The next minute I felt the collapse of the rounded legs as they slowly lowered me to the ground.
The World Holds Its Breath
Even though I’m sure the sight of a 430-pound woman sitting atop a pile of metal was funny, all laughter stopped. The world held its collective breath as my uncle jumped up to help me.
Being super morbidly obese I always tried to blend into the wallpaper and not make more of a spectacle of myself than I already was.
This day, the proverbial cat was let out of the bag. I was fat, really fat. I broke lawn chairs like twigs. I couldn’t be trusted to sit anywhere.
My uncle brought me a sturdy dining room chair, which I eyed suspiciously. My aunt patted my arm and told me it was fine. She never liked that old chair anyway.
My Shame
I was embarrassed and ashamed for the rest of the day. I didn’t dare eat the three platefuls I would have normally eaten at lunch. I took only one piece of cake though I’d love to have piled my plate with the four other desserts as well.
I know I have a problem. I deny it constantly. I try to push my shame and guilt under the rug, but this day I cannot ignore the obvious.
I was a really good Christian. I had never tasted an alcoholic beverage except that one time a “friend” put a little vodka in my orange juice just so I couldn’t say I’d never drank alcohol before. I had never done drugs, smoked cigarettes, had sex before marriage, gone to an x-rated movie, watched or listened to pornography. I went to church every Sunday. I taught Sunday School and small groups. I worked in ministry. And I was a glutton.
Pastors don’t talk about such things because they like their sweets and breads as much as I did. Mine was the acceptable sin I didn’t have to worry about.
Until I began to break chairs and the cardiac surgeon told me my body was too big for my heart and I would be dead in five years if I didn’t lose a minimum of 100 pounds and keep it off.
God’s Plan for Me
This was my life 20 years ago. Today, I’ve lost more than 250 pounds.
For years when I would pray about my weight issue God would give me a plan. Stop eating sugar. Eat more lean meat, vegetables and fruit. Stop eating so much bread.
I could never get past step one. I thought I would die without sugar. Truth is, I was dying with sugar.
The light bulb moment came when I was listening to a former alcoholic tell his story. He mentioned that alcohol is liquid sugar. Then it hit me, if an alcoholic can get free by not drinking alcohol, maybe I can get free by not eating sugar.
All my life I had wished my problem was alcohol instead of food. My reasoning was an alcoholic could stop drinking alcohol because it is not necessary to survival. However, I can’t stop eating because I have to eat to survive.
I Am A Sugar Addict
Understanding that processed sugar is my enemy gave me the final motivation to follow what God had been telling me for 30 years. So I did. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt I was a sugar addict. There wasn’t a question in my mind.
There also was not a question as to whether this was God’s direction. As I looked back through my journals, I saw the same plan. God had given it to me at least five times in three decades. I had heard God. I just hadn’t followed Him.
When I began to walk out what I knew was His plan, I felt His wind at my back propelling me forward to health and wholeness. It’s from this place I can minister. It’s from this place I can complete my assignment here on earth. It’s from this place I can live.
Although I have had situations where I have strayed, they are short-lived and I always come back to what I know is right for me.
Real Freedom
In this place of obedience, there is freedom, real freedom. It’s not just flowery words. It is real honest-to-goodness, I-feel-it-down-in the-tips-of-my-toes freedom.
When I go to a family gathering today, I am not pulled towards the desserts. I eat fruit, vegetables, salad and meat. I make sure there are those choices because I bring them myself. Honestly, processed sugar is not something I want to eat today.
Overeating is a sin when we do it in direct rebellion to what God is leading us to do. It enslaves the same as any other lifestyle that is contrary to His best for us here on earth.
There was no greater sugar addict than I was. I never thought I could give it up. By myself I couldn’t, but with God’s help and the help of a coach and a group I was able to step into and discover real freedom from my addiction.
It’s the reason I write articles and books, deliver podcasts, speak and coach. My message is simple: Jesus brings freedom when we follow Him completely. There is nothing that tastes as good as the freedom that Christ brings. Nothing.
Join me on the journey. It’s time.

Teresa Shields Parker is a Christian weight loss author, coach, podcaster and speaker, who has lost more than 250 pounds and kept it off since 2013.
Her books include: “Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds and Stopped Trying to Earn God’s Favor”; “Sweet Surrender: Breaking Strongholds”; “Sweet Journey to Transformation: Practical Steps to Lose Weight and Live Healthy”; “Sweet Freedom: Losing Weight and Keeping It Off With God’s Help”: “Sweet Change: True Stories of Transformation”; “Sweet Hunger: Developing an Appetite for God”, and her most recent book, “Sweet Excuses: Stop Lying to Yourself & Start Losing Weight”.
She also offers Overcomers Christian Weight Loss Academy and VIP one-on-one coaching program, more information on both is available under the weight loss tab. Don’t miss her weekly podcast, Sweet Grace for Your Journey, where she shares tips from her personal journey of losing weight and discovering healthy living. Find that under the podcast tab and anywhere you find podcasts.
Good morning Teresa,
I don’t have a 200lb problem, but I do have a weight problem. 40lbs feel like 400lbs. Like you, I’m addicted to sugar. I prayed and asked God to set me free from this prison I’m in. I’ve asked him to bless me with a treadmill because I dont like going to gyms. I’m waiting patiently for his provision for one…..I will use it!
Thank you for your encouragement!
Petra
Have you taken my free course #KickSugar? If not please do that. It’s under the Free tab here on the website. Also signup on the waitlist for Overcomers Academy which will open on Jan. 30. When you signup you will be notified when the join button is live.
We will be going through Journey to Transformation course which will also help tremendously with laying down the sugar.
I can so identify I distinctly remember breaking two chairs and it didn’t stop me from eating. One was a plastic chair with arms I completely ruined and the other was a wobbly wooden chair. As soon as I was about to say I think this chair…. I was sitting on a pile of wood so embarrased. It still didn’t stop me from eating. I just was completely hooked and didn’t know how to get out! Thank you for being so candid and showing me the way out! Slowly I am finding my way out of what I created and moving forward towards real freedom!
Wanda, God is so gracious to help us. We don’t have to get out all by ourselves!
That story was a hard one to tell in public, but it happened in public so why should I hide it. Remembering it always helps me also remember why I never want to go back there again.