How I Lost 80 Pounds and Kept It Off

4 practical tips we gleaned from God’s Word to keep off the weight.

It’s been a little over two years since I lost 80 pounds. (My wife was able to lose over 50!) Though I fluctuate a bit, I thank God I’ve been able to keep the weight off.  (My wife, too!)

Today, I want to share with you 4 practical tips from God’s Word that have helped us to lose the weight and keep it off.

1. You can’t live off sugar: Many Americans today literally live off sugary drinks and processed carbs (which is basically sugar). This is not good. Try building your weekly diet on more wholesome carbs, like Ezekiel bread and sweet potatoes. Pick a strategy to cut your dependance and your “taste” for refined sugar. My wife and I found the first “phase” of the south beach diet was effective to get us off the white stuff. Grit your teeth. Train your tastebuds. And pay attention to how much better you feel not living on junk food.

Scripture: “It’s not good to eat too much honey, and it’s not good to seek honors for yourself.” Proverbs 25:17

2. Find a way to exercise: Not everybody has to weight train six days a week. Find what works for you. My wife and I have gone through several different exercise routines since we first sought to lose the weight in January of 2015. At the present, I am focusing on stretching and core strength. My wife is full-body light weight training. As my friend, Jared Graybeal, of E3 fitness coaching says, “If it comes down to diet or exercise, choose diet”. But exercise is great, and has tons of benefits to help us live more productive lives. That’s why the Bible labels it as a good thing.

Scripture: “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:8

3. Plan “free” meals: The Bible says honey is good, it’s too much honey that’s not good (Proverbs 25:17). It also says God has “given us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). So there’s balance, and a time to enjoy the food we love. Depending how much weight you have to lose, you may not be able to do many “free meals” when you first start. But in “maintenance mode”, my wife and I are able to pretty much eat what we want on weekends. During the week, we don’t keep junk food at the house and do our best to eat clean, but we still love going out to eat. To me, free meals are just as important as clean meals. Just like there is “binge eating”, I think there’s “binge dieting”. Both are compulsive and often short-lived.

Scripture: “My child, eat honey, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste.” Proverbs 24:13

4. Find what works for you: Seek wisdom. Remember, there’s a weight range you should stay within. Don’t obsess over a number, because you fluctuate based on water weight and other things. Use a BMI calculator online to check your ideal weight to give you an idea of where you should be. There’s tons of great programs to lose weight. Also, maintaining your ideal weight looks different for everybody. My wife and I have found we both require slightly different plans. So pray over it. In this way, your weight loss endeavors will be about more than the outside man; they’ll be spiritual—developing self-control and disciple within you.

Scripture: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” James 1:5

Me and Christina in 2014. Our weight had reached it max during the tough years of church planting.