When people ask me how in the world I lost 160 pounds, and have kept it off for so many years it's easy for me to say: "I did it with God's help." It's hard for people to believe me though, because there are so many misconceptions about dieting and weight loss these days. The vast majority of people believe they have to go on some radical, new crash diet and vigorous exercise program, or go on pills, or experience some form of deprivation or torture to lose weight. Hearing anything else is unbelievable!
Though surveys consistently show that most Americans believe in God (or a Higher Power, if you prefer), few actually put their beliefs into action. Even fewer totally rely on God like I do, especially for help to lose weight. But the simple truth is: I could not have lost weight, and I cannot maintain my health and happiness without being completely connected to the divine -- and dedicated to serving God and helping others. I found no other way, and believe me I tried everything before I asked God for help.
Three truths to my spiritual weight loss program:
I know that surrendering and asking God for help works. I live the reality that I am not separate from God. I am living proof that there truly is a tangible and real Higher Power that will help, and so are many thousands of people who have lost weight and are keeping it off forever.
Since you have read this article thus far, I assume you are interested in experiencing spiritual weight loss yourself, so may I speak directly and candidly with you? You can do this and I'll tell you how. Let's go over those three points together, one by one.
Surrender and Relief
I know from years of working with people privately, online, and in my workshops, that most people become ready to ask God for help only after they have had a lot of dieting and exercise failures. I wish it weren't the case, but spiritual weight loss seems to be primarily a last resort. I am still searching for a way to get people to give up their excess weight without first having to suffer or spend precious funds on worthless diets, pills, and gimmicks. Even in Twelve Step programs (which are wonderfully helpful and I highly recommend them), opening up, letting go and having a spiritual experience isn't the first step. The first step is admitting failure and defeat. However and whenever you do it, asking God for help is the beginning of an answer and the end of your problems with overweight. You must be sincere, however, and that unfortunately has to have some painful history behind it. For most of us it is necessary to really need help, in order to really ask for spiritual help.
When I earnestly and most sincerely craved a solution to my food cravings and health problems, and humbly gave up my own failed attempts, that was the moment God showed me a miracle. The instant I truly and deeply surrendered everything - my whole life, not just my problems - and asked God for help -- I began to get the kind of lasting and transcendent high that I had craved but never received from food.
Think of spiritual weight loss like this: you are going to get high with God. You can have a transcendent experience; bliss like you have never before attained, a magnificent state of altered consciousness, far more pleasurable that any chocolate, snack, or four-star restaurant can deliver. Surrendering your failed methods, giving up your diet defeats, letting go of letting out your clothes all the time, abandoning the shame and humility of obesity, foregoing the obsession with food and exercise and accepting God's forgiveness, I promise, will give you a spiritual awakening that you will never forget.
Partnership and Guidance
Do you feel alone with your weight problems? Many people say they do, and I can confirm it in my life. When I was obese, I felt horribly alone and isolated. I felt like no one wanted to be around me, because I was so fat and ugly. It was hard to get the energy to do anything besides sit and eat. My feelings of inferiority and isolation compounded because I would eat to feel better, making myself bigger and more miserable.
Now, since I have had a spiritual awakening, I never feel alone. God is always with me and I am never left unaided. I have a partner always there, taking me by the hand and guiding me on. My conscience is sharp and never leads me astray. All I need do is surrender, thank God, and do what my God-given conscience tells me to do. My Higher Power gives me the power to carry out His will. There's no doubt in my mind as to what God wants for me, because I pray constantly asking to do His will. I used to feel separate and fallen, wallowing in misery and suffering. Now I am connected and guided all the time, in everything I do.
When you are ready to give up your separateness, when you are prepared to truly unite and form a partnership with God, there is the answer. The only thing holding you back is your self, and your mistaken feeling of being disconnected and astray, frightened and alone in life.
Accept God's offer of partnership and guidance, and you will not only be shown what to eat, how much, and when - you'll lose your craving for self-destructive behaviors. Self-hatred will fade away and you'll want to experience God's love more and more, because it's better than extra helpings. Getting motivated to get out of the house and be active in life will be a joy, not a drag, because you will learn to physically experience God inside your body and through your movements. Most of all, you will begin to see and feel God's spiritual presence in others, and in all of His Creation. God is intoxicating!
Freedom and Assurance
I saved the best for last. Because I am with God I am free. I am liberated from self-defeating and dangerous habits. I want to take good care of myself, because God takes care of me. I no longer worry about problems that come my way, and I certainly don't overeat for emotional relief anymore. I love dancing, working-out, singing and playing because God gave me a wonderful body. I can live with my limitations, and I love myself, because I am God's guy. Weight loss and maintenance is joyous, not depressing.
I am assured that all is OK with me, no matter what may come, or how tangled I may get in my own limited thinking. I surrender to God, and I am always shown the way. I make the decision over and over again, all day, day-after-day, to only do God's will, not mine alone, and I am always OK. God's hand is strong, and His presence is Divine.
It may be hard to believe, but there's absolutely no reason to keep trying to solve your weight problems by yourself. If you could do it on your own, I am sure you would have resolved your problems long ago. It's simple - let go of the weight burden - let down your resistance to a new way - allow liberation and ease to come into your life and watch overweight and obesity become ancient history.
The answer is spiritual weight loss. Ask God for help.
