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Dieting Advice Being healthy is a real issue for a Christian. Our bodies became the temple of the Holy Ghost, and need to be sanctified for God’s use. Jesus needs to be our Lord, not just our Savior. How we appear and conduct ourselves, is a direct reflection of our relationship with our Heavenly Father. We must take care not to become obsessed with physical perfection, however. Our bodies should be prepared to serve and worship God—not prepared to be worshipped; it is only the vessel. When approaching this time in my life, a certain kind of fear overtook me. I was desperate to lose my excess weight, but too scared to try again. Dozens of other attempts had failed, and I ultimately continued to gain more and more weight. From this position, only God could help. Our creator is the God of miracles! As true believers, we must utterly rely on Christ and our need for Him.
Excess weight is not something you can pray away. It is the cumulative result of years of bad eating and exercise habits. We must bring all of our lives under Jesus’ lordship. Then He will bless us with strength and wisdom; not only in losing extra pounds, but in right eating that will ultimately destroy the cycle of weight loss and regaining it. I give all the praise to God for progress made, and the real hope of getting my weight down to where it should be, without re-gaining it. Also thanks to God for the unspeakable gift that is my wife Jamie. She has loved me fully, no matter what I weigh! She has also supported my efforts, and brought her own form of helps with the cooking she does. She has even lost nearly 20 pounds of her own! It is important to have encouragement along the way: especially when you’re in for a long haul, there will be discouraging (temporary) results at times. We need to keep going! Though my wife gives her support, it is mostly the Lord who provides the insight to keep plugging away. He gives wisdom to analyze the results, and make adjustments. All glory to God, through Jesus Christ! It is vital that you realize that the success of each diet is in how it fits you as an individual. Many like to have a program with every step laid out for them. Only you can fashion the plan best for you. Yes, it builds on good sense that others can teach—but these are rough stones, needing polish to become jewels in your life. There are dozens of diets and diet products out there, and many seem to work—at least for some. Temporary weight loss results should not be considered successful, but a failure. The real result that matters, that we all want to see, is losing our excess weight without regaining it! Most of see the cycle of loss and gain. Why does this happen? In short, cutting too many calories over a long time period (more than a month) causes a severe slowdown in metabolism. After 3-4 weeks, your body kicks into survival mode and stops burning so many calories. You are still very hungry, but now the smallest increase in food results in weight gain. You wind up gaining it all back—but are actually fatter! The extreme calorie cuts you made also took away muscle; and were replaced by fat. Your body will try to take in the food required to maintain your weight, no matter what. The key is to make small calorie deficits that will not trigger the starvation mode. This approach focuses around trying to reduce 500 calories per day, resulting in a one pound weekly loss. This is a slower but significant weight loss, and you will be able to maintain it for long periods without hitting a “wall”. Remember that not all calories are created equally! They do not all provide the same fulfillment and nutritional value, and some will hurt your efforts beyond the calories they give. More on that later. Let these four broad categories guide you while dieting: 1) Quantity of food 2) Quality of food 3) Timing of eating 4) Exercise or activity 1) Quantity of food. Obviously, the amount you take in at one time. Many of us eat far beyond our body’s needs, without regard to calories! 2) Quality of food. The nutritional value. Quality also will dictate quantity. How much enjoyment you get, and how it fills you are also factors determining quality. 