Many of you reading this today want to know the secret to weight loss. Over two-thirds of us are overweight. Some of you have 100, 200 or more pounds to lose. You know people like me who’ve lost weight a lot of weight and you want to do it, too. You want my secrets.

I Want A Miracle

At my highest weight of 430, and all the way up to it, I wanted a secret, as well. I bought i every pill that said it was the latest weight loss breakthrough. Just take this pill, drink this drink, eat only this food and you will drop the weight. Lose 10 pounds in 10 days. So I’d multiple that and say, 100 pounds in 100 days. I can do that.

Problem is weight loss is a multi-billion dollar industry that keeps growing. Millions of people need to lose weight. If they all buy even a $10 bottle of pills, the one touting the miracle will become a multi-millionaire overnight.

We want miracles. I always wanted to walk through a prayer line and have hundreds of pounds fall off my body. I even had dreams about what that would look like with me holding up my pants and engulfed in a huge shirt! I actually prayed for that and had faith that God would remove the consequences of my overindulgence.

I would see interviews with people who had lost weight. I remember reading one of those in a magazine that used to come out in the Sunday paper about a man who lost 300 pounds. I scoured every line to try to discover what he did.

I was disappointed to learn it was changing what he ate and how he moved!

The Difference

The difference between where you are now and where the person is that you want to be like is that person has a clear picture of where she wants to go.

Why she wants to get there is firmly in her mind. She knows how she’s going to get there. She’s thought through the obstacles in her way and what she must do to get around or remove those obstacles.

And she understands the risks and investment it takes to get there.

For me this all came together when I owned my sugar addiction. As my friend Kim Weger says in her chapter in Sweet Change: True Stories of Transformation, “Finally someone told me what was wrong with me and what to do about it.” Several doctors, including Dr. God, told me not to stop eating sugar and things with gluten.

I still had little idea how to do that.

However, when I discovered how to stop eating them, they ceased to have control over me. Many foods can have a hold on me if I let them. Sugar is one I had bowed and worshipped for years. I had allowed, even welcomed it to have a stronghold on me.

You Hold the Card

I learned that I held my own get-out-of-jail-free card. All I had to do was stop eating sugar.

If you want to lose 260 pounds like I have or even 26 pounds, it’s going to take a lot of hard work to get there and even harder work to stay there. It’s not a quick fix. So there are a few questions you need to answer.

What is your vision for your body? What is the vision for how you will live your life once you reach your goal? What are you willing to do to get there? What risks are you willing to take to make that vision a reality?

How?

If the key is to stop eating sugar, how do you do that?

Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.¹“Walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.² I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.³ For nothing will be impossible with God.⁴ God says, “My grace is enough. It’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.”⁵

¹ James 4:7 ESV

² Galatians 5:16 ESV

³ Philippians 4:13 ESV

⁴ Luke 1:37 ESV

⁵ 2 Corinthians 12:9 MSG

Teresa Shields Parker

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].