I’m sure you’ve seen the emails and ads. Four waist sizes smaller in one month. Lose all you want, eating whatever you want. Just take this new scientific discovery in a pill. Really, is this true? Many will gamble on the truth of it and buy the latest diet, supplement or program on the chance there is a smidgen of truth there.
God’s Way
There may be some quick ways to shed pounds. Starvation is one which comes to mind. However, they are not sustainable and they are not God’s best plan.
“May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!” (1 Thessalonians 5:23, MSG).
Quick weight loss harms your body in many ways. Before you know it, you have gained back whatever waist sizes you lost plus some additional sizes.
Why Diets Don’t Work
Many times, the diet actually makes you put more weight on. How? Here’s how it always went for me. I’d severely limit myself for a time. Once I met my goal, I would celebrate with all the foods I’d been missing during my diet. I wouldn’t stop eating them and ended up gaining more than I lost.
That was why I finally gave up diets. The yo-yo dieting was confusing my already compromised body. Am I eating or not eating? Should I store fat because I’m not getting food? I was not nice to my already over-taxed body.
Emotional Triggers
My weight cycling, losing and then gaining, was exacerbated by emotional triggers, which caused me to eat more and more of the comfort foods I had learned to run to. I thought they helped me stay at an even keel emotionally.
Eating to alleviate stress, anger, boredom, loneliness or because of feeling overwhelmed only caused me to need more food to feel anywhere near normal. Then, gaining weight only made my emotional well-being worse.
Dealing With Emotions
I learned in order to lose weight and keep it off, I had to deal with tons of emotional baggage. As I dealt with the junk, living a healthy lifestyle became sustainable.
Without dealing with the emotional issues, which stood like barriers on my weight loss journey, I would still be in the monster yo-yo dieting cycle.
My question to you is what do you want? Do you want to continue to try all the latest fads and diets or do you want to lose weight and keep it off? God wants fit soldiers for the kingdom. We cannot fulfill the destiny He has given each of us (see Ephesians 2:10, TPT) unless we are here, alive, healthy and able to go to work in the kingdom.
How God Changes Us
God is a healer. He can instantly heal of us any disease, any disease except those we perpetuate on our own. He will not take the donut out of our hands or our mouths. He will remind us of our commitment only if we have invited Him to do so.
There is character and discipline (see Hebrews 12:11, MSG) built into following God’s way of becoming healthy in body, soul and spirit. Sure, instantly smaller sounds wonderful. In essence, we are scared of the work it will take for us to transform. Instead, we’d rather keep eating, getting larger and developing health morbidities.
Think of the caterpillar melting inside the chrysalis. It’s not a pretty sight. However, when it emerges, it is a creature who can fly. If you’re ready to fly, it won’t happen without sustained weight loss and long-lasting change.
Ready for a Change?
If you’re ready for a change, as a Christian weight loss coach, I can help you. The only place you can get one-on-one weight loss coaching from me is through my private, secret Facebook group, Sweet Change Weight Loss Coaching Group. As you can imagine, I’m crazy busy. This is my best resource to help you.
“Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—He could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” (Hebrews 12:2-3, MSG).
Go through the holiday season losing instead of gaining. In Sweet Change Weight Loss Coaching Group, Teresa Shields Parker coaches you to victory. During November and December, she’s going back to the basics to help you begin to regain your life. For a short time, to a limited number only, she’s offering two months in Sweet Change Group at a discounted rate. After two months stay as long as you like at the same low rate. Are you one of the limited number? Let this be the last weight loss program you’ll ever need. Go HERE to sign up.
Teresa Shields Parker is an author, blogger, editor, business owner, wife and mother. Her book, Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds and Stopped Trying to Earn God’s Favor is available on Amazon in print, Kindle and Audible HERE. This story is from her blog, teresashieldsparker.com.
Janet Perez Eckles 
Shawn Akers 
Abby Trivett