This is the fifth in a series of posts where I will share my story and journey with eating, the issues I’ve had over the years and how God is so patient and good.
Click here to read the first post in the series.
Click here to read the second post in the series.
Click here to read the third post in the series.
Click here to read the fourth post in the series.
We left off where my heart was being changed by God’s Holy Spirit through prayer – prayer from the girls in my small group and my own praying of scripture/prayer. Over a period of time, my heart started to change – I was healing, slowly, and God was laying a foundation and doing work in me.
There was nothing magical about the next step on my journey. I didn’t hear a loud clap of thunder or hear God’s voice booming from heaven telling me what to do. It just seemed like the next step I should take. I knew it was coming, but this time, I wasn’t afraid of it. It didn’t make me shudder when I imagined it. I was ready. God had prepared me.
It was time to start addressing my diet and exercise.
I remember driving somewhere with Marcus one Friday night. I told him that I was going to start WeightWatchers the next day. It was kind of out of the blue, for him, especially, but I was ready to say it out loud and make it real. It was time to do it.
With Marcus’ support and a healthy dose of nervousness, I headed out to my first WeightWatchers meeting on February 26, 2011. It was a very cold day and I nearly had an accident on my drive into the meeting – my car slid on some ice and I ended up in a neighbor’s front yard – just inches away from their mailbox. I could easily taken that as a “sign” to stay home, but I’m so glad I didn’t. I walked into the meeting and stepped on the scale.
It had been a long time since I’d weighed myself. I had no idea what the number would read. I knew it would be over 200 pounds. Once I saw the scale top that number, I stopped weighing myself. I wanted to live in denial. I was thinking my weight had ballooned to around 215 pounds. When the number flashed up, it read 212.8. I was relieved. I never thought I would be relieved to see 212.8 as the number reflecting my weight, but it wasn’t as high as I thought it was.
I sat in the meeting with the other ladies and didn’t say a word. I was soaking it all in. WeightWatchers had just implemented PointsPlus, where fruit and most veggies counted as 0 points. I loved this concept – it encouraged us to eat healthy, whole foods because it didn’t count “against” us with our points tracking. An apple was no longer equivalent to eating a 100 calorie pack of cookies, for instance. Before WeightWatchers, I rarely ate veggies and would have maybe one or two pieces of fruit a day and that was it. My diet definitely had room for improvement. Plus, I didn’t get to over 200 pounds by eating too many apples or too much spinach. I wasn’t worried about abusing the 0 points assignment given to fruits & veggies.
That was the first day of my healthy lifestyles journey and I haven’t looked back since. I’ve learned so much about health and nutrition since then and have implemented those changes into my diet. I learned that God cares deeply about what we put into our bodies and that by choosing healthy options, we are pleasing Him! Spending more time with God through my prayers and quiet time led me to that understanding. This healthy lifestyles stuff was important to God. It, therefore, by the work of the Holy Spirit, was becoming important to me.
After my WeightWatchers meeting, that day, I headed home. Normally, I would want to start working out – it was the first day of my new lifestyle, after all. However, I had no workout clothes that fit. That was a scary and humbling thing to realize. That afternoon after lunch, Marcus and I headed to the department store so I could buy some workout clothes.
I was horribly out of shape. I couldn’t lift very heavy weights. I was a “FIRMie” from back in the day, and I had their 14 inch “fanny lifter” as part of my home gym. I was too heavy and out of shape to step up on the full 14 inch platform. I started with the eight inch step and worked my way up. I started with the three-pound dumbbells and worked my way up. I started with burning lungs and wheezing on some of the exercises and worked my way up. I got plantar fasciitis in my left foot from working out with flat feet and being so overweight, but I worked my way up.
My diet went from a free-for-all of eating and doing whatever to being more healthy and under control. I started making my lunches and snacks for the week on Sunday evenings. I didn’t start eating super-clean right away. I kind of worked my way into it.
My life was improving. I still had a long way to go, but losing weight is fun and provides its own, very effective, motivation. I was getting my life and my spiritual journey on the right track, with God’s help.