It’s probably the biggest weight loss lies around. It’s called weight loss surgery and if you’re morbidly obese it’s touted as the answer to all your woes. Doctors think if they can cut off your stomaches your problems with food will go away. Trust me, a true addict will find away around even that.
Any change, even extreme weight loss, happens from the inside out. Change your mindset, change your weight.
Addiction Is No Fun
I was watching a tv show the other night where an alcoholic had extreme liver disease. He was dying. He had learned he couldn’t drink alcohol or he would throw up blood so he was trying to get it into his body other ways such as through the location that waste usually exits the body.
It was just a tv show, but it was such an extreme example of addiction that it made me push the pause button on my life for a minute. Hey, I was like that I thought. I was trying drastic measures to lose weight. But they didn’t work for the long-haul. Why? Because an addict will always find a way around getting back to their addiction.
I’ve known many who’ve had weight loss surgery only to gain it all back by stretching out their stomach pouch again. Some do this by drinking soda or by overeating even though it hurts. When someone is addicted getting their “fix” of choice is not dependent on what feels good or is right in the moment. It’s about the high. They’ve programmed themselves to believe that momentary high whether it is from sugar, cocaine or alcohol is all that matters.
Only God Can Do That
I am a bonafide sugar addict set free by the power of the Holy Ghost. There is no surgery that will fix my head, change my mindset, reprogram my brain or save my soul. Only God can do that, but He won’t do it without us being fully committed to Him and to the process.
“I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies, dedicating all of yourselves, set apart, as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational, logical, intelligent act of worship. And do not be conformed to this world any longer with its superficial values and customs, but be transformed and progressively changed as you mature spiritually by the renewing of your mind focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes so that you may prove for yourselves what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect in His plan and purpose for you.”1
Realizing sugar and high carbohydrate-content foods are addictive is a major step on the journey. If you read most articles about sugar it will say something like, eat it in moderation. So, does that work for an alcoholic or drug addict? No!
Sugar and things that convert quickly to sugar in the bloodstream are just addictive or more so, as Dr. Mark Hyman says. I really believe one reason is because of the ease of access and prevalence of the mindset that a little is OK.
Dangers of Sugar
I have talked to thin people who are just addicted to sugar as I was. Their metabolism is totally different from mine, but they are sick about the addiction and don’t want sugar to be in control. Studies show that even those of normal or under normal weight that eat over the suggested sugar intake have a much higher probability of heart disease.
My personal opinion is the sugar lobby along with big food companies are pushing sugar because people buy more of their foods when they taste better. It does, but at what cost.
To save our lives, we must take a stand. Our lifestyle change has to begin with our mindsets, filter into our emotions and then, be reflected in our behaviors. We must take back our lives.
Giving Up Sugar Is Not Enough
I have given up sugar, high fructose corn syrup and most all of the associated names of sugar. However that alone is not enough. We must understand that God wants us to change from the inside out by fixing our attention on Him.2
We are going to a substance for a reason. We are thinking we can’t live without that particular food because we still do not have a real, solid concept of who God wants to be in our lives. We make Him out to be such a difficult task master when in reality all He wants is our love, love shown by our obedience.
I was listening to a David Crowder song the other day and these lines spoke to me about my journey. Maybe they do to you as well. “When we get to heaven I think we’re gonna laugh when we can see, how hard we tried to make it and how easy it could be.”3
Follow the Leader
The truth is we don’t have go to the drastic measure of weight loss surgery. We don’t have to be held captive by foods we crave. All we have to do is fall deeper and deeper in love with the Master. All else will fall into place when we begin to really follow the Leader.
Let me teach you more about how to do just that in my six-month coaching class, #KickWeight. It’s open now. The first teaching video was just posted. I’m keeping the group open for a few more days. I know there are some who couldn’t get in because of some technical glitches we’ve had on the website.
If you couldn’t get in, try again. Persevere. This group is going to lead you through the holiday seasons, some of the most difficult times of the year for those who want to lose weight.
Join us and we’ll go through the holidays losing weight together instead of gaining. Give me six months. Listen to the teaching videos, do the study guides, complete the action steps and ask questions. I promise you will be different come the end of March. Go HERE now!
1 Romans 12:1-2 AMP
2 Romans 12:2 MSG
3“Praise the Lord” by David Crowder
Teresa Shields Parker is a Christian weight loss author, coach, podcaster, and speaker, who has lost 250 pounds and kept it off since 2013. Her books include: “Reconnecting Jayne: Her Sister’s Support,” “Rebuilding Jayne: Her Father’s Protection,” “Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds and Stopped Trying to Earn God’s Favor,” “Sweet Grace Study Guide,” “Sweet Victory: Winning the Battle,” “Sweet Surrender: Breaking Strongholds,” “Sweet Journey to Transformation: Practical Steps to Lose Weight and Live Healthy”, “Sweet Freedom: Losing Weight and Keeping It Off With God’s Help,” “Sweet Freedom Study Guide,” “Sweet Change: True Stories of Transformation,” “Sweet Hunger: Developing an Appetite for God,” and “Sweet Excuses: Stop Lying to Yourself & Start Losing Weight.” She also offers Overcomers Christian Weight Loss Academy and VIP intensive coaching. Don’t miss her weekly podcast, Sweet Grace for Your Journey, where she shares tips from her personal journey of losing weight and discovering healthy living. Contact her at [email protected].