Weight Loss God's Way

With a new year, I'm sure countless individuals have made New Year's resolutions to lose weight. Although I'm sure losing weight is a good idea for those who need to lose it; however, an even better idea would be to adapt a healthy lifestyle. That way you lose the unwanted weight and the unhealthy eating practices, and you don't ever have to be plagued by being over weight again. Anyone can lose weight on a diet, because their calories are being restricted, but what happens when they go back to eating the stuff they ate before the diet? Of course, they gain the weight back and sometimes they gain back even more than they lost. So instead of trying another diet and instead of resolving to lose weight, for 2008 make it an effort to adapt a healthy lifestyle God's way. Although I didn't know it at the time, the Lord was taking me through a healthy lifestyle process that began three years ago. After giving birth to two children in two years, I resolved to lose weight. While I was pregnant, I didn't deny myself a single thing. Whatever I wanted, I ate. After I gave birth, I continued to eat junk for two. I was carrying a whole lot of baby weight that I didn't lose once both of my kids were born. I was just huge for no reason at all, and I ate every single piece of junk food I could find. I was five feet and two inches tall and a little over 180 pounds. My days revolved around eating junk food. After dropping my daughter off at school every morning, I would stop at Dunkin' Donuts and order anywhere from 3-6 muffins and eat them all by myself. I would eat about two king size Snicker bars every day in addition to whatever junk I could find. I was addicted to junk food. Any kind would do... candy, cookies, pies, ice cream, chips. You name it, I ate it. I never tasted a piece of junk that I didn't like. My husband would go to throw something away and say, "You went to Baskin Robbins again today, huh." I became so embarrassed by how much junk I was eating that I would hide the wrappers and containers in the trash cans in my garage. I knew that I had to do something about my addiction because it was causing my weight to spiral out of control. I felt helpless in trying to control my appetite for it. I didn't know what to do. One day I was watching Joyce Meyer and she was talking about giving up cigarettes. She said her husband prayed over it and gave them up immediately; however, she actually had to walk out the quitting process. She said she confessed all day long that she hated cigarettes and that she wasn't a smoker. She even said this while she was smoking, but she finally lost the urge to smoke and quit even though it wasn't easy for her. I tried what Joyce Meyers suggested. I prayed that the Lord would remove the taste of ice cream from me. I confessed, "I hate ice cream. The thought of ice cream makes me sick. I don't eat ice cream." My family thought I was crazy. I usually ate ice cream everyday. Guess what? I no longer eat ice cream. Now, I can drive past that Baskin Robbins around the corner from and not even have the urge to stop. I gave it up three years ago. After that I asked the Lord to help me with my weight and my appetite. I told him I had tried everything that I knew to do, but it wasn't working. I had no idea at the time but that was the beginning of a weight loss process that the Lord took me through. Around that time my husband got the bright idea that we should give up beef, because it was unhealthy. It seemed to me like he just came out of nowhere with this and said the whole family was going to do it. That meant I had to give up pork too. My husband didn't eat pork, so this wasn't an issue for him. He gave me a great book to read Satan I'm taking back my health by Jawanza Kunjufu. After reading it, I willingly gave up beef and pork. The book discussed healthy eating and why it was important. I prayed that the Lord would bless our entire family through this new eating change. It's been almost three years since we gave up beef, and I gave up pork. The Lord took me through a gradual process of purging my diet of those things that weren't any good for me. After reading that book, I took an interest in reading health magazines like Prevention and Women's Day. I learned about what I should be eating and why and about what I shouldn't be eating and why not. The Lord was educating me on the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle. I received a copy of The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin. As thick as that book is,I read it. As a matter of fact, I couldn't put it down. It contains some of the best information on how to be healthy. One morning, I was watching Sarah and Marilyn Hickey on television. Marilyn Hickey was talking about a cigarette stomp that they held at their church. She said that during that time members bought their cigarettes and other addictions to the altar they prayed over them and then literally stomped them. She actually gave a testimony of one woman who prayed for her sister to quit smoking during this time, and it worked. Every time her sister thought about smoking or tried to smoke she became sick, but she didn't know why until her sister told her about the prayer. At that point, Marilyn Hickey invited viewers to take part in that prayer and say their addiction. I prayed it and said that I was addicted to sugary sweets like candy, cookies, pies, and cakes. Soon after, I bought a birthday cake for my son. I forgot all about the prayer. I ate the cake the first day with no problem. The second day when I ate a slice I became sick and had to run to the bathroom. The same day I had a second slice and immediately had to run to the bathroom. Then, I realized that the prayer was working. Later on that day, I cut a piece of cake for my son and a small piece of cake got on my finger so I licked it. Immediately, I had to run to the bathroom. I confessed that I didn't like sugary sweets and that the thought of them made me sick. After that, I gave up all sugary sweets. That was almost two years ago. Please understand that this was like a miracle for me. I began each day by eating a candy bar, doughnut or a cookie. All day long I snacked on some type of sugary sweet. To not what any of those things was miraculous. I was free from that addiction. It didn't own me anymore. I didn't have to think about what excuse I would make to go to Walgreen and buy ten dollars worth of candy. Thank you Jesus! After that, my husband purchased a membership at Bally's. He worked out faithfully. I would think, "Boy he really enjoys working out. Good for him." That's when I realized that I should be working out too. I definitely wasn't pleased about having to work out, but I knew I had to. My first time in the gym was a joke. In order to get to the gym you had to walk up two flights of stairs. Now that was out of the question, so I took the elevator. After riding a stationary bike for fifteen minutes, I was out of there. I was so tired and out of breath it wasn't even funny. I did go back though, and each time I tried to do a little more and stay a little longer. One day while I was working out, the Lord revealed to me that in order to get different results, I had to do something different. I had been working out half heartedly and had the nerve to wonder why my body still looked the same. I had to give it more effort than I ever had. I started confessing, "I love working out. I am a fat blaster in Jesus Name." It worked. I ended up staying at the gym so long my husband started to complain (about two hours). I started saying confessions all day long. I confessed, "I eat to live in Jesus name, I am a healthy vessel in Jesus Name, I have discipline and self control in my eating habits." While pushing myself on the elliptical machine I confessed, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Instead of doing twenty crunches I did a twenty minute ab work out, and the whole time I'd tell myself, "That I am more than a conqueror through Christ who loves me." I also watched The Biggest Loser. That show inspired me to want to work out and lose weight. Seeing how hard the participants pushed themselves made me want to push myself the same way. I don't know if those individuals were Christians or not, but I know that I am; therefore, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. If they could push themselves like that, then I could push myself like that as well. Then, I asked the Lord to remove the taste for fatty foods from me. I also gave up high cholesterol foods like chips and fried foods. Later, I also gave up potatoes and white bread. That was fifty pounds ago. I can honestly say that I've never felt better. Last year, I turned thirty five. I feel better now than when I turned thirty. I've adopted a healthy eating plan. One that consists of turkey chicken, fish, fruits, vegetables, beans, and grains. I've learned how to make tasty healthy meals for my family. This healthy life style didn't happen over night. It was a process. So many times we look for quick fixes to lose weight. There are no short cuts to losing weight. There is no miracle pill. I didn't gain weight over night, why then did I expect to lose it over night? Now that I am on the other side of the weight loss, I am mindful of 1 Corinthians 6:12, "Everything is permissible for me but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me- but I will not be mastered by anything." Never again will I allow myself to be ruled by food of any kind. Before you start another diet, ask the Lord to help you adapt a healthy life style. Know that with the Lord on your side there's nothing you can't do, because"...All things are possible to him who believes."

