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God, Diet and Exercise
By Gale Stephens
Guest Column
I couldn’t believe it! It
was like I woke up and was living inside a dream. It was
December 2012 as the family prepared for the holidays and
holiday eating. I passed by a mirror and thought to myself,
“Who is that? It can’t be me!”
I looked unhappy, I felt
unhappy and I weighed 255 pounds.
Yes, you read that
correctly, I weighed 255 pounds. I am five feet, six inches
tall and according to Fitness Magazine, my target weight is
not more than 150 pounds with a body mass index of 24
percent. According to the Department of Public Health, a
5’6” woman is overweight at 155 pounds, obese at 186 pounds
and extremely obese at 247 pounds. I topped all those
charts.
My body mass index was 42
percent. At that moment, I set my goals at 158 pounds. That
would build a new me, new attitude, new dress, new
self-esteem. And to do it, I would need my G.E.D.
I knew it was time to do
something about my weight. I noticed how I had begun to feel
sluggish and lazy all day long. My typical schedule after
work was eat, lie on the couch and eat some more. I was
doing nothing for my mental or physical health. And I was
just going through the motions of my daily life and not
really living or enjoying life.
One night I had a
difficult time trying to fall and stay asleep. Constantly
thinking about how I looked and felt being overweight caused
me to toss and turn all night. In my mind I would remember
overhearing people say that they were in danger of having
high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes from their
excessive weight. “I don’t want that, either!” I exclaimed,
jumping out of my bed. I began to add up the pros and cons
of holding onto this extra weight.
Con Pro
Obesity
Sweets are a treat
Heart Disease
Diabetes
Broken Bones
Lazy Feeling Daily
Sluggish Feeling Daily
Low Self Esteem
It was easy to see that
the weight had to come off. And I had to start immediately.
I mustered up the last bit of energy I could and prayed hard
for my health. I asked God to help me by giving me the
strength and power to lose the obesity weight.
I had to find a way to get
rid of the weight that would be fun for me. I love to dance.
I began Urban Ballroom and Steppin classes. I quickly began
to lose a lot of calories. With my newfound energy, I added
mall walking to my routine. I would walk around the mall
five times. Then, more energy came to me, so I added a gym
membership. I faithfully went to the gym five times a week.
My routine included sit-ups, side bends and a lot of cardio.
I especially enjoyed lifting weights! I finally had exercise
built into my daily routine. And I was loving it. The next
step was to fix my eating habits.
I changed my bad eating
habits and started seeking healthy food alternatives. A
typical new daily meal plan consisted of:
Breakfast: One boiled egg,
toast, turkey bacon and juice
Lunch: Salad, soup, fruit
and water
Dinner: Broiled, baked
chicken or fish with green beans or corn, small baked potato
I drank a lot of water –
at least eight glasses a day, sometimes more. I told myself
repeatedly that I could do this. My in-between meal snacks
were dry fruit and veggies. I tried the television
commercial diet plans, diet drinks, purchased meals, etc.
but none of those worked for me. A friend told me I could
lose all the weight at one time is I did bariatric surgery.
I said, “NO WAY!” I was quite afraid of surgery. And surgery
didn’t help me put the weight on, so surgery won’t help me
get it off.
By the grace of God I
stuck to my plan because it was working well for me. I was
looking better, feeling better; I was smiling more and I was
enjoying meeting new friends at dance practice, events and
at the gym. After only two months I had lost 25 pounds. My
fellow gym members were so proud of me. Their enthusiasm for
my success inspired me even more. I continued to be thankful
for each and every moment in my life. I continued to pray
for strength and to keep going.
I was feeling better every
day, more motivated each and every month. I stuck to my plan
and in the end I had lost a total of 100 pounds from the end
of 2012 to the beginning of 2014! It was truly a blessing
from God.
Losing weight does not
start with a diet or exercise. It starts with believing that
you deserve to be healthy and you can do this on your own.
The secret is you have to stick with it, no matter what
others say. You just have to do it. I found our through my
faithfulness that I truly could do anything through Christ
which strengthens me (Philippian’s 4:13). I am now learning
to maintain me weight-loss. And loving my lifestyle being a
healthy, happy and fit me!
So ladies, when you look
in the mirror and you don’t like what you see, then it’s
time to get your G.E.D.
G
= It was all God
E
= Being Faithful during Exercise
D
= Changed Diet Forever
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