Gluttony

You know, I've always just saw myself as "overeating".  I just got a wake up call from somone on FaceBook.  We were talking about nachos and she would have had more but she didn't want to be a glutton.    Then a while back my mom called myself stingy for filling my soda from the fountain machine to the rim.  Where was I when we learned all of this??  I would like to know if any of you actually consider yourself a glutton, or even THINK about being a glutton when they over eat or fill your cup up all the way, or whatever!  I thought this was sort of interesting.  Especially since two people here mentioned something that I would NOT have tought about!

I just asked my husband why we don't think like that.  He said because we were gluttons! :( lol  Maybe we did not learn some of these rules growing up???  Sometimes I look around in restraunts and I notice I do eat a little faster than others.  I am really wondering if manners, and taught about gluttony has gone out the windows.  (No I don't eat like a pig...lol, but you should know what I mean). 

 It really makes me wonder if some of us don't have that knowledge not to overeat, not to pig out, not to put our bodies into harm.  I know I wasn't taught how harmful it was to me, even in sixth grade when the doctor behind my back told her that I could have a heart attack at any time.

Really makes me wonder.

Well I think at one time I might have agreed with you on gluttony being a sin when it comes to overindulgence of food - but now I've definitely changed my mind. Calling it gluttony is just another way of blaming the obese person for not having enough personal responsibility or self control. If you can't stop eating processed foods like McDonalds, cookies, chips etc. then that is probably addiction and it's a whole different ball game from gluttony.

What is the difference between gluttony and addiction? Well if I put a bowl of plain food such as steamed spinach (no salt or other flavors) or cooked oatmeal (no sugar etc.) do you think you would eat more than a serving? Would you eat any spinach or oatmeal if you weren't hungry? Would you have to be truly starving before eating? Would you take a few bites just to be polite if someone served this to you at a dinner party? Well this is your normal reaction to food that you are not addicted to. Now add in sugar, fat, salt and chemicals to make these foods irresistible and maybe even process them to be completely different - maybe add the spinach to a nice crispy cracker and turn the oatmeal into oatmeal raisin cookie crisps. If you can't stop eating these - or similar foods, does that now make you a glutton or addicted to processed food?

Skylar

I know I personally have been guilty of abusing even "good" food. And yeah, glutton is not a pretty term, but neither is obese. It is what it is.

I think your perspective of "blaming the victim" is interesting.  I have come to believe that many of us really have not done this singlehandedly, but in the end, WE are the only ones who can recognize and change it for what it is:  just. not. pretty. behavior.

In my case, once I made sure that I first filled my body with higher quality food, I craved the crappy stuff FAR less. So, that is a worthy goal if any of you out there in TV land are consuming more garbage than steamed spinach/oat bowls! You must "over ride"  the cravings for many months b4 you can ever trust your cravings again.

I also think don't over analyze the WHY we do things: let's all start to help each other focus on what now.

This is an interesting question for me too!  I don't know what the reasons are for us overeating but in the end it does come to us deciding how we want to live our life.  And it isn't easy to do this because we have to eat to survive.  But as was mentioned I do think there are certain ingrediants that help make us addicted to certain foods, just try to quit eating sugar....

But that being said, we still have to hold ourselves accountable for our behavior.  It is our responsibility to decide to make healthy choices with what and how much we eat.  We can eat everything, but we have to control how much we eat of those items that aren't so good.

I know that I can't have certain foods in my house right now because I will eat the entire package.  So, if I want some of that I need to purchase a small portion so I have nothing left over. 

And food is soooo good maybe we are gluttons, but we are learning how to change our behavior and that is what matters in the end.

It is one of the 7 deadly sins, after all! Being raised in the Bible Belt, yes, I think about that aspect a lot. It was major source of shame - well deserved I think.

I tend to think of some of our less desirable human emotions like shame and guilt as being indicators - may be that is not a good train of thought, but for me it makes me really ponder WHY that behavior triggers shame, which leads to me battling that why.

Your post made me reflect on one techiniquie that helped me get my face outa the fridge at night - this took years, btw to really let this sink in.  I would picture a hidden camera on my any time I was in the kitchen - esp at times when I knew i was not hungry...just being a glutton. It was a helpful mental image that made me get more accountable for this type of sick - in my case - insane behavior.

I think once we accept that eating copious amounts of crappy food is sick & or insane, we can get on a better path.

Holly,  gluttony is usually used in Biblical terms because back in the day, it was a measure of someone's self control.  If you were going to do business with a fella based on a hand shake for a contract, knowing that he was able to control his lusts was key in knowing the person.  I copied this.

