Hello. My name is Chrystal.
And as much as I hate to admit it…
I struggle to exercise discipline with food.
Notice I stayed safely away from words that have “aholic” in it or words that indicate a particular sin.
Funny how we know how to soften the blow of words that paint a clear picture.
And it’s not that I don’t try either. Yes, I struggle…but as I explained in yesterday’s post, it’s the #fatdemon’s fault.
Well, that’s what I tried to convince you of anyway.
But as I was saying when my word count approached the upper limits of the average reader’s attention span…
And believe you me, as the upcoming holiday festivities threaten to commence, that thing is waiting on me and I’m sure will be intent on drawing me in to the heat of battle.
The good news is… I have two weapons at my disposal to use in the struggle.
1) Eat Less.
2) Move More.
If you are like me, you’d rather move than take a smaller plate or eat less of the foods that make your toes curl. Doing something seems so much easier than exercising self-control. And don’t get me wrong. Exercise does matter. But it’s really hard to out-exercise what you put in your mouth.
Any fitness person anywhere that’s worth their salt will deliver the same message. No matter how many hours you log at the gym. Food matters. You are what you eat.
That reality will preach ya’ll. And that is exactly the reality that springs me into a little “sermonette” or lesson for today…
Meals are more important than motion.
In order to beat that #fatdemon, you’ve gotta understand something.
It’s not about as much about what I do as it is about what I’m made of.
What I eat is more important than how much I move.
WHO I AM is more important than WHAT I DO.
While positive change in my physical life can happen by either what I choose to do or what I choose to ingest… what I choose to ingest or take in gets me further faster.
Reminds me of my spiritual life.
In my walk with God, I can see change in my life both by what I choose to do and what I choose to take in… but what I choose to take in will get me further faster.
What does the Word say?
Bottom line: Results on the outside are an overflow of work on the inside.
Does that mean that my works for Christ don’t matter? No! We are urged in scripture to put our bodies to work!
Romans 12:1 clearly says… “Therefore I urge you, brethern, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
The problem is when we think all of our works can replace our worship. BAM!
It takes getting rid of 3500 calories to burn one pound of fat. So I have a choice. I can go to Chick Fil A and have that wonderful sweet tea and crack addictive waffle fries or I can swap the tea for water (saving 130 calories) and grab some fruit instead of fries (saving 340 calories) and be 50 pounds lighter in a year.
500 calories a day. That’s what it takes to burn off a pound a week.
Now granted, I could run for an hour or so every single stinkin’ day. But somehow, I don’t think that’s gonna happen.
Small changes everyday is all it takes to make major changes over time.
Let me say it another way…
When I abide in the Word, spend time in His presence, and take in all that “Jesus goodness”, I will have something to show for it – some kind of reflection in my physical life of the impact God is having in my spirit.
Simply put…abiding results in overflow.
Then, when I do things for God – serve, witness, praying, teaching, etc… I’m exercising, growing, and getting stronger. As I do what Jesus did, I learn to take on His yoke or His responsibilities (Matthew 11:28). I learn to carry more weight.
1 Peter 2:21 says, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps…”
So yes! We are supposed to exercise the faith, suffer, or whatever you want to call it!
But it all starts with WHO I AM.
Doing things for God is good. But ONLY doing things for God is not enough to achieve the desired result of spiritual fitness.
The doing is not the most important thing. The being is. The abiding is.
So let me encourage you as we go into the holiday to not be so busy doing that you don’t have enough time to abide. Be sure and make time to BE in God’s presence so that you are continually changed from the inside out. You will have more victory in your spiritual life starting that way.
And while you are at it, realize that the season where the #fatdemon runs rampant is upon us. Be conscious of the food you take in and try to stay active..
It’s O.K.
I give you permission.
Go ahead. Enjoy the holidays. Savor the season. Eat, drink, and be merry.
But also remember to 1) eat less and 2) move more. Armed with those two weapons there is no reason that you have to lose the battle to your own #fatdemon.
Learn the lesson.
Fight and win.
Remember… if you haven’t already downloaded one or both of the free resources from my site, do so today!
(Click on the links below to receive the downloads!)
Reminders of God’s Love
Kingdom Woman’s Study Guide
And believe you me, as the upcoming holiday festivities threaten to commence, that thing is waiting on me and I’m sure will be intent on drawing me in to the heat of battle.
The good news is… I have two weapons at my disposal to use in the struggle.
1) Eat Less.
2) Move More.
If you are like me, you’d rather move than take a smaller plate or eat less of the foods that make your toes curl. Doing something seems so much easier than exercising self-control. And don’t get me wrong. Exercise does matter. But it’s really hard to out-exercise what you put in your mouth.
Any fitness person anywhere that’s worth their salt will deliver the same message. No matter how many hours you log at the gym. Food matters. You are what you eat.
That reality will preach ya’ll. And that is exactly the reality that springs me into a little “sermonette” or lesson for today…
Meals are more important than motion.
