How to Never "Start Over" in 2024
Can you make it a whole year and never start over on your weight loss journey?
YES! I know you can!
There is only one way to do it though...
Stop giving up.
That’s it.
Because the truth is, if you never “give up” you never have to "start over".
But what does not give up look like?
PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY... IT'S NOT BEING PERFECT!
What is it then?
Faith and action.
“The only thing that counts is FAITH expressing itself through love” Galatians 5:6b
Faith = trusting in God and His good plan. Then living it out through acts of love.
Think about it. When have you given up in the past?
- Not seeing results “fast” enough or the result you wanted (i.e. the scale goes up)
- Taking an action that you’re disappointed you took (i.e. having a binge)
- Being filled with doubt that you are capable
- Becoming distracted and ignoring the initial commitment you made to yourself
All these come down to a lack of faith and love.
Faith is believing that God has the perfect results planned in the perfect timing as long as you keep showing up and taking consistent, loving action.
So even when you don’t see the results you wanted, when you wanted them, you lean into God’s plan, not yours.
When you don’t act out of love, you turn back to the grace that God so freely gives, knowing you will never do this perfectly. You go back to remember why God called you to take this loving action in the first place.
It’s kind of like being in the grocery store and getting stuck behind that super slow cart pusher, frustrating, right? But you don’t just throw your hands up, leave your cart full of food, quit, and go home! No. You move around them, or take a deep breath to slow down, or find a way to help them to get their items in that aisle faster and keep going to get the shopping done.
You don’t just give up.
And you don’t give up because you know the mission. You know that no grocery store trip is perfect, there will be inconsiderate shoppers, out-of-stock items, rude checkout attendants, squeaky carts, and all sorts of setbacks along the way, and they are all part of the process of getting to what you need to get accomplished.
The same is true with any weight loss or health goal.
But, if you’re like most women, you probably have less patience and more expectations for a PERFECT process. One that follows your timeline and has you do everything just the way you expect to.
And that is why you keep quitting.
And the enemy LOVES this.
He shows up whispering lies like…
- “I’m not seeing results fast enough, so I’m gonna give up.”
- “I’ll never reach my goal, so I might as well quit.”
- “I’ll never be good enough, so I won’t even try.”
If you take those beliefs and put them in any other context, would they be true? Would you allow your kids to believe these about their goals?
No.
So, what might happen if you believe God’s truth instead? Like…
- God always has good plans for my life. My goal is good, but God’s plan is even better.
- God has perfect timing. My timeline might actually be a detriment to me.
- I’m not meant to do this on my own and be enough. God wants to do this with me and provide me with the strength I need. I just need to invite Him into this journey.
What you, and I, need to remind ourselves…
Losing weight will NEVER happen the way YOU expect it to.
That’s a GOOD thing. It grows your faith and resilience if you choose to respond with LOVE when those expectations aren't met!
The most loving way to respond to every bump along the way… to keep going. To keep trying and doing the best you can AND NOT GIVING UP.
All that means is taking even the SMALLEST LOVING action.
It might look like just drinking more water. That's it. But that can be just what God can use to build the momentum back.
Think about this, a month from now you can look back and feel proud of the loving action you kept taking no matter what OR look back in regret wishing you hadn’t given into every excuse the enemy threw at you.
It doesn’t mean in a month you’ll see the results YOU expected… no, that’s trying to take control of what’s God’s. It just means you focused on what’s in YOUR control; faith and loving acts.
There will always be progress when you focus on just those two things.
P.S. If you’re tired of the start-over cycle, check out my FREE Facebook group, Encouraging Christian Weight Loss, which will guide you to keep taking LOVING action from faith.
