How I Lost 40 Pounds over a 6 week period.

In 2007 my attitude towards my personal health changed. I started to really pay attention to what I put in my body. I really started understanding the fact that our bodies are a temple serious and started my quest to educate myself on what I should put in my body. I’ve learned a lot, but it wasn’t all at once, it was over time. The first thing I stopped doing was drinking sodas because I knew they were bad for you.  I only thought of the acid levels, carbs, and calories, not for the sugar content.  So, even though I had stopped drinking the sodas, I was still grossly overweight. See, I substituted sodas for sweet tea, which wasn’t a good substitute. Sweet tea can have just as much sugar as a soda. Also, I had stress at level 10 and I still had very bad eating habits. I thought exercise was the answer, but I was too far over weight to start an exercise program. Growing up I played all types of sports and was in tip top shape in my twenties.  I found myself in my late thirties needing to lose 65lbs to be at my ideal weight. Every time I tried to jog or do jumping jacks, I would injure myself. My knees would go out and I would end up “peg legging” it for weeks. I remember going on a trip to Las Vegas where I had to sit in a certain seat on the plane because I could not bend my knee.  This very unstable exercise regimen continued for about two years.  I was really becoming fed up until one day I realized that I was going about this “weight loss” journey in the wrong way.  It finally hit me in early 2009 that I needed to turn to the Bible for help.
As I began researching what I perceived people ate in beginning times, I learned that their diet might have consisted of nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and small portions of meat.  This assumption really made a big impact on me.   I eliminated breads, pastas, sweets (except dark chocolate), deep fried foods, and all processed foods.
Many adults are not as active in their thirties, forties, and so on as they were when they were teenagers. Once someone becomes as grossly overweight as I was, a plan must to be put into place. I pre-planned my meals so that I could reach my goal.  By pre-planning, I knew how many calories that I wanted to intake every day. I knew what I would eat and when, so when lunch time came around, I was not tempted to just grab something unhealthy from a fast food restaurant or a snack machine just to get through the day.  Also, starvation is not the answer. Although I did do some single day fasting during the 6 week period but, you can only do it for in-between eat days. I’ll talk about this in later blog posts. You must eat to have sustained weight loss. So with that said, your diet must become your way of life and not some temporary fad.
I really want to help you become the person you want to be, but it all starts with you. Desire is the starting point of all Achievement. If you have a burning desire to become the person that you have always desired to be, then continue reading. This will change your life forever.

Tough Love
You are where you are in life based on the decisions you have made in the past. To change your future you must change the decisions you make today. Deciding to continue with this shows your desire to change. You are a manager whether you know it or not. You manage your body, your mind, your spirit at all times. You own them. You have to bring them in harmony with each other. When you have no discipline you make managing any of the three difficult. So, how do you obtain the discipline to manage?
You obtain the discipline to manage through your words and thoughts. Have you heard this saying before? “It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.” (William Ernest Henley) . You are the responsible party and it’s time to be in control. You have the ability to reach your goals in weight loss, finance, relationships and any other goal you want to achieve. I strongly urge you to invest in The Bug Free Mind. This well designed program will help you overcome and get back on track. I highly recommend it.

Define Your Desire
It’s not enough to just say I want to lose weight. Determine exactly where you desire to be and find pictures that represent your ideal weight and define by word what that means to you.
For example: I desire to be at 205 pounds. So, I find pictures that represent how that would look to me. You could cut them out of a magazine. Print them from online. Whatever avenue you have, use it to get the imagery of what you desire.
Next, find words that represent the imagery that you have about your desire.
For example: Perfect Health. You would turn this into an affirmation like I am in Perfect Health. You always want to state your affirmation in present tense form. Jesus Christ said in Mark 11 verse 24 "Therefore I say unto you, what things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe (you must know) that ye receive them, and ye shall have them".
It is very important to affirm in this manner. You will need to master this, because the enemy is going to try to steal your desire. Proverbs 18 verse 21 "Death and Life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof".
See the enemy comes in all forms. You mentally have stand on what is true for your life. Your own ego flesh will whisper to you all the reasons why you can’t be successful. But, you are in control, so keep your mind in the present and only observe what is going on.

Example: Your best friend tells you while you're out and seeing the 700 calorie desert you always get: "You only live once, be happy". Internally, you must stand on your affirmation. If your affirmation is I am in perfect health. Affirm this mentally. Affirm it as many times as needed while in your mind’s eye seeing yourself as you are when you have made your goal. The self-internal talk has to be what sustains you. Remember, you are the manager. You control your Mind, Body, and Spirit, so don't be controlled by outside forces.


Dennis