well as things that bring us joy in order to keep our emotional cup from becoming empty. We also need strategies to refill our cup when a large or unexpected stressor drains us. When done properly, this allows us to offset the emotional highs and lows that can trigger emotional eating. Self-care practices should consider your physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental well-being and include things which attend to all aspects of your person. Neglecting any of these areas can throw things out of balance.

I also believe emotional eating is a spiritual battle. The enemy wants to keep us discouraged by poor behaviors and distracted by the cares of this world so that we live less than effective lives for the kingdom. For women especially, we are prone to spiritual attack in the area of health and body image, so it is no surprise that emotional eating comes up so frequently for the believer. The key is that we must see it as the spiritual battle it is in order to address it properly. Too often we just think emotional eating is related to a character flaw, or lack of motivation and willpower (which is not the case). But the truth is, it is neither. That’s actually good news! It means we aren’t broken or lacking. We can have hope in change because God has given us weapons to overcome. Prayer, worship, and scripture are just a few of these important weapons. Covering ourselves in prayer and asking for God’s help keeps us on guard to enemy attack. Worship music sets an atmosphere of victory and tunes our heart to the sensitivity of spiritual matters. Keeping a list of scriptures that apply to the circumstance of emotional eating helps us renew our mind with truth when Satan attempts to sell us lies about what’s taking place. Reading over them in moments of high emotion allows us to stay encouraged and shift our perspective to one of victory over his schemes.

Fasting (of any form, not just food) is another powerful weapon. It signifies our trust and dependence on God, rather than ourselves. It is often beneficial in achieving a breakthrough when it comes to something we are significantly struggling with. We see in Daniel 10 that it can be a means to shifting things in the spiritual realm, not just the physical. My only word of caution is for those who struggle(d) with restrictive or disordered eating tendencies: I do not advise fasting food unless you know for certain that you have a complete restoration of your relationship with food in terms of not restricting. The last thing we want to do is to use fasting with ulterior motives for the physical outcomes we desire.

When emotional hunger overlaps with physical hunger, I do believe there is a time and a place for permission to include comfort food (i.e. those which are less nourishing, more sensory pleasing). There are a few key things to understand if you find that this choice is appropriate. First, you must be honest with yourself about the context in order to make sure that choosing a less nourishing food will not break any of your guardrails in a given situation. Second, you must understand and accept that comfort food will not solve the problem and be willing to work through the issue that needs to be resolved in a constructive manner. Third, you must make sure you understand what an appropriate amount of a given comfort food is for you personally to consume, and stay within that amount so that you don’t indulge the flesh. This can take a couple of tries to figure out, but when you do, it becomes the predefined limit. This will also help to prevent a binge-type scenario, or a situation where you don’t feel your best after eating the food because you ate too much of it. In almost every situation, I find that stopping prior to where we would like will be necessary to meet this criteria. The flesh will always want us to continue to eat because the food tastes yummy, but we must be willing to stop prior to that place if we expect to remain led by the Spirit instead of the flesh. For a practical example of how to plan eating treats (when both physical and emotional hunger are present) in a way that doesn’t cross healthy boundaries when an emotional craving hits, see Sarah’s post here.

Binge Eating:
I think it is important to note that people often throw around the word “binge” quite flippantly. Binge eating is not simply eating past fullness. Overeating happens to everyone from time to time—even those with no disordered food relationship. Binge eating involves eating (what anyone would consider to be) a larger than normal quantity of food in a relatively short period of time on a routine basis. It is typically characterized by eating well past fullness, a sense of loss of control over the food intake (possibly even “brain shutdown” about what is taking place during the event), eating very quickly, eating secretly, and feelings of guilt and shame for crossing known guardrails for eating behaviors. Binge eating can be either biologically or psychologically triggered. What I mean by that is that it can be the result of food restriction (either too low of food intake overall, or restricting certain foods even if nutrition needs are met) over a long enough period of time that your body eventually pressures you to eat in a way that feels absolutely out of control, or as a component of emotional eating (i.e. using highly palatable foods to self-soothe). Because the emotional eating behavior is typically hidden from others, it makes it even more difficult to break.

If binge eating results from too low of food intake, it is very important that you begin to nourish yourself adequately. This means eating enough calories overall and eating at regular intervals (i.e. not fasting or skipping meals). If it is stemming from restriction of food types (without adequate nutrition being compromised), and you bounce between all-or-nothing eating (restriction and binging) with foods you see as triggers, permission to partake and self-trust need to be developed (more on overcoming this in the metal hunger section). If there is an emotional eating component, this needs to be addressed as well. At minimum, accountability with a trusted friend, Pastor, or counselor will be necessary (this goes for both under eating and emotional binge eating scenarios). Confession is an integral part of victory, as is prayer from those you entrust to support you (James 5:16). Professional guidance from a therapist who specializes in eating disorders as well as a coach who deals with this type of issue (not just any coach) may be necessary for others. Both causes can potentially be present at various times as well, and addressing each is necessary if that is the case.