In order to beat that #fatdemon, you’ve gotta understand something.
It’s not about as much about what I do as it is about what I’m made of.
What I eat is more important than how much I move.
WHO I AM is more important than WHAT I DO.
While positive change in my physical life can happen by either what I choose to do or what I choose to ingest… what I choose to ingest or take in gets me further faster.
Reminds me of my spiritual life.
In my walk with God, I can see change in my life both by what I choose to do and what I choose to take in… but what I choose to take in will get me further faster.
What does the Word say?
Bottom line: Results on the outside are an overflow of work on the inside.
Does that mean that my works for Christ don’t matter? No! We are urged in scripture to put our bodies to work!
Romans 12:1 clearly says… “Therefore I urge you, brethern, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
The problem is when we think all of our works can replace our worship. BAM!
It takes getting rid of 3500 calories to burn one pound of fat. So I have a choice. I can go to Chick Fil A and have that wonderful sweet tea and crack addictive waffle fries or I can swap the tea for water (saving 130 calories) and grab some fruit instead of fries (saving 340 calories) and be 50 pounds lighter in a year.
500 calories a day. That’s what it takes to burn off a pound a week.
Now granted, I could run for an hour or so every single stinkin’ day. But somehow, I don’t think that’s gonna happen.
Small changes everyday is all it takes to make major changes over time.
Let me say it another way…
When I abide in the Word, spend time in His presence, and take in all that “Jesus goodness”, I will have something to show for it – some kind of reflection in my physical life of the impact God is having in my spirit.
Simply put…abiding results in overflow.
Then, when I do things for God – serve, witness, praying, teaching, etc… I’m exercising, growing, and getting stronger. As I do what Jesus did, I learn to take on His yoke or His responsibilities (Matthew 11:28). I learn to carry more weight.
1 Peter 2:21 says, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps…”
So yes! We are supposed to exercise the faith, suffer, or whatever you want to call it!
But it all starts with WHO I AM.
Doing things for God is good. But ONLY doing things for God is not enough to achieve the desired result of spiritual fitness.
The doing is not the most important thing. The being is. The abiding is.
So let me encourage you as we go into the holiday to not be so busy doing that you don’t have enough time to abide. Be sure and make time to BE in God’s presence so that you are continually changed from the inside out. You will have more victory in your spiritual life starting that way.
And while you are at it, realize that the season where the #fatdemon runs rampant is upon us. Be conscious of the food you take in and try to stay active..
It’s O.K.
I give you permission.
Go ahead. Enjoy the holidays. Savor the season. Eat, drink, and be merry.
But also remember to 1) eat less and 2) move more. Armed with those two weapons there is no reason that you have to lose the battle to your own #fatdemon.
Learn the lesson.
Fight and win.
Remember… if you haven’t already downloaded one or both of the free resources from my site, do so today!
(Click on the links below to receive the downloads!)
Love it. So thankful for LOL and the many resources available to ingest The word of God so I can abide in Him daily.
Like you said… Simply put…abiding results in overflow.
Thank you so much for your insight into something I’ve struggled with my ENTIRE life: my weight. But as I read this, I realized that my bigger struggle is actually abiding and the fact that I have no idea how! I find that when I even attempt ‘quiet time’, my brain won’t shut down and I get so frustrated I just give up. I long for a fulfilling relationship with Christ instead of the tumultuous one I seem to have now, full of ups and downs constantly. What seems to come so seemingly naturally for others seems far out of my reach. Any suggestions, help, advice – ANYTHING – would be very much appreciated…
Hi Teresa. Glad to know that the post resonated with you. I will blog soon to share about what abiding looks like for me. Thanks for your comment.
[…] I do want to do better. I do want to fight the #fatdemon well and do so to maintain this house, my body, that I’ve been given to walk around in and in […]
[…] Eat less and move more. […]
I’m not even sure I know how I got to your site, it had to be God. I’m struggling intensely with my weight. Since having my back surgery and spine injections, I’m not able to run anymore, in fact walking is now a challenge. I have to use trekking poles to go only one mile 🙁 but I’ve been eating constantly, to numb the pain of everything I’ve lost, and the long lonely days. I struggle with PCOS.. so as you can imagine being insulin resistant I’ve packed on enormous amount of weight. But I feel like God has led me to this post. It does matter what I eat.. and the line you wrote about self-control.. it just really struck me. I want to have the Fruit of the Spirit, however self control I’m lacking especially in the food department. I suppose I could have been considered a binge eater.. for back in the day I’d eat tons.. but then I’d “out” exercise what I ate.. like seriously crazy amounts of running and walking/biking etc.. I spent most of my day working to burn off what I ate, now then I can’t move like I use to anymore, and my life is becoming unmanageable. The weight makes me feel hopeless, then I eat again, and always wrong choices. UGH.. I want to do better. I want to be more disciplined with the food. Please will you pray for me. Thank you so much.