4 Ways To Stop Thinking Negatively About Your Body, Part 2 [Podcast Transcript]

Title: 4 Ways To Stop Thinking Negatively About Your Body Part 2

Podcast Date: August 30, 2024

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Description 

In this episode of "Compared to Who?" host Heather Creekmore continues the important conversation on stopping negative thoughts about our bodies. Heather highlights the necessity of reevaluating beliefs about body image and the importance of valuing God's thoughts above one's own. Drawing from Isaiah 55:8-9, she encourages the listener to assess whether they live in alignment with God's truth or prioritize maintaining a certain image in the eyes of others.  

Heather also discusses the idea of self-worship and the pursuit of self-created ideals, emphasizing the need to shift focus from self to God. She delves into the significance of embracing humility and repentance as transformative measures. The episode emphasizes the use of the "Philippians 2:8 filter" to assess and process thoughts. Heather walks the listeners through a practical application of this filter, guiding them to evaluate thoughts against the criteria of truth, honor, righteousness, purity, loveliness, excellence, and praiseworthiness.

Throughout the episode, Heather encourages listeners to identify and discard detrimental thoughts, highlighting the liberating impact of cultivating a healthy thought life. Heather also shares personal experiences and testimonials from her journey, attesting to the transformative power of aligning thought patterns with biblical truths. 

Go check out our brand new Etsy show to get cute podcast merch: https://www.improvebodyimage.com/shop

New to the show? Learn more about Heather Creekmore, Heather's books, and the ministry of Compared to Who? at: www.improvebodyimage.com

Ready for real body image change? The 40-Day Journey begins soon. Learn more here: https://www.improvebodyimage.com/40-day-challenge

Outline

00:00 Client Review & New Compared To Who Merch

05:06 God’s Measuring Tape

09:44 Feeding The Flesh Isn’t Having A Brownie

13:41 What Am I Really Worshiping?

17:01 The Philippians 2:8 Filter

23:22 Taking Out The Trash (For Good!)

[00:00:02]:

Life audio.

40 Day Journey Client[00:00:04]:

Thank you, Heather, for the work that you are doing. Thank you for listening to the Lord's call and sharing your story and what you have learned. I've been a long time reader and just finished the 40 day Body Image Workbook. What a game changer. I am learning to view myself as God views me and heal my relationship with food. My life will never be the same. Thank you for teaching me that I have been made this way on purpose, for a purpose. And quite honestly, I wouldn't want it any other way. God bless you and the work you are doing. Keep going. Love it.

[00:00:48]:

Oh, and I am so energized by hearing words like that from someone who read the 40 Day Body Image Workbook and participated in the 40 Day Body Image Journey. And we start really soon, like, next week if you're listening to this in real time. So go grab your copy of the 40 Day Body Image Workbook. Sign up for the 40 Day Journey on our website, improve body image.com, and start your journey to freedom. Friend, what are you waiting for? What excuse do you have? You don't need to do another diet, friend. I mean, you can. I'm not mad at you if you do, but you really need body image freedom, not body change.

[00:01:26]:

Today, I am so glad you're here because we are gonna continue this important conversation we're having about how to stop the negative thoughts we have about our bodies. And last time, we tackled the first two points, and this time we're getting into the 2 more points. But if your thought life is just kinda out of control, if you're like, oh, Heather, if you only knew what was going on in my head, oh, no. Friend, I get it because that was my head too. Totally. So listen to part 1 if you haven't listened to that. And let's dig in today to what to do if negative thoughts about your body, if they plague you.

[00:02:03]:

And, hey, I wanna just let you know before we dig into that, I got cute shirts. So if you need to wear a reminder that says compared to who, if you just need that when you're going to the gym or taking a walk around your block or, I don't know, wear it under a cute blazer to work, I've got shirts now. So the Compare To Who shop is open on Etsy. Go check out those shirts. I think you'll find something new. Let's get to today’s show. Welcome to Compared To Who, the podcast to help you make peace with your body so you can savor God's rest and feel his love. If you're tired of fighting body image the world's way, Compared To Who is the show for you.

[00:02:43]:

You've likely heard lots of talk about loving your body, but my goal is different. Striving to fall in love with stretch marks and cellulite is a little silly to me. Instead, I want to encourage you and remind you with the truth of scripture that you are seen, you are known, and you are loved no matter what your size or shape. Here, the pressure is off. If you're looking for real talk, biblical encouragement, and regular reminders that God loves you and you're not alone, you've come to the right place. I hope you enjoy today's show, and hey, tell a friend about it. Well, hey there. I'm Heather Creekmore, and I'm glad you're listening to the Compare To Who Show today.

