"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness." Matthew 23:27

I don't know about you, but the people pleaser in me wants to fly past the hard truth, so I don't have to feel uncomfortable.

My current motto, though:
"Discomfort is the price of love, joy, peace, patients, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and SELF-CONTROL."

That means I need to get uncomfortable and really take the time to look at verses such as this one in Matthew.

I was recently listening to a podcast in which the presenter used the metaphor of "whitewashed tomb".

Instantly, my mind went to, "That's what it was like to lose weight without God!"

I had to look up if a whitewashed tomb is used elsewhere in the Bible. It is, and when it is used, it all refers to hypocrisy (funny that is the exact word used at the beginning of the verse ;).

So, the researcher in me had to look u...

“It’s been a long, rough day. I need a treat.”

You proceed to your chocolate stash. You know the one.  The secret place the kids can’t reach, and your husband wouldn’t find because it’s behind the big mixing bowl that he never uses.  

Then you grab one, no, actually it’s a three-chocolate kind of day.  

Off to the couch, you sit. 

You scroll through your FB feed. 

You’re about to open Instagram, but you realize the chocolate you took is gone already. Really?! You deserve one more after the day you’ve had. Up, you hop and grab two more.

Oops! A little one saw you put something in your mouth. 

Abort!

Is this just me?

No? Oh, good! Can you relate?

Whew.

I thought I was the only one the enemy was whispering this LIE too.

Because that’s what it is. 

It’s a lie. “I deserve a treat.”  

A lie the enemy loves to have you believe so that you keep turning to food rather than God.

It seems innocent enough.

There is nothing outright evil about it.

But that’s how Satan work...

When was the last time you thought one of the following:

• "A few extra chips won't matter."
• "I've been good all week, I deserve those cookies."
• "It's important not to restrict yourself. Everything in moderation, right??"

I know I've caught myself saying these things.

We don't take into account when we believe these thoughts are that there's momentum behind them.

If you've been following your plan all week, you've started building up momentum. If you've been creating boundaries for your temple and honoring them, you've begun building momentum.

Straying from your plan on the weekend is like hitting the brakes on your progress.

Every little, seemingly minor decision you make has an effect -- and that effect compounds over time.

You can be compounding momentum to living out God's good plan for your life or compounding momentum to staying stuck in the enemy's deception.

All the little decisions you've been making determine the results you have right now - wanted and unwanted. 

"So, I saw you're doing no flour/no sugar. I thought I have heard you say you don't do "diets." Why are you promoting this diet?"

This is what someone asked me last week.

Let me explain.

There are two types of diets.

We are all on the first kind of diet. This diet is just a way, a pattern of consuming fuel.

The other diet has come from the weight loss industry. That diet is a particular selection of food, especially as designed or prescribed, to improve a person's physical condition (dictionary.com).

One is a lifestyle. The other is a set of rules.

When I coach women to lose weight, I help them with their diet. NOT as a prescribed set of rules though.  I don't tell them what they need to eat/drink, I just give them information to make their own choices. My main goal is to support them in making small lifestyle changes that they love, maintain, and promote a healthy weight.

Most people think of no flour/ no sugar as a set of rules to lose weight. They focus on what they ca...

You alone created my inner being. You knitted me together inside my mother. I will give thanks to you because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made. Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this. Psalm 139: 13-14

God created us. The same God that created galaxies and coral reefs.

That means we are all different, unique. Something that might resonate with a friend might not resonate with you.

My goal is to help Christian women lose weight so they can live out God’s good plan. Not for them to be stuck in frustration and shame.

So, I want to help you find what will work and resonate with the unique creation of YOU.

I’ve been doing a lot of research lately into other Christian weight loss programs.  I have dug into the material and looked at the biblical confirmation of their philosophies and programs.  

From this research, I want to give you my top 4 recommendations of other programs/people offering Christian weight loss. All of these provide excellent re...

I don’t know how to start this post. Just being honest.

