Your Belief Systems Can Keep You Overweight

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change.”

If you are unhappy with your weight, you need to check out the belief systems that are keeping you stuck there. Your belief systems determine how you look at things!

Scientists say that 95 percent of what you do is automatic. Think of your automatic response as like a train track running through your brain. Each day, 95 percent of your life runs on this track. At the end of your day, that track has led you to a specific destination.

A good question to ask yourself at the end of your day is, “Am I closer to being the size I want to be or am I further away?” If further away, then you need to change your track.

How do you do that? I’ll give you my own weight-loss journey as an example. When I was 240 pounds, I discovered that my belief systems about eating and exercising were keeping me at that size.

See if you can spot how these beliefs would keep you overweight:

• “I’ll always be a big girl.”
• “Large portions make me feel special.”
• “Eating healthy means being deprived of the food I really want.”
• “Fast food is good.”
• “Sweets are a treat.”
• “Eating what they eat makes me belong.”
• “Exercise is a pain.”

I had to stay alert for lies like these and replace them with the truth. Only through diligent effort did I create new tracks in my mind for my life to run on.

Think about how you view the habits you will need to reach your ideal weight. Are you thinking about these habits positively or negatively? If negative, write them down. Then write down a new, positive story to tell yourself about them, one that will create a new track that leads to the destination you want to go.

Here are some examples:

Lie: “I will always be a big girl.”

Truth: “The truth is that I am not a big girl. I am petite. Lying to myself that I am naturally big tricks me into eating more than I need to live.”

Lie: “Large portions make me feel special.”

Truth: “The truth is that my worth does not come from food. Eating portion sizes appropriate to my size makes me feel special because I am taking time to take care of myself.”

Lie: “Eating healthy means being deprived of the food I really want.”

Truth: The truth is that eating healthy means healing, energizing and nourishing my body with the food God made. I can still have not-so-healthy food on occasion for the taste, but I don’t want to fill up on them because I know they will hurt my body in the long run.

Lie: “Fast food is good.”

Truth: The truth is that eating fast food regularly led me to gain almost 100 pounds after high school. That was not good! I want to eat to benefit my whole body, not just my tongue. There are plenty of foods out there that not only taste good but are good for me.

Lie: “Sweets are a treat.”

Truth: The truth is that overindulging in sweets made me obese. That was not a treat! So while it is OK to have a sweet once in a while, I will keep my portions small.

Lie: “Eating what they eat makes me belong.”

Truth: The truth is that what makes me connect with people is my love for them, not eating what they eat. So I am free to make choices that are good for me, even if they are different from what others choose to eat. I choose to take care of myself and if others don’t like it, so be it. I choose to do what is right.

Lie: “Exercise is a pain.”

Truth: The truth is that there are many exercises I like. I can walk, dance, do Zumba, weight training, kickboxing, jog on a trampoline, hula hoop. All of those ways of moving are enjoyable for me and help keep my body strong, healthy, fit and flexible. This is especially important to help me age well. So I will keep on doing it because I want that.”

Take some time today to examine your own belief systems. The Bible tells you in Proverbs 23:7, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Do your belief systems serve you?

If not, the track the beliefs comprise will lead you to a destination you don’t want to go!

P.S.—One of the most important things you’ll need to do to overcome eating issues is to renew your mind. That’s why one of the bonuses in the Take Back Your Temple eBook is “Prayers and Promises to Take Back Your Temple.”

In this special bonus, you get over a dozen Scriptures and prayers specifically related to God’s promises for health and strength so you can gain physical, emotional and spiritual victory every day. Check it out!