Obesity - What is the Solution?
So what is the new buzz, everyone is talking about... Obesity.
'What is the solution for obesity?' is not the first question to answer. 'What is the problem that caused obesity?' needs to be addressed initially. Obesity is just the 'other side of the coin' of anorexia/bulimia; both are unhealthy behavior lived out through lies we believe. Can you identify the lies?
Today government policy making officials think they can solve obesity, but they come up with the worst solutions... what do they want to do about Obesity? This week, I heard that there is serious discussion about removing obese children from their home, family, and parents. And where will they put these Obese children? No one knows - as if the government can handle more children who are fosters of the State.
"The Biggest Loser" Facility would probably satisfy the desires of the government, encroaching, nanny-state, policy makers. Come to think of it, if they take obese children from parents, wont they soon be wanting to take away overly skinny children.... where will it stop?
We need to acknowledge God!
If we don't recognize God's natural laws - His laws being higher than man-made laws, how can we be rightly accountable (personally responsible) to God? God's laws are constant. In the Bible, we can learn right living from wrong living (which is sinful). Sin breaks our relationship with God - We can not know Him or hear Him when we live in sin.
Apart from knowing God and living a loving, following life with Him, people have little hope for making right decisions.
So how is it sin? Sin is doing anything being disobedient to God. And, no one gets away with sin. We all suffer consequences and most always we also cause others to suffer. No one is isolated (able to not painfully effect people with our wrong choices).
What is important to know is: there is NO perfect shape or size! We simply need to be living obediently to God day by day, step by step, in grace, repentance, and out of love for God.
The mind-set (what we really believe that shows in our daily actions) is the source from which sin flows... out of the heart our actions flow. Our heart includes our mind, will and emotions: what we think, what we do, and how we feel. If our goal is to change behavior, we first need a change of heart. We need to identify lies, and replace them with truths. Our mind can be renewed and transformed to align rightly with God by reading, praying and studying the Bible which is of course God's Word.
Our will functions out of our mind-set; We consistently choose to do what we believe.
Emotions are developed by our experiences. Love, gentleness, attention, appreciation, respect, and the like, help us to be emotionally positive, healthy, and consistent. Anger, impatience, ignoring, neglecting, ridiculing, bullying, abuse, and actions like these create in a person emotions that are negative beliefs, unhealthy, and unstable. The door to our emotions is AGAPE - God's unconditional love! (I will explain this more in detail below.)
The reasons are many:
Losing weight is a constant struggle for many people, especially if they are obese (what an ugly word that is to many people!). Inside the physical body of every obese person is a priceless soul that needs to believe - to in a knowing way accept that they are LOVED. Beloved one, God loves you!
"Am I loved? Does he/she love me?" cries the heart of every person.
Once we by faith believe God that He does love us, we must begin to unconditionally love ourselves.
No one should be loved for performance (conditional), but instead for who they are (unconditional). Frankly, a person isn't often what we see on the outside or what you see when you look in a mirror. Who we are is the core essence of our unique person; no one is the exception. 'Who we are' was God breathed into us -designed by God - and therefore, we will be restored to our original design by God... if only we will surrender our will, and let Him be LORD of our life. God always completes what He begins.
Do you know this cycle? Do you have insight to share with others who are hurting?
'What is the solution for obesity?' is not the first question to answer. 'What is the problem that caused obesity?' needs to be addressed initially. Obesity is just the 'other side of the coin' of anorexia/bulimia; both are unhealthy behavior lived out through lies we believe. Can you identify the lies?
 |
| We hear those words - "I hate you." |
Today government policy making officials think they can solve obesity, but they come up with the worst solutions... what do they want to do about Obesity? This week, I heard that there is serious discussion about removing obese children from their home, family, and parents. And where will they put these Obese children? No one knows - as if the government can handle more children who are fosters of the State.
"The Biggest Loser" Facility would probably satisfy the desires of the government, encroaching, nanny-state, policy makers. Come to think of it, if they take obese children from parents, wont they soon be wanting to take away overly skinny children.... where will it stop?
We need to acknowledge God!
