I have lost 65 pounds over the past year. That’s all the baby weight, plus some – That’s not record breaking, I know, but it is enough to have me feeling great. It’s also enough for other people to notice. I’m not a weight loss expert, but I did have a few ideas for a couple of blog posts that address the most common questions people ask me.

What did you do? 

In a nutshell: For most of the year, I have been following the principles outlined in Rick Warren’s book The Daniel Plan. The Daniel Plan is a healthy lifestyle program founded on biblical principle.  The Daniel Plan teaches a step-by-step approach and offers simple ways to incorporate healthy choices into your current lifestyle. Throughout the program you are encouraged to rely on God’s power, and the application of dependable biblical principles.

The Daniel Plan is working for me (and my family) because it just makes a lot of sense – eating the healthy foods God created, moving the body God gave me, while using all of it to point back to God.

You see, I have always had a deep desire to overindulge. In my past, I overindulged in substances. In my “good” life, it has been with food. I had lost some weight previously, but pregnancies and dealing with unresolved pain from my past contributed to me adding 60 pounds. I ate instead of dealing with issues because I felt like I “deserved” it. I was like the people described in Isaiah 5:18 who were facing sorrow because they “drag their sin behind them with ropes made of lies.”

God made it very clear to me that he wanted my whole life and all aspects of it. 1 Corinthians 6:19 became very clear to me: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” For me, that meant to trust the Lord not just with my heart, but with my health. More importantly, I have finally cut off those ropes of lies that were weighing me down. When I am feeling empty, I don’t overindulge on food to fill what seems like a bottomless void – I run to God who gives me more than I ever could have asked for.

Check back tomorrow for Weight Loss Series Part #2 – You can’t out-exercise a bad diet!