One week after I "got real" I still weighed the same. I felt like a desperate crazy woman. I got on the scale and cried. I had started the way I thought I was supposed to start. I did some hard things, why didn’t I lose at least 2 pounds?
I didn’t want to be fat anymore, but I still really loved eating. I didn’t think I was eating so badly, why was I so fat? I ate fruits, veggies, whole grains, sometimes French fries, sometimes chips, but not too often, or not too much. I ate chocolate, but who doesn’t? Sometimes I ate ice cream, but not to a degree that it would kill me. Yea, pizza once in awhile, but not very often, and sometimes I took off the toping. As the old saying goes, “I was in denial, and it wasn’t a river in Egypt.
Alma tells his son Helaman:
“Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord. . . He goes on to say “counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good” (Alma 37:36-37)
This is where I had to modify Dr. Phil a bit and ask for some serious help. It really did matter to me. Heavenly Father cares about our bodies too, that’s why we have the word of wisdom. I am sure He wants us running as fast and as well as we can. I tearfully asked my husband for a blessing. I then had a long prayer. In the past I have prayed for the desire to do things. Do you remember Alma’s counsel to the poor Zoramites?
“But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if you can no more that desire to believe, let this desire work in you. . .” (Alma 32:27)
I had the desire to get fit, just not the ability to get there. I needed to have the desire work in me to change my way of thinking. I had to ask Heavenly Father to help me to want to do, and learn the things necessary for change, because on my own I was powerless. I needed to seek counsel from someone who wrote the owners manual for our bodies – God.
My plan was this, in the morning, I “counseled with the Lord” In my morning prayer I asked him for strength. For desire to exercise, for ability to eat right, and for knowledge on how I could change. During the day, snack time, lunch time, before and after dinner I asked him to show me when to quit, what to eat, and what I could do to change old habits. At night, in my prayer I would thank him and ask him to help me hear his counsel tommorow. I even asked him to help me to want to get up and excercise.
This truly was the beginning of my transformation. I know that Heavenly Father cares about me. He told the Nephite apostles:
”Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things”
But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (3 Nephi 13:31-33)
What do you think? Is it right to ask the lord for help in weight loss? Have you ever done it? Has it been successful?
9 comments:
My heavens, I've never even thought of doing anything like this. I figured it was my problem that I'm fat and I should be able to handle it.
What a good idea, getting Heavenly Father involved. :) It seems so obvious now that you pointed it out.
Thanks for the insight. Really asking for help from the Lord means a deep desire to change and I don't always have that.
thoroughly mormon millie, I am glad you think it is a good idea, I am anxious to hear how it works for you.
I love your insights. My Aunt gave me some very similar advice, after she had lost a lot of weight. She came to the conclusion that we really limit the full ability of the Holy Ghost by setting boundaries ourself of what things we can receive his influence in. And if we open ourselves up for spiritual guidance we can receive it in all areas of our lives.
Yes, I have,
and I'd forgotten.
A sec ago I made the comment that I needed to get back in control - but when I lost 85 lbs a few years back - I made it part of my morning prayer to ask for the strength to avoid the things that were harming my body.
Fried foods, sweets were first to go.
Food is a weakness to me like some people have an addiction to cigarettes or coffee.
Thank you for the reminder - and I wish and pray the best for you.
It just hit me as I was re-reading your other posts - how many other things could God help me with, if I just thought to ask Him about it? What kind of blessings am I not getting, just because I'm not asking for them? Asking is so simple. So what's my problem?
:) just thought I'd pass that along
Millie, Don't you think that is why The prophets in the book of Mormon constantly tell us to "remember"? I think that must be why we collect our mana every day through scriptures. I am sure that I am missing out too - just because I forget to remember. thanks for the comment.
Great post! I think you are spot on in asking Heavenly Father to help.
I remember on my mission when a sister asked her newly baptized husband to give her a blessing that she would be able to lose weight, yet I don't recall that she was really planning on doing much to do her part. She just expected the priesthood blessing to somehow make her skinny. I guess that is the biggest part in asking is that we be willing to put in the effort to do our part so that Heavenly Father can help us. I forget that sometimes too.
I hadn't thought about praying for help with weight loss. I have just been sitting here feeling sorry for myself and watching my weight creep higher while I THINK about losing weight and getting back into shape again.
Thanks for this blog. I look forward to reading more.
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