[00:03:21]:

Go to https://www.improvebodyimage.com/ and you can find out about all the different things we offer at Compare To Who for women who struggle with body image issues and food issues. If that's you, you are in the right place, and you're in for a treat today. Today, we are continuing a hard conversation, friend. Hard truth is the truth that I think helps us the most because we like easy street. Right? Like, I know. I know. I’d probably have, like, 7 times the amount of listeners if I would just be, like, you are awesome, and you can be awesomer by eating this way and exercising this way, and then we'll just all be awesome together.

[00:04:00]:

Like, I get it. I know that would make me so much more popular. But, friend, I'm sad. I think what we need to do is we really need to look at what the Bible says about all these different things we struggle with. And I know in my quest to be awesomer and awesomer and awesomer, I just found myself being more self focused and more self focused and more miserable and more miserable and more insecure and more insecure. It never led me to freedom. The only path that I ever found that actually led to me being free with my body image issues, and then eventually, it took a long time, free with my food, was embracing what scripture taught about idolatry, about pride and humility. Friends, those are the concepts that changed all this for me.

[00:04:52]:

And if this is all unfamiliar to you, keep listening to the show. Hey. I know it might be jolting at first, but stick with us. God wants your heart. Yeah. Yeah. Take care of your body for sure. But god wants your heart.

God’s Measuring Tape

[00:05:06]:

What's your heart look like? How's your heart look? How's your heart shaping up? I read a quote from, Nikki Gumbel, whose Bible reading plan I'm doing now, and the quote was, like, you know, God he was talking about how in Oxford, England, where he lived at a certain point, how intellectual prowess was what, like, made people valuable, how being an intellectual was, really an idol to them. And so his quote was, like, you know, God puts the measuring tape around your heart, not around your brain, around your head. And I think I would adjust that quote and be like, God puts the measuring tape around your heart, not around your hips, or your butt, or your waist. How's your heart shaping up? So last time we talked about taking thoughts captive, and we talked about this reality that, really, if you have a thought problem, you have a heart problem. And, yeah, there's all kinds of new age tools out there and, well, honestly, even some Christian tools, I'm afraid, that tell you, like, how to just fix your brain. But really, you gotta fix what you believe before you can fix what you think. So today, we're gonna dig into the last two points here on this whole topic of fixing a negative thought life. And point 3 is this, I actually have to believe that God's thoughts are higher than my thoughts, and God's ways are higher than my ways.

[00:06:32]:

And this comes from Isaiah 55 verses 8 and 9. And it ties right back to point 1. Right? What do I believe? But do I actually believe that the way God thinks, the way God judges, God's standards, God's truth, do I actually value that more than my own truth? Oh, friend. I know simple quick answer is God and Jesus, yes. Yes. Of course, I do. But then how do you live? Do you live like that's true? Do you live like the most important objective I have for today is honoring and obeying God? Or do you live like the most important objective I have for today is making sure that I look good and that other people think I look good? And that I maintain a certain image of myself, be it success or thinness or whatever, the perfect mom, the perfect wife, whatever your image is.

[00:07:36]:

Are you more married to that image and maintaining that image than you are to honoring and obeying God? Oh, that's a tough one. Because to honor and obey God, I have to submit my own desires, my own opinions, my own thoughts. All those negative thoughts, they not only have to be taken captive, they have to be submitted to the truth of an almighty God. Oh, friends, I think our problem often is that we think too much of ourselves and too little of God. God is so big. He's so great. He's so holy. He's so awesome.

[00:08:30]:

Do we believe that? Or does God just kinda feel like this, I don't know, I wrote this blog post one time and I asked the question, are you a coffee made Christian? Because I think sometimes God just feels like he's a little bit of, like, you know, salted caramel vanilla creamer that we pour in our coffee. Right? Like, just a little bit of Jesus makes my whole life sweeter. That's the southern accent there. But that's not how it's supposed to be. If you're truly a Christian, if you're truly a believer, follower of Jesus Christ, it's not supposed to be your regular life, your regular coffee with just a little bit of coffee mate in there to make it taste better, give it more flavor. No. No.

[00:09:13]:

No. You are supposed to become a new beverage. You're supposed to be like a frappuccino or something. Right? Like, it is a total overhaul of the old you. In fact, all throughout the New Testament, when Paul talks about the flesh, oh goodness. Don't even get me going on those Christian diets that talk about the flesh as being your body, and that beating down your flesh is like telling your body not to eat or have better, quote unquote, self control, which isn't what that means either, around food. No. Don't even get me started on that.