3) Timing of eating. It is not good to eat large amounts before going to bed, or other periods of inactivity. Most dieters tend to under eat—or save big meals for the day’s end. 4) Exercise or activity. Both count! If you are already quite active, an increase may not be right for you. But if your fatigue is largely mental, you must find time for the body. You should be moderate with any activity increase. Over-exertion can be a huge discourager. Yes, you must exercise when not “feeling like it.” This is normal. But you will need times to rest, as well. Pray for guidance; this is an individual area of tailoring. Calorie deficit is more accurate than “cut.” Your body tries to take in the food necessary to maintain the weight you have. By a modest exercise increase, you kind of trick your body. Rather than cut 500 calories daily in food (could be difficult for some), you could be cutting 300-400; but allowing increased exercise to make up the other 100-200 calories. Cautionary Note: Not everyone will be able to achieve this daily 500 calorie deficit. Pray for wisdom and patience (Hebrews 10:35,36). Much can be accomplished by the small changes in food quality as well. Jesus does accept us as we are—doing your best with Him as Lord is the duty we have. Praise God for His mercy! (see Romans 5:1-10) Keeping a daily journal is great for accountability and analyzing results. In my journal(s) I keep records of what I eat, the calories, the fiber, and water intake. A positive quality shift in your food will automatically raise your fiber. Weighing in once a week is ideal. This helps you to make adjustments in a timely way. Other measures of progress are body fat measuring, and the way clothes fit. In a longer term diet (six months or longer) there will be times of no loss, small loss, or even gain. As you are on a perpetual “diet,” your body must keep adjusting to the smaller you! Your daily records can help you see if those off weeks were caused by something tangible, or if you are simply adjusting. Determining your calorie needs are vital to planning the reduction. Referred to as metabolic rate (MR), it simply refers to the calories you need to maintain your current weight. I like simplicity in determining this: Men are usually 15 calories per pound, women 14. These rates can swing a bit, depending on your individual circumstance. Men could be 14-17; women 13-15. So a 200 pound man typically needs 3,000 calories (200 x 15) to maintain his weight. A 140 pound woman needs 1,960 (140 x 14) to maintain (call it 2,000!). The kind of calorie is very important. The official government criteria for intake is 55% carbohydrates, 25% protein, and 20% fat. Our bodies need all of it! I am in basic agreement with these figures. For simplicity, just remember 50-25-25. Carbs are not bad if they are complex. Whole grains, brown bread and rice, whole wheat flour; all of which with limited processing. The traditional white bread is a killer. Though cheap, it is difficult on your digestive system. Build up in the colon is thought by many to be the root cause of most diseases. Good fats are also a necessity for a healthy diet. Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, such as are in fish and peanuts. My fats tend to be low, so I use a fish oil supplement. Protein is also very vital, and high-protein can greatly help with weight loss. Meats, eggs, and cheeses are good sources of protein. I also keep a whey-protein powder on hand to help boost my protein. Whole eggs are absolutely O.K.! The benefits of eggs far outweigh any drawbacks. High cholesterol is present in fewer than half of heart attack victims. Granted, a lot of any one thing could be detrimental. I eat 3 eggs twice a week, along with the rest of my breakfast. You will also be pleasantly surprised by the quantity of good foods you can eat! Eight ounces of boneless, skinless chicken breast has 220 calories. A one and a half ounce Hershey Chocolate Bar has about the same! By choosing the chicken, you get six times more in weight of your food. (I know you can’t substitute chicken for chocolate—more on that later!) Eating more often is another big key. Five or six times a day, about three hours (2-4 hours flexible) apart. Long periods of abstaining from food slows your metabolism. Consistent eating will keep your metabolism on a steady, high level. Many people eat very small during the active day period—then “load up” on a big supper. This comes right before becoming a couch potato the rest of the night! Disaster is sure to follow, and does. This behavior has to change. More on the specifics later. Water is a big key, as well. I don’t know of any nutrition specialist that doesn’t recommend drinking plenty of water. It is vital to metabolism and hydration, and has no calories. The amount suggested? Take half of your body weight in ounces of water. Example: A 200 lb. person will take in 100 ounces of water daily. This formula is an approximation for ensuring that you get enough water, and I use it in my own situation. It is overkill, however. Experts acknowledge this as well, but a bit more is better than not enough. We do get water from food and some drinks, but it is difficult to translate the actual amount. Anyway, your water consumption should be something approaching the amount given by this formula. Be sure to use good water, not the treated water you get in urban areas. Chemicals like chlorine not only kill bacteria, but are a long-term health risk. Invest in spring water, or filters for your home water. Consider yourself