The Spiritual side of weight loss---spin off

[HeChangedMyName]

That thread got me to really looking at my weight gain over the past years from a whole new perspective. In all, I've put on about 50 or 60 lbs in the past 8 years since my first child. I didn't do it on purpose, but I also didn't do much to try to prevent it. I don't have anyone or anything to blame except for me.
I've always know that weight loss or any other endeavor could not be completed without God's help. But. . .I didn't fully grasp the concept and hold tight to the Word. I waited idly for God to perform some weight loss miracle but I never really let him actually guide me to do anything in particular. **confession** I had always hoped that I'd wake up one day in my old body and shout and praise God, hit the daytime tv circuit with my story of miraculous and effortless weightloss. . . .

Well, anyway. I would like to invite any of you who have weight issues to come in here and pray off the fat. Not to say that it wont take some hard work on our parts, but I feel that we need to verbalize our request for help. Put into real words exactly what we are asking God to help us do.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

Dear God, in the name of Jesus, I believe that according to you , you have already chosen me and created in me a person who is perfect according to your will. You have given me free will to chose and move about in this world though, and I thank you for that. I've messed up though. You already know the end and you want a good outcome for me in every area of my life. All of the not so good things that exist in my life are direct results of my own meddling in matters that I should have left up to you. Including, but not limited to my eating habits. I've gorged myself for the last time. I can't stop this cycle on my own. My flesh is too strong to fight against this world, please cleanse me of whatever issues and spirits have in the past caused me to add extra weight to the perfect body that you made for me. I may have added weight out of greed or out of fear that looking too good might get me the wrong type of attention, or even because fat girls just aren't "expected" to do more than what fat girls just do. Whatever the reasons and excuses I have had in the past, please take them away and work a miracle in my body so that all of this excess weight falls away from me. Keep me in your hand God and away from the temptations of the devil who will try to entice me with overeating, and even with foods that I should stay away from altogether. Give me the endurance and strength to do whatever you direct me to do that will aid in busting this fat off my body. The real me has always been inside and I am ready to submit to you so that I can let her shine. God please keep your hand on me through this journey. I don't know if it will be easy or hard, but I know that with you in charge, it can only come out for the best. Thank you. In Jesus name, Amen

 

[neenzmj]

SuperNova,

I am in "maintenance mode" (maintaining my current weight), but I'd like to get in on the prayer, too. My personal prayer is this:

Dear Heavenly Father: I thank you for being my strength when I am weak, my shelter in my time of fear, my encourager on those days when I want to give up. I know that without your power, I can do nothing, not even maintain my weight. My desire is to keep my eyes on you and not those circumstances around me that seem so big or so frustrating that I allow myself to eat out of frustration and stress. I look to you as my source of of hope, my source of self-control and my source of commitment.

In Jesus Name,

Amen.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

I just need to testify. Since saying this prayer and submitting to God, I've lost 2 lbs. I've been eating better and listening to God direct my workouts. I've lost 1 inch in my waist, and 1 inch off my hips. To God be ALL the glory!!!!! He directed me to a part of my body that I never thought to research and to look up exercises that tarted that area and I've been working that particular part out. I feel it and I like it. the crease in my back fat is even less deep. God even gave me a number y'all. He gave me a weight and I was like , I'ownknowboutdatGod But sure enough, he then directed me to a website-via an email that I've been subscriber to and don't usually even open to read. Anyway it had some ways to calculate your "happy weight", not just based upon BMI. wouldn't you know that the weight that God gave me is right there. . . .

 

[HeChangedMyName]

Today I was looking through some old pictures with the kids and i recognized my old body in some of the pictures. I was so much more toned and of course about two sizes smaller. I looked good and healthy. Recently, I've been trying to figure out when all this weight started coming and staying with me. I never thought I was an emotional eater in the past but I couldn't totally discount the idea either.

The pictures I was looking at had been taken a couple of months after my mother was diagnosed with cancer and a couple of months prior to her death. . . .I thought I had fully dealt with her death a long time ago because of the fact that the doctors only gave her a short time to live upon diagnosis and a very slim chance of survival for the surgery to remove the cancer that we all supported her decision to have(which she never made it out of the hospital). We were in a faithless place as a family and we had all "prepared" ourselves for her death and just lived every day we had with her to the fullest and made her quality of life be the best it could possibly be.

