I’d like to share some insights of what I learned by depending on God to help me lose weight. To begin with, I replaced my nighttime binge eating habit with searching through the Bible for a scripture to encourage me. No organized plan, just random searching.
This plan was based on Joshua 1:8- This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you should meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do all that is written in it, for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
I do want success and to lose my excess weight. Don’t you? So, here’s a list of what I learned during this experiment:
1. Pray first, before looking at a menu, before deciding what to cook in your kitchen, and before ordering at the fast food drive-up. Pray before every food situation. I don’t know about you, but I need wisdom in my food choices. (If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. James 1:5 NLT)
2. Listen for God’s guidance. Usually, it’s a quiet knowing in your heart. (Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk, in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21
3. Follow God’s guidance. Obey His leading. Before every meal, pray for wisdom. Wait until you know. Then follow as He leads you.
4. Wait until you are hungry before eating. With me, usually my stomach growls. Sometimes, it’s just an empty feeling.
5. Stop eating before you get full. Don’t argue with God, you want it all. I’ve done that before and it resulted in weight gained. So, if you want God to lead you, follow His guidance.
6. Sometimes your body wants to keep what you ate and not let it go. Therefore, the scales will stay the same for days. But hold on, if you continue to stay on program, the scales will go down. Never give up.
7. Use the scales as a tool, not punishment. They’ll help you learn how specific foods affect your body. For example, some people consider pork skins a good snack since they’re zero carbs. But pork skins cause me to gain weight.
8. Be careful, even what you consider to be low calorie foods can cause weight gain. Remember, all things in moderation. Once, I ate three bowls of egg drop soup thinking it was safe to eat as comfort food. I thought it was low calorie. Nope, it caused weight gain. So be careful.
9. Don’t beat yourself up for mistakes. (See above concerning egg drop soup.) Just consider it a lesson learned.
10. Celebrate your victories, even your small victories, but not with food. How many times did our moms reward us with a cookie for good behavior as a child? No wonder I love cookies. I was the good child. Laughter.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57
