The Seven Safeguards from Falling Off the Wagon

As I've shared in the past, I have tried and tried to lose weight in the past. I have even been successful or a while, but then I end up falling off the wagon. I've learned a lot since the last time and I think that I have figure out some important safeguards to keep us from falling off the wagon. And I wanted to share just in case there are others out there that struggle with this as well.

#1 ~ Commit and Submit to God. When we allow God to guide and direct our lives it's no longer we who are in charge- it is Him. No longer are we allowing the flesh to direct what we do - this is key. If you get nothing else that I have to say today, I hope you will understand the significance of allowing God to be in control of you. 

21Make you complete in every good work to do his will,

 working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight,

through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

 Hebrews 13:21

 

Teach me to do your will; for you are my God:

 your Spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

Psalm 143:10

#2 ~ Be Honest, And essential part to being successful in weight loss and keeping it off is to be honest. Many people, including myself, eat for emotional reasons- like sadness, loneliness, guilt, and so on. We need to learn to face our feelings. Be honest about what and how we are feeling. Take these painful thoughts and emotions to God and ask Him to help us deal with them in a healthier way. When we are pained for what ever reason and we turn to food- we may find relief, but it is only temporary relief. And we end up feeling worse in the end. So allow God to give you the strength and courage that you need in order to face what ever you need to face. God gives us the strength we need - He promises us.

 "as your days, so shall your strength be."

 Deut. 33:25b

 

11Revive me, O LORD, for your name's sake:

 for your righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.

Psalm 143:11

#3~ Forgive others and yourself.  It is very important for us, not only to forgive others, but we need to forgive ourselves as well. Many of us carry around guilt if for nothing else but the fact that we have failed so often in our past attempts at losing weight. WE need to learn from our past mistakes and then forgive ourselves. God has forgiven us and we need to accept His forgiveness and move on in faith. Holding onto resentments and forgiveness is not good for us and can cause health issues. These health issues and make it harder for us to lose weight. It is best just to forgive. Let go of our resentments and allow God to take care of those things.

 "The LORD shall fight for you,

 and you shall hold your peace."

 Exodus 14:14

#4~ Enlarge your perspective.  For those of us who are overweight - losing the weight is very beneficial. However, I would like to suggest that we expand our horizons a bit. We need to look at the whole picture. Losing weight and fitting into smaller clothes is great incentives, but there is so much more to it than that.
I have known for a long time that I needed to lose weight, but just couldn't make myself get serious abut it until m husband was diagnosed with diabetes. Then I realized that not only did I need to lose weight, but I needed to get healthier. I needed to take better care of myself. Here is a partial list of reasons to adopt a healthier lifestyle:

*getting healthier
*bring cholesterol down
*lower blood pressure
*getting healthier
*getting in better shape
*bringing glucose numbers down
* losing weight
* fitting into your clothes better
*boost your immune system
*And a whole lot more*

19What? know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have of God, and you are not your own?

20For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

 

#5 Be persistent.  In the journey to lose weight and get healthier there will be times that we find ourselves discouraged. But don't give up! We work and work and don't seem to be seeing results as fast as we would like and we are tempted to give up. We are a generation of people who want instant results- we say no to the desert and think that we deserve to see a reward on the scales and it just doesn't always work that way. We may do everything right today, but there may not be visible results tomorrow. Don't give up. The scales are just one avenue in which we can have results from a healthier lifestyle. 

 * lost inches

 * fit into our clothes better 

 * reduce cholesterol 

 *reduce blood glucose # 

 *lower blood pressure 

 *and there are man more benefits that we may not even realize 

 

So no matter what the results are, continue on towards a healther lifestyle - it's well worth it. 

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.

13Therefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

 Ephesians 1:12-13

 

#6  Be Positive. It's easy to fall into being negative- especially when we have failed at losing weight or keeping the weight off, but we need to realize that those negative thought don't help us one bit, In fact, they probably do more damage than we realize. We need to be hopeful for a positive out come. it's not, "if I lose more weight" it's "when I lose more weight." stop being your own worse critic.

In NO way am I trying to convey the message that all you have to do is to think positive and you will get what you want. There is a whole counterfeit message called ~ the secret~ going around that teaches this idea. Like we can control our circumstances with our minds. That we can save ourselves. And nothing is further from the truth.

 17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,

and comes down from the Father of lights,

 with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:17

#7 Move Forward in Faith.  We actually began our journey towards weight loss with faith when we trusted God enough to commit to Him - so now we just need to continue to have faith. We know it is God's will for us to be healthy. And when we allow Him to guide our choices we will be successful. Its only when we allow the flesh to control us that we fail. We can hold onto the promise that He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it. It's a life long journey. It's a life long promise as well. We need to allow God to do His work in us. Faith in Him. Faith in success.

Being confident of this very thing,

that he who has begun a good work in you

 will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Philippians 1:6

Now I am not saying that this is a complete list - I am sure that as I advance along this journey I will discover more secrets to being successful. I just wanted to share with you all where God has been leading and hoping that by sharing some of the things that I am learning that it can help you as well. I pray that God will bless you as you work towards a healthier lifestyle- it's His will. Ask Him to lead and He will guide you in the right direction, you just have to be willing.

If you have turned your life over to God and continue to walk in the path which He leads - you will stay safely on the wagon towards better health. :O)