Sunday Communion

[Splandrea]

I let myself sabotage myself yesterday.
It all started wtih grape juice and a cracker.
How do I deal with communion. I am not going to bypass it.
It caused serious cravings yesterday =(

Anyone else going through this? I never even considered it until it was happening! Just looking for some pointers on how to avoid a blood sugar spike. I was thinking just drinking a bunch of water after church along with maybe some high fatty foods waiting in the car??

Thanks!

[Grant]

Re: Sunday Communion

What do people with food allergies do? There have to people people allergic to grape juice and/or crackers so I'm curious if there might be another option and if maybe that option would be acceptable to you.

[prissy]

Re: Sunday Communion

Hi Andrea,

I have been there many times.

When I take communion I consume only a tiny amount of cracker and juice. Reducing your overall carbs the day before might help too.

You can also reduce the frequency of communion for yourself...a common opinion is that if you do it every week it becomes routine and we tend to lose the attitude of reverence and gratitude we should maintain during the experience. So if you still had problems you would only have to face it once a month.

Just try not to let it get into your head.

[Splandrea]

Re: Sunday Communion

True. Thanks. That makes sense =)

[TheDogAteMyName]

Re: Sunday Communion

The Lord's Supper is one of those times where I just don't count carbs. I'll drink the juice and the cracker. The importance of this is much more to me than the carb count. I have a feeling Jesus will work it all out

[IrishMom82]

Re: Sunday Communion

Contrary to a lot of "beliefs" you actually do not need to consume the body and blood for the communion to count. If the bread/cracker is causing you cravings just have small sip of the wine.

For you to fulfill the Sacrament of Communion you need to consume either the bread or wine, you do not need to have both. Try just taking the wine and see if that causes cravings.

This is all according to the Catholic Faith. I can find a source if you would like it.

[TheDogAteMyName]

Re: Sunday Communion

I have an idea...eat a piece of cheese before going into church. Maybe that will help to slow down the sugar spike. Communion is something very personal to a Christian so I understand your worries. {{{Hugs}}}

[IrishMom82]

Re: Sunday Communion

It also depends on what Faith you are. If you're Catholic we're supposed to fast an hour before communion so eating something isn't an option for us. Again I would suggest just consuming the wine since that is sort of legal food...eventually...

I'm sorry you're having a hard time with this.

[jimmie 48]

Re: Sunday Communion

how much juice and wafer/cracker does your communion consist of?

in my faith, the amount of the juice and the unleavened wafer/cracker is so small, i find it hard to think the carbs in it would amount to anything. i never had a problem with it causing cravings, etc.

are you positive the cravings came from the communion?

[SunnySmile501]

Re: Sunday Communion

I really struggled with this one. I am a devout Christian, therefore I don't lie. But--I am the one running the How Long Can You Go? Cheat-free challenge and I take communion the first Sunday of each month as well as special occasions (Christmas Eve candlelight service, Maundy Thursday, Easter Sunday), so I eat a very small cube of white bread and about a thimble full of grape juice. Soooooo...is that cheating or not? I have decided that communion is more important than calling it a cheat. This is the one request that Jesus made before He died on the cross for me. I am allergic to wheat, so I worry about that as well. What I do is break the tiny cube of bread in half and eat that and just take a sip of the juice...and I pray that it will not harm me and it has never given me a problem. I take communion twice on the same day--once at the early service and again at the second service, while in the choir loft in view of the entire church. I am not going to refuse to accept communion because my faith has brought me this far.

Sunny!

[TheDogAteMyName]

Re: Sunday Communion

Sunny & Jimmie - I think alike! The carbs that you get from the bread and small glass aren't going to up our carb counts much. Sunny, you are definitely not cheating. Cheating is something entirely different. I believe the same as you...faith has brought me here. Honestly, without Him there is no way I would've gotten this far and have been this dedicated. The significance of The Lord's Supper is one that I will not give up. I have a feeling Dr. A would say the same thing.

As for the piece of cheese and fasting an hour before, it still may help since it takes longer to digest fat.

[Greeneggs&ham]

Re: Sunday Communion

No offense to anyone, but my pro-Atkins, Catholic friends and I like to joke that one of Jesus' greatest miracles was changing carbs (bread and wine) into protein (body and blood)!

Because I am uber-Catholic, I would never think to forego Communion and don't even think of Communion as part of my carb intake, trusting that God will work one of His miracles to keep those few grams from interfering with my attempts to lose weight.

[Splandrea]

Re: Sunday Communion

Seriously, you have all made super fabulous points.
I think that I "stressed" out so much upon taking communion - like right when church was over I realized what I did, and that I may have psyched myself out. This morning, i will just trust that it will all be worked out, I will eat some cheese, and I will get over it! =)

Thanks everyone!

[SunnySmile501]

Re: Sunday Communion

Sunny & Jimmie - I think alike! The carbs that you get from the bread and small glass aren't going to up our carb counts much. Sunny, you are definitely not cheating. Cheating is something entirely different. I believe the same as you...faith has brought me here. Honestly, without Him there is no way I would've gotten this far and have been this dedicated. The significance of The Lord's Supper is one that I will not give up. I have a feeling Dr. A would say the same thing.

As for the piece of cheese and fasting an hour before, it still may help since it takes longer to digest fat.

Seeing as how Dr. A was Jewish, he probably would not feel that way about the Lord's Supper, but I'm sure he fully understood how important keeping all the tenets of our faith is to our way of life. For Atkins to be a real lifestyle change, it can not include giving up those things most important to our eternal life. We have to work this WOL into our life to make it better, not give up those things most important to our future.

Sunny!

[SunnySmile501]

Re: Sunday Communion

No offense to anyone, but my pro-Atkins, Catholic friends and I like to joke that one of Jesus' greatest miracles was changing carbs (bread and wine) into protein (body and blood)!

Because I am uber-Catholic, I would never think to forego Communion and don't even think of Communion as part of my carb intake, trusting that God will work one of His miracles to keep those few grams from interfering with my attempts to lose weight.

I'm not Catholic, but my Southern Baptist funny bone got a big kick out of that statement! I'm gonna use that the next time someone gives me grief about low carb!