A Simple Tip: If you’re planning to host or enter a doughnut eating contest, consider using an alternative to the classic deep-fried doughnut, such as a baked doughnut made with yogurt. If you really want to think outside the box, add fresh blueberries or sliced strawberries.
My local Krispy Kreme had a doughnut eating contest last month. Contestants were given a tray of original glazed doughnuts and a timer was set at two minutes. The person that scarfed the most doughnuts in that time won. The winner? An 18-year-old boy who ate a total of eight doughnuts. The prize? A year’s supply – 52 dozen – of doughnuts.
According to Krispy Kreme’s nutritional data and ingredients, the original glazed doughnut has 200 calories. This boy ate eight of them for a whopping total of 1,600 calories- nearly 67% of his daily caloric requirement. The dietary guidelines established by the United States Department of Agriculture call for 2,400 calories a day for his age group.
An occasional doughnut is not going to ruin your efforts to lose weight, especially if you counteract that with extra fat-blasting exercise. But participating in an all-you-can-devour stunt presents a number of problems. Our bodies were not designed to engage in the over-consumption of food. Doing so on a regular basis can lead to things like diabetes and heart disease.
Gluttony (excessive eating and drinking) is also discouraged in the Bible. Proverbs 23:20-21 reads: Do not join with those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags (NIV). Matthew Henry, an 18th century commentator, cautioned against “making a god of the belly”, for doing so is “destructive to the seeds of wisdom and grace in the soul.”
My weakness is cookies. I love them. And yes, I have been guilty of overeating Girl Scouts Thin Mints. If I have one of those “these are so good I can’t help myself” moments, I quickly get into behave mode where I start eating healthy again and doing spurts of exercise throughout the day.
But say you have been in overeat land for quite some time. If this is a struggle for you, this article gives some great tips on how to start taking care of this issue and moving in a direction of a new, healthy lifestyle. If joining a support group interests you, Overeaters Anonymous offers free help.
Recommended Reading:
Overcoming the Stronghold of Food - What role does food play in your life? Are you healthy? If not, the way you eat may be to blame. Take a look at this compassionate and understanding post.
Taking Action: Verses to Overcome the Stronghold of Food – put the advice of the previous post to the test. Use God’s word to take control of your life, and come to terms with your eating habits. You can make it. You can succeed.
How an ER Doctor Lost 150 Pounds – Think you’re the only obese person that has had enormous difficulty losing weight? Think again. Read the inspiring story of a doctor who could have given up but didn’t. Today, he lives a dramatically different life.
