We eat to live, instead of living to eat

Another battle I wage, but which has many spiritual benefits, is that of eating and drinking. I often struggle to find a balance between not eating too much, but also not eating too little. Eating too little is clear, because if I do, I feel that I do not have enough energy to carry out daily tasks, but very often I find myself in a situation where I have eaten too much, which gives me a state of discomfort both physically and spiritually. It is not for nothing that the Holy Fathers tell us that eating too much harms spiritual life, and that we must be careful in this regard as well.

At the beginning of my spiritual ascent, I believed that I only had to be careful about what and how much I ate during fasting, but along the way I convinced myself that this was not the case. Just as we must be alert, active in everything we do during the day, so we must be alert when it comes to what and how much we put in our mouths, because excessive eating is harmful to health and spirituality.

I also try to be more careful when it comes to drinking, because both food and drink can create addictions, some even very serious, such as alcohol addiction. Unfortunately, the more the addiction grows, the less chance the person has of recovering quickly. Therefore, it's better to cut these passions from the beginning, so as not to allow them to take root too deeply in my habits, and to become invincible passions later.

How do I usually fight against these unhealthy habits?

To avoid overeating, I try to eat only when I am hungry. I also try not to eat until I'm full, but to get up from the table a little hungry. I also have the habit of eating everything on my plate, so I try, as much as possible, to put less on my plate, so that I don't feel full when I get up from the table. During the fast, I limit myself to not eating certain foods such as meat and dairy, but I don't back down from eating the rest of the food in the way described earlier (this is the balance I've reached at the moment, not considering myself able to keep a black fast or any other type of harsher fast).

When it comes to alcohol, I try to limit myself to an amount of alcohol that doesn't make me dizzy, this dizziness making me not feel good physically. As an example, I could say that I drink a maximum of 2-3 small beers (330ml - of course, not every day) or 2-3 glasses of white wine (generally spritz). If I get dizzy, I lose my alertness, the heightened attention I try to have on the level of thoughts (mind guard), and this is something I really don't want. I generally don't drink at all during the fast, but I sometimes break this rule when there are wine indulgences decided by the church.

I hope that the Good Lord will help me to progress physically and spiritually when it comes to these 2 habits in my life, and I also pray that He will help you in your spiritual endeavors related to food and drink. God help!

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