It took me 4 years to finally reach my goal of losing 50 pounds. There were many times during those 4 years I wanted to quit. I memorized Philippians 1:6 and said it whenever I needed to be reminded that God was not finished with me yet. It has now been 10 years since I reached my goal weight in 2012. I remember driving to work that morning thinking my weight challenge was behind me, this burden hanging on me was all gone. The last pound was crossed off the list, the list with the curled edges taped to the wall above my bathroom scale.
The next day was strange when there was nothing left to cross off. A friend had asked me to join a running group a while back. At that time there was no desire in my heart to do anything that strenuous, walking was my passion. Within a month I had joined the running group and had a whole new list of goals to meet. Running became my new addiction, exercise, stress relief and everything in between. After about a year and a couple of injuries the running had to be sidelined, walking at that time, was not an option either. Without the constant exercise the weight started slowly creeping back up
The weight gain was not that much, but it was still unacceptable. Another boundary was refusing to buy bigger size jeans. I had approached the weight and clothes boundary a few times within the past 10 years. I have been through this before and am fully aware once it starts to creep it will continue if something is not done to change the pattern.
I had to be serious about my health and to get off the weight roller coaster. I started researching how foods worked in my body and chose to eliminate foods with ingredients that worked against what I was trying to accomplish. I changed my mindset from “I can’t have that” to “I don’t want that”. That meant only bringing healthy foods to my home. One of the hardest, but most rewarding was finally saying no politely to friends and family when they gave me foods not on my plan. After a while they stopped expecting me to take it and provided encouragement instead. If anyone brought sweets to my house the rule was, they had to take it back with them.
The sweet cravings are now manageable and subside with a scripture verse. Sometimes I listen to scripture on my phone while walking in my neighborhood. I walk with friends and walk during my lunch. My meals are mostly prepared ahead of time so there is always something ready when I get home from work. I was 49 when I started FP4H, and reached my goal at 53. I am now 63 and know without God this would not be possible. In the future, I am planning on still walking around my neighborhood with my friends and continuing with strength training. We only have one body; I want to honor God by taking care of it. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.