Feed My Soul: Finding True Peace with Food, Movement, Rest, and Body Image

By Kristen Bunger MS RD

Each of us has struggled with food, movement, rest, and body image in some way and we all have good reasons for the struggle. Eating disorders, disordered eating, “yo-yo” dieting, over-exercise, and unrealistic body image expectations are merely unhealthy and irrational ways of meeting healthy and rational needs.

In Feed My Soul, author and registered dietitian, Kristen Bunger, combines the wisdom of science, the insight of psychology, and the truth of God’s word to help you sort through the disordered thoughts and lies you may believe about food, movement, rest, and body image.

Kristen gives practical ways of obtaining peace with food and body and a greater understanding of how to take excellent care of your body and your soul. In Feed My Soul, Kristen uses the truth of scripture to point you back to Christ as the ultimate source of peace and fulfillment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9781664281431

Kristen Bunger MS RD

Kristen Bunger, MS, RD is the owner of Body and Soul Nutrition Counseling where she helps clients discover the origin of food and body disorders and what they need to heal. As a Christian, she uses God’s word to guide her clients to understand how God is the ultimate source of healing and fulfillment. Feed My Soul is her first publication. Kristen lives in Peoria, Arizona, with her husband, Keith, and their two boys.

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Copyright © 2023 Kristen Bunger, MS, RD.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®

ISBN: 978-1-6642-8141-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-8142-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-8143-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022919276

WestBow Press rev. date: 01/06/2023

CONTENTS

Introduction

Part 1: Disordered Eating, Movement, Rest, and Body Image

Chapter 1The Beginning of Disorder

Chapter 2The Manifestation of Disorder

Chapter 3Internal Family Systems

Chapter 4Healing a Past of Brokenness

Chapter 5Beauty for Ashes: The Ultimate Trade

Part 2: Peace with Food

Chapter 1How to Start Having Peace With Food

Chapter 2Food Education: Meals, Snacks, and Water

Chapter 3Food Education: Macronutrients

Chapter 4Food Education: Meal Planning

Chapter 5Fear Foods

Chapter 6Permission with Mindfulness

Part 3: Peace with Movement and Rest

Chapter 1Peace With Movement

Chapter 2Motivation for Movement

Chapter 3Peace with Rest

Part 4: Peace with Body Image

Chapter 1Created In His Image

Chapter 2Body Image Spectrum

Part 5: Living in Light of These Truths

Chapter 1Create a Culture of Peace

Chapter 2Be Known for Peace

Chapter 3The Bible, Food, and Your Body

Chapter 4What the Bible Says About Fasting

Acknowledgements

References

Resource List

Dedication

To every person who has struggled to make peace with food and their body. May this book bless you on your journey to freedom and may you see the goodness of God in the land of the living.

This book is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. It is not meant to be used, nor should it be used, to diagnose or treat any medical condition. For diagnosis or treatment of any medical issue, consult your physician. The publisher and author are not responsible for any specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision and are not liable for any damages or negative consequences from any treatment, action, application, or preparation discussed in this book. References are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of any websites or other sources.

INTRODUCTION

Every time I meet a new client, I ask for the details of their story. I want to know where their issues with food began and how they have manifested. Each story resonates with me. Each and every one of us has struggled with eating, movement (exercise), rest, and body image in some way, and we all have really good reasons for the struggle.

Eating disorders, disordered eating, yo-yo dieting, body image dissatisfaction, and the like are merely unhealthy and irrational ways of meeting healthy and rational needs. Whatever your reason for picking up this book, it is a good reason. More than likely, in some way, you have been using food and your body to meet healthy, rational, normal, shared-by-all-of-humanity, God-given needs. Behavior change is much less intimidating if we look at those behaviors in the light of normalcy and grace. It might feel like you have been filled with shame and unrest for so long, and you are finally ready for a change.

Before I discuss behavior change in more detail, I will define some of the struggles I mentioned above.

Important Definitions

Disordered eating - Eating in a way that is disorganized, chaotic, or irregular. It is inconsistent, and it does not honor the body’s needs. The reason for disordered eating might be due to a lack of time, energy, money, or boundaries. It causes stress, worry, angst, and overall discomfort (both emotionally and physically).

