Making the Right Choice - Part 2

About 5 years ago, I decided that I would try to lose some weight. Well I worked SO hard and it took me about a year, but I lost about 50 pounds. I felt great. I was probably in the best shape I had been in for a while. Some how I fell off of the wagon and I ended up gaining the weight back. For several years, I had no desire to even try to lose weight - I would rather stay the same size as to lose weight and then gain it back. I also realized that I needed to learn to accept and love myself - exactly where I was. So I really began to work on the inside of me. As I have shared before - in my church - we have a couple who put on a Recovery Class. They have spent many years in AA and Al-anon and want to pass on what they have learned. It is a very spiritual program and helps with a lot of life's problems. So anyway I have been working on the inside of me - finding out what my character defects are and coming to the point in the steps to ask God to remove these Character Defects. See many times our Character Defects are assets that have just gotten off balance - and so like with me - a person that likes to help other people and is kind and giving - it went off balance and turned into People Pleasing, which is not good. With People Pleasing - you are doing things in order to make other people like you. So it is that the motives are wrong.

Then the other thing that was stopping me from trying to lose weight was - that I know how I have been able to lose weight in the past but then I have gained it back, a couple of times. So the phrase - you can't keep doing what you have been doing and expect different results kept coming to my mind and that discouraged me.

Well yesterday on my way to work, I was blessed to hear just a tidbit of a sermon but it was the message that I needed to hear. I can not remember word for word what he said but is was basically that even if you have tried things over and over in the past and it did not work - IF you are now in God's will - it will work. Wow!! Just what I needed to hear. I had already realized that the last time I lost weight I had not been in a relationship with God in which I looked to Him for my strength. I was trying to do it on my own. And what it did was made me prideful. With thoughts like "look what I did." And I can not remember if I have already shared this part with you all and if I have - sorry. I also made some not so modest choices with what I wore when I lost a lot of weight. They were not what a lot of people would say were bad choices but, to me - they were.

So now that I am well on my way to liking myself - for who I am (good and bad) I think I am ready, with God's help to make some healthy changes. I think for more permanent weigh loss- instead of going on a diet - I think better choice is making life changes. So with God's help - I am looking forward to what changes He would have me make. :o)