I Can’t. Those two words should be erased from our vocabularies because they are an excuse that keeps us stuck. This is true whether it is trying to change a flat tire, balancing a budget, forgiving a spouse or losing weight. If we start with the excuse of I can’t, then where else is there to go? We’ve just slammed the door on any forward motion.
I get it. I really do. When talking about losing weight and keeping it off, that is not an easy task. It’s difficult and for some people it feels impossible. However, the statement of I can’t lose weight, at least for me, was just an excuse. It was not the truth.
When I weighed 430 pounds I really thought I couldn’t lose weight because I had been on so many diets. Any diet that came along I’d try it. Some didn’t work for me at all. A few worked for me to lose weight, but I couldn’t keep it off because my craving for sugar would always kick in when I reached a goal and felt I needed a reward for a job well done. Of course, this just propelled me towards gaining weight again because I would just go back to eating what I wanted when I wanted it.
No More Diets
I was tired of diets, even tired of Christian-based programs. None of the ones I tried worked because they were just another diet. They didn’t address the core issues of why I was overeating in the first place. So I figured I was too far gone and that no one could help me with the level of food issues I had.
I didn’t understand then that I was a sugar addict. I just thought I loved food. Didn’t everybody? Why can some people eat sugar and not gain weight and if I just look at sugar I gained several pounds?
The devil had me right between the crosshairs and his hand was on the trigger. Friends, it’s extremely scary for me to say this but I know the evil one wanted me gone and was doing a good job of causing it to happen. At one point in my life I actually thought that if I couldn’t eat foods made with sugar and flour I didn’t want to live but I also didn’t want to live at the weight I was. I was stuck.
Obesity Kills
I am going to tell it to you straight. Being obese, morbidly obese and especially super morbidly obese can kill you. At one time I felt like I would take that chance if I could just keep eating what I wanted to eat. I felt I couldn’t lose weight if it meant I could no longer eat foods made with sugar. I would rather die.
I really want us to understand more about the devil’s agenda. He knows what God can do with us when break free of food addiction and begin to help others. So he tries everything he can to keep us in bondage to the foods we love. I hate the fact that I actually allowed food to control me. In essence it became my god because I wanted it more than I wanted God’s presence in my life.
Everything changed when my mentor said, “Alcohol is one molecule away from sugar. Alcohol is liquid sugar.” His statement hit me like a ton of bricks because my dad’s side of the family was comprised of many alcoholics and I’d promised Dad I’d never be an addict.
Sugar Controlled Me
After hearing what my mentor said that I was like an alcoholic only with sugar. Since I’d never heard of sugar addiction I asked him, “Can a person be addicted to sugar?”
He said, “You can be addicted to anything that controls you.” That was it for me. I knew I was sugar addict because sugar controlled me.
What I needed to do, what need to do, is described in Ephesians 4:22-24 TPT “Let go of the lifestyle of the ancient man, the old self-life, which was corrupted by sinful and deceitful desires that spring from delusions. Now it’s time to be made new by every revelation that’s been given to you. And to be transformed as you embrace the glorious Christ-within as your new life and live in union with Him! For God has re-created you all over again in His perfect righteousness, and you now belong to Him in the realm of true holiness.”
God’s Freedom Plan
God tells us in John 8:32, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” In the MSG version it says, “You will experience the truth and truth will free you.” Experience is so much deeper than just knowledge. It’s actually knowing that God will help us on our journeys.
The excuse I can’t lose weight is one we use mainly out of fear. We are afraid we will fail again and then we will be multiple failures. None of us is perfect. We are all humans. We will fail. However, when we quit and we don’t even try, it is like we have ceased to want anything more for ourselves.
This earth is just a training ground. We are here to learn more about how to navigate life in this earth suit. It is specially designed to fail at certain times and we have to learn how to trust God to get us through those times of testing and trials.
The only way to make it through is to rely on His strength and ability to direct us. If we try to figure it out on our own we will certainly fail. However, we trust God to show us what to do, everything might not be the way we want it to be but we will be following God. Throughout all eternity, that’s all that matters.
For Seven Steps out of the I Can’t Lifestyle, listen to podcast episode 140, I Can’t. https://Teresashieldsparker.com/podcast/.
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.