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I've always known I was out of shape. I've also known for sometime that I have a call to do missions work. As the director of a Christian drama team whose members yearned to travel, I had no doubt that God would take me across the globe to spread the gospel message. However, at 5-feet-2-inches and 275 pounds, I had a "small" problem. Just fitting comfortably into the seat of a plane proved to be my undoing.

"Why not diet and lose the weight?" well-meaning friends and family members would ask as they saw me inflating before their very eyes. I had plenty of excuses:

• God loves me just the way I am.
• My husband loves me just the way I am. (He'd better!)
• I'm happy with myself. (And unwilling to change.)
• I come from a long line of overweight people.
• Fat people don't wrinkle.
• My children use me as a pillow.
• Fat people are happy people.
• I dieted before and gained all the weight back. I can't do that again.

Besides experiencing the obvious struggles of a severely overweight person, I battled sleep apnea, waking nearly every morning with a migraine caused from lack of oxygen. I was borderline diabetic. My cholesterol was elevated, and my energy level was so low I could barely function. Getting out of bed was a challenge, and doing basic things like housework was difficult.

What's more, any aspirations of doing missions trip were being squashed under the weight of my obesity. It was beyond time for a change.

Nine decisive steps
How does one go about changing a 43-year habit? What's the key? Ironically, I found it to be so simple that it almost scared me.

The answer lies in one word: Decide.

That's it. It's so uncomplicated, really. It's the same principle I use every day of my life. How did I know which college to attend? I saw who accepted my application and then decided. How did we know which house to buy? We determined which ones we could afford and then decided. How did I know which job to take? You get the idea.

The decision to lose weight is half the battle. Once the decision is made, the mind prepares the body to obey. My inner man aligned himself with the Spirit of God and the race was begun. In a great many cases, weight loss is not nearly as difficult as we've made it out to be.

On January 16, 2002, I decided to lose weight. I didn't have a clue what to do, so I be-bopped across the Web looking for answers. What I learned there (and later through trial and error) can be summed up in nine simple principles:

1 Never do today what you're unwilling to do for the rest of your life. For me, that meant I couldn't do any fad dieting. I couldn't commit to eating grapefruit every day for the rest of my life. I couldn't commit to drinking liquid meals every day for the rest of my life. My plan would have to be something sensible that I could keep up with. Forever. Like it or not, my "diet" would truly last the rest of my life. I could live with that if I chose the correct plan for me.

2 Consult your doctor. With his help, I selected a diet that is sensible and workable. For me, a low-calorie, low-fat diet high in fiber was the key. Lean meats such as chicken and fish, combined with fruits, vegetables, and small portions of carbohydrates, increased my energy level and gave me the vitamins and minerals I needed to keep going. Let your physician watch you along the way. Be prepared for some basic tests on your thyroid, liver, and other organs as you begin.

3 Don't try to lose weight quickly. The weight you lose quickly will surely come back quickly. I can't emphasize how important this is. In the first ten months of my new regimen, I lost a total of 93 pounds. That's approximately nine pounds a month. Some might argue, "That's not a lot of weight per month"—but I know I stand a better chance of keeping it off this way. So will you.

4 Keep a journal of your food intake and your daily activities. This simple step will motivate you and let you look back over the months to see how far you've come. I created a database on my computer with several columns. The final one—"Notes"—is filled with personal things that happened in my day, both good and bad, and the things God was doing in my life. I still laugh and cry when I go back to read those entries.

5 Support is critical. Join a local support group and an online group. The online group will give you something the local one cannot—daily encouragement and advice. I started by joining an online group called 100+ (all folks who had at least a hundred pounds to lose). One of the first women I met was a gal who started in the 300's and had dropped 126 pounds. Wow! Talk about motivation! I also learned that there are some amazing places online to keep track of your BMI (Body Mass Index) and daily calorie/carb intake (www.fitday.com is one of my favorites).

6 Set small goals. I knew starting at 275 pounds that I had a long road ahead. Had I focused on my final goal (137.5—which was exactly half of my starting weight), I'd never make it. Instead, with the help of my online group, I set small goals: "By Valentine's Day I'll weigh this much," "By Easter I'll weigh this much." Obviously, I still have a ways to go, but I'm learning to enjoy the journey!

7 Be prepared to spend money. Dieting isn't cheap. Of course, neither are chocolate chip cookies, Rocky Road ice cream, and potato chips. Boneless chicken breast and fresh fruit now take the place of those things, and though they cost a little more, they're worth it.

8 Exercise, but start slowly. Rome wasn't built in a day. Likewise, a 275 pound body can't jog three miles a day or bounce up and down on a elliptical machine for hours on end. I had to start by walking. Slowly. Then, as the weight began to come off, I gradually picked up speed. I had to drop below the 200-pound mark before I felt comfortable joining a gym, which I recently did. (And of course, it's wise to talk to your physician before beginning any exercise program.)

9 Trust God. How simple this sounds, and yet how difficult it is to do at times. But rest assured, the Lord is in control. He wants to use you in mighty ways and needs you to be in good physical and spiritual shape to accomplish that. You can honor him by taking care of the vessel he's given you (1 Cor. 6:19).

Prayer and the renewal of your mind should be key elements in your new, healthy lifestyle. Say to yourself, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). Though John the Baptist spoke those words in a slightly different context, I've found them to hold special meaning for me in my campaign to get fit.

So, where do you begin? Start with the decision. Involve the Lord from the onset and consult with a doctor you trust. And above all, don't focus on where you are or even where you're headed. Instead, learn to enjoy the journey.

A Christian Reader original article. Janice Thompson is a wife and mother living in the Houston area.

Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian magazine (formerly Christian Reader).
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