Yo-yo dieting - Frequently switching from one diet to another. Adhering to food restrictions, food rules, or dieting trends in an effort to control your body. It is characterized by dramatic changes in behaviors around food and drastic up-and-down weight changes. It results in weight gain and shame when the diet inevitably fails. Yo-yo dieting causes physical and mental damage, and distrust of the body.

Body image dissatisfaction - The feeling that your body needs to change in some way in order for you to feel adequate. It is relying on your body to partially or fully satisfy needs that it is unable to and not designed to satisfy. Body image dissatisfaction often causes so much distress and unhappiness that the person is pushed to extreme dieting, eating disorders, or plastic surgery to change their body.

Eating disorders are best defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (2022). They are typically diagnosed in a psychiatric setting. If you are suffering from an eating disorder, this book should be used as one of many resources to help with eating disorder recovery. Treatment for an eating disorder should involve a full team, including a physician, therapist, dietitian, and psychiatric provider who specialize in the treatment of eating disorders.

Some of you may say, "I don’t think my behaviors are that drastic, or There is no possible way I can think about food and my body in a peaceful way." If this is the case, I pray you will give me the chance to impart a fresh perspective to you. My goal is for you to finish this book being able to see yourself the way God sees you.

Topics That Will be Discussed

First, I’m going to show you how things can be different. There are four main areas in which I would love for you to attain more peace as we journey together:

1. Peace with food- Being able to eat in a consistent and peaceful way. Seeing food as nourishment and enjoyment rather than a way to cope with emotional needs.

2. Peace with movement- Moving for enjoyment rather than out of obligation. Giving yourself grace when movement doesn’t happen.

3. Peace with rest - Allowing your body time to be renewed when needed without feeling guilty.

4. Peace with your body - Seeing your body as God’s wonderful creation and not assigning value to yourself based on how your body looks.

As a clinical dietician, I have had the privilege of leading many people to peace in these areas. In the chapters that follow, I will teach you practical, simple ways to think about these areas differently.

I have been practicing nutrition for fifteen years, but I have also been a follower of Jesus most of my life. My love for God and my conviction that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life impact everything I do, including my work. Therefore, I am going to include many scriptures and biblical truths that have helped me and my clients in these areas over the years.

At the end of the day, my belief is that we are made in the image of God for His glory. When we don’t know that (or forget it), we will naturally try to gain fulfillment elsewhere. All the other fillers just leave us wanting more. I want to help you find peace with food, movement, rest, and your body. But I also want to remind you that no person, no diet, no fitness level, and no accomplishment in life will ever fulfill you like Jesus can.

Coming to Terms With Your Fear

Almost all of my new patients experience a mixture of emotions when starting this journey with me. Moving things around in your life to make room for lasting changes can make you feel happy, sad, excited, and hesitant all at the same time. If you are feeling nervous, know it is totally expected, and you are in good company.

The potential for failure is scary. I recently had a client say to me, I know I am doing well right now, but it never lasts. I always fall off the wagon with this stuff. I gently reminded her of her dieting history and her account of trying every diet before starting nutrition therapy with a registered dietitian. I asked her to consider that this time might be different because the approach is so different. She was now actively trying to heal her relationship with food and be kind to herself rather than engaging in restrictive and militant patterns to change her body. I immediately felt the fear drain from her body as she began to feel hope again.

You might relate to my client above, who so humbly said, This is great, but I am scared. I don’t want to fail again. You may have lots of experience with the dieting cycle. It starts successfully for a time with whatever diet you are trying, then you have a setback, gain weight again, try again, have more setbacks, and eventually give up. It’s common to see a rebound in weight gain after the diet is over. This is always the result of restriction and rigidity.

Here, in these pages, you are going to read what my clients hear when sitting in my office. I offer safe, empathetic, science-based, grace-based, and presence-of-God-filled advice. We will explore how grace-driven effort can lead to the changes in your life that you have been seeking.

I will warn you, though. Diets are flashy, glamorous, and sexy to some extent. They are fast and promise big results in record time. This journey in which I will guide you is not flashy, and it doesn’t happen overnight.

The process of getting back to balance and health could be compared to a long-lasting covenant marriage. One of my clients, who had been married for fifteen years to a man she loved deeply, admitted to me one day, our marriage is good, but it takes a lot of work. When she was surprised that "doing simple, little things every day to take care of my body feels