The Biggest Weight Loss Mistake Christian Women Make

It is really easy to get swept up into the latest diet trends and then falling victim to the dieting shame cycle as I like to call it.

The cycle where you start a diet only to make a little mistake and then feel shame and guilt that you couldn’t stick to it.

Most people will tell you that you should just do the plan, but that is not the whole picture.

You should be LEARNING.

Learning what is working with your life. Learning what your body likes. Learning how your body feels its best. learning different foods that you like.

Being healthy is a skill, but sadly people are lead you to believe it is just about trying harder.

Here are my 4 areas to look at to help you to learn and get better at eating healthy:

31 - Look at what the issues your season right now. What are your time constraints. Will you be able to eat at home and bring lunch for every meal? Is that a big change for your lifestyle? The bigger the change the harder it will be. Additionally, if you are on a restrictive diet and have a lot of dietary restrictions in your family and you need to make 3 dinners every night… that might be too much. Adjust the habits that you are looking to implement that are realistic with the time and lifestyle constraints you have now.

2 - Look at whose strength are you relying on? In your own strength, you will always fall short, BUT if you rest in God’s strength, you will always have enough. Just trying harder without Him is login to leave you short.  If God tells us that we can do nothing good apart from Him (John 15:1-11). However, we try to get healthy to have more energy , get off blood pressure medications without Him… it seems a little backwards. He cares about your weight and health because he cares about every area of your life.

3 - Look at your snack options. If you get hungry frequently,  do you have really limited options on your current diet? Some diets are really hard to pack snacks. It may require some extra research or maybe even adjust your diet if there is a not medical reason for your diet. Keep looking for a diet that fits your life and how frequently you like to eat. There is nothing wrong with changing diets or adjusting your boundaries to accommodate your life. You do not need to feel bad about it or feel like a failure. You are just learning what is working for you.

4 - Look at your events involving food. By this I mean your office, parties and of course eating out. Will your diet hold up? You  can change it a bit for the season, so you keep being healthy in a realistic way if you have a lot of events coming up. If you always have events or have to travel you need to have a diet that accommodates your life. This may mean calling restaurants before or even going on a more flexible diet.

There are a lot of options you do not need to be stuck on one diet. Explore and see if one works for your events. You can go on one diet for a season and then go back to a different diet when you have less events.

You do not even need to be a standard “diet” you could just have some boundaries with food in place or even just think about ways to add in healthy food. There is nothing wrong with just have a simple goal. It could be eating 3 servings of fruits and vegetables or even just not eating after a certain time. Learn what limits work for you and what don’t serve you. It will change… so your plan and strategy will change too.

<3 Jessica