There might be a chance I have written this as more of a reminder to myself...

Even so, these are really helpful for you too!

Let’s just dive in….

Write Out Scripture

Did you know writing sharpens the brain and increases comprehension? 

Have you ever noticed that when you’re reading scripture, your mind starts to wander, and you end up re-reading passages over and over again?

Writing aids in the solution to this problem.

By fully engaging the brain with writing, we can grasp concepts and Truths from the Bible that we may miss by just reading.

Besides the learning and memory with writing, when it comes to self-care, writing slows us down and calms us.

It activates the part of the brain that helps us focus and “de-clutter” our thoughts. It has even been compared to meditation when it comes to the calming effect it has on our emotions. 

Dance

This is the one that is hardest for me to get started (because I am...

Let's dive into where we left off last week...

The root of your problem with lasting weight loss:

Why do you eat more fuel than your body needs?
Not what, not how, not when, but WHY.

Weight loss is and isn’t complicated.

Yes, we are all made very unique. That means our bodies thrive, eating, moving, and living in different ways. 

And, that’s why we make it complicated; most of us try to mimic someone else's success, expecting it will work for us.

It isn’t complicated because the extra weight just means excess fuel (food) stored as fat.

If you are overweight, it’s because you have consumed more fuel than your body needs.

Period.

No matter how many calories you eat. No matter if you stick to your macros or eat a certain amount of fat.

None of these matters if you have overeaten fuel.

Simple.

Then why is it so hard to lose weight?

The world tells you it’s about WHAT you eat.

NOT TRUE! (You can eat cake and ice cream and still lose weight. Harder? Yes, but can be don...

One thing I loved about nursing was the puzzle. Each patient walking in my door was a mystery I had to unearth and sort out.

They would list of symptoms they were having, and I had to attribute each on to some cause. Is the dizziness from a medication, inner ear problem, or some more dangerous like bleeding internally?

Each day meant digging to find the root problems. If I find and manage the cause of the problem, either the issue would worsen, or it would come back for the patient.

I guess mainstream, commercial weight loss isn’t concerned about the source of the problem.

Did you know that approximately 90-95% of people that lose weight gain it back again? Not just what they lost either. Dieters end up gaining back more.

Is it staggering, right?

My mental nursing alarm is beeping like crazy at this information!

What does this mean?

Something is wrong!

How do we have so many weight loss options out there, but no real, lasting solution?

Simple.

We haven’t got to the root o...

There's one thing stopping you from losing your weight. 

• It's not your crazy schedule. 
• It's not your husband's grocery shopping.
• It's not being stuck at home or stuck at work.
• It's not even you eat a whole pint of ice cream in one sitting (believe me, I've still lost weight and done this)

 Wanna know what it is? 

 It's a lie. A lie believed to be true. 

 Something like, "Forget it. I can't lose weight." 

The moment you think "I can't" is the moment you have to STOP. You need to stop and understand what's really going on.

 You need some Truth.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil." (Proverbs 3:5-7)

The truth: God gave you a gift of free will. Just like Eve had a choice in the garden, we still have a choice every minute of every day. Those moments seem so insignificant, but they're no...

The hardest part of losing weight, even maintaining my healthy weight is being still.

Yes, you read that right.

Maybe you’re a little confused right now, saying, “I thought I needed to move more. Why would I want to be still?”

I’m not talking about my body, even though it transfers there.

I’m talking about my thoughts.

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

The stillness of the mind. 

What I wouldn’t give to let my thoughts rest.

You know the struggle. 

There are many memes out there about this…

“I started making some lunch, walked out of the kitchen, sat on the couch, and thought, ‘Wow. I’m hungry. I should start making some lunch.’”

Or

"I don’t have ducks. Or a row. I have squirrels, and they’re everywhere."

While there may be some physical or hormonal changes that sometimes contribute to disordered thinking, there is another influence that many don’t talk about.

Avoiding feeling.

It’s something I am consistently struggling with.

Why is feeling so har...