Love to Eat, Hate to Eat

Today I finished reading Love to Eat, Hate to Eat by Elyse Fitzpatrick (subtitled Breaking the Bondage of Destructive Eating Habits). Hmmm, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either.

It was gospel centered and tackled any eating issue (overeating, bulimia, anorexia) from that angle. I liked that part. My struggle with the book is that the author took a very loooong time laying the foundation of the book. I also found some of her Biblical applications to be a bit of a stretch (perhaps took a few liberties with some of the verses, in my opinion). I found it to be a difficult read and a slow read. I was committed to the concept, though, so I stuck with it.

Here's a few things I gleaned from the book:

> D-I-S-C-I-P-L-I-N-E-D Eating acrostic. Twelve questions to ask yourself before eating anything. (Please see the August 9 post, titled My Latest Read, for a detailed description of this). I found these questions very helpful. I'm not sure a person would realistically take the time to ask all 12 questions before putting food in their mouth, but I think focusing on even a couple of the questions each time would be helpful in engaging your mind in what you're about to do.

> The author addressed the issue of the heart behind eating struggles and not just the behavior.

> The author addressed overeating, bulimia, and anorexia as idolatry and not just disorders.

> The author stressed being in God's Word daily.

> The author set up a structure to follow addressing the Biblical method of change, she stuck with that structure, and built on that concept throughout the book. I found the structure to be thought provoking. It is as follows:

1. Become convinced that your present method of eating is sinful and cease from it.
2. Become convinced that God's methods for discplined eating are right and begin practicing them.
3. Seek diligently to change your mind and become conformed to God's thinking, especially in the area of your eating habits.
4. Continue to practice these new thoughts and behaviors, even when the struggle gets hard.
   

Overall, I would recommend reading this book only if you are committed to the idea that overeating is a sin and you want to explore that concept on a deeper level. This book will do that for you but you'll have to work at sticking with it and weed through a few thoughts you might not agree with along the way. I'm glad I read it. I gleaned enough from it to make it worth my while.