blessed if you have your own good well water—though you may still need filtration. Caffeine should only be taken in limited amounts. Caffeine actually causes dehydration, and takes a long time to work through your digestive system. I still take in coffee each morning, but after that it is usually all water. Sugary drinks and sodas are a natural for avoidance! They contain large amounts of truly bad calories. Water is cheaper, and good for you. Diet drinks and sodas should also be avoided, at least in large amounts. Artificial sweeteners are hard on metabolism and digestion. Studies differ on the negative effects they produce—but they agree to their being negative. Artificial sweeteners are addictive, being actually many times sweeter than sugar! Use moderation, and beware. Hunger is a huge obstacle when dieting. It is often misunderstood, and absolutely misrepresented. God made us to get hungry—it is how we know when to eat! We in America have been brought up as gluttons, and have come to hate/fear even the slightest tinge of hunger. We greedily eat all the time, even when not hungry. Whatever we want, whenever we want, as much as we want. Now I know that genuine hunger or malnutrition still exist here, and I don’t want to belittle the plight of those who struggle. Some of those do choose that lifestyle, and most of us have plenty. Diets that promise “no hunger” are almost always lying. Even if you could do away with feeling hungry, you would be in jeopardy—it is a violation of God’s natural law, and would bring more harm than goo. We must re-learn our eating habits. Eating when hungry, taking in proper amounts of the right food. Do not be afraid of hunger. Learn to distinguish between natural hunger and starving hunger, and respond correctly. Using the Holy Spirit and sound mind (II Timothy 1:7), follow God’s admonition through Paul in I Corinthians 9:24-27:
This advice being given, hunger has been very manageable for me while following this program. Sometimes I have under-eaten and had to adjust. But good food is much more filling than the bad. And with eating five times a day, food is on the horizon whenever hunger starts kicking in. Dieting is about getting fewer calories than the body requires to maintain it’s weight. This translates into the assurance of some hunger. In the past, my hunger got extreme—twelve weeks was about the longest I could hold out. At this year’s end, I will have been going for thirty-two weeks! The plan God led me to is a long term program I can live with—it works! That is a great feeling to have about a diet. Naturally, my creator knew all about it! Exercise is best focused on large muscle groups like the legs (aerobics) and abdomen areas. With any significant weight loss there will be some loss of muscle as well. Not only does exercise increase weight loss, but it keeps your muscles built up as well. For weight lifting I prefer repetition with small dumb bells; though I have not focused much on that part yet. Walking is my main key. Eating five times a day? Try to eat those meals about three hours apart; though it can be easily stretched to be with two to four hours. Keep your last meal relatively small, and try not to eat within two hours of bedtime. My waking hours are about 6 a.m. – 10 p.m. (5:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m. at times) Meals come at 7:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m., 7:30 p.m. On a 3,000 calorie plan, the calories run 800 (breakfast); 800 (lunch), 300 (snack); 800 (dinner); 300 (snack). Even these counts are not set firmly. I often cut my snacks to 250 so I can have 900 for supper. Though you can play with your calorie counts somewhat, do not overload supper (an American tendency). You need the early calories to supply energy when you must use it. Having too much as the end of the day will keep it with you, and will be more weight to lose later. It is quite beneficial to stay active through the day. Before my last snack, but after supper, I force myself to go for a walk—even if it is a short one. I do not want the last 1200 calories of my day to go to bed with me! Supplements are a great help for your diet success and health. I hate telling people that they should buy things for dieting, because so many are taken advantage of this way. For myself and you; I try to keep this a real and inexpensive as it can be. Most foods that we eat have had a lot of nutrition processed out of them, or have some toxicity. Supplements are a great help in making up the shortfalls, and keeping up with life’s demanding time tables. Organic foods are terrific for health; perhaps the best choice. Can you afford them? Can you find what you like? For myself, organic foods are impractical in my diet. I simply have neither the time or money to invest. Organic foods are not supplements. Yet they are often touted by many experts as the only