Well, I look back and I remember that the night that she was diagnosed it was very surreal. Kind of movie like. I thought for sure I'd wake up. Everyone went home while she was laid up in the hospital(she really didn't want anyone there to gawk at her, she wasn't that type of person). I can remember that night me and my siblings and family all went home and did our own little therapy. some got drunk, some baked, some cried, and I cooked. I started cooking that night like my life depended on it. I haven't stopped since. Cooking and eating foods the way my mother prepared them has been my therapy. I made it my point to learn all of her family recipe secrets and perfect the tastes that she had down pat.

This all dawned on me while looking at the pictures. I attribute this epiphany to my prayer above. I asked God to get rid of my "issues" that have caused my weight to skyrocket and this is surely an issue. Even now as I type this, I feel the Spirit moving letting me know that I have to let go of this habit of remembering my mother. She died from complications from surgery from a cancer that was no doubt related to a lifetime of high fat and savory foods and meats.

Everything had bacon grease in it and I can recall that I use to get on her about these dietary choices and here I am doing the very same thing to myself. I thank God for revealing this to me and like I said above, I still need and want his help to overcome this issue.

 

[neenzmj]

SuperNova, I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your mother, but you are correct in the health risks related to our diet. A few days ago I saw something on TV that indicated that studies are finding that many cancers may be directly associated to obesity.

Below is the most recent post to my blog:

The D-Word: Discipline
Isaiah 41:10
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea,I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

When I first began losing weight, people would ask, “how did you do it?” After sharing that I’d changed my eating habits and began exercising, many of them would seem to go away slightly disappointed. At first I couldn’t understand the reaction, but it finally became clear to me. They were hoping for something that didn’t require the big D word: Discipline.
I understand the reaction. It’s the same reaction I feel everytime I make a credit card payment and realize I need to be debt free. But like weight loss, the process of ridding myself of debt means discipline and self-denial, and I’ll be honest — it’s a struggle. It’s a struggle because it means saying “No” when Macy’s has a 60-70% clearance sale on shoes. It’s a struggle when I’m tired from working all day and I don’t want to cook. Bottom line: it’s a struggle because my flesh wants what it wants – RIGHT NOW.
I think Paul sums it up best in Romans 7:15. He wanted to do what was right, but because of the warring within his flesh, he ended up doing the very things he didn’t want to do. Isn’t that just like the battle of weight loss or even debt reduction? We start out with the best intentions of eating healthy and not overindulging. We have all the best plans of exercising at least three times a week. But then something happens and the flesh kicks in. Next thing you know you’re sitting in a corner eating a whole package of Ritz crackers with peanut butter (ummm… that would be me! Ha!) Or, you’re walking out of Macy’s with four boxes of shoes that you know you don’t really need!


There’s Hope
If you stop reading at the end of Romans 7, you might think “oh no…” where does that leave me? Thankfully, God never leaves us without hope, but the hope we have isn’t in our own efforts – it’s only through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we can have the victory against the struggles in our lives – whether it’s the battle with Ritz crackers or the battle at Macy’s clearance rack.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

^^^neenzmj,

Discipline is something I have struggled with for such a long time, and you are right, we start out with a plan and some real action behind it and like you and your ritz, it would be me and my Kings Hawaiian bread and butter. Along with what I am already asking God to help me with, I really NEED discipline. I will add those scriptures to my prayer list and i will have to give my lack of discipline over to God as often as it takes before I can let go of it permanently. I know he can work it out of me if I just let him help me. Thanks again

 

[HeChangedMyName]

down another pound. To God be the Glory. Praying is really helping me to stay away from overeating and just making better food choices. I overate at lunch today because I didn't eat breakfast and my body felt miserable. I literally felt sick from the food. I've just been drinking tea since then, I don't think I will eat anything else this evening. That was too much food and I was a glutton for eating it all at one setting. Green tea it is for tonight. I may even extend it and have a green tea fast tomorrow to clear out things.

 

[Br*nzeb*mbsh~ll]

will be posting on this. great thread. i'm already a believer regarding this.

 

[Br*nzeb*mbsh~ll]

bumping. please continue to lift me up regarding this issue.

 

[ebaby]

I struggle with this as well and I pray to god daily on this issue. I need help with discipline.

 

[Br*nzeb*mbsh~ll]

bumping this one....