God’s Solution to Eating Disorders: Total Transformation

What Are Eating Disorders?

Anorexia Nervosa• Anorexia nervosa is characterized

by an unrealistic fear of weight gain, self-starvation, and conspicuous distortion of body image. The individual is obsessed with becoming increasingly thinner and limits food intake to the point where health is compromised. The name comes from two Latin words that mean nervous inability to eat. Typically clinical diagnosis is made when individual has lost 15% of total body weight.

Bulimia Nervosa• Bulimia is an eating disorder

in which a person binges (eats a very large amount of food within a short period of time) and purges (rids themselves of the food, usually by vomiting). The abuse of diet pills and laxatives is also common with bulimia. In addition, bulimic people may exercise obsessively.

Eating Disorders: Pervasive and Cross-Cultural

• Statistics hard to come by; anorexia and bulimia extremely common in Eastern Europe •Studies of eating attitudes indicate abnormal eating attitudes in non-Western countries have been gradually increasing.•EDs are not only isolated to North Americans and Europeans, treatment centers serve a full-range of cultures including people from Iran, Korea, Turkey, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Africa. (Source: Planet-therapy.com)• In her 1997 L.A. Times Article titled "Women's Eating Disorders Go Global", Sonni Efron discusses the rise in eating disorder cases in North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Tapei, Shanghai, Beijing, Philippines, India and Pakistan. In Hong Kong, she writes, "20 to 30 types of diet pills are in common use, including variations on the "fen-phen" combination of fenfluramine and phentermine that was banned in the United States

Why are Eating Disorders so Prevalent?

Is it because of….• Media?• Abundance and (relative) affordability of

food?• Low “self-esteem”?• Genetics? • Women are “political prisoners”?

Human Nature: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)

• Eating disorders are NOT diseases. They are life-dominating sins.

• Definition of disease: A pathological condition of a part, organ, or system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environment.

• Definition of sin: Disobedience (in word, thought or deed) to the will of God. 2. Something regarded as being shameful, deplorable, or wrong.

Root of Eating Disorders = Deadly Vice of Pride

• Fear of man/insecurity (Galatians 1:10)• Vanity• Idolatry (Matthew 6:21b)• Seeking control of and/or independence from others • Lack of self-control/gluttony (Matt. 11:19; Titus 1:12)• Perfectionism• Lack of prayer life/undisciplined thought life• Jealousy/envy; anger; hypersensitive to correction;

unforgiveness

Progression of IdolatrySinful thoughts Sinful Actions Sinful Habits Life-

dominating sins

“An idol is anyone or anything into which we invest an imbalance of time, energy, and resources. It is a longing, craving, desiring, wanting, must-have, only-happy-

when, and want-so-badly-I-am-willing-to-disobey-God.” Dr. Rick Thomas, (Mt. Carmel Ministries).

An Eating Disorder = Worship Disorder

• The heart of anorexia and bulimia is idolatry.

• If comfort and thinness are treasures, heart is drawn to self (Matt. 6:21). FALSE SAVIOR

• If Christ is treasure, heart is focused on HIM. • To turn her heart from her sin, she must turn her heart to Christ (2

Cor. 3:18).

"What if exercise & discipline in eating isn't as much about physical health as about honoring the God who made us?“ – Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Progression of Repentance

• Recognize ED as sin – “lust of the flesh” (Eph. 2:3; 1 Pet. 4:2; 1 John 2:16)

• Accept one’s own responsibility (Stop blaming others)

• Commit to biblical change• Accept God’s forgiveness and cleansing

Goal: Renewal of the Mind Total Transformation

“Recovery” vs. “Transformation”

• “Recovery” means “to regain or to recapture one’s old self”.

• God desires a total TRANSFORMATION. • To transform something is to change its

“character or condition”. Our new life in Christ looks nothing like who we were in our flesh.

Helping Addicts Identify their Idols: Identifying the Lies

• James 4:1-10 and the “Heart Chart”

ControlsWhat I Do Controls How I Feel

What I Want

Replacing Lies with the Truth

• Time in the Word leads to biblical change.• Heart attitude affects behavior.• How does God define beauty? • Spiritual discipline Godly habits.

“Put Off/Put On” (Eph. 4:20-24)

• We do not just “break” sinful habits – we REPLACE old habits/thought patterns with NEW ones!

“Put Off” “Put On”

Falsehood Speaking truthfully (Eph. 4:25)

Bitterness, rage, anger, slander, malice

Kindness, compassion, forgiveness (Eph. 4:28)

Revenge – returning evil for evil

Blessing (1 Pet. 3:9)

Idols Turn to God (1 Thess. 1:9)

Conforming to evil desires Obedience to God (1 Pet. 1:14-15; 2:11-12)

How Does this Dynamic Apply to Eating Disorders?

“Put Off” “Put On”Number on scale determines my value I am made in the image of God (Gen.

1:26) and my purpose is to glorify Him (Ps. 86:9; Isa. 60:21)

Counting calories Food is necessary to sustain life; receive with gratitude (1 Tim. 4:4)

Fear of gaining weight God created my body; I can trust Him as I eat the way He intended (Psalm 139:13)

Some foods are forbidden or “dirty” No particular food is unclean (Acts 10:15)

No one cares about me; I may as well comfort myself with a binge

God cares about me, and I can turn to Him (1 Pet. 5:7)

I want to be thin, but can’t stop thinking about food!

Set mind on things above/eternal value (Col. 3:2)

Responding to “Slips” or Relapses

• Temptation is to turn minor over-indulgence into binge, then engage in compensatory behaviors

• Remind self of God’s love (Gospel Primer)• Remind self that you don’t have to sin (you are no

longer a slave to sin – there IS a choice)• Pray for grace• Counter “all-or-none” thinking with Gospel view of

repentance and God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9)

Practical Considerations (See Chap. 13 of my book, “Redeemed from the Pit”

• Nutritional counseling in additional to biblical is helpful.

• “Abstinence phase” – avoiding binge triggers• “Binge withdrawal” – what to expect and how to

deal with it• Complete physical (to detect cardiac or renal

problems)• Avoiding “diets”, classifying foods as “good” or

“bad”

Accountability (See Chap. 14, “Telling Someone”)

• Telling “secret” to another brings relief – once it is out in the light, begins to lose its power

• Accountability to another facilitates repentance

• Confessing sin to another is God’s will; He provides the supernatural strength

• Others can pray for and with you

Additional Resources

• “The Heart of Addiction” (Dr. Mark Shaw)• “Redeemed from the Pit: Biblical Repentance

and Restoration from the Bondage of Eating Disorders” (Marie Notcheva)

• “Love to Eat; Hate to Eat” (Elyse Fitzpatrick)• “Crossroads: A Step-by-Step Guide Away from

Addiction” (Ed Welch) See my review here: http://redeemedfromthepit.blogspot.com/2010/04/review-ed-welchs-crossroads.html