Many times, I’ve tried to lose weight & get into shape, and they all failed, until I understood a truth, and I’m going to tell you what it is.
While I haven’t been on my health journey for long (about 3 weeks), I have noticed a change. My cloths are looser, my mind is clearer, I’m a bit more calm/chilled, and I have a lot more energy. I have no cravings for anything processed (candy, chips, etc.), and I attribute all of these things (healthy eating habits, exercise) to my mental prep work I did a month BEFORE Weight Watchers & the gym.
All of it started when I read Galatians 5:19-24.
I had to reconcile that there was a disconnect between scripture, the intellectual understanding that I agreed with the passage, and my continued gluttony/slothfulness. I didn’t truly believe in that passage – the “meekness” (KJV) or “self-control” (NKJV) – or I didn’t know how to “walk in that new creation” mentality.
I had to make a change, but I knew that I couldn’t visualize the “new man” based upon scripture, until I knew it to be true.
All of the changes you want to make will fail, until you realize that what you are wanting to change is a truth about yourself. You can’t intellectualize it, you have to KNOW IT to be truth. That truth MUST come from God – who you are by receiving the Grace of God through Jesus Christ.
I understood the Galatians 5:19-24 passage intellectually, and had even applied it to parts of my life, but I haven’t put it to my fitness, and this needed to change.
The change
Some time ago, I wrote in a post about “the faith countdown”, as found in Romans 4:16-21. The passage I’m referring to is shown below:
When I realized the truth of my fitness situation, I knew that I had to convince myself of God’s Truth – that through Jesus Christ, and the fact that the Holy Spirit now resides in me, I had the fruit of self-control.
Now that it became a truth in my mind – a renewing of thought (Romans 12:2) – I could now meditate (visualize) that truth of self-control, not by man’s or my truth, but by God’s Truth.
The process
So, on the third week of February, a month before I began my fitness journey, I started thinking and speaking aloud one simple thing, “man, this chocolate just doesn’t taste good anymore.” While it may seem simple and small, this was a truth that I created in my mind, based on the Word of God, which set in motion a change of events that would begin the whole process of losing weight and getting into shape.
I began to visualize how my body would look and feel when I got to my target weight of 185lbs (starting from 285lbs). I began seeing the end before I began with such intensity that looking in a mirror seemed strange – viewing a reflection of a man that didn’t fit the truth that I had already accepted.
When I started the outer journey, I knew that I had to do things differently as the results of what I did before didn’t work. I knew that I had to tell only the people that needed to know (my awesome wife), I had to keep track of what I ate and my exercises. I knew that I would have to go to a gym, as past experiences taught me that a gym was the best environment for me to work out. When I started doing all of these things on the 28th of March, it was effortless.
I phased in my exercises (still doing so as of the writing of this article), which keeps me motivated, and immediately phased out all processed foods from my diet (and there were a lot of them). I haven’t missed any of the junk, and I have had no cravings BECAUSE of the mental prep work I did a month before.
Now that I’m into week three of my change, the habit has set in, and I can speak more openly about what I’m doing without fear of sabotage and the idea of self-glorification, for all of this – my journey & final goal – is for the Glorification of God Almighty through the perfect work of Jesus Christ.
Final thoughts
I know that people who aren’t saved, can lead physically healthy lives, but, in my opinion, I don’t see how they can keep it up without being saved by Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit and the truth of God’s Word has taken over and is powering my progress. The difference – it’s not for my glory, but for God, as I am letting the light of my health journey show, so that others can give Glory to God when I give Him all the credit (Matthew 5:16).
