Have you ever felt stuck in trying to overcome your weight loss struggles because you don’t know which direction to take or doubt your ability to reach your goals?
These are common challenges that I hear from my clients. In fact, a lack of direction is something I faced in my 30-pound weight loss and chronic gastrointestinal upset, and a key reason why I became a nutrition and fitness coach. Knowing the struggle, I wanted to help other women save time and frustration and simplify the process for you!
As a woman of faith, I also know that when we turn to God for answers, it makes the journey easier. In this blog, I’ll explain common weight loss struggles and share a few tips from a faith-based perspective to help you feel more capable of achieving a healthy body and mind.
1.Weight Loss Struggles #1: Lack of Self-Confidence/Self-Doubt
Let’s start with the challenge of doubting your ability to reach your goals, or a lack of self-confidence that gets in the way of weight loss and healthy living.
I’ve had clients tell me that one of their biggest fears is not being able to achieve their weight loss or health goal. Maybe they’ve tried before and lost but then re-gained weight. Or feel discouraged because they used to be fit but had a physical ailment get in the way and now are not sure they can get back to the same fitness level. Perhaps they want to start exercising but aren’t sure what to do at the gym, so they don’t go at all, or only use the treadmill. And of course, many people struggle with knowing what to eat with so many conflicting ideas and fad diets out there.
However, if you start from a place of doubt, you’re already starting at a disadvantage. If, deep down, you think you can’t reach your goal, then you’ll probably continue to make choices that lead confirm your belief.
Instead, work on taking every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). You CAN control your thoughts with the help of Holy Spirit. It’s important to recognize that those negative thoughts do not reflect your worth or value! And you can stop them when they start to creep in. Instead, remind yourself that you CAN lose weight and get healthier, and that, while it may not happen as quickly as you’d like, it can happen eventually.
Imagine that you have already achieved your goal. Close your eyes and envision how you’d feel. What would you act like, think, do, and believe if you were already the version of you that had reached your goal? Start acting/speaking/thinking like her now. It may sound weird, but this does work if you focus throughout your day. It’s a bit of a “fake it till you make it” situation, and you may be surprised how when you act like the version of you that you want to be, how much confidence can grow and change will happen.
Would future and fit you go to the gym daily, not worrying about what other people think? Then start doing that. Would she speak and walk more confidently when shopping for clothes? Then start acting that way now. Would she veggies over French fries, even if she prefers French fries? Then make that choice now. However, this requires perseverance. Too many people give up too soon when things don’t come as easily or quickly as they hoped. It’s the people who keep trying, pushing, and working at it who succeed.
This is something I talk about in my 6 Weeks to Renewal Online Course. It’s a faith-based weight loss and health program with weekly teaching videos and downloadable resources, a meal plan, and workout plan to help you renew your mind and habits to reach your health and weight loss goals.
2. Weight Loss Struggle #2: The Stress-Weight-Gain Cycle
The self-doubting thoughts and desire to lose weight can create stress, whether you feel it or not.
Add to that the stress of potentially having a negative body image, compounded by societal pressures of unrealistic beauty standards. This creates a recipe for anxiety which may lead to emotional eating that can cause weight gain…which then leads back to stress and depression, making it even harder to develop healthy habits and ultimately sabotaging your weight loss goals. And this can all perpetuate self-doubt and keep you stuck.
This stress-weight gain cycle can be a challenging pattern to break. But why?
When you’re under stress, your body releases hormones such as cortisol, which can increase cravings for unhealthy foods and lead to emotional eating. This can contribute to weight gain, further exacerbating feelings of stress and negative body image, which can lead to thoughts like “what’s the point in trying?”
Overcoming societal pressures and learning to see yourself as capable, strong, and beautiful may sound cliché, but it’s an essential part of the journey. When you feel less stressed about losing weight and embrace a better body image—just as you are—you’re more likely to succeed. Reducing stress not only helps you feel better mentally, but makes it easier for your body to manage weight effectively.
It’s more helpful to focus on building healthy habits and working on the things you can control. Because you can’t control the scale, but you CAN control what you eat, how often you exercise, how much water you drink, how much sugar you consume; and to some extent how much sleep you get and how well you manage stress.
