{"id":1752,"date":"2012-07-16T04:17:55","date_gmt":"2012-07-16T08:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondgorgeous\/?p=1752"},"modified":"2012-07-09T09:23:06","modified_gmt":"2012-07-09T13:23:06","slug":"no-you-are-not-hopeless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondgorgeous\/2012\/07\/no-you-are-not-hopeless.html","title":{"rendered":"No, You Are NOT Hopeless!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cYe have not resisted unto blood, striving against sin.\u201d\u00a0 Hebrews 12:4<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI just can\u2019t help it,\u201d a friend told me. \u201cI\u2019ve tried every diet known to man — or woman — and I\u2019ve always failed. God must want me to be fat, for some reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

I understood where she was coming from. I\u2019ve done the diet dance, too.\u00a0 One step forward, two steps back, and a lot of shuffling back and forth getting nowhere.\u00a0 Is it ever hopeless?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think so. True, there are some medical conditions that make losing weight difficult.\u00a0 Low thyroid is one of them.\u00a0 Hormone imbalances are another.\u00a0 If it seems that you just can\u2019t lose weight, it\u2019s worth checking out.<\/p>\n

But for most of us, it\u2019s a matter of wanting to do it badly enough.\u00a0 If someone offered my \u201chopeless case\u201d friend a million dollars if she lost those extra pounds, I bet she would manage it somehow.\u00a0 I would — if it took 40 days of fasting to accomplish it.\u00a0 If a doctor told her that she had a month to live unless she lost the weight, my guess is that she would be finding a way to shed it, pronto.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a matter of wanting to do it badly enough to do what it takes to get there.\u00a0 I\u2019m a tough customer, too, but I have to acknowledge that my problem is more from excusing little \u201cbreaks\u201d from my healthy plan too often, and allowing too many interruptions in my exercise routine. Not to mention my penchant for chowing down on carbs and sugar when I\u2019m upset or depressed. I certainly haven\u2019t tried so hard to stick with the plan that I\u2019m bleeding from resisting temptation!<\/p>\n

My message to you — and to me — is this:\u00a0 It isn\u2019t God\u2019s fault. He doesn\u2019t want us to be fat and unhealthy. In fact, if you are a Christian, you represent Him.\u00a0 How you look reflects on Him.\u00a0 He made your body to be self-healing.\u00a0 It is always trying to get you up to speed and keep you there, whether you know it or not. It\u2019s your job to give it the help it needs by eating low glycemic foods, taking good supplements, and getting regular exercise.<\/p>\n

And it also helps to take your troubles to Him instead of to Dairy Queen.<\/p>\n

If you want that healthy fit body enough, you can have it.\u00a0 It just means working a little harder for a little longer. \u00a0After all, you haven’t yet resisted unto blood!<\/p>\n

Eating to live and living for Christ,<\/p>\n

Susan Jordan Brown<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cYe have not resisted unto blood, striving against sin.\u201d\u00a0 Hebrews 12:4 \u201cI just can\u2019t help it,\u201d a friend told me. \u201cI\u2019ve tried every diet known to man — or woman — and I\u2019ve always failed. God must want me to be fat, for some reason.\u201d I understood where she was coming from. 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