It was one of those weekends. One day I ran out of time to do my devotions in the morning (of course, something that could have been avoided), while another day I was able to read my bible, pray, and even enjoy a couple of online church services. How does this apply to my journey to better physical health?
In one of my earlier articles, I mentioned how I feel your journey to physical health also greatly affects your spiritual health. Unfortunately, it goes the opposite way as well. If I haven’t taken the time to pray, to read the word of God, to listen to what the Lord has to say to me, I can lose focus, both spiritually and physically. I look back at the weekend and what I ate, and I can see that I made better choices on the day I drew closer to the Lord than on the other day. Has this happened to you as well?
This month, I want to go back to the beginning of my journey. I am on a weight-loss program that is well-known, where you count points for everything you eat. Most of the fruits and vegetables are free, meaning they are zero points, so they don’t count in your total points that you can consume in a day. Some clean proteins are also free, such as chicken breast, eggs, or shrimp. Each day you get a certain number of points. All foods, other than those mentioned above, have points assigned to them – based on portion – and as you eat them your number of points for the day diminishes.
My favorite thing of this program is exactly that. All foods, based on portion control, have points. So that means, theoretically, that I can eat anything. Of course, there is moderation involved. That chocolate cake at Starbucks is permissible. I can calculate the points, but it won’t be the most beneficial snack to my overall health. I originally started on the plan back in the fall of 2016 and successfully lost about 25 pounds.
I allowed the stresses of life to derail this new way of eating, and by March of 2017, I had to admit I was no longer following the plan. A huge new stress popped into my life in May. A job that I had for almost 11 years was suddenly gone. I allowed all the old and new problems of life to affect my weight. I let any remaining discipline I still had dissolve, and suddenly, chocolate was much more important to me than fitting into those jeans in my closet.
However, by the fall of 2017, I had made up my mind that I would once again join the program. Since October, I have lost almost 40 pounds, and those are pounds I never want to find again.
Not only is the program very doable, but I have great support through my family and social media. In between preparing for, and going to, job interviews, I get outside and move. Not only do I exercise and eat according to the plan, counting points for everything I eat, I also look at the spiritual portion of my journey.
I am reading a book called “Made to Crave,†written by Lysa TerKeurst. There is a devotional companion to the original book, and they both have been an immeasurable help to me as I discover how my physical health and spiritual health are closely knit together. I highly recommend these two books to you while you are on your own journey of weight loss and spiritual wellness.
I would love to hear from you if you are on your own journey, because I know for a fact that having support and accountability with others when you are on a similar path is invaluable. You know where I am right now, so be sure to check back right here each month, as I will be updating you on my weight loss, and yes, even weight gain.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel to reach out to me via email at joan@sgnscoops.com
By Joan Walker
First published by SGNScoops Magazine in April 2018
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