3 Important Truths About God and Weight Loss When You’re Tired of Dieting

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You’re at the end of your rope. You’ve tried every diet, every “healthy eating” plan, every magic shake under the sun.

You’ve finally decided there is nothing else you can do on your own. And then you suddenly realize the obvious.

This is something only God can fix.

Now it all seems so apparent, so plain to see.

He should’ve been your first line of defense, instead of the last resort. It’s ok. Sometimes it takes us a while to come around to that.

We try so hard to make things happen on our own. Crunch numbers. Change schedules. We do, do, do. If we’d only turned to His Word, prayer, and seeking Him first.

How do you come to a place where you can trust God to be your weight-loss plan? How does trusting Him and putting Him first really change things?

I know it seems confusing.

We get so used to following food plans, measuring portions, and counting calories, points or carbs. It’s hard to imagine what it looks like to rely on God for our daily decisions.

Welcome to your crash course in doing just that!

Learn to Accept God’s Grace.

You probably have some diet failures in your past. Maybe it’s one diet. Maybe it’s three dozen juice fasts. No matter how many, the truth is the same.

You tried.

You put the effort in.

And you fell short.

That is part of the human condition. Diets feel like laws. And our “nature” does not like laws.

You should eat this. You must eat that. If you don’t, you’re a failure.

When you make God your weight-loss plan, you step away from the law and into His grace. Good things start to happen to you but…in a different way.

It’s ironic that the things we strive so hard for come easily when we shift our focus. I think it’s a shift you’re going to love.

I. When God is Your Weight-Loss Plan, Goals Start to Matter.

Why do you want to lose weight?

• To fit into some cute jeans?
• To impress friends at your high school reunion?
• To have a body that impresses during swimsuit season?

How long until those motivations crumble like yesterday’s coffee cake?

• When you step on the scale and it gives you a number you don’t want?
• When you’re faced with a food temptation that feels like too much?
• When you’re at the end of a stressful day and swimsuit season is still 3 months away?

Weight loss is inconsistent and unpredictable. It doesn’t always work in our favor. And, we don’t have much control over it.

But when God is our weight-loss plan, we focus on choosing goals that matter to Him. Goals that matter deeply to us.

When our goals are more important than physical appearance, they stand up against the face of temptation.

Now, will switching your goal to something holy suddenly change everything?

No. You will still struggle. You’ll still have ups and downs.

But when the focus is something bigger, it’s a lot more motivating to get back on track. We need an eternal focus–living out His purpose for us and having the ability to walk it out.

A little slip doesn’t change the fact that we still want to feel stronger, healthier, more vibrant, and more focused on Him.

When it’s a weight-loss focus, everything feels like a loss. You just want to give up.

When you focus on weight loss with God, you’re clinging onto goals that matter. That’s what will keep you motivated.

II. When God is Your Weight-Loss Plan, Your Healthy Habits Have a Greater Purpose.

When you’re focusing on Him, the daily choices you’re trying to make go from “have to” to “want to.”

Imagine this scenario:

You go to a restaurant with friends and family while you’re on a diet. They’re all ordering what they want.

Appetizers, dessert, pasta…all those things you want to have.

But you’re sitting in your little corner, staring at the menu. Looking at all the things you “can’t” have.

You “shouldn’t” eat this. (That makes you wonder– what does the Bible say about food you should not eat?)

You “should” eat that.

Ugh. The food tug-o-war has begun.

Then, you have to decide between either 1) adhering to your diet today or 2) blowing it all.

It’s such a difficult decision. The wavering back and forth is painful and exhausting.

Eventually, your willpower is gone. You make the decision just to eat, to get it over with. And the all-or-nothing eating ensues.

But when God is your weight-loss plan, those healthy choices are more meaningful, and you have the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to rely upon.

You look at the menu and say, “Okay, where is the balance? How can I glorify God in this situation?”

And some times, it’s not going to be the “healthiest” choice. But it’ll probably be walking forth in self-control.

Here’s a pleasantly different scenario:

You’re at a birthday party; everyone’s celebrating. You realize that you would like to participate and have a piece of marbled cake.

It’s fellowship, it’s community, and that feels really good to you. You have peace within your spirit.

You pray and ask for wisdom from the Holy Spirit. He whispers into your heart that “having the pizza, the garlic knots and a piece of cake is probably going to make you feel pretty awful.”

So, you choose to have some grilled chicken, veggies, and a few bites of another less-healthy side. And then you have an amazing piece of cake.

You savor it and you know what? You’re actually satisfied about three-fourths of the way through.

You found the balance of being motivated by pleasing God–and it feels great. Now, you can be there to support, minister to, and celebrate with your friends and family (instead of feeling bloated with bread and food guilt).

It’s a much, much different experience.

When God is your weight-loss plan, your daily healthy habits take on a whole new meaning.

• You sit down to your meal with gratitude, rather than mentally tallying every calorie.
• You thank Him for this meal and for the provisions He’s given you, rather than thinking about all the things you can’t have.
• You sit and enjoy family and friends and food. It’s a really wonderful part of it all.

See how healthy habits can be truly enjoyable?

And that makes it more pleasant and sustainable…

III. When God is Your Weight-Loss Plan, It’s Sustainable.

Making God your weight-loss plan is not a 21-day fix. You can do it forever because each decision that you make has the potential to draw you closer to the Lord.

There’s no white-knuckling when you adopt a longer view approach, because you realize that you do not have to fix it all today.

Diets, they try to change everything in one fell swoop. Today you’re eating McDonald’s. Tomorrow you’re eating egg whites and steamed broccoli for breakfast (blech!).

What a transition!

Instead, make a long-term plan. It’s a habit that you’re going to be doing for the next 20, 30, 40 years and beyond. Then you’re okay with making small choices.

It’s okay to take it slow. Focus on walking in the fruits of the spirit to make small, sustainable changes.

Take the all-or-nothing pressure off–-there’s no need for perfection when we allow our successes to glorify Him and we allow our failures to draw us closer to Him.

When God is your weight-loss plan, you have goals that matter. And, your day-to-day habits have the potential to take on a special, deeper meaning.

God has called us to approach food with self-control, faithfulness, endurance, and gratitude. Your plan becomes sustainable because the daily habit of food draws you closer to Him.

You won’t see the temporary results that you may see from a drastic weight-loss plan. Instead, you’ll see a change on the scale that is more consistent.

The way you eat when you glorify God will look like a moderate, balanced diet in the end. But it doesn’t feel like THE restriction required to get there.

If you were to make choices with glorifying God in your eating in mind, would it shift the way you ate? Think about the fact that He’s all about the heart. People are more important than anything else to Him.

Would you make better choices focusing on your faith than if you were on a diet? I think the answer will be a pleasant and encouraging surprise for you.

Podcast episode show notes

Should Christians aim to lose weight differently than those who don’t have a faith-first focus in their lives?

In this episode, learn 3 simple truths about Christian weight-loss goals, changing healthy habits for good, and how to cultivate motivation…that lasts! Let’s challenge your mind and change your diet in ways you’ve never considered.

Links mentioned:

• Prayer for Weight Loss Toolkit Freebie
• For a deep dive, check out Grace Filled Plate Platinum and be sure to get on the waiting list

You may also love:

• How to End All-or-Nothing Eating Once and For All
• Episode 16: What is the BEST Godly Food Plan to Follow?
• Episode 22: The Best Foods to Eat for Weight Loss

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• Get your FREE Faith [is greater than] Food Email Course

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