way to go. This is not an accurate portrayal. Take a good multi-vitamin to ensure meeting nutritional needs. “One-a-day” style (not brand) vitamins are not the best. Mega vitamins such as are found in vitamin shops or nutrition centers are better. With these, two a day is the norm. Vitamins do not digest as slowly as food, and thus more nutrition value is lost in a vitamin. Having “mega” doses of vitamins twice a day provides for a better time-release effect. Fish oil capsules (omega 3) provide the proper fats your body requires. Cheaper and more convenient than having fish all the time! You may want a thermogenic capsule to help your metabolism stay on track. I rarely use these, having discovered other natural (and less expensive) ways to boost metabolism. As previously mentioned whey protein powder has helped me a great deal with metabolism. Fiber supplements are beneficial, as well. I purchased too much at the start. As I adjusted, it became natural to get my fiber through the foods eaten. The U.S. government recommendation is 25 grams of fiber for a 2,000 calorie diet. Shooting for 30 grams at minimum is my suggestion. Fiber intake should be balanced between the soluble fiber (fruits and veggies) and the insoluble (grains, breads). The Fiber 35 Diet by Brenda Watson is a suggested reading. Information in it is good to know (though numerous diets suggest many of the same things) for your efforts. High fiber can produce constipation at times. A colon cleanse supplement can help with staying regular. We found our good product to be Bowtrol; it can be purchased through different sources online, including Bowtrol.com. Not real cheap, but very effective. Another recommended source is the e-book, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. It is written by New Jersey trainer and body-builder Tom Venutto. He has great insights, and he goes a long way in encouraging people to “bend” diets to suit them individually. I still say that individual diet “tailoring” is vital to success. By now you are probably wondering about the kinds of food that are good to consume for this program. I pray that you realize these adjusted eating habits should be a lifetime change; not merely temporary while you lose weight. I will provide you with a decent list of foods from my own venture. Still, I am rather limited in my eating range, and urge you to study all your food choices on your own. This will go a long way to coming up with a program that suits you personally, and make the process much more liveable. Protein Foods (No fiber) · Eggs · Chicken · Fish · Turkey · Lean beef (steak) · Ham or Pork · Cheese Comments: Most protein foods have no fiber, since they are derived from animals. For me, steak and pork are hard to digest, so I have tight limitations. By research, we found that a diet cola with your steak greatly helps digestion! We still have ham, but in thin-sliced deli form. Various barbeques can be made as a “keep around” stable (chicken, beef, pork). Cheese should not be used in excess, due to fats and digestive challenges. Fruit · Any fresh fruit is good! · Dried fruits are great! · Apples · Pears · Apricots · Bananas · Peaches · Strawberries Comments: Even canned fruit (watch the syrup!) or applesauce is good—a sweet alternative to cakes, candy, cookies, etc. Dried fruits are especially nutritious, and easy to keep around to munch on. We love our dried apricots! Veggies · Fresh whole potatoes · Tomatoes · Dried beans · Baked beans · Green beans · Carrots · Broccoli/Cauliflower · Peas · Corn Comments: Dried beans should be soaked overnight before preparing. Potatoes have gotten a bad rap because of the deep frying in restaurants. Potatoes are a great source of complex carbohydrates, and there are many ways to prepare them and keep them healthy. Frozen vegetables are easy to keep on hand, and a necessary part of a healthy life. Other Staples · Whole wheat, whole grain bread · Whole wheat flour, pastas · Brown rice · Peanut butter · Assorted nuts · Oatmeal · Good cereals · Salsa · Olive Oil Comments: Olive oil is quite versatile in a variety of cooking and baking applications: also when used in a margarine type spread. Sunflower or peanut oils are also good. Yes, you can still use butter in moderation! Salsa is another healthy condiment, and can be used as a flavorful ingredient in cooking. Try to be sure your bread has at least three grams of fiber per slice. Whole wheat pastas are allowable, but I have found them to be relatively high in calories and not very filling. Peanut butter is good in both fiber and protein, natural peanut butter being best. This is also high in calories and should be limited. Oatmeal is a terrific low calorie, high fiber food. It is also versatile in baking applications. If you are stumped in cereal searching, look for Kashi brand varieties. We also like Multi-Grain Cheerios, and