Feeding The Flesh Isn’t Having A Brownie

[00:09:44]:

But when Paul talks about the flesh, he's talking about the old you, the before Christ you. He's talking about your sin nature that Jesus is coming in and trying to sanctify you and rid you of, and it's gonna be a process, friend. It doesn't just disappear overnight. But part of that sin nature is all these selfish thoughts, selfish ambition, selfish gain, selfishness around wanting what you want for yourself and your life, and I'm gonna add your body to that list. That's what the flesh is. I think most of us are, quote, unquote, feeding the flesh when we're denying our ourselves of food because we think it'll make us look better and that will make us greater in someone's eyes or in our own eyes. Right? Feeding the flesh isn't having a brownie. Feeding the flesh is feeding that selfish ambition, that glory hunger, that vain glory seeking part of us that just wants everyone to think I look awesome and envy me.

[00:10:50]:

And friend, that's not just a little problem, that's a sin problem. It's a desire problem. That's a problem where you are in direct opposition to the God of the universe because he says, no. No. No. Humble yourself in my sight. Walk humbly with me, and then I'll lift you up. I've got everything you could ever need.

[00:11:16]:

There's nothing you can gain that's better than my kingdom. Even if every person you meet for the rest of your life starts a sentence, starts a conversation with you by saying, you look awesome. It won't be enough. If every person you meet bows down and worships you and says, you're just so great looking. Oh, you have such a great body. How can I be like you? Tell me how you eat. Tell me. It will not be enough, friend.

[00:11:44]:

It will leave you more lacking. It will leave you emptier. It's not the way to fulfillment. And so if you wanna change your negative thoughts, you have to actually believe that God's thoughts are higher than your thoughts. And you gotta change what you believe about God. And then if you do believe the truth about God, okay, you're still gonna be in a wrestling match. Right? We wrestle not against flesh and blood. Right? You're not actually wrestling your brain.

[00:12:22]:

You're wrestling these thoughts from the enemy who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy, John tells us. Right? So how do you fight that? Well, it's not you, little David versus Goliath, your thought life. It's Jesus battling the enemy. And, oh, guess what? He already did that battle, and he already won. So you know how it's gonna turn out. Right? But you gotta lean into him. And it's not just praying, like, okay. Yes.

[00:12:50]:

Praying. God help my thoughts. Help my thoughts. Like, sure. That's good. But you have to change what you believe. You have to identify, what am I idolizing? Where am I really seeking validation and approval? So those of you who've been around here for a while, you know I'm the hugest Tim Keller fan ever.

[00:13:14]:

It was a huge loss when he passed away a few years ago or maybe just last year. I don't know. It seems like it's been forever. But his old sermons are available. Gospel and Life Podcast, highly recommend you listen to it. I actually encourage my clients to listen to Tim Keller because he has a way of explaining the gospel and idolatry in just a way that changed my life. It was not the kind of teaching I was used to. I was used to a different, I would say, maybe more conversational, maybe less formal kind of teaching.

What Am I Really Worshiping?

[00:13:41]:

But I never learned the gospel and really how much idolatry was plaguing my life until I started to listen to Tim Keller. And one of the things that Keller talks about is whenever we find ourselves stuck. Right? And so in this scenario, stuck with negative thoughts. We can always say what is it that I am really worshiping? And for a lot of us who are stuck in negative thoughts, what we're really worshiping is this ideal version of ourselves, this idol of self. And maybe it's the idol of an image that you think you should be, the kind of body you think you should have, the kind of life you think you should have. Right? But it's this really self created vision for yourself. Have you heard the word self a couple of times? Right? It's self, self, self, self, self. Right? And those thoughts are gonna stick around as long as you keep worshiping that.

[00:14:36]:

Because those thoughts are what are helping you in your worship of self. But when you turn your worship back to God where it belongs, and you humble yourself, and you repent, oh, that's not a fun word in common modern Christianity. Right? But repent? Oh, goodness. Repentance changed everything for me. I write about that in Compared To Who? But when you repent and you say, oh, God. I am trying to make myself great. And I am not great, only you are. Oh, that's when everything changes.

[00:15:08]:

And then you can let those thoughts go. You stop taking yourself so seriously. You stop believing the lies of the enemy that are like, oh, if you don't get this, you're gonna die. Oh, if you don't get this, you're gonna be rejected. Oh, if you don't do this, everything's gonna be horrible for you. Can you mute all of that out and say, no, God, like, I just wanna serve you. What do you want from me? His thoughts are higher than your thoughts, and you need to worship him in order to change your thought life. And that means getting rid of those idols.