One of the biggest things to understand in the setting of emotional binging is that just because you have an urge to binge does not mean you have to act on it. Relying on the Lord for strength in overcoming this battle is critical. This process involves more than behavior change. He must work transformation. It is also important to understand that while He can set you free in an instant, there is often an extended period of time for recovery to be achieved. Some people even require diligence in maintaining recovery (much like an alcoholic or drug addict) to ensure it doesn’t creep back in. Don’t be discouraged if thoughts about overeating still pop up from time to time in recovery. As I mentioned before, even those with excellent food relationships still occasionally eat past fullness because food is delicious or if they are distracted. Having such thoughts or even overeating at something like a holiday meal does not necessarily mean you have relapsed. If the thoughts continue to trouble you, it is very helpful to view them as something other than you / your new way of behavior. Observe them and let them go. Be encouraged that having them doesn’t mean a need to act on them any longer. We all occasionally have ridiculous thoughts like “I don’t want to go to work today so I think I’ll just call in and quit,“ or “I’d love to ram this person for driving so slow!” Just as these cause us to dream for a moment and then laugh, so too can binge-type thoughts about food become absurd behaviors of the past that we stop considering as option.

Practically speaking, when you find yourself struggling with binge eating due to emotional eating, there are things you can do.

• First, you may have to do one of two things: either remove the food tempting you to binge, or remove yourself from the situation. You don't need to avoid the food forever (I actually believe this backfires), but until you are comfortable with strategic reintroduction. Until you are ready to reintroduce it, using a substitute for the trigger food that is similar can help. This is where Dashing Dish recipes are a great resource! There are a lot of products on the market which can work as well. Find things that are enough to satisfy without being hyper-palatable.
• Second, use the 4 Ps: Pause, Pray, Plan, Persist. PAUSE on taking action while feelings are overwhelming. PRAY and ask the Lord for strength and wisdom. Have a PLAN for how to proceed set up ahead of time. PERSIST in this process and don't give up!

Remember, resolving emotional binge eating is about more than wanting to achieve physical changes by improving your eating habits; it is about spiritual health. The enemy is trying to keep you from being strong and confident so that you are making an impact on the world for God's kingdom.

Mental Hunger:
Mental hunger is essentially what we know as cravings. They can occur when we are physically hungry, but definitely pop up even when we are physically full. If you think of emotional eating as being the psychological side of the coin, mental hunger is the physical and physiologic side. It can be the result of our physical senses (seeing something and wanting it, tasting something often and desiring more and more, etc.), the result of not adequately giving the body what it needs (either under-fueling for our activity level or being too restrictive with food whether energy needs are met or not), or other reasons (like hormone fluctuations, lack of sleep, health conditions or pregnancy, and even some medications).

When it comes to cravings that result from the physical senses, setting healthy guardrails (in conjunction with what the Lord tells us is best for us individually) keeps us from slipping into indulging the flesh. What this means is that we set healthy boundaries for ourselves that we know allow us enough freedom to enjoy what we eat, but not so much that we allow our flesh to rule over our spirit. These guardrails need to be set prayerfully and in advance of the situation(s) that we know trigger cravings so that we have a clear-headed plan going into them of what decision we will make. We don’t want to find our self in a situation where we don’t know ahead of time what is best for us to do, because the flesh will convince you to do what it wants instead. Cultivating the discipline of self-control a fruit of the Spirit and is very important to our spiritual state. All things are permissible but all things are not beneficial (1 Corinthians 6:12, 1 Corinthians 10:23). The ultimate goal is to find a balance of moderation and temperance. Each of us will have to do a little work up front to determine what that healthy balance looks like for each of us individually, but once we do, it is work that never has to be done again!

On the other side of things, we don’t want to be so restrictive that it stifles the joy out of our life. God gave us physical senses for a reason, one of which is the enjoyment of the taste of food. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free, but we do not submit again to a bondage of slavery (Galatians 5:1). Restriction is a form of slavery just as much as indulging the flesh can be. Again, this is where healthy guardrails can help us determine the balance in freedom to enjoy food and self-control so that we do not let the flesh master us.

If mental hunger occurs as the result of under-fueling and/or being too restrictive with food choices (even if we are eating enough for energy needs), then the solution is to increase our intake of food, and/or be more permissive with the foods we allow ourselves to enjoy. When dealing with this type of hunger, it is also important to shift our mindset to one of abundance.