Cracklin Oat Bran. Experiment, and study the nutritional labels. More Snacking · Various granola bars · Pretzels · Dark Chocolate · Crackers Comments: Stay away from most power bars—high in calories! Keep it simple. Nature Valley makes good granola bars. Kashi also has created a winning alternative, though a bit pricey. We love Quaker Granola Bites, in 90 calorie pouches. Crackers should be multi grain—Kellogg’s makes a good product. No soft pretzels! Limit regular pretzels, but they are a good snack with whole wheat flour. Dark chocolate is tasty, and retains fiber—unlike milk chocolate. Still, it is not good for filling you up and curbing appetite. Keep it in small amounts. My guilty pleasures: Food is a joy in life, and we do not want to “suffer” when dieting. Everyone has different limitations in the way food affects them. I share this list of mine to encourage, not for you to copy. You will find your own list with your own limits. · Peanut M&M’s: a carefully chosen candy; decent because of the peanuts. I have a regulated amount. · Sauces: I love ketchup, BBQ sauces, Miracle Whip, Sweet-n-sour, etc. They are part of my eating, and all calories count. · Hamburgers: And ground beef: not the suggested lean beef spoken of earlier. These are home prepared, seldom eaten in restaurants. · French fries: Yes, even deep fried! Occasional, but present. · Bacon: Not as much as before, but still a regular with sandwiches, eggs, tortillas, etc. · Ice Cream: We love ice cream, and I was pleased to find I could still have some. Medium cone at Dairy Queen every two weeks works easily—though I do not go every two weeks. · Chips: A staple for me every day. My choosing gives me a favorite made with sunflower oil. Lays brand is using sunflower oil—read your labels. Forbidden foods · Especially fresh pizza, but anything heavy with the processed white flour (such as cakes). I did not miss the cakes so much, but the pizza loss really hurt. I could still nibble while avoiding the crust—but I loved the crust! My wife has learned to make a delicious, healthy pizza crust for us here at home. Yes, there is also a very occasional cake or cookie taken in. Dining out NutritionData.com has a list of various fast food establishments with their nutrition value. Beyond this, you will grow accustomed to food values as you go along. This will enable you to make an intelligent guess as to the food value, when information is not readily provided. Avoid buffets, or any open-ended eating. Think before you bite! The scale has long been my enemy; fearing what it will show, and not knowing why. In my other dieting attempts I had gone to a two week weigh-in, believing the two week results to be more encouraging than the one week. Obviously, the scale is a necessary partner in dieting endeavors. We need to look beyond the immediate results of the weigh-in to truly grasp it’s benefits. I look at it as collecting data: the reading shows varying degrees of success, showing us how to eat and behave. Your metabolism may be fired up, or slow. Maybe you ate the wrong things. Maybe your body is simply adjusting to your re-shaped frame. By recording all that you eat and do every week, you can look back and determine why the results are what you see on the scale. Prayer is the big key, as God will help you to understand, and plan your next course of action.
Losing weight (permanently) is extremely difficult. Many diets promise you rapid weight loss (15-30 pounds per month) and no hunger. Our bodies were not designed to handle that type of weight loss, and taking these suggestions will not produce it. A slower loss allows your body to adjust, and helps you also to adapt to your new diet and portions of food. You are “learning to fish,” instead of having it given to you. Most diets claiming “no hunger” are lies: God created us to get hungry, and hungry you should become! Even if there were some magic pill to take away appetite, would that be good? Isn’t it better to know how to deal with hunger, than to deny the way you were created? The more natural the methods, the better off you will be. We Americans desperately need re-training in right eating habits. To conclude, these suggestions will hopefully enable you to make better eating decisions for a healthier life. Most of all, you need to keep going. Achieving big weight loss will take some time. You body will need to keep adjusting to a more refined “you.” You will also have ups and downs as you are collecting data and learning what exactly works for you. Pray often and fervently regarding these efforts. It is good to find a close friend (flesh and blood) to share with, for encouragement and insight. You will need the support of your immediate family to help you effect the change. Please, though, do not force these changes on all those around you! True change happens from the inside out—even as Christ teaches us.
