The Six-Week Update

It has been just about six weeks since I began this weight loss journey. If you've been following this blog you know that it hasn't been a completely smooth journey to this point but it has been richly rewarding. After starting at 249 lbs and taking 7 pills a day for both diabetes and high blood pressure, I'm happy to report that I have lost 23 lbs and down to 2 pills a day. My cravings for junk food have pretty much disappeared and my energy level has increased tremendously.

I still slightly over one-third of the way to my goal but I know that reaching it is a foregone conclusion. The rewards of losing weight far outweigh the momentary satisfaction of fattening foods. The most rewarding side effect of losing weight is the way that my eating habits are changing. I am beginning to genuinely crave healthy foods instead of the old fat and carb laden-ed foods I used to eat. Salads and vegetables are more appealing to me than pizza and burgers. That is not to say that I won't ever eat pizza or burgers again but I will approach them much differently than in the past.

I went "shopping" in my closet and found some shirts that I haven't been able to wear for the last couple of years and they fit perfectly! It was like getting something new. It was also a reminder that I was much thinner before and that most of the weight I'm losing was put on in the last two to three years.

Finally, the most exciting development on this journey has been the stabilization of my blood sugar. I am no longer taking any medication for my diabetes and my blood sugar has been rock solid for the past two to three weeks. This is truly an answer to prayer! Of course I have emailed my physician with this news just to let him know what's going on and I had a conversation about it with a personal friend who is a physician.

One last thing. People are taking notice that I am losing weight. It's nice to personally know that I'm dropping pounds but it is so much more encouraging when others start to take notice. So it's 23 down and 41 to go to reach my goal. Stay tuned!

There's Always Enough

My experiences of "turbulence" in my dieting journey has caused me to reflect deeper on the role that food has played in my life. I have come to realize that food has played a major role in my source of comfort and well-being. Certainly I know I'm not alone in this as I know there are millions of people in the same boat. Food has become one of the main stress relievers in our culture and the obesity rates stand as proof of this fact. Before anyone gets edgy, I know that other factors are involved in obesity such as metabolic rate differences, genetics, socio-economic background and the like. But for me food has been the main source of entertainment my entire adult life. It's almost a hobby.

There certainly is nothing wrong with enjoying food. It is one of the joys of life! The over-enjoyment or rather, over-indulgence, of food is something different all together. I have been guilty of routinely throwing moderation out the window when it comes to chowing down on my favorite foods. What I didn't realize in those times was that my over-indulgence was rooted in a basic lack of trust in God to consistently provide for my needs. I sometimes ate as if I would never get another chance.

This has helped me to realize that I had adopted a "scarcity" mentality at a very early age. I was raised in a large family with three brothers and four sisters. Ours was a single-income home and my dad was a pastor. Needless to say we weren't wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. My mother was a Southern-bred cook who was very talented and resourceful when it came to preparing meals. The woman could flat-out cook! I honestly don't ever remember going hungry but I do vividly remember fearing that there would sometimes not be enough left for me as the serving bowls made their way around the crowded table.

Its funny now when I look back and realize that God demonstrated over and over again to our family that he was a God of abundance not scarcity. There were times when food would magically appear at our house -- brought in by someone who just happened to think we might need some. One time a farmer in our church had a steer butchered and stocked a big freezer for us with enough meat to last a full year. Even when I was afraid that there would not be enough, God was always showing us that we could trust Him to provide.

There are certainly other factors involved that have helped to produce my abuse of food over the years. But for me, acknowledging that there has been a basic lack of trust in God's power to provide for my needs is helping me to put the consumption of food in its proper place. I am coming to discover that God has always been about abundance. He has no shortages of anything!I can trust him completely on this journey to provide for my needs today.