[00:15:46]:

Is it the idol of approval? Is it the idol of success? Is it the idol of, like, entitlement? Or maybe it's the idol of comfort. Like, you just don't want life to be hard. And no one wants life to be hard. Like, I get that. But, friend, like, we're promised suffering in scripture for being Christ follower. Right? It is gonna be hard. And the good news and I've said this before. The good news is if it is hard, if you are suffering, if things really suck right now, this earth is the only hell you ever have to experience because you're gonna spend eternity in heaven.

[00:16:26]:

Right? So suffer well for the Lord for whatever years you have left and know eternity will be so much better. Don't look for comfort here. Don't try to make this the end destination. Don't try to make this heaven on earth. It will never work. We can't have heaven on earth. This earth is too broken and sinful. What's your thought life? What's going on? Are there idols? Are you trying to make this heaven on earth? Are you trying to make sure you never suffer? And I understand it's deeper than that.

The Philippians 2:8 Filter

[00:17:01]:

Right? Some of us have trauma, rejection, like stories that make it really hard for us to feel safe. And there's work to be done there, and that's okay. But just think about that. And then my final point for you today is what I call the Philippians 2:8 filter. Right? Now Philippians 2:8, I'm gonna go ahead and read it for you. This is the New Living translation again. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right and pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

[00:17:37]:

So this is a verse that many of you probably know. This is something that I talk about in the 40 Day Body Image Workbook and in my course too. This is something we work on after we've worked through idolatry and what our hearts believe. Like, this is a process. Right? You don't skip to number 4. You don't skip to the Philippians 2:8 filter. Okay? There is a journey that happens to get there. But after you've kinda weeded out what's going on in your heart and what your beliefs are, then you need some sort of test.

[00:18:08]:

Right? Like, because, you know, the Holy Spirit does convict us, and we have thoughts in our head that come from Holy Spirit conviction. And so sometimes it can be confusing. Like, okay. Wait. Is this thought, like, from God? Is God, like, trying to tell me something here? Or is this thought from the enemy? How can I know which it is? And that's the difference between condemnation from the devil and conviction from the Lord. And I have a whole chart on this in the 40 day body image workbook. So you can, like, see it there and read all about it there. But this Philippians 2:8 filter helps us understand and really process every thought as we see it.

[00:18:49]:

Now let me back up just a second here. Most of you, if you're just starting your body image journey, you have so many thoughts. You can't actually, like, identify which is which. They're just all, like, this big jumble. It's, like, this big knot of I don't know. Have you ever thrown all your necklaces in your jewelry box? Like, at the end of a couple years, you go to pick a necklace up, and you're, like, oh, no. They're all tangled together. I can't tell where one starts and where one ends.

[00:19:13]:

Right? It's just this big mess. That's what your thought life is like when you're starting this journey. It's just this big jumbled mess. And so where we start and we do this in the 40 day journey too. Where we start is by just kinda quieting as much as we can, it takes a while, and just listening and finding those thoughts. So, like, let's say you find your first thought. Oh, wait. Every time I look in the mirror, I hear the thought, you look really old.

[00:19:37]:

You look really old. Every time I look in the mirror, that's what I hear. And so I'm like thinking, okay. Well, I need to get Botox, so I won't hear this thought anymore. If I just go get Botox, then I will not look in the mirror and say, you look really old anymore. That will fix the thought. That's not really true. Right? Because you can get all the Botox you want.

[00:19:56]:

You can still look in the mirror and be like, well, I still kinda look old just with Botox, with skin that doesn't move quite as freely. Right? So but to fix your thoughts about it, after you realize that maybe action on that thought won't be effective or before, whichever, we're gonna be in all different places, and you might do it before and after. But you hear that thought, I look really old. And then you've got to think, okay. Well, what am I worshiping here? Well, am I kinda worshiping youth? Am I believing what culture tells me that only young people are valuable and worthy? Like, am I fearing that someone's gonna reject me because I look old? Like, what's really going on in my heart here? What do I really believe? And then after you kinda work through that, then you incorporate this Philippians 2:8 filter. And you ask yourself, what is true? Well, okay. It might be true. You might look old.

[00:20:52]:

Right? I mean, I know I've got listeners over the age of 70. You might be like, no, Heather. I actually look old. It's true. That's fine. It's okay. So you make it through the filter. This thought can stay because it's true, but then let's go on.

