One of the questions I’m often asked by women is this:
“I’m not losing weight! What do I do?”
I get it.
You’re working hard- eating healthy foods, moving your body each day, and still the scale won’t budge.
First, realize this:
1- It’s NOT ABOUT THE WEIGHT.
The weight may be a symptom, but it is not the real issue. The Lord can use ANY thing to draw our attention to Him and to do work in our hearts. Sometimes, He can use physical struggles such as our weight and health. This journey is about obedience- about learning to steward our bodies well for HIS glory REGARDLESS.
What if He said to you right now: “Daughter, I want you to obey me. You’re not going to lose one single pound along the way, but I’m asking you to steward your health well for my glory. I’m asking you to eat healthy foods so that you can have the energy you need to serve Me. I’m asking you to move your body each day so that you are strong enough to go on the tasks that I send your way. I’m asking you to take time to rest, to stretch, to spend time in my Word, and to pray. I want you to obey me. Daughter, would you still be willing to do it EVEN IF YOU NEVER LOST A SINGLE POUND?”
The answer to this question will give you insight into where your heart is at right now.
It’s easy to lose our way and to make it about the numbers, right? To think that we can strive and work hard as long as we see the number on the scale go down.
When really, He is looking to SET US FREE from that number.
He wants us to be willing to say, “God, I’ll trust You. Regardless of what a scale may tell me, I will look to YOU alone for validation. I will look to YOU alone for my worth. I will choose to OBEY you and to leave the results and the consequences up to you.”
2- REALIZE THAT THIS IS A LIFESTYLE CHANGE- A JOURNEY WITH THE LORD AND NOT A QUICK FIX
Any of you could go out right now and purchase a program that is guaranteed to bring fast results. You’ll be able to eat exactly what they tell you to, and move exactly as they recommend. And you’ll see results. At least in the beginning. Until you realize that you are sick of being completely restricted and having to eat foods that you don’t like. You’ll grow weary with the super intense, time intense workouts required, and you’ll begin to go back to eating normally. And for over 80% of you, you’ll gain back all of the weight that you initially lost. And then, within a year, over 70% of those will gain back EVEN MORE weight than they started with. You’ll throw in the towel until you finally grow frustrated again, and start the same crazy plan over again. This cycle will repeat yourself on and on and on.
NO.
We say NO to this way of living. We say YES to allowing the Lord to show us a sustainable, enjoyable LIFESTYLE change. This is NOT a quick-fix diet plan, so you may not drop tons of weight immediately and impress all of your friends with your ‘bikini ready bod’. But you WILL see results if you stick with making good choices AND you’ll find freedom from being enslaved to any plan or any scale.
3– Don’t look LEFT or RIGHT in comparison unless it’s to bless the woman beside you.
I don’t care if your best friend and you are both dieting and she has lost twice the amount of weight that you have. It doesn’t matter to me if she’s dropped two dress sizes and says she feels AMAZING! What I care about is this: WHERE IS YOUR HEART and is it free?
You haven’t been called here so that you can be enslaved to a plan- you’re called here because the Lord wants to set you FREE and to show you how to move and live and function as HIS LOVED CHILD. A healthy, whole, set-free woman who knows WHO she is, WHOSE SHE IS, and that she is MADE FOR MORE.
If someone around you is experiencing success, CHEER HER ON. BLESS HER SOCKS OFF.
And then get your eyes back on your own paper and keep moving ahead.
Set your gaze on the race YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO RUN.
YOUR race.
This journey is about you and God. And it can’t be influenced or determined by how fast or how slow the people around you are running.
4- Don’t grow weary in doing good.
Sometimes, we are RIGHT ON THE EDGE of breakthrough and we think that we’re never going to arrive, so we turn back. We’re SO CLOSE and we miss it because we give up when times get hard.
It is ALWAYS too soon to quit.
5- STEP AWAY FROM THE SCALE.
Period.
– If you must weigh, then limit it to once a week. Use the same day and time each week and realize that there are going to be fluctuations due to hormones, water retention, muscle soreness, etc.
-If you really want to monitor for fat loss vs weight loss, use measurements.
-Keep a pair of progress pants. These should be ones that are really tight or even too small. Try them on once a month and see if your shape is changing. Sometimes, we won’t see ANY loss on the scale, but measurements and/or fit of clothes can change drastically.
Bottom line: THIS IS ABOUT YOUR HEART far more than your body. This is about your obedience far more than your weight.
Stop worrying over what that number tells you and go ask the Lord what He wants you to do. Take this journey hand-in-hand with Him. Obedience > results.
You are LOVED, friend, and that has NOTHING to do with how much you weigh. PRESS ON.
As always, I’m here, praying for you and CHEERING YOU ON!
This came at the perfect time. God is asking me to step out with Him into the scariest thing I have ever done. I have to completely trust Him inthis. What He is asking me to do has caused me complete fear and causing me to want to quit and run away. So anyway because of this fear I chose not to hand it to God by deal with it myself in the way of food. Before I read this post I just ate an entire bag of chips with dip trying to make myself feel better. Of course I don’t in fact I ate that as I already had an awful stomachache today so of course I feel worse. God reminded me in this post what I am suppose to be doing and what I once did before with Him. Thank you for your constant encouragement. God is using you!