If we don't recognize God's natural laws - His laws being higher than man-made laws, how can we be rightly accountable (personally responsible) to God? God's laws are constant. In the Bible, we can learn right living from wrong living (which is sinful). Sin breaks our relationship with God - We can not know Him or hear Him when we live in sin.
"Certainly sin was in the world before the law was given, but no record of sin is kept when there is no law" Romans 5:13.Obesity is a sin issue. Don't start throwing angry darts my way! Grace, grace, grace is sufficient for any sin area in our life.And the person who is obese is often in sin because of the result of sinful choices made against them. If a child is sinned against, cut apart by harsh unloving words, sexually abused, etc, the child will over-eat, unconsciously desiring to be unseen... to keep from being abused again... to even feel a sense of control over their body that was stolen by another. In suffering, in pain, in brokenness, we live in a cycle of sin.
Apart from knowing God and living a loving, following life with Him, people have little hope for making right decisions.
"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8).
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| Seek Him - He is reaching out to you! He loves You! |
What is important to know is: there is NO perfect shape or size! We simply need to be living obediently to God day by day, step by step, in grace, repentance, and out of love for God.
The mind-set (what we really believe that shows in our daily actions) is the source from which sin flows... out of the heart our actions flow. Our heart includes our mind, will and emotions: what we think, what we do, and how we feel. If our goal is to change behavior, we first need a change of heart. We need to identify lies, and replace them with truths. Our mind can be renewed and transformed to align rightly with God by reading, praying and studying the Bible which is of course God's Word.
Our will functions out of our mind-set; We consistently choose to do what we believe.
"To focus our minds on the human nature leads to death, but to focus our minds on the Spirit leads to life and peace" (Romans 8:6).
"Do not be conformed to this world, but continually be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may be able to determine what God's will is-what is proper, pleasing, and perfect" (Romans 12:2).The only way to change behavior (that being, 'what we do') is to change what the think about and believe as truth.
Emotions are developed by our experiences. Love, gentleness, attention, appreciation, respect, and the like, help us to be emotionally positive, healthy, and consistent. Anger, impatience, ignoring, neglecting, ridiculing, bullying, abuse, and actions like these create in a person emotions that are negative beliefs, unhealthy, and unstable. The door to our emotions is AGAPE - God's unconditional love! (I will explain this more in detail below.)
The reasons are many:
- Emotional Eating to fill the void of not being loved, being abused/violated, etc.
- Computer, Gaming, TV sitting activities for more than 2 hours daily
- No physical exercise: walking, running, backyard playing, jump rope, biking, skating, etc
- Recess removed from schools (I had 2 recesses a day - one 40 minute and one 20 minute)
- High calorie processed fast foods - both restaurant, tv style dinners, junk food, sodas
- Few healthy home cooked meals from mostly scratch (for the newer gen that means whole foods)
- Habit... you eat because it is time to eat and you eat portions to fill your large plate or family habits
- Skipping breakfast (breakfast is proven over and over to be the most important necessary meal!)
- Starbucks, other fancy coffees, smoothies, etc. (calories add up quick especially if daily intake)
- Bored, recluse, no contact with people, no friends, etc.
- Bad choices (like a domino, one wrong choice can spiral too many when we don't repent)
Most people struggle with a multiple list of reasons. God may want you to know which ones you face or He may want you to never go one by one through the issues. What He does positively want is for you to know Him and to know His love and acceptance of who He designed you to be.
Losing weight is a constant struggle for many people, especially if they are obese (what an ugly word that is to many people!). Inside the physical body of every obese person is a priceless soul that needs to believe - to in a knowing way accept that they are LOVED. Beloved one, God loves you!
 |
| God will show you the path to walk in obedience. |
"Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1John 4:11).
"Am I loved? Does he/she love me?" cries the heart of every person.
Once we by faith believe God that He does love us, we must begin to unconditionally love ourselves.
No one should be loved for performance (conditional), but instead for who they are (unconditional). Frankly, a person isn't often what we see on the outside or what you see when you look in a mirror. Who we are is the core essence of our unique person; no one is the exception. 'Who we are' was God breathed into us -designed by God - and therefore, we will be restored to our original design by God... if only we will surrender our will, and let Him be LORD of our life. God always completes what He begins.
"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)
Do you know this cycle? Do you have insight to share with others who are hurting?
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