It was two years ago that God began to stir in my heart that He wanted to help me overcome this idol of loving food more than I should. It had become an idol that I ran to instead of God. He was so personal and persistent and I was overwhelmed with a desire to get this area right in my life. I loved Him with my whole heart, but I had to learn how to run to HIM when I was happy, sad, excited, bored, anxious, instead of bowing down to food! Though I desperately wanted to find the perfect plan that would do it all GOD wanted me to turn away from this world and to turn to HIM and so it began an imperfect journey of seeking Him, obedience, falling down, getting up, falling down, getting up, and every single time He would rescue me. Here is what that looked like:
1-My first step was WHOLE30. There is nothing magical about Whole30 itself, but God used it to have me FAST from foods that had become a distraction to me. They temporarily satisfied an emotional state, but brought death to my health. Whole30 was no grains, sugar, dairy, sweeteners. I wanted to share how hard it was, but truthfully it wasn’t! God so empowered me through that 30 days that I sat in awe of how quickly it flew by and I lost 15 pounds. At the end of the 30 days I spent the next few months maintaining up and down, but stayed close to my loss. Whole30 gave birth to more than weight loss...it kicked off the journey and fanned my flame to keep going and to be a student of what worked for me.
2-Step Two was a plan called TRANSFORM APP! The premise of this plan was that you eat 5 smaller meals a day and exercise. I know that the purpose of God leading me here was that it gave birth to falling in love with exercise for the first time in my entire life. I still remember going to the gym the first time and how my husband who is a weight lifted and has worked out diligently for over 30 years would lovingly coach me through using weights. I fell in love! As I gained courage I began adding classes like Body Pump and Yoga, in addition to the weight training. This took off about 15 more pounds for a total of 30 pounds. Just in time for my oldest son’s wedding!
Next came a season of testing! In the midst of all these exciting changes the Lord had me turn in my notice at my job as a Support Representative with Classical Conversations and little did I know why...but HE did! Right after our oldest was married my grandmother’s health spiraled downwards and my life changed drastically. It was probably the hardest and longest season from 8/2018 through 8/2019. Grandma not only became physically ill, but she developed dementia. My entire life became consumed with her care. I lost my mentor, cheerleader, and matriarch and I had to cling to God like never before. As grandma’s journey was winding down a new one began....my mom was diagnosed with stage IIIB lung cancer. My grandmother died on 10/26/18 and my mom began her radiation on 10/29. We were consumed with caring for my mother who has spent her whole life caring for others. We asked her to move in with us so we could take her to Moffitt for her care. The next three months were filled with radiation and chemotherapy. (My mom was a hero) For awhile I maintained my weight loss and even continued to workout. My mom encouraged me in these things even though we were going back and forth to Tampa five days a week! But once she finished and moved back home I began to have an affair with my flesh and in the aftermath I began allowing old habit to creep in. (Not consume, but creep in). I gained back 18 pounds of the 30 that had been lost. I did not love how I felt and it scared me to see the weight coming back and I cried out to God and He answered. A friend that I’ve known online since my kids were young began posting pictures of an incredible transformation. The Lord moved on my heart to reach out and she introduced me to the next step in my journey...
3-BRIGHT LINE EATING! As of this morning I have lost 23 pounds in about 8 weeks. This next step has been teaching me practical ways to live a life of balance and self-control. Where Transform App helped me to understand and love exercise...Bright Line is all about the food plan! I feel such freedom and I love the simplicity.
Every step of the last two years has had absolute purpose in teaching me to turn away from idols and to turn TO the living God!
➡️I’m so thankful for Whole30 as it was the beginning of changing the way I think about my relationship with food.
➡️I loved how Transform App helped me to fall in love with exercise.
➡️I am now incredibly grateful to BLE (Bright Line Eating) for giving me a super easy, doable eating plan that has weight fall off fast and has a history of maintaining for a lifetime.
I currently have a FB page where I post what I eat in Bright Line and links and encouragement. Starting in January that page will become a community for those wanting to join me in their journey. They can totally do BLE or whatever GOD leads them to. It’s just a place of encouragement and accountability. If you would like to follow my (imperfect) BLE journey just click HERE
I have a long way to go and I will fall down over and over again! But I am so grateful to God and HIS WORD which tells me...
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors”—Romans 8:37