Physical appetites are an analogy of our ability to control ourselves. If we are unable to control our eating habits, we are probably also unable to control other habits, such as those of the mind (lust, covetousness, anger) and unable to keep our mouths from gossip or strife. We are not to let our appetites control us, but we are to have control over our appetites. (See Deuteronomy 21:20, Proverbs 23:2, 2 Peter 1:5-7, 2 Timothy 3:1-9, and 2 Corinthians 10:5.) The ability to say “no” to anything in excess—self-control—is one of the fruits of the Spirit common to all believers (Galatians 5:22).

God has blessed us by filling the earth with foods that are delicious, nutritious, and pleasurable. We should honor God's creation by enjoying these foods and by eating them in appropriate quantities. God calls us to control our appetites, rather than allowing them to control us.


The Bible is full of references to not taking things to excess.  The term gluttony is a term used to refer to food in excess.  Based on what you have said about your relationship with food, I'm sorry to say that I'm going to have to say that your husband is right.  Sorry.

I know you don't like to hear the word "discipline", but it's key if you are going to keep these addicting foods out of your mouth.  You and only you are able to do this.  It starts by saying "NO!" to them.  There is a reason it is called "Self" control...you have to exercise it yourself.

Mary

No need to say "sorry", I know my husband is right.  I just thought it was very interesting that I (and others that I've heard of) don't see this!  I guess this is what gets us in trouble in the first place, no self control.  But most of the time when I eat, I do not think of myself being a glutton.  I don't think of myself over eating.  Well, maybe that one a little bit, but I'm "in the moment" and I don't think of consequences until AFTER.  I have a feeling a lot of us food addicts are like this.  Sort of like an alcoholic who doesn't want to face anything until AFTER he has his drink.  Just as long as he can have it!

My mom calling me stingy with just filling my soda to the rim the other day sort of confused me.  I didn't quite get it what she meant.  Then when glutton was mentioned it sort of clicked.  

I know some of you don't like over analiyzing, but I am in fact one that has to analyze things in order to overcome them.  If you don't realize the facts, you can't solve the problem.  I mean, that is what therapy is for right?? 

Anyway, I'm glad I learned this little lesson that should have been learned years and years ago.  I know some might think it's silly, but to an addict, and one that's life revolves around food it's a good eye awakener.  You know...baby steps. :) Especially when you live with a family that thinks eating is "FUN".  The more my husband eats, teh more he's happy.  I swear he makes a game out of this. If he isnt' satisfied, he lets EVERYONE know it.   My family doesn't want healthy anything, and put me down for it without a thought, when I make a healthy meal.  

I went out to eat lunch yesterday after jury duty.  It was a lot of food and instead of devouring it like I normally would without hesitation, I caught myself thinking about this.  Yes...you are right, I need to learn self control.  And I actually thougth to myself half way through eating, asking myself if I am full.  The answer was yes, and I have to say that it was hard pushing myself from the table, but I did it.  I am deffinately an addict, pushing myself away from the table felt like I was never going to eat that food again.  So it was a lesson, a first lesson once again, about realizing that I CAN live without overindulging myself. 

I'm trying to think of ways to use this everyday.  It will have to be something very intense, or ??  in order for me to remember it when I have a plate of goodies in front of me.  I guess relearning that it's okay NOT to eat everything on your plate is harder than we think, especially with addicts.  It's too bad so many restraunts have to put three times the amount that you need on your plate!

You poor baby, you live in a house where your husband is a glutton and has no plans to mend his ways.  Dang, that's like living in a crack house when you are the only one trying to come clean.  But we both know that you are not going to change your family unless they want to change.  God made them, let him deal with them, you are the only one you can change.  That's why I suggested eating what they eat but stopping when you're full, that way you don't feel deprived but you can work on getting in touch with your feelings of what is hunger and what is overeating.  It takes a while but like you said, baby steps. 

What did you mean when you said that pushing yourself away from the table felt like you were never going to eat that food again? 

Mary 

Wow, that is some serious distortion you've got going on!  Ice cream is not in short supply so that argument you are having with yourself is not rational.  What if you could tell yourself that if you really tried hard working on getting in touch with your feelings of hunger that you would be able to have ice cream as a treat at the end of the week?  That way, both sides of your brain get a sense of satisfaction.  At the beginning, you may have to make that promise of ice cream a shorter period of time, say every three or four days, but anything to let your brain know that ice cream is on the way...eventually.

Mary