The following is a brief synopsis of the 32 weeks since I began these changes. It is designed to encourage you. If you can see the ups and downs along the way, and the overall success, hopefully you will not feel so alone in your efforts, and keep going. The main victory, your primary goal; is to bring your eating/lifestyle under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Many (like myself) have weight loss goals—the objective to lose a certain amount of weight by a certain time. Advertisements play on this with statements like; “Lose 20 pounds this month,” or “Lose 30 pounds by summer.” This is not such a program. In a very real way, your own body will dictate the goals. You focus around the objective of a one pound weekly loss, making adjustments to promote that goal. However: the more you must lose, the more time your body will take to adjust and adapt. That is to say, there will be weeks where no weight loss occurs—sometimes even a slight gain (see my records). Be patient. Look at your daily eating to determine if the stagnation is because of a slip, or if it is natural. When you pay attention to the quality and quantity of your food, the timing of your eating, with adequate exercise, you will be on the right course for a healthier life—and weight loss will come. As believers, we are still justified only through the blood of Jesus—hallelujah! This should help keep things in proper perspective.
My record at 32 weeks (7½ months) Gained Same ¼-¾ lb. loss 1-2 lb. loss over 2 lb. loss 3 weeks 3 weeks 6 weeks 15 weeks 5 weeks Quite a variety, huh? Total loss: 37 pounds
Walking in God's Blessing: A Diet Update at 45 Weeks What does it mean to walk in God's blessing? God's Word says,
When Jesus is truly our Lord, and orders our steps, I believe we will be blessed. We are speaking of the eternal values of Christ, and not temporal pleasure. One of the great false teachings of today is that God will make you wealthy in money and material goods. He does not promise this, and next month we will look at the Bible's teachings about riches—and respect of persons.
The closer we walk with our Lord Jesus, the more like Him we will become.
The diet update will come, but there is more to walking in blessing than that alone. God wants the best for us, and we need to trust Him even when we don't understand.
About six weeks ago I had a dental appointment. I have gone to the dentist twice a year for about five years. Each time I had cavities; and more than one at every checkup but this one! Expensive, uncomfortable, frustrating. This time, however, I challenged the normal outcome through prayer earlier in the day. The dentist found no decay! I wanted to scream hallelujah I was so overjoyed! Then I thought about it as a blessing brought by obedience… As I have shared in the dieting advice section of our website, maintaining a healthy weight with proper diet and exercise is a necessary part of a believer's life. Our bodies become the temple of the Holy Ghost; so Jesus must be our Lord in this area as well. My own urgent sense of the need for weight loss was motivated by this. Did healthier eating lead to a good dental check-up? My consumption of sodas, ice cream, cakes, cookies, candies, is probably about 5% of what it once was. Were these things decaying my teeth? That answer is yes! So when I obeyed the Lord to submit in weight loss and eating habits, I became blessed in another area of my life I hadn't considered. What a wonderful Father we have!
Think of the dietary laws that God made for Israel from which we now have kosher (allowable) foods. Eating pork was not allowed—could it be because improperly cooked pork is poison to our systems? Before we knew the science, God was protecting His people. Shellfish were also forbidden to be eaten. Shellfish dwell on the sea floor, where all manner of decay, feces, and garbage exist; it gets on them, and they ingest it. This could also cause health problems for those consuming them—our Heavenly Father was watching out for us! In the New Testament, God repeals most of the dietary laws. Possibly because our spiritual condition is more important, and also that some areas of the world are limited in food availability. Now God says,
We do still observe some dietary limitations in God's Word today; listed in Acts 15:20 and 15:29:
Things strangled would be synonymous with Leviticus 22:8, meaning dead animals that you find. If one hunts or fishes, he often consumes his quarry. But if you find something that has been dead for days, you don't touch it! You could not know why it died, or what organisms (many invisible to the naked eye) may have infected it since then. Some think God's laws prohibitive, but He really does want the best for us! (see Hebrews 12:11) Now back to the blessing aspects! Joseph (son of Jacob/Israel) walked in the Lord's blessing.