[00:21:06]:

And you filter the thought through the next one. What is true? What is honorable? Well, is it honorable to think I look old? Maybe. But if I'm saying this in a negative context where I'm actually, like, doubting God's goodness because I look old or I'm thinking negative thoughts about my value and worth because I look old, that doesn't sound very honorable. Let's go on to the next one though. Is it right? Well, again, it might be right that I look old. But is it right that I have a negative connotation to looking old when I think about it in the context of scripture? And I wrote a whole book about this, Aging Gratefully. It's my 30 day devotional on aging, but right, the context of scripture is aging is a really good thing. Right? So if my heart is saying, oh, it's bad to look old, and the Bible is saying, no, actually, aging is a gift.

[00:22:02]:

Looking old is fine. Gray hair is a crown. Like, you are just showing the wisdom of the years that God has blessed you with. In that context, is my thought right? Nope. It's not right. It's not pure. It's not lovely. It's not admirable.

[00:22:20]:

And then this is where it gets tricky. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Is thinking about my wrinkles excellent and worthy of praise? No. It's a waste of my time. Is thinking about my hips or my number on the scale excellent and worthy of praise? No. It's not. So do I need to spend precious thought lifetime there? No. No.

[00:22:52]:

I don't. So as we take every thought that we have, and we put it through the Philippians 2:8 filter, Then we get to decide what stays and what goes. Right? And if it has to go, this is the analogy I love to use with clients. I want you to think about it like a dirty diaper. Right? Like, if you've decided that the thought cannot stay, you have to take it captive. It doesn't go through the Philippians 2:8 filter. It doesn't match God's truth. It's one of your thoughts.

Taking Out The Trash (For Good!)

[00:23:22]:

It's not a high thought from God or from scripture. It really doesn't match what you say your heart believes. Right? The thought has to go. I want you to think about that thought as a dirty diaper. Now, I don't know how many of you use, like, Diaper Genie. I think we had, like, a diaper pale, Diaper Genie kinda thing for the first 2, and then we kinda gave up and just went straight to the trash can when we had numbers 3 & 4. But at first, like, with that first baby, oh, goodness. His diapers, you just notice the smell.

[00:23:49]:

They're awful. Right? And you're, like, oh, do not throw that away in anything without a lid, like, oh, please, like, let's take that trash out to the street. Like, that's painful. I want you to think about the thought in that way. Like, would you ever go back and pick up one of those stinky diapers out of the trash and be, like, I think I wanna keep this in the house a little while longer. You would not. You would not do that. You'd be, like, no.

[00:24:12]:

Get that as far away as possible. I want you to think about those thoughts that you have to take captive and get rid of. I want you to think about them in the same way. Don't go back to the trash can and dig that thought out. Once you have taken that thought through the filter, you've done the other hard work beforehand, and you've taken that thought through the filter. Once you've done that, it's garbage. It's trash. Do not pick it back up.

[00:24:35]:

Now the enemy is gonna try to present it to you again. But when it comes again, you just have to remember, that's trash. That's stinky garbage. No. No. No. It cannot come back. Can you do that, friend? Oh, if that sounds really hard, join us on the 40 day journey.

[00:24:53]:

There's work to be done, but it is possible and I know it feels hard. It feels like I'll never get there. That's how every woman coming into this work feels, but it is possible. There is great hope for you and your body image, and there's great hope for your thought life too. You don't have to keep those thousands and thousands of thoughts every hour swirling around there condemning you, shaming you, frustrating you. That's how I lived. But I know what it's like to not have those thoughts anymore. At first, it's a little uncomfortable, honestly, because it's like, oh my word.

[00:25:25]:

What do I do with all this blank mental space? Like, I'm almost not sure what to do. What am I supposed to think about? I've got all this free space. And then as you learn to fix your thoughts on what is true, what is honorable, what is right, like, this spills over into every area of your life, into every one of your relationships. Y'all, this isn't just a principle for body image issues, it's a principle for life. When you start giving worship to the only one who is worthy, and stop worshiping other things by giving them all this attention and time in your thought life, things change. Your gratitude grows, your contentment grows, your joy grows. We're gonna talk about that on an episode really soon. How most of us just need more joy.

[00:26:15]:

Oh, friend. I hope this has helped you today. I hope that you've been encouraged, and I really hope today something has helped you stop comparing and start living. Bye bye. The compared to who show is proud to be part of the Life Audio Podcast Network. For more great Christian podcasts, go to life audio.com. Hey. If you need a cute compared to who shirt, don't forget, visit our Etsy store compare to who and find cute podcast merch.