Happy Tuesday, friends!! How has your week been? For those of you on this journey to BETTER HEALTH, please share an update with us!! I would love to hear how it is going for you so I can know how to better pray for you!
**Also, if any of you are blogging about this journey and would be interested in some kind of linky fun here on my blog, let me know in the comments and maybe we can do that next week!
Here’s an update on my health before we jump into the chapters:
1. I have been completely off lexapro (after weaning fairly slowly) for 1 week now and have a LOT of light-headedness!! Saturday I was about at my wit’s end…but then Sunday and Monday were better, so I am *hoping* I have seen the worst!! It is still there, mostly in the afternoons/evenings, but not nearly as bad as Saturday. I have googled a lot and found that this is very common.
2. My total weight loss at this point is a little over 8 pounds. I do enjoy having a digital scale, like Kimberly mentioned in the comments recently. It encourages me even if I have lost a few ounces!!
3. I am doing well with my eating better and drinking lots of water…I had a moment of weakness over the weekend – I was very discouraged about the lexapro and being so lightheaded, but I did NOT cave in and have the coke that I wanted so badly!! YAY!! I did, however, have chips and queso. At least it wasn’t an entire box of ice cream, right?? 🙂
On to the book…chapter 3 discusses the need for a PLAN. Lysa discusses how much easier it is for her to stick to her healthy eating if she has a PLAN for what she will eat each day. I do this to an extent, but not completely. I don’t plan out each meal, but do know in my head the “list” of foods I can and cannot eat. I am trying to get better about planning our suppers regularly, but all these t-ball games at supper time is kind of messing with our schedule. A few more weeks of games and hopefully we can get more into a routine.
“Poor food choices were sabotaging my body, my mental energy, and even my spirit. Food had become like a drug.” — Lysa TerKeurst, from Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food
, p. 37.
, p. 37.Chapter 4 discusses the need for accountability!! I know it definitely helps me to discuss this with other people who are on this same journey! It helps me SO much to know that some of you are praying me through these days! I am praying for you, too!! I hope to share at least 1x per week and let you know it is going. I would LOVE to hear from you in the comments, too!!
The title to chapter 5 is “Made for More.” I love that this chapter discusses VICTORY that we have in Christ!! Girlfriends, we were definitely made for more than this!!
Lysa shares some tips in this chapter that I think are so important and encouraging!! These tips are based on the following Scripture:
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Ephesians 1:17-19
1. Be Persistent: keep asking!! We need to keep going back to God! Don’t just pray about your healthy eating plan one time and ask God to bless this journey and then never go back to Him again!! I have been praying many times through the day for perseverance, grace, encouragement…and He is so faithful to supply!! That doesn’t mean that every time I am able to win the fleshly battle, but I know that my God is faithful and just when I need it most, He always provides encouragement through a friend, a blog post, a Scripture passage, a song…etc.
2. Embrace a True Identity: Glorious Father. Why are we made for more? Because God tells us so in His Word! I love this section because Lysa gives us scriptures to plug our own names into and repeat to ourselves when we are struggling!! Here are just a few examples that are some of my favorites…
Candace, the accepted child of God. (1 Cor. 1:2)
Candace, the set-free child of God. (Rom. 8:1-2)
Candace, the victorious child of God. (Rom. 8:37)
Sometimes I just need to DWELL on God’s TRUTH about me!!
“Living in victory tastes sweeter than any unhealthy delicacy.” — Lysa TerKeurst, Made to Crave, p.l 53.
3. Find the Deeper Reason: So that you may know Him better. Lysa discusses the importance of knowing the REAL reason we are praying for wisdom and revelation from God…it is not so we can feel better about ourselves, be skinnier, fit into old clothes, etc. The goal is to KNOW HIM BETTER. I love that!! That helps me focus in on what is most important without getting caught up in numbers, focusing so much on food and every bite I take, etc.
4. Discover a hope and power like no other: that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. This is probably my favorite part of the passage in Ephesians. I want my eyes opened to the POWER that I have in Christ through the Holy Spirit who lives in me!! I want to dwell on the HOPE He gives me! I am made for more!!
Well, this has gotten long, friends! I hope you are enjoying this book as much as I am!! Please do share how you are doing in the comment section! And, read through the comments if you get an extra few minutes, please take a moment to pray for the others on this journey!!
Remember, you are made for more! You are made for victory!!
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For all the Made to Crave posts, click here.
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Hi Candace~ I am so excited for you and am proud of your determination!! Keep up the good work. Are you eating enough protein? You need to make sure you eat protein for dinner, drink LOTS of water and be in bed by a decent time. I find that if I have fish and broccoli for dinner by 6pm and am in bed by 10pm I lose the most the next day. It’s ounces usually sometimes I shock myself and lose a pound. Love that!
As of this past weekend, I have lost 35 pounds. I am starting to use the deep end of the pool to tread water for 30 minutes and working to an hour. I need to kick it up a notch. 🙂
Again, keep it up and feel free to email me. I look forward to hearing your next update. 🙂
Kimberly in Florida
Candace- I should be getting my book today or tomorrow. I might be interested in linking up! Let me know if you decide to do it.
Michelle’s Goals:
1. Stop sleeping in! Get up an hour before my kids and read the Word. (This has been going great..thanks for the prayers. Although this morning I was tempted to sleep in..just reminded myself of Hebrews 12:12..the joy set before me…)
2. Save my best for my husband in the late evenings when it’s just the two of us. (Doing great in #1 makes #2 nearly impossible. I’m sooooo tired at night…yikes…in my weakness He is made strong…right??)
3. Watch over spending especially in the area of clothes for myself. (Haven’t done this with clothes for me yet, but I need to stop walking in Old Navy!! I have been spending money a lot because of “Birthday Season”. The line in the book about making an excuse because it’s a “special” occasion has been challenging me.
Food…Well me and God are talking about this.
Love You Girl,
Michelle
I’m not reading the book, Candace, but your posts are just like reading it. I don’t have time to read books – life, blogging, reading everybody else’s blogs, I don’t have time for books that aren’t the Bible. And congratulations – losing pounds is never easy – and you’re doing it the right way. thank you for this – and you writing this – it probably helps many more people than you know. God bless you – and God bless and keep each and every one of yours.