If the restriction stems from a lack of self-trust around trigger foods, the solution is not to eliminate them. It is to build self-trust around our trigger foods. I don’t know of any person who tells themselves they can’t have something that does not then struggle with fixating on that exact thing. Certainly, attempting to avoid the things that trip us up when it comes to overindulging in food seems like a good idea at first. However, it will always backfire at some point. To the degree we restrict, we will eventually rebound and overindulge. Food doesn’t work exactly like other temptations where avoiding in order to prevent sin is the best option. For something like a compulsion to purchase things we don’t need, not having credit cards may be a solution. The problem with this kind of ‘cut it off entirely’ strategy when it comes to food is that we have to eat on a daily basis, and there’s no way to navigate life without encountering our trigger foods. The process of building self-trust takes time. It involves permission-based eating and using strategic exposure to the foods that we have previously set off-limits. Permission-based eating is the practice of saying ‘yes’ instead of ‘no’ to trigger foods (within healthy guardrails) so that we remove the all-or-nothing mindset that keeps us from enjoying them mindfully and ultimately leads to feeling self-control when eating them. This kind of thing is best done under the guidance of a coach so that we have an objective person offering wisdom and accountability.

Cravings that result from things like monthly hormone fluctuations, lack of sleep, pregnancy, etc., involve a combination of setting healthy guardrails as well as practical steps. Some things (like hormones) will be outside of your control in terms of mitigating their impact on cravings. This is where your healthy guardrails (as previously discussed) or even permission to partake mindfully (when appropriate) come into play (again, see Sarah’s blog for wisdom on this). Other things which can worsen cravings (like lack of sleep) are under our control, and become a matter of cultivating the self-discipline required to steward our health well.

Practical Hunger:
Practical hunger is eating when we are not necessarily 100% ready to eat from a physical hunger standpoint, but we know we are getting there, and / or that the opportunity to eat when we need to might not be available.

It is always best to wait until we reach a level on the hunger scale that we know indicates a need for food. But sometimes, that just is not possible. Eating a little something to avoid becoming ravenous by the time we are able to eat is very important. This keeps us from choosing less nourishing foods later by default because we are starving and / or from overeating because we aren’t set up to partake mindfully when we finally do eat. Practical hunger can take a little bit of work to figure out so that you eat just enough. But, with a few tries, you can usually figure out fairly quickly how much and what type of food you will need to tide you over based on how long it will be until you eat again and what type of meal will follow. Sometimes just a bit of protein (like a couple boiled egg whites or rolled up deli meat will be adequate. Other times, you may want to include some carbs for energy along with it (like rice cakes or fruit) and/or healthy fats like a few nuts or the whole boiled egg) to keep you satiated longer. Veggies with hummus or even a few bites of leftovers can work well. A homemade Dashing Dish protein bar, bite, ball, or muffin are other great options. You can stock these in the freezer to pull out when needed. Protein shakes/smoothies can be tailored to meet your macro needs (i.e. adding fruit or fats to the protein source).

Boredom Eating:
Boredom eating ensues when we are not necessarily hungry, but just looking for something to do. It can be for the purpose of passing time because we don’t feel we have anything better to do, or even to get the pleasure-boosting dopamine hit that snacking can offer (this is often paired with mindless activities like watching TV). Occasionally, it can even be related to the type of procrastination which often happens when we want to delay the next thing we have to do on our agenda. That said, there are certainly times when physical hunger and boredom hunger overlap.

First, if you catch yourself in this scenario, it is important to assess whether or not you are truly physically hungry. If that is the case, proceed with eating something. In order to avoid creating the secondary habit of using food to cope with boredom and/or to get the dopamine hit which sets us up for eating to indulge the flesh, be sure you choose something that will nourish and satisfy your physical hunger instead of choosing less nourishing, highly pleasurable foods. It is also important that you choose to eat foods in a way that avoids distraction from the experience. Eating mindfully will ensure that you stop when you are comfortably full (as opposed to numbing out and mindlessly eating because you were distracted by something like the television). Eating mindfully involves experiencing the food you’re eating to its fullest. It means paying attention to things like when the taste stops being enjoyable, when your stomach feels comfortably full, not rushing through the food, and plating the food instead of eating directly out of the package or multi-serving container.

