Claire Cloninger - Faithfully Fit: A 40-Day Devotional Plan to End the Yo-Yo Lifestyle of Chronic Dieting

Copyright 1991 by Claire Cloninger and Laura Barr
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by W Publishing Group, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., P. O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN, 37214.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New Century Version. Copyright 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Other Scripture references are from the following sources: The Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV).
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. All rights reserved. The New King James Version (NKJV). Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers. The Living Bible (TLB), copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved. J. B. Phillips: The New Testament In Modern English (PHILLIPS), Revised Edition. Copyright J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. The King James Version of the Bible (KJV). The REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible (RSV). Copyright 1946, 1952, 1971, 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. New American Standard Bible (NASB) The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1977, 1988, 1995. The Amplified New Testament (AMPLIFIED), copyright 1958, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

The lyrics to the following songs are reprinted with permission:
White Flag, by Claire Cloninger and David Baroni, Word, Inc., 1986. Spirit Eyes, by Claire Cloninger, Word, Inc., 1984. Spirit Wings by Claire Cloninger and Michael Foster Word Inc., 1984. Quiet Hearts, by Claire Cloninger and Kathy Frizzelle, Word, Inc., 1990. Time Will Tell, by Claire Cloninger and Billy Smiley, Word, Inc./Sparrow, 1986. I Will Choose Your Way, by Claire Cloninger, Word, Inc., 1990. You in Me, by Claire Cloninger, Word, Inc., 1990. Overcomers, by Claire Cloninger and Morris Chapman, Word, Inc., 1987.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Cloninger, Claire.
Faithfully fit : a 40-day plan to end the yo-yo lifestyle of chronic dieting / by Claire Cloninger and Laura Barr.
p. cm.
ISBN 10: 0-8499-0988-0 (2006 edition)
ISBN 13: 978-0-8499-0988-7 (2006 edition)
ISBN 0849932378 (1991 edition)
1. DietersPrayer-books, devotions, etc.English. I. Barr, Laura, 1952 . II. Title.
BV4596.D53C56 1991
242dc20

Printed in the United States of America

06 07 08 09 10 RRD 5 4 3 2 1

To
John and Spike,
who have loved us whatever shape we were in

contents

We would like to express thanks, love, and appreciation to the following:

Our childrenCurt, Andy, Ramsay, MacReadie, and Davidwho have supported us. And when they couldnt support us, at least they tolerated us.

The precious brothers and sisters who have broken open the mystery of the Word for us during these formative years: John Barr, Conlee Bodishbaugh, Paul Sheldon (especially for his teaching on powerlessness), Pam Hanes, Jim Cymbala, and Brennan Manning.

Our publishers at W Publishing Group, Laura Kendall and Joey Paul, and our very creative editor, Anne Christian Buchanan.

Our friends and family members who have prayed!

And especially, Jesus Christ.

This is not a book about going on a diet and whipping your poor, pitiful body back into shape. I am weary of diets, and I have deep respect for your body, whatever shape its in. God made it. Thats all I need to know.

Anybody can start a diet. Ive started millions of them. Some people even reach their goals on diets. Ive done that a few times too. (Well, at least once that I can think of.)

But the people I marvel at are the people who have actually given up dieting: the people who are totally at ease with food; the people who live serene and guilt-free lives from meal to meal, never obsessing about pizza or chocolate chip cookies or calories of any kind. I honestly believe that God created all of us to live like that.

So what happened?

Unfortunately, it seems that humankinds guilt-free association with food was rather short-lived. In the garden, the serpent pointed to the fruit of a certain tree and said, Aw, go ahead.Whats it gonna hurt? And there we wentall of us!

I guess what I am saying in a roundabout way is that I believe this issue of eating and overeating with which our culture is so obsessed is actually a spiritual issue. Some schools of thought would have us believe that it is strictly physical and can be handled by decreasing caloric intake and upping the metabolism. That may take care of the problem of pounds, but it doesnt touch the ongoing tug-of-war we have with temptation and guilt. Diets will never solve our problem with food, any more than telling people to just say no ever solved our countrys problem with drugs.

Newer methods of weight control suggest that we explore psychological reasons for our overeating, using everything from self-assessment to group therapy to psychoanalysis. Though discovering Why? can be extremely helpful, we are still left with What now? and that perennial favorite, How?

Behavioral techniques suggest methods for controlling our eating by modifying habits and lifestyle. But even these (which in my experience come closest to effecting change) rely on the strength and motivation of the individual. Personally, I have found that anytime the buck stops with me and everything hinges on my inner resolve and fortitude, I am in big trouble! The harder I try to heal myself, the worse things seem to get!

So you see how it is: my new life tells me to do right, but the old nature that is still inside me loves to sin. Oh, what a terrible predicament Im in! Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature? These words in the apostle Pauls letter to the Romans (7:2324 TLB) convince me that what Im dealing with is indeed a spiritual problem. In fact, this verse is a perfect paraphrase for what goes around in my head the day after Ive blown another diet.

My own problem with compulsive eating began in high school. It was that insane kind of eating that has little to do with hunger and everything to do with feeling insecure.

Since I also dieted compulsively and was blessed with a naturally high metabolism, I never developed much of a weight problem. In fact, friends who considered me trim just laughed whenever I tried to confess my shame over this crazy overeating-dieting seesaw I was on. Because I was not fat, they tuned me out and made fun of me for thinking I had some kind of problem. They could not see the feelings of failure, frustration, and guilt I lived with daily.

By now all of us in this country are familiar enough with the various kinds of eating disorders to recognize that weight is not the only indicator of irrational eating. Many degrees and combinations of the anorexia/bulimia nightmare plague Americans.

Many die of these diseases. It is no laughing matter.

For years I, like many others, had been treating my spiritual disorder with physical, psychological, and behavioral remedies. Some brought temporary periods of relief, but none really addressed the core issue.