Joseph's circumstances were troubling, to be sure! But God still blessed him greatly. Thirteen years Joseph was in captivity. That was, however, exactly where God wanted him to be—the very center of God's will! Joseph was obedient to God in interpreting dreams, and this eventually brought him before Pharaoh—who gave Joseph full charge of the great Egyptian nation! Joseph lived the truth of James 4:9,10 over a thousand years before God made it written.
As you may recall from past newsletters, my wife and I felt we had to return to work (of some kind) back in November. Debts and bills were mounting, and we could see no other alternative. Strange as it may seem (we are a peculiar people: Titus 2:14), the more circumstances were showing us that we must return to the regular workforce, the more certain we are that God wants us to be set aside for His service. We worked through an employment agency, as "temp-to-hire" employees. That is, we start as temporary help and then may be offered regular employment directly from the company after a month. I wound up at an enormous warehouse with over 1,000 employees, a place I never thought I would work (because of negative accounts). My weight loss effort had to adjust for the cooler weather, and my type of work load. I was on my feet a good bit, but not strenuously. My body adjusted rather quickly to my work load—and weight losses slowed down. There is a sensible reason for all that happens in regard to losing weight, and I believe God wants to teach us that so we can take better care of ourselves. I believed after losing a good bit of weight, my body had adjusted to my routines. I would have to dig really deep to "shake up" my metabolism over the winter months—or bear through with much slower losses until the weather changed. I opted to wait it out and be patient. What I discovered however, was that apart from "natural" causes we (believers) need God's blessing to succeed. And that depends not as much on how we eat, but upon how we obey. My employment with the agency officially lasted six weeks, then (after another application) I received full time work directly through the warehouse company. As the time of my potentially deeper employment approached I did not fully submit it to the Lord. My prayers did not openly yield to whether or not God wanted me there. We really need to trust our all-knowing Father! Instead, I prayed that if we still needed to work that God would let me stay there. This company's application (computerized) has a long series of "character" evaluation questions at the end. I had to re-apply due to "red flags" raised by my initial answers. When I questioned this, I was told to look at the questions as they pertained to work at the warehouse. The way many questions were phrased really required a lie to submit a desirable answer. Doing it this way, I was hired. I did also repent before God—I thought this application issue might be some company oversight. I told my wife I intended to bring this matter up in the suggestion box after a few weeks. After I was seated in the new-hire orientation classroom, my eyes viewed two posters that made my blood run cold. These posters in front of me were also on the other side of the room, in English and Spanish. Here they are;
Often it's not so much a matter of who you are, but who you think you are. And the more you start to believe that you are who you want to become, the more others will believe that's who you really are. And that can be a real treat!
Teamwork
This is not the way to win friends and influence people.
Hopefully you can see clearly that the one poster encourages lying about who you are. The other flatly puts down those with faith in God, condemning them as self-righteous hypocrites! At the same time, we were being told to treat others with "courtesy, dignity, and respect." It became clear that the application questions were to yield the type of employee they desired. And if any with faith and morals made it through, they were put down in a way to silence them. Conviction fell heavily upon me, and I prayed for mercy. Nevertheless, I hoped this terrible corporate manifestation would not be present for my work area. Most of the long term associates didn't even know of the posters. As a new conglomerate had taken over about one year before, this was a part of their hiring format. Of course, things at the bottom (where I was) turned out to be just as bad. Lies and deceit were used, along with constant schedule changes which destroy personal lives outside the company. These changes kept stealing my time with the Lord and my wife. Wouldn't it seem a good idea to get another job before leaving this bad one? Nothing was presenting itself, and I truly felt that I was compromising my faith in staying. In Daniel chapter three, some other men faced a dilemma of obedience. Do we comply with the king, or follow our God? Bowing to Nebuchadnezzar's golden image meant nothing to most people. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew that it was a forbidden idolatry (Exodus 20:4,5). They did not know the outcome of their choice, but knew they had to obey God.
