“I’ve struggled with my weight for as long as I remember…”
That’s how the email began. Oooh… Someone else who struggles is going to share their secret!
That hook works on me. Every. Single. Time.
Please! Tell me how you solved it! Please, please, please tell me that you have found the miracle solution. I can’t wait to read what it…
A few paragraphs later I’m disappointed. This particular article lead me to a sales pitch for some health professional’s consulting services. My excitement fades.
I’m already a health and fitness professional. Hiring one would be slightly ridiculous. (And, maybe a little embarrassing.) Then, I realize one important truth that I refuse to believe:
I already KNOW how to lose weight. Yet I don’t want to believe that there’s no secret formula for weight loss.
Watch your diet, exercise, give it time…stick to it. It’s not really rocket science. But, it’s easier for me to believe that I just haven’t found the right program yet.
I’d prefer there to be a magic solution out there…waiting for me to discover it. I’d rather that somewhere, hiding in a “Ten Ways to Slim Down” list, is a tip that I’ve never heard before that will unlock this secret door to easy weight loss. Like drinking a certain potion or repeating a certain exercise move.
There’s not.
It hurts me to say that. Really it does. My heart prefers to believe in magic. I would rather find the easy road to happiness. Can’t a fairy godmother just show up at my door and magic wand me into my ideal?
(Those dang fairy tales have ruined me.)
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that there aren’t best practices, equipment, and other guidelines out there that will help. They certainly will! A health coach, a fitness professional, a dietician, even a great diet book can offer resources to make our struggles a little easier. I am researching a natural supplement I may soon add to my diet to help balance blood sugar. I’m not against the tools…But, I have to be realistic in what I expect from them.
I still have to do the work to manage my weight. And, where the struggle resides is that I’d rather not. It’d be a whole lot easier to zap myself changed.
Are you looking for the miracle weight loss secret solution too?
Would you rather believe that inside one of those “guaranteed results” bottles rests the secret to your success? How many times have you fallen for the “Three easy payments of $19.95” pathway to getting in shape only to find yourself off the program two months later?
I want to encourage you to get honest about your habits today. If you are always on a quest for a better weight loss (or body fixing in general) answer, spend some time asking God today what it is you are really looking for from the diets or other fitness or beauty fads you fall for.
What does your heart believe that losing the weight, changing the shape of certain body parts, or altering your appearance really give you?
Want to know my answers? I’ll be the first one to comment. Then, if you feel so lead, share your thoughts here, also in comments, to encourage other women who may have the same answers yet feel like they would be alone if they shared.
Hi Heather,
I really like how you go past all that has been said about loving oneself and everyone being beautiful, and into the truth that we must surrender ourselves to Jesus in order to overcome this deeply burdensome struggle. I always get irritated at the fact that some can eat whatever they want to eat, and especially about how it seems like most males can literally eat whatever they want and have it not affect their weight. Will you please elaborate on why the enemy’s lie “that I [you] shouldn’t have to worry about what I [you] eat either” is, in fact, a lie?
I am so glad I came across this blog. This subject is so relevant at this season in my life.
Best,
Danyela
Hi Danyela – Thanks so much for your comment. I think my best answer for your question — (as I’m summarizing here: Why is it a lie of the enemy that “it’s not fair” that I have to worry about my weight while my sister (or brother, like you mentioned) doesn’t) is two fold. Part one is there is usually only one part of the story that we see when we assess other people. We aren’t in their shoes, with them day and night and so, accordingly, we spend a few days with someone — watch their eating habits, notice their effortless maintenance of a skinny figure and get upset. It’s not fair, we think. And, the enemy says, “Yes, that’s right… It’s not.” But, the truth is, although we all have different metabolisms, yes, weight loss and maitenance isn’t some sort of mysterious, magical thing. For the most part, your calories in minus the amount you exert determines your size. What I’ve noticed is that friends whom I think eat a whole lot and are super skinny do so in sporadic patterns. For example, they’ll go days underconsuming calories (most of the time not on purpose -because they are busy and don’t think about food as much as I do!) and then they’ll make up for it all at once — all weekend long. Though it seems they consume like I do – in truth, they only do that some of the time. But, beyond that, I think the greater danger — and where I believe the enemies real lie rests — is in getting us to compare ourselves to another person…be it a woman or a man. Whenever he gets us to a spot of, what truly is, discontentment with the way God made us, he gains a little victory. So, whenever I get (often secretly) jealous of a friend who can weigh 110 pounds without ever going to a gym…or another friend who can live on fast food and stay a size 2, I’m doing two things: 1) I’m coveting something she has that I don’t and 2) I’m separating myself from a meaningful relationship with her because of my one-dimensional assessment of her.
Another way to look at it…and this is something I tell my children all the time: “Life isn’t fair, and that’s a good thing.” The reason I tell them this? Because grace isn’t fair. Some people require a lot of it…some people require a little of it… But, we all need it though we don’t deserve it. It’s not Jesus who wants us to constantly keep score and compare and contrast ourselves with others (in any way even if it’s just comparing our metabolism with a man’s!), it’s only the enemy. He is the one who seeks to keep us unhappy, distraught, and focused on others’ races instead of our own.
I hope that helps clarify it a bit! Thanks again for your question. I loved it! 🙂
What does your heart believe that changing your body would get you? My heart struggles not to believe that losing weigh would give me an easier life. That being free from the struggle to always watch what I eat wouldn’t make my life just a little better. I wrestle with envying women who seem to never have to watch what they put in their mouth and fight the enemy’s lie, daily, that I shouldn’t have to worry about what I eat either.
It’s a battle for me that I know a lot of other women are fighting too.
What does your heart tell you would be different if you lost the weight or changed that part of your body that consumes your thoughts? I hope you’ll share too!