Has Exercise and Diet Become Your Idol?

Has Exercise and Diet Become Your Idol?

My husband and I had started working out and eating healthy before we got married. I had felt and looked great! Then the honeymoon happened and I fell out of the routine. I struggled to consistently workout after that. Then a couple of babies happened and that really messed up the exercise plans. In addition I have had a long history of emotional eating.

So a few years ago I decided I wanted to change the way I felt about my body and overall self-esteem.  I no longer wanted to look in the mirror and be unhappy with what I saw.

I found some workout routines that I thought would work for me and I started to focus more closely on my diet.

And truth be told it worked really well. I worked hard. I got up at 4:45 AM every morning. The weight came off. But I let exercise and eating healthy control my life.  I was constantly counting calories. Calories I was consuming and calories I was burning.

I allowed exercise and eating healthy to become my idol.

The definition of idol, according to Merriam-Webster is a representation or symbol of an object of worship; an object of extreme devotion.

Exercise and diet became my focus and answer for all things. They were my go-to in all situations.

Exodus 20: 3-5a (NASB) “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them;

Below are four ways to check an see if exercise and diet have become an idol in your life.

*It should be noted that these four areas can be a test to see if anything is becoming an idol and taking priority over your time and relationship with God.

Thoughts that Preoccupy Your Day

The first thing on my mind when I woke up was working out and the next was what I was going to eat for the day. And then throughout the day my thoughts surrounded when I was going to eat next, how much, and how many calories I had left.

I allowed physical fitness to take more precedence than my spiritual health. My relationship with God took a backseat. And sometimes He wasn’t even invited into the car.

Colossians 3:1 (NASB) Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Stress Reliever

I found that when I was stressed, anxious, and/or overwhelmed I would workout. It helped me to burn off the restless energy and feelings.

And while working out can be an effective way to decrease stress, it was the only way I was addressing stress. I wasn’t taking my anxiety to God. We weren’t having time together to work through my distress. I wasn’t relying on Him. I was trying to take care of it myself.

I’m not saying a good run to clear the head is bad. But it can become an idol when we stop seeking God at all and only rely on exercise to relieve our stress.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Comforter

I was receiving comfort in the control I was having on my body. When the world around me felt hard, negative, sad, etc. I would become even more stringent on my exercise routine and diet.

Again, we are called to care for our bodies. So the fact that I was exercising and eating healthy were not the issue. (I also never got to an unhealthy weight. I was physically quite strong.)

The problem remained that I stopped seeking God for support. I focused on the control I had instead of giving up control to God and leaning into Him for support.

2 Corinthians 1:3 (NIV) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,

Self-Worth

I allowed my worth to be dependent upon the work I was putting into creating the best physical version of me I could. If I didn’t workout I felt I was letting myself down. If I ate something unhealthy I felt guilty. I wrapped my worth and identity into being fit and healthy.

This was the hardest area for me to come to understand.  I had to realize I have done this in many areas of my life. Often I have used my “works” as a way to define my worth.

I allowed who I am in God to not be enough. Truthfully, I didn’t fully realize my worth to God. It wasn’t until I relinquished control and acknowledged how far off base I had allowed my priorities to get, was I able to experience myself through God’s eyes.

That has been a process. But in that process, I have opened myself up to be used by God for His glory. I wasn’t able to do that when I had a false idol.

Psalm 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NIV) With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.

For more on prioritizing exercise read Fitness as a way to glorify God.

I pray that this post helps you to refocus your priorities so that exercise and diet doesn’t consume your life and become your idol.

God bless!

Melissa