First Three Steps To My Weight Loss

First Three Steps To My Weight Loss 

The Struggle Is Real!!

I never worked so hard in my life to lose weight! The days of skipping a few meals and weight falling off are definitely over! At age 36, I have learned that It truly takes blood sweat and tears – Literally.  But Hallelujah I have finally gotten back into my favorite jeans. Yeah, so what if I have control top underwear on and had to lie almost upside down on the bed to button and zip them! The point is I’m in them when just months ago I couldn’t even pull them up past my butt. And jeans don’t lie. There may be some clothes that adjust when my body fluctuates, but jeans do not ever. They have a way of letting you know, “Uh uh, not today. Try again later”.   

In The Beginning

My weight loss journey actually began in August 2014 and I tried to document it on my YouTube channel. I honestly thought I was ready to lose weight, but when I realized it was harder than I thought, I gave up. I wasn’t ready to give up certain foods and I wasn’t committed to a workout schedule. Since then I fell under the woe is me syndrome and believed the many lies I told myself:

• My slow metabolism
• My age
• No time to workout
• I’m not a morning person. I would do it in the morning if I could wake up
• I don’t like the gym: I feel like a lab rat spinning on the wheel
• Eating healthy is expensive
• It takes too much time to prepare meals  
• It’s getting too hot outside to walk
• I’m too tired after work.
• Sugar is my weakness
• I just can’t give up wine and cheese  

First Step: Education
My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge – Hosea 4:6

I discovered that excuses are non other than irrational reasons we tell ourselves and others to justify our desire to get out of doing what we don’t want to. But when something is important to us, we will go around the world to make it happen. Like that $300 purse we just have to have. I learned though I was depressed about being overweight, it just wasn’t important enough to me yet to do something about it. Once I realized it was my mind holding me back, I began renewing it by educating myself on how to be successful. Because wherever lies a problem, there is a solution for it waiting to be found. 

Second Step: Vision
Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint – Proverbs 29:18

What makes weight loss become important enough? We can’t say sickness and disease, because there are many who suffer from them but continue to make poor choices. We can’t say a desire to be thin again, because there are many just like me who want that, yet continue to stuff cookie after cookie into our mouths. What I have come to believe is that it can’t just be about ourselves when deciding to change. There has to be a greater purpose that drives our hearts that’s bigger than us. So, I began digging deep to find out why I truly want and need to be healthy. I wanted to make it plain before my eyes, so I wrote it down that I may stay focused (Habakkuk 2:2):

1. Lower cholesterol
2. Stop supporting industrialized farming
3. Prevent heart disease
4. Prevent cancer
5. More energy
6. Healthier weight
7. Reverse damage to body
8. I want to be effective in the Kingdom by living by example
9. I want to help decrease America’s obesity epidemic, especially in the church.
10. I want to be a good example to my daughter

Third Step: Support
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed – James 5:16

Accountability is very important. Being honest with yourself and others in your weakness is the only way to save yourself from hiding in the darkness binge eating and practicing poor self control. We all need support for success. My sisters have been a great support system. We share recipe ideas, call each other out when we are heading in the wrong direction, but most importantly we pray for and encourage one another.

Be encouraged

If you can start with these three steps, you will be well on your way to a successful healthy weight loss journey too. I will share my day to day regimen: my workout routine and the food I eat in another post. I don’t want anyone to get it twisted by thinking I have it all figured out. By no means have I arrived. I still have 25 more pounds to lose and I still have weak moments and bad days. But I have learned a few things that help me to keep going in spite of, which I will share in the next post:

Also, if you would like to know everything I have watched and read that has pointed me in the right direction and helps me to stay strong, follow me on my Pinterest: Becoming QueenVii

The desires of the diligent are fully satisfied – Proverbs 13:4

Thanks for reading and much love to you on your journey to making great choices :-)