Discipline, self-control and weight management: Part One

Discipline--one of my favorite words. Weird. I know. Some of you might be checking out about now.

**Let me first say that all of my thinking and decisions are based on my spiritual worldview. My faith in the Lord and my hope in His Word shape every facet of who I am.....even the part of me that concerns my weight, exercise and body image. That has not always been the case.

-My IG post yesterday mentioned that I lost 25 pounds last year. I did not start out with that as my goal last April. It just happened during the process of me making some pretty drastic changes. I'll share more on that later.

Back to Discipline--My desire to live a disciplined life is based on who I am in Christ. He has given me one body and my desire is to be as healthy as possible--spiritually, mentally and physically--so I can fulfill His purpose and plans. Christ lived a very disciplined life and I strive to be more like Him.

Portion control, weight management, food choices and exercise all take a great amount of discipline. Easy? No. Necessary? Yes.

Self-control---another one of my favorites. Even weirder? Possibly. When I hear 'self-control', I think of the Fruits of the Spirit. Oddly enough, it is the last one listed in Galatians 5:22-23. Paul even named 'patience' before 'self-control'. I wonder if that's because He knew we'd struggle with self-control the most.

Perhaps you're like me. It's hard to tell myself 'no'. Why? I want to be 'happy'. I like my needs and wants to be fulfilled. I see a pair of shoes I want. 'No'. I'm hungry, yet I know I need to say 'no' in the moment. We may give in and then feel guilty later. Exercising that 'self-control' muscle makes us stronger later. Every time we deny ourselves the fulfillment of that sudden urge..whatever it may be...makes it easier to do so the next time.

When it comes to eating, this is no exception. I can almost promise you, there is not another person on the planet who loves sweets more than me. I think I practically came out of my mama's womb craving a brownie or some ice cream. You think I'm kidding....Chocolate should have been middle name!

Weight management--Not one of my favorite words. It probably never will be. I'll lay it out there....I'm 43. I've given birth to one baby, adopted one baby, and adopted a pre-teen. I struggled with my body image for a good 12 years (13yrs old--25 yrs old)....ranging from starving myself to eating a ton and then abusing laxatives. No doubt...I probably did some serious damage to my metabolism. You can't abuse God's temple and have zero consequences, especially when you know what you are doing is wrong. I knew I was hurting myself at the time...I was a strong believer during these years...but the enemy had a hold on this area of my life and it was tied to so many other hurts I had not let go of yet. It wasn't until I met Matthew that I knew I had to surrender this area to the Lord. And it has been a journey ever since.
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You're probably thinking....just get to the point---tell me what to do. I want to feel better and lose weight.
I share all those things because those pieces of my story greatly impact who I am, how I make decisions and process emotions...which directly effect discipline, self-control and weight management. I had to figure all of this out for myself...before I found the key to success for me.... after years, it finally 'clicked'. I encourage you to do the same. Evaluate your emotions....how you feel about yourself; what things impact your decisions....from doing work at home, to buying groceries, to navigating relationships, to eating, spending money, to exercise, etc. Until you truly know what makes you do the things you do....you'll rarely find long-term success.....whether we're talking about success with body image/weight management or in any other area of life.

This verse has meant a variety of things to me during different phases of my life. It became increasingly significant during this journey last year, and even as I continue today:
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"--Philippians 4:13
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I'll get to more of the specifics of my healthy journey ...on another day. Stay tuned......