How to Use The Thin Within Approach To Eating
The acclaimed book “Thin Within: A Grace Oriented Approach to Lasting Weight Loss”, by Judy Halliday, R.N. and Arthur Halliday, M.D., focuses on God and the Bible in order to lose weight. Instead of looking inward for will power and self control, they believe that turning to God through prayer will promote a deeper understanding of your body and help you find its God-given size.
Things You'll Need
- The "Thin Within" book or workbooks.
- A controlled environment to sit for meals.
- Rate hunger on scale of 0 to 10 (stop eating at a 5)
- Patience to listen to your body.
- Your favorite foods of all time.
- A Bible to help enjoy passages in the book.
Instructions
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Embrace your God-given size when reading this book, instead of trying to lose a certain amount of weight (as with other popular diet plans.) Thin Within does not believe in diets that are turned “on and off” at will, but instead focuses on turning to God for lifelong weight loss and maintenance.
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Start listening to your body every time you sit down to a meal, and practice Thin Within’s “Steps of Conscious Eating.” Try to enjoy meals in a quiet and controlled setting; always sit down, turn off nearby distractions and take your time to enjoy the flavors of each meal.
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Rate your hunger level every time you want to eat. Thin Within believes in trusting the tool that God gave you (your body) in order to judge when to eat, how much and what foods you may be craving. Strive to eat only when your body is at a 0 (on a scale of 0 to 10) and stop when you reach a comfortable 5 (instead of a “full” or “stuffed” feeling.)
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Believe that your body is all you need to maintain a healthy size, and reject other complicated and newfound scenarios that are around today. “Flesh machinery” is what Thin Within calls the many facts and statements we use to justify our eating. For example, “I need three meals a day” or “I have to have protein at every meal” are phrases that may cause you to ignore your true hunger levels and food cravings, and keep you from trusting in God for weight loss.
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5
Resist the urge to skip meals or eat to an extreme, and begin embracing the concept of eating whatever you want whenever you body is truly hungry (a level 0). Instead of “wasting a 0” on foods that you don’t love, try to always eat “Pleasers” (foods that satisfy your taste buds, soul and cravings) and skip “Teasers” (foods you eat just because you’re in a hurry or are convenient.) The book believes that “choice food and drink” are meant to be enjoyed, savored and indulged in moderation and with conscious eating habits.
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Tips & Warnings
If tempted to eat when you’re not truly hungry, do as Thin Within recommends and turn to God in prayer to identify why you want to eat. The book helps to uncover the emotional and personal reasons that cause weight gain or bodily dissatisfaction.
Be patient while redefining eating habits, identifying emotional baggage and listening to your body’s hunger signals. Whenever you fall behind, simply “observe” the behavior (where you went wrong) and repent by “correcting” with a better habit. Stop beating yourself up because no one is perfect.
If you have a history of eating disorders or compulsive eating, this form of "intuitive eating" can be highly beneficial for recovery.
If you do not believe in God or are in doubt of your personal religious beliefs, this way of eating may not work for you. Stay open-minded for optimal results.
Resources
- Photo Credit Image courtesy of Thin Within
