Friday, January 20, 2012

Fears of losing weight

I read a book called "Lose it for Life" when I first started my weight loss journey. It was an excellent book and I highly recommend it for anyone that has weight issues because this book addresses the spiritual, physical and mental aspects that all play a role in our lives.

Anyways, in one particular section of this book the authors address the fears that tend to hold a person back from losing weight. When I first read it I thought "That's just crazy, why would anyone be afraid to lose weight. I certainly have not been 'afraid' to lose weight I've just been lazy."  Now that I have lost 40pds and am committed to making goal I am beginning to understand that certain fears have indeed played a role in me keeping the weight on over the years. Fears that I never really thought were true and now am beginning to see that they are.

The other day my husband encouraged me and also scared me when he verbalized a thought that I have not allowed myself to say aloud. He said "You know babe, you only have 10more pounds to lose and then you'll have less than 100 left to go. Isn't that wonderful?" As I thought about his statement and his question I realized two things 1) The last time I had less than a hundred pounds to lose was over 4yrs ago, and 2) I am not going to be 261.4pds this time next year. This time next year I won't even weight over 200pds, this time next year I will be at my goal weight of 150pds and the last time I weighed 150pds I was in the 7thgrade.

That one thought then proceeded to raise up in my heart fears that I never even realized I had about losing weight. Such as "What am I going to look like at 150pds? Will men give me unwanted advances if I am out without my wedding ring? Will I be tempted to show off my new body? Will my personality be different than what it is now? I have never known myself to be anything but an obese shy, silly, woman what will I be like then as a healthy,confident follower of Christ? Will others that weight more than me still want to be around me? Will my husband like the way I look? Will he hate the way I look if I gained some of the weight back? Where will we get money to buy me clothes? Will the family that hasn't seen me in months treat me differently?Will I be obsessed with my body and worship it more than I love and worship God?" The list goes on and on. After all of these fears finally reared their ugly heads I will say this I finally understood another challenge to the weight loss journey. The challenge of not letting ourselves keep us from accomplishing our goals. Not letting the fear of change, even better change, keep us from pursuing what is good.

I am still contemplating how to address each of these fears. I know that each of my fears may be valid yet I also know that God will carry me through and allow me to remain faithful. I have said this before but Hebrews 12:11 has been a constant guiding light to me on this path. It says "No discipline at the moment seems pleasant but painful. However it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those that have been trained by it."  Also 1 Corinthians 10:31 says "So, whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do all for the glory of God." and finally 1 Cor 10:13 " No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." 

So with God carrying me through and strong I continue to embark on the last 110pds of weight loss to go. What fears have you been allowing to hold you back from obtaining certain goals in your life?

1 comment:

Christy said...

This is a great post! I, too, have asked those same questions, never considering the thought that those questions may signify fear, and could be holding me back.

At this moment, fear is a constant struggle for me, that I'm trying to break free of. Fear ties us down. It makes us forget that we are in the arms of our Father, who is our ultimate protector. It's Satan's way of stealing our joy and our faith in the Lord.

I just created a post about a recent fear that I had. Our newest little one came a month early and had some issues at birth. I, too, had some issues during pregnancy and after his birth. Because of the circumstances surrounding these health issues, I had an overwhelming fear of getting pregnant again. I went through a bit of a struggle with that fear...and I lost sight of God in the process.

Continued prayers going up for you as you walk this journey of discovery with our Father! May you have much success!