One of the most common mistakes I see as a personal trainer is people starting off their weight loss program setting unrealistic goals that are only going to set them up for disappointment and further confirm their belief that they can’t lose weight.
In order to avoid this frustration you can spend time in prayer and trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to guide you on your weight loss journey.
Here are three scriptures to use when setting your weight loss goals. These scriptures will help you to not only create, but more importantly, to achieve your weight loss goals.
1. Study James 4:3
‘When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.’ (NIV)
This scripture encourages us to check our motivation before bringing our goals to God. Ask yourself, will your goal glorify God (you want to take care of His temple, you want to leave a legacy of health to your children, you want to have more energy and feel great) or will it only serve your ego (you want someone to notice you, you think it will make you happier, you want to look like a celebrity). Goals that don’t glorify God will be short lived and will not be sustainable.
2. Study Habakuk 2:2
‘Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.’(KJV)
Writing speaks to focus and it speaks to a level of commitment. We have thousands of thoughts per day, most of which we won’t remember but that which is written creates a permanent record.
There is a popular expression, ‘a goal without a plan is a wish’. Until you write out your goal on paper, it’s just a wish or a dream in your head that rarely will come to fruition. When we write our goal down, we are taking it from the invisible to the visible.
As you write down your goals, you will begin to align your will with your heavenly Father’s. On paper you can read it, revise it, remember it, revisit it, and rehearse it. Once your goal is clearly articulate and consistent, the Holy Spirit will help you to accomplish it.
3. Study In Luke 14: 28-30
For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ (NASB)
This scripture speaks to planning and preparation. Most of us underestimate how much we eat and over-estimate how much activity we do. Like the builder in this scripture we should not consider taking on such a lofty project such as (re)building our temples without considering all the cost. How much money do we need to invest (gym membership, food, vitamins, exercise equipment)? How much time do we need to invest (waking up earlier, going to bed later, sacrificing TV watching, family time, increasing prayer time)?
Before you set your weight loss goal, take some time and consider what you will need to do/change to reach your goal otherwise you will have wasted a lot of time, money, faith and belief in yourself.
If you want to learn a step-by-step plan for setting ‘Godly’ weight loss goals then join us on Wednesday July 23 for and insightful look at how to set weight loss goals that you can actually achieve.
Sign up here: Goal Setting Webinar