Way 1: Tongue Control

The first Way from the list of twenty is, "Think before you speak , instead of giving everyone a piece of your mind." Boy, this is valuable. If you're going around giving everyone a piece of your mind, people probably (hate is a strong word, so I'll say it nicely) aren't pleased with your presence. In her book, "The Secret Power of speaking God's Word," Joyce Meyer sums up Proverbs 16:23 as, "Think before you speak because the mind of the wise instructs his mouth. "Wow!" This is simply stated, but it packs a lot of punch. The wise don't allow their mouths to run wild or engage in idle conversation. Wise individuals don't open their mouths and speak haphazardly. They don't allow any old junk to pop out of their mouths. No, the wise mind instructs his mouth on what to speak. The wise mind orders his speech; therefore, the wise person thinks before he speaks because he instructs his mouth on exactly what to say. Have you ever said something that you didn't mean to say? It kind of popped out before you knew it. I used to do that quite a bit. I did it because, I failed to think before I spoke. We should allow our minds to instruct our mouths, before we open them to speak. This actually took work for me. I had to actually monitor what I said. I had to learn that I couldn't say everything that I thought. I had to actually think about what I said before I said it. Psalm 141:3 reads, "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips." Not only did I pray for the Lord to do this, I confessed that I "guarded the doors of my mouth." Only then, did my speech pattern change. I stopped complaining, grumbling, and gossipping. I stopped giving everyone a piece of my mind. I learned to speak constructively, even when I didn't agree with what was being said. I learned that just because I didn't agree with a person, I didn't have to give them a verbal lashing. This didn't happen instantaneously, because all I knew to do was go off if things didn't go my way, or if I felt like I was being attacked. It did take work on my part. I can remember one time when I was being trained to "guard the doors of my mouth" and my husband said something that I didn't find too pleasing. Boy, I was about to give him a piece of my mind, but when I opened my mouth to speak, absolutely nothing came out. The Lord held my tongue, because he knew I had let my guard down and that I wasn't standing on either of these two scriptures. If you would like to make a change in this area, pray these two scriptures. Tell the Lord you want to think before you speak. Ask him to help you do this and to do Psalm 141:3. Try confessing both scriptures out loud daily. Be mindful of your conversation. With the Lord's help you can control what you speak. Why not start now?