she asked.......how did I lose 130+ pounds...
I replied, "Food had become my god. I turned to food for everything. It was my comfort when I was sad or depressed. It was my best friend when I was celebrating. It was my drug of choice for whatever ailed me. And together, Food and I watched my weight slowly creep up to over 325 lbs. (I stopped stepping on the scale at 325 but know that I weighed much more before I made the decision to stop destroying myself.)
So, how did I lose the weight? I made the decision to feed my soul with God's Word instead of food. I ate only when I was physically hungry and stopped when I was satisfied. The weight came off easily when it clicked in my brain that I had been substituting a relationship with food with a relationship with God.
For the past nine or ten years I've been able to keep off most of the weight that I lost. I gained 30 pounds with my pregnancy --and have since lost 20 of those 30, but have struggled to lose the last ten which will put me at my wedding day weight. And I'd like to lose an additional 30 pounds beyond that. It can be done. IF I choose to let God be my God again...and put away the food.
Today when Jessica asked me, "How did you do it?"....and I answered with..."I had allowed food to become my God - food could no longer be my God..." The Holy Spirit so quietly spoke to me..."you got it right once...time to do it again."Lord, forgive me for allowing food to take your place - in so many areas of my life. I should be running into Your arms...not diving into a bowl of ice cream.
Photos: Top left: Me in 1987 - probably just over 300 lbs.
Next: Me at close to my heaviest --don't have a clue
how much I weighed then---sadly, that photo and others like it
are still how I often picture myself.
Bottom: At my best weight - although not my thinnest
--but where I thought I looked the best in 1981 - age 21.
Today, I'm probably 60-70 pounds heavier than that photo
--and I would love to at least get within 40 pounds of that "me"....
11 comments:
you know i'm with you sister. and your journey has given me some road signs to follow
this was good for me to read....as I heard God speaking to me.....thank you for sharing...
I was a chubby kid growing up. I substituted food for a lot of the loneliness I felt not having my father around. I hit puberty and the weight came off. I didn't really start to have weight issues until *20 years ago. I was a practicing bulemic in order to be thinner. I worked out 5 days a week and while I looked good, I wasn't healthy (and I knew it). Now it seems that I have gone the other extreme in that I have never been this heavy EVER in my life! As my chronic illness takes its toll as does the steroids I am on, I KNOW I have to do SOMETHING! Why is that men don't seem to beat themselves up over this issue, just us gals?
Connie
You look wonderful!!! Seriously, you DO!! AND you only gained 30 lbs during your prenancy?! I gained 65 during mine and only lost them all when I had cancer. Now, I'm within 10 lbs of my full-term weight!!
Honestly, you look terrific. Please don't be so down on yourself. But, in any situation, following God is the right thing to do! Keep up the great work! You're an example to all of us, and a great Mom!
i think you're beautiful!
When I see you I see a cheerful, self assured normal sized woman with a heart the size of Texas. If only we could see ourselves through the eyes of others instead of old broken self perceptions.
I myself need to get off 25 lbs.
it's amazing how the weight creeps up on a person...but I refuse to go up another jean size. Thank you for the inspiration. Wow! What an accomplishment. God is sooo good!!!
Deb, you have so many inspiring stories to tell. This one hits home with me too. Putting food in my mouth unconsciously at times for comfort is a bad habit that can be broken with a constant reminder from the Lord. You have come a long way sister ... you look beautiful inside and out.
OH Deb, oh Deb, oh Deb.
What a timely post. Giving it to the Lord...who else can we give it to? I've proven I can't do it on my own.
Thank you for sharing what should be obvious, but so many times isn't.
You do look beautiful...inside, outside and all around.
great post. God has been speaking to me, time I listened!
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