Permanent Weight Loss

2 Corinthians 5:17 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” NLT

“How’d you do it,” people typically ask when they find out I’ve lost weight. This question has always been sort of perplexing to me, though. “How else would I do it,” I think to myself. I know what they mean, though. Everywhere you look, fad diets scream to be heard and adopted. Gluten-free, vegan, paleo, low-carb, low-fat, calorie counting, sugar detox, mediterranean, Adkins, South Beach, raw food, Volumetrics, Weight Watchers, juicing, and when all else fails...surgery. Most of them have actual merit, some are even dangerous, and all of them promise to help you reach your weight goal, easily and quickly. None of them are a sure thing. 

When we accept Christ, there is a total transformation that takes place. Don’t get me wrong, there are slip-ups and times when God reveals His work in a particular area of our life. God is always working to bring about a complete change, but when we come to know Him initially, initial change does occur. That’s why in John 3:3, Jesus bluntly tells Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” The only way to inherit eternal life is to be completely renewed through the power of God. If no change occurs in your heart and life when you accept Jesus as your Savior, something is wrong. When Jesus comes into our heart, He makes changes, cleanses us from past sin, and empowers us to walk a new life with and in Him. Eternal life isn’t for the future when we die; it’s for the here and now. The old way of living is gone, and He gives us newness of life. We can’t continue living the old way we once lived and expect God’s favor to rest upon us. He’s holy and accepts nothing less than change and a heart bent towards serving Him.

Just like our spiritual lives, our physical lives must change if we were going to be remade. I am of the opinion that there are severe drawbacks to having surgery to treat obesity. Very rarely are there circumstances that warrant surgery. Only when there’s a medical reason for the obesity am I in favor of it. In order to make a transformation in our physical bodies, something must change in us mentally and spiritually as well. Very rarely is our physical challenge merely a physical one. Most often, it’s a mental and spiritual battle that makes itself evident in our physically overweight bodies. Fad diets and trendy ways of losing weight rarely work long-term. I’ve seen countless instances where people lose weight, but then quickly regain it once they reach their goals. There must be a total lifestyle change if we’re ever going to be victorious in our physical lives. The old life is gone, a new life has begun! We can’t expect that once we reach our goals, we can go back to the old standard of living. The patterns and behaviors that we once lived will drive us right back to where we were before. But the new set of standards by which we live will reward us with healthy bodies and newness of life. 

In my own life, I found that living a healthy lifestyle is the only way that I can be successful. Actively working out, eating a balanced diet, and staying in the Word has been the way I have and continue to maintain. The joys of living a healthy life, both physically and spiritually, far outweigh the time that it took to get this life that I wanted for so long.

Jesus is just waiting to help you transform into a new creature. Allow Him to work, and He will bring your transformation to completion!

What diet plans have you tried? What pros and cons can you attribute to them? What steps could you take today to make your new lifestyle permanent?

Encouragement for Today

Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” NLT