My Body is a Temple

Today I cataloged a book titled, “The Real Skinny on Weight Loss Surgery” and as I browsed through, I wondered, why would anyone want to do such a thing? The authors of the book had “positive” experiences and success with their gastric surgery, but write about the nightmares and negative experiences of others in an effort to educate readers on what to do to have a successful surgery. As I thumbed through the first few chapters, I learned about the side effects, after effects and assembly line facilities and my question remained. I realize we live in a society that is obsessed with weight, but to alter what God created to lose weight is beyond my comprehension. I realize there are people who have struggled since childhood with this issue, but there has got be a better way.

I’ve always been a bit on the “thick” side and a few times I’ve been downright chubby, so I know what it’s like to be depressed and discouraged about having excess weight. I also know what it is like to be “skinny”, although it was for a relatively short time, and I can honestly say, if life sucks when you’re fat, no amount of weight loss will cause the suckiness to disappear, that comes from within. I remember being a size 7/8 and hating my life. I am now comfortable size 9/10-11/12 and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, what happened? I grew up and realized that happiness comes from within. I try to take care of myself to the best of my ability, that included making a lifestyle change and with that change came weight loss and just a general healthy feeling.

The change began to take place as my faith in God grew. I came across the scripture, Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1st Corinthians 6:19-20 and that changed the way I treated my body. Many times as Christians we choose not to smoke or drink, but neglect to honor our bodies by eating properly and exercising consistently. My first step was to educate myself on what it meant to eat properly. I quickly learned that my diet consisted of too many processed foods and way too much sugar. I also learned that red meat has a lot of saturated fat, so my first steps included eating more whole grains and eliminating red meat from my diet. I knew this was something I couldn’t do overnight, so I did it gradually and it made the transition easier. I started substituting turkey for beef and instead of sugary cereal and muffins for breakfast, I started having oatmeal. Once that change was consistent, I started eating meat once a day. If I had meat in my meal at lunch, I’d prepare a meatless dinner and vice versa. I started drinking my eight glasses of water a day and within a week, my energy level increased. I could see positive changes in my life. Next came the hard part, finding an exercise routine that I could fit in my schedule. My cousin suggested I try Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away the Pounds. One try and I was hooked, I now own at least seven tapes and DVDs which I do faithfully. I try to squeeze in as much exercise as possible and sometimes go for a mile walk on my lunch break, it is such a stress buster. I take my mp3 player and walk and sing the mile away. There are times when I have a hamburger or candy, but I don’t beat myself up. I try to enjoy everything in moderation, too much of anything is not good.

I talk with my mom about my lifestyle change a lot and ask her when she is going to start her new journey. She told me she has to pray about it and I reminded her that prayer without works is dead. As I thumbed through that book this morning, it reminded me that our society is into quick. We want everything instantly, forgetting that anything worth having is worth working for.