Embracing Progress Over Demanding Perfection

Perfection can’t satisfy what only Christ can heal. Discover how grace-filled progress, not rigid control, leads to deeper freedom and wellness in body, mind, and spirit.

Throughout much of my life I have been either “on a diet” or “off a diet” in pretty extreme ways.

I found comfort in the confines of a diet’s “rules”, a black and white pattern for me that was more about my ability to control than seeking true health. This way of life allowed my tendencies for all or nothing thinking to thrive. “If I eat good, I am good. If I eat bad, I am bad” played on repeat in my head for many years, and to be honest still takes some energy to refute to this day. 

This pattern of thinking created issues for me when faced with special occasions or internal and/or external pressure to “cheat”. Either I felt like an extremist, for fear of being judged for being judgmental of others and their choices, or would oblige and end up bingeing, telling myself “I already messed up anyways”. When I recount these seasons of my life, my memories are infused with false comfort found in a white-knuckled control to refuse, intense anxiety leading up to social events surrounding the possible consequences of giving in, and an ever-spiraling guilt when my sheer willpower would fail me. And it always would fail me, eventually.

This is the part where I feel compelled to write “and that’s when everything changed!”, but that wouldn’t be the full truth.

The full truth is that I still struggle at times with all or nothing thinking when it comes to living in this body that I am only borrowing from the Lord. Yet, I choose to continually see my body as his property since he bought it with the most expensive price. His own flesh and blood has breathed new life into these dusty bones. I believe that Jesus Christ’s Lordship over my body invites me to embrace a wellness journey of progress rather than demanding perfection. I recognize that crushing my goals and adhering perfectly to a diet and workout routine will not ever truly satisfy my soul, nor will another frenzied binge. Only Jesus, who is Lord over my physical body, and is a gentle and lowly master, can truly satisfy. Beginning to see my journey in caring for my physical body as a way I can love my Master has radically healed my patterns of thinking more than anything else.

I’d like to shift gears and share with you a few practical tips that have been helping me along on this journey. 

• First and foremost, lean on Him. Pray continually and talk to Him about how you’re feeling each day, ask for the motivation to steward your physical body well and make wise decisions throughout your day. Look for Him in the seemingly small and insignificant moments as well as the fantastic ones.

• Focus on combining macronutrients (aiming for about a palm size of carbohydrates, a fist size of protein, and a thumb size of fat) each time you eat. This will help fuel your body and keep you satisfied. Make it a fun challenge to try to eat 5 different colors of fruits and vegetables each day.

• Invite others on this journey with you! Find a friend (or a few!) who can walk with you (figuratively and literally), meal prep together, pray with you, etc. We were designed to live in community and this is a beautiful way we can steward our physical and spiritual health. 

Some Resources For Further Learning:

Elizabeth is a graduate of Cairn University’s counseling program and former therapist who discovered a passion for empowering people to learn realistic solutions for struggles related to nutrition. Moved by the wholehearted belief that God has created our bodies purposefully, her desire is to support clients in their journeys wherever they may find themselves beginning. 

Elizabeth utilizes a collaborative approach, focused on the client-coach relationship while providing an empathetic listening style. While she believes that goals are important in the sense that they provide something to work towards, she believes that clients’ greatest joy will not come from achieving perfection but experiencing grace in the process.

Learn More About Elizabeth