If you find that you are not truly hungry, it is very important to identify the experience that you are trying to avoid as boredom. Once you identify it, you need to acknowledge that it is not actually going to harm you in any way to feel bored so that it doesn’t lead you to unhealthy habits of any kind (even those that don’t involve food) in an attempt to make it go away. Practically speaking, it will be necessary to have a game plan of other (healthy) activities you can turn to instead of food. Make a list of things (in advance of finding yourself in the boredom hunger situation) so that you have no excuse not to overcome it. Things like going for a walk, calling your friend, reading a book, gardening, doing a puzzle, drawing or adult coloring books, writing, or any other activity that engages you mentally, is a hobby you enjoy, or serves a meaningful purpose. When the joy of another activity is compelling enough, it overshadows the excitement of eating.

If you find yourself in the situation of procrastination eating, it will be a matter of breaking the habit and training yourself to move through the discomfort of whatever it is you are avoiding once you identify what it is. The truth is that the activity is still going to be there when you finish eating, so you’re just delaying how long it takes to move through the process. It can be helpful to tell yourself that you can have something to eat after you’re done with the activity, but only if you are truly physically hungry at that time. Meaning, it is very important that you do not eat as a reward once the job is done. Telling yourself you can eat later if you need to (when it actually makes sense to), helps to avoid the discomfort that telling yourself “no” brings in the moment. It is less psychologically challenging to delay that it is to deny. However, you will likely find that once the task is done, you are excited about completing it and the urge to eat has completely dissipated.

FOMO Eating:
Fear of missing out eating occurs when we are not necessarily hungry for specific food, but feel pressure to eat it because we are worried the opportunity will pass. We don’t have to eat something just because it is there, simply because it is not always readily available. The truth is that any food is available to us at any time if we are willing to seek it out or even make it ourselves. That said, there is a difference between FOMO eating and being in a situation where we do actually want to try the food and it might be a once in a lifetime opportunity (think pasta in Italy or pastries in France). Sometimes it might be hard to tell the difference between the two, so utilizing the “three bite rule” can be helpful. Having three bites of food will not make or break your physical hunger level. It is enough to give you the experience of tasting the food without overdoing it in any way. This strategy can be used at holidays, on vacations, during dining out experiences, etc.

Guilt / Peer Pressure Eating:
This type of eating occurs when we do not actually need or want the food being offered to us, but we feel compelled to eat it anyway. It could be when Grandma insists that you have a slice of the cake she made “just especially for you.” It could come from coworkers who poke fun that you are “too healthy” to order appetizers plus dessert with them at lunch. It can also occur as the result of old narratives around food like being taught to always “clean our plate” so we don't waste food (or because of the starving children of the world), or the need to “get our money's worth” at a buffet.

When it comes to others, it is important to be sensitive, but also understand that what they want does not have to come at the expense of what you need on order to feel your best. Remember that you can always say no without actually saying no. The best method for doing this is to say something like “thank you, I’m good.” You don’t directly say no, but you indicate that you are going to pass on what’s being offered. It is hard for someone to reply to that response with continued pressure. You can also ask to take a portion home. Simply let them know you don’t have room for it now, but would love to enjoy it later. Whether you do want to have it later, or plan to toss it, they don’t have to know! (Don’t use this strategy if you know you will be tempted by having it go home with you and don’t want to consume it). If someone makes a joking remark that you know is more than just a joke, simply give a polite reason for why you are choosing not to have it. If your coworkers want to make you feel guilty for not eating #AllTheThings with them at lunch, remember it is about them wanting to feel validated and not judged. You can simply say something like “Oh sometimes I would totally get that kind of thing too! I’m just not hungry enough for it today and I want to feel my best for the remainder of the work day.” If you feel the pressure to eat something because you’re worried about food waste or getting your money's worth, remember that you’ve paid the same amount for the food regardless of what you eat. If you can take leftovers home, this is actually a great way to make your money go further! If you can’t take leftovers home because it is a situation like a buffet, remember that eating more doesn’t do anything for the amount spent. It is actually a disservice to yourself to break guardrails and eat to a place of discomfort.

For additional in the moment biblical guidance with food decisions, check out the I Deserve App by Christian Author Barb Raveling. It says "weight loss app," however it is really just designed to help you set and keep healthy guardrails and boundaries with food. It can be used just as effectively for those not looking to lose weight. I also highly recommend Katie's book Nourish, Made To Crave by Lysa TerKeurst, and Joyce Meyer's Battlefield of the Mind!

For 1:1 coaching info, you can me at Kaci@DashingDish.com.

For an in-depth group coaching experience on healthy living God’s way, register for the Dashing Dish 6 week Stronger Together Program, or sign up for notification of our next round if registration is presently closed.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to comment below, or reach out to me by emailing me at Kaci@DashingDish.com any time!

What part of this post do you feel led to an insight which might be helpful for you in achieving a greater level of freedom?

If you have any ways which were not mentioned that have helped you achieve freedom and victory in any of the above, please share in the comments!

Kaci