3. Weight Loss Struggles #3: Lack of Direction
Even with the right mindset and self-confidence, you won’t get very far if you don’t know where you’re going or how to get there.
Navigating your health journey without knowing how to get to your goals is like setting sail on the ocean, hoping to get to Hawaii without a map. No matter how badly you want to get there, or how strong your sails or determined your crew, you likely won’t arrive without a plan. And this is why most people never reach their health or weight loss goals. They’re just aimlessly trying one thing or the other, hoping something works. This is where a program, a coach, and/or lots of research come in.
Just like God doesn’t expect us to do our faith journey alone or without instruction through his Word, we shouldn’t expect to do our health or weight loss journey alone.
I learned a lot about weight loss and health through research and trial and error, but I would never have arrived at my goal weight or improved gut health without help! I had personal trainers who helped create plans, taught me, guided me, and answered questions; I’ve taken courses to become certified in fitness and nutrition; I went back to school for 4 more years to become a registered dietitian with a master’s degree in nutritional science. I had many teachers, mentors, and fellow dietitians who guided me through my schooling and even now still help me when I come across challenges.
This is why I cannot recommend coaching enough, at least to get you started and then to check in with as needed when you hit obstacles. More on this in the next section on overcoming weight loss struggles….
Tips to Overcome Weight Loss Struggles with God
So, how can we shift our mindset to overcome feelings of low self-esteem, low self-confidence, and societal pressure?
1. Remind yourself that you are a child of God, made with unique gifts and abilities, and designed by God as he saw beautiful and perfect for a purpose. He has given us a Spirit of power and sound mind to lead us into “right” thinking. His opinion is the only one that truly matters in light of eternity. Not Hollywood, or social media influencers, or even your friends. When we get our perspective on this right, it helps calm the stress to conform to society’s ideals and discover who God wants us to be and what he deems as healthy for us. You are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ as Psalm 139:14 says. You are deserving of love and respect just as you are. Read Psalm 139 in scripture and meditate on it, considering how God knit you together in your mother’s womb just the way he wanted you to be.
2. Renew Your Mind. Part of renewing our minds is not conforming to the world’s ideas. It’s spending more time in the Bible and in prayer than on social media, TV, or comparing ourselves to others so that we become transformed and have God’s perspective, not a worldly one that leads to stress and anxiety.
3. Practice gratitude. Each morning, take a moment to thank God for your body and mind and all they do for you. Write down 3 things you love about yourself and 3 things for which you are grateful. This simple practice can spark a change in how you view yourself and your journey. This is why in the 6-weeks to renewal weight loss and health program I have weekly meditations and teachings to help you remember this mindset! The first week of the program focuses on Mindset because it must be where you start your health and weight loss journey if you want to succeed long-term.
4.Meditate on truth from scripture. When you feel the urge to indulge in food to manage stress or negativity, take a pause. Pray for strength and clarity. Philippians 4:13 reminds us, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ This is a powerful reminder that your strength comes from Someone far greater than yourself and your limited willpower. But don’t just pray once. Meditate on scriptures like this all day long. Write them down where you’ll see them over and over. Spend time at the beginning of the day strengthening your mind and spirit before you face battles and temptations so that you’ll be prepared to overcome them.
4.Get Clear Direction. Direction and guidance is one of the main benefits of coaching and education. This is why I created the 6 Weeks to Renewal Weight Loss and Health Online Program and Monthly Group Health Coaching for Women. I love personally coaching other women through their health and weight loss struggles, but I also found that I was repeating a lot of the same information over and over that could be addressed in a course that’s much more affordable than private coaching. The online course is a compilation of some of the most foundational concepts women need to know for starting a health, fitness, and weight loss journey. It’s designed to start anytime and to do at your own pace from the comfort of home! It gives you clear direction with a 6-week meal plan, a detailed workout plan, weekly meditations, weekly teaching videos, and more.
Group coaching is a great place to find additional faith-based support, encouragement, and answers to personal questions with extra education. You can even join and leave the membership anytime. You can learn more and enroll HERE.
Final Thoughts
Remember, your journey is unique; embrace it with patience, perspective, perseverance, and faith. You CAN do this.