Perhaps I wasn't facing a furnace, but the choice was similar in other ways. The demand of finances (we all have bills) with no visible income, the stigma of leaving a job after only three months, family opinion, etc. One year before my wife and I were led to close out our full time jobs—but we had some extra money then. Now I was seeing a clear choice again, but this time with debt and no income! Which one takes more faith? Yet we continually ask the Lord to help our faith grow—you can see what happens, so watch out! It is at once scary and wonderful! So yes; I left my job on a one week notice. The Lord did use me to touch lives, and even more so in leaving. We are indeed "strangers and exiles" on the earth, merely passing through. Dieting disaster seemed to follow. In the first week after leaving I registered a 3.25 pound weight gain! It was a devastating reading, as I had been struggling with snail-like progress for months. You may remember the goal is to lose one pound weekly? God was about to show me His blessings, which also answered a prayer I had uttered. Leaving that job was an obedience, and my request was for something encouraging to let me know that we were on the right track. My Lord was "weighing in" with a response! He has multiplied my weight losses for several weeks to show His merciful blessing. Our finances were blessed also—an immediate provision of $700 which enabled us through the end of the month. Now the Lord has provided us each part-time jobs which help, without being so destructive to our spiritual lives. Other small blessings have come as well, and a large scriptural promise for me personally. Watching our God bless has reminded me of the reality we need to live in the following;
At every weigh-in I ask God for His blessing. His will to be done, His way, in His perfect time. Sure, I want to see big losses when I step on the scale. But it is more important that the Lord direct each of my steps (our steps), because His ways are perfect (Psalms 37:23). So as I started full time work through the employment agency, there were seven weeks until I became an associate of the warehouse itself. I lost 6.5 pounds in those weeks, though only 4.25 pounds in the last six weeks. (My first week was only three days of work). After being hired officially, I lost only 2.5 pounds in seven weeks, gaining the 3.25 pounds the week after I quit. So in eight weeks my net difference was plus .75 pounds! Now that is a stall-out! Five weeks have gone by since then, and what a difference! Actual dietary changes have been small. By the numbers, the losses should only have amounted to a little over half of what they are. Our God does indeed give us good gifts, those that will truly help and not hurt us. We need to trust Him in faith. In those five weeks my weight total fell 8.25 pounds; compare that with the previous ten week total of 1.75 pounds! So as of March 31st, I have been on this weight loss venture for 45 weeks; losing a total of 44.5 pounds. It is important to run this race with patience. It truly is a marathon and not a sprint. Leaning on Jesus is the believer's advantage. My wife's losses have also resumed, being nearly 25 pounds "less" than her former self! Continue on then in Christ Jesus. Remember Galatians 5:16; "this I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." This is our key in overcoming! Please feel free to contact us if we can be of any help in this struggle—we will be glad to listen and make helpful suggestions if you wish. WARNING: To avoid falling away, return to the pure Word of God; which is the King James Bible. Revised translations are not small word alterations meant to bring clarity! Major doctrinal changes have occurred, which will bring doubt and destroy your faith. To follow these new "versions" of the truth, is to build your spiritual house upon sand, and become as the ones reflected in Matthew 7:21-23. Please use this entire passage, Matthew 7:21-27. Satan means to deceive you into sincerely following his alternate "truth." You are really being set up to fall, and serve the antichrist. Pray and seek God diligently in this matter; for time is short. See also our Bible Version section and the section on Eternal Security.  |
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