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Want to Lose Weight? Give These Three Things to God (Part 1)

When it comes to weight loss and getting healthy, there are three things that God wants from you. The sooner you can truly surrender them, the quicker you will lose weight. Since this will be a long post, I will share it in three sections. So, tune-in in the following weeks for the other three things God wants from you.

God Wants Your Hurts

Although it’s not always the case, at the root of many weight issues are past hurts, pains, and fears that we have not addressed and we use food to cover them up. Closely related and connected is low self-esteem that keeps us from taking action and reminds us that we are not worthy of having the things that we desire.

Yet, instead of dealing with the hurts, we suppress it (pretend it does not exist), or depress it (press it back down). So, we keep looking for method after method to try to find the perfect weight loss program, or we convince ourselves that what works for others won’t work for us because we’re different, yet we refuse to deal with the hurts.

If you’re willing, be open to the possibility that there are past hurts that keep you turning to food. Consider that the excess weight is the symptom not the cause, and it’s pointing you to the past hurts that you keep holding on to, and God is asking you to relinquish. 

In our WLGW community, we refer to the analogy of the check-engine light frequently. Excess weight is analogous to seeing the check-engine light, and we try to fix the light instead of taking the car to the mechanic to tell us why the light is on. The problem is not the light. The light is just the warning that something is off. In the same way, the excess weight is not the problem but the signal that you are not fully surrendered to God. Excess weight is a sign that we need a tune-up and what a better place to get the tune-up than from our ‘master mechanic’.

God has placed basic needs in our hearts that only He can fill. That’s how we remain connected to Him. We all need love, safety, and security, but if we did not receive these needs as children, or something happened somewhere in life to separate us from experiencing these core needs, it leaves us feeling hurt and broken and we spend much of our time trying to fill these needs. Food is often a good substitute because it provides instant gratification, but unfortunately, it’s very temporary and insatiable. 

Take the Test

Not sure if past hurts can be at the root of why you struggle with your weight? Take this simple test. 

Think of the last time you ate when you said you were not going to.

Then ask yourself the following questions:

1.  What were the circumstances that led to it? On the surface it’s often no time, poor planning, or no willpower. But as you begin to strip away the layers, you will see that there’s something deeper. 

2.  What were some of the feelings that came up? You’re eating because you were hungry or because you were feeling anxious, tired, frustrated, lonely, or feel like you deserved something? Did you give-in to the peer pressure?

3.  What was the Holy Spirit telling you at that moment? In most cases, you will see that you probably did not even take the time to check-in with the Holy Spirit.

Pay Attention

Once you begin to get present to what’s really going on below the surface, you will discover that what you think the issue is, is not really the issue.

Lack of time often (not always) indicates your need to be in control. Regardless of how many times you pray and ask God to take control, you keep taking it back.

Giving in to peer pressure can reveal issues with self-esteem or self-worth.

Overeating can be an indication of your inability to feel satisfied, feeling entitled, or willful disobedience.

You see, the truth lies below the surface and as long as you continue to deal with the symptom instead of the root cause, you will continue to struggle.

What was the hurt? What is the unmet need? Acceptance? Approval? Satisfaction? Joy? Peace? Love? Security? 

Are you willing to give God your hurts today? Trust that He is more than able to heal you and satisfy your every need—especially, and including your health.

Stay tuned for next week’s post:  ‘God Wants Your Habits.’

If you want to get to the root of why you do what you do so you can stop spinning your wheels and start losing weight, check out the Weight Loss, God’s Way Program.

 

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[…] keep looking for strategies, yet God is calling us to surrender. He is calling us to surrender our hurts, our habits, and most importantly, our hearts, which is what I will talk about in this […]

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[…] Last week we discussed the first one—our hurts. We recognized that God does not want us to keep our hurts and pains bottled up and keeping us bound, nor does He want us to try to heal them in our own strength. […]

Ena G
Ena G
4 years ago

I so agree with all that you’ve said here in Part 1. I have found that it’s not just a matter of checking this off and done, but that I need to check back often with the Holy Spirit. He likely has some more tuning up work to do inside of me.

Looking forward to Part 2 and 3!

Donna Reaves
Donna Reaves
4 years ago

Cathy , thank you for this word. It has been insightful and it challenging me to allow Holy Spirit to turn on the search light to find the root and stronghold I have battled and continually lost with my weight issues. I wish I could join your program however I am on a very fixed small income and can’t add anything else at this time. But will continue to read your emails.
I just wanted to thank you for your insight.