| No, I’m not talking about the e. coli outbreak at various Taco Bells in 2006. It’s far more serious than that. What I experienced was the excruciating pain that only a broken taco shell can cause as it scraped and tore its way down my esophagus, wreaking havoc from mouth to belly. |
It still hurts to swallow.
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After much consideration, I have decided to withdraw my membership from one of the largest weight-loss megacenters in the industry. I personally think that Weight Watchers is the best way to re-learn (or for many people, learn for the first time) proper nutrition, portion control, exercise, and developing a healthy lifestyle. I am far from perfecting the healthy lifestyle thing, and I am far from my “goal weight.” However, I feel that I have learned the basics, and I can implement them on a daily basis without paying $40 a month to go step on a scale.
I believe that we all need support. I believe the statistics that people who go to meetings lose more weight and keep it off longer. I had almost convinced myself that I would be willing to pay $40 a month for the rest of my life so I would have that community. But the truth is, that’s not really the community I need any more. I need people who believe, and can say in public, that God is sovereign, that he can and has already delivered us from our infirmities, and there is hope in Jesus. I have that community through my local church and to a much larger extent, the entire Body of Christ. I also have a great cloud of witnesses rooting me on.
I believe God cares about weight loss, because he cares for me and all his kids, and being overweight is causing lots of physical and emotional problems. Not to mention I am not treating my body the way I should, knowing that it is a temple and the Holy Spirit lives there.
I know I am not alone. It’s up to me to find the support I need. And it’s up to me to renew my mind daily and not focus on myself so much that weight loss becomes the end all and be all of my existence. The truth is, the more I obsess over it, the worse off I am. When I just focus on my daily routine, which includes eating healthy and exercising, I’m okay.
I’m learning that healthy living is hard work. You have to do pay attention to it. It’s more than eating. It’s taking care of your household. Keeping up with your finances. Developing healthy relationships. Keeping short accounts with God, and worshiping him in all things.
So even though it’s a little scary letting go of my security blanket, I think I’m ready.