Lose Weight With Prayer

 Sounds almost too good to be true, but it is true, and there is not only divine power behind what I'm doing but science as well.  Gotta love it when you can add science to the mix and prove to those who don't like listening to you teach and preach the Word. (Hey, Skeptic -- here's a hint, God made Science). Who wants to know what I did to break the damn plateau that I was cradled with for more than three long, tiresome, damn, stupid, worthless months? It was in fact, the worst plateau I have ever experienced and I have been trying to lose this stubborn belly for ages upon ages. I would try really hard, get a little excited about some of the weight coming off, and then BAM, plateau. It happened every dang time, and though I knew it was coming, it was as if I didn't have a plan to get past it. Well, I have/had a plan this time! I prayed about it.

    Taking God strictly at His own words, that if I delighted in Him, if I obeyed Him, if I trusted Him, He would give me the desires of my heart. Well, OK, that's easier said than done at times because the subject matter of my "delight" has been a boo-bear as of lately, but I still pray for him as God commanded me to do. I still pray for this man's wisdom, his protection, his guidance, and his decision-making. I pray from my soul that he will be assisted in his own walk with Christ, that he will not start to stray, that he will stand up for what he knows is right, and that he won't allow family or loved ones to stop him from proceeding with God's work. 

     I decided back in April when he began being a pig-head that I would give up praying for him and let the chips fall where they may, but God reminded me that no matter what this man did on his own I was called by God to pray for him, and if he was indeed (and in deed) being a putz, it was probably more necessary to pray for him now than it was before. OK - - back to the closet for me! I didn't want to lift this man up to God, I wanted to walk away, dust off my hands, be done with it (him), and just say "You know what, you seem to have it all under control, don't you? Well, have a nice life."  That's not what God asked me to do - - and because God trumps man every time....I remained in prayer. God calls some people to far distant lands to be missionaries, some people he gives large congregations of believers to corral, but me, no...for me I am the odd one out I suppose. Remember, I was the one with a two-legged dog that needed to bark around the world and let the people know that you didn't need to look perfect to be perfect for God. My "assignment" this time is only one man.  Simple, right? Not really.

    Well, I followed God and I did what I was told to do. I am still doing that. I don't know that my assignment will ever actually end, it may just go on until the rapture, but I will follow my orders. I am a dutiful soldier if nothing else.  Because of it, because I decided to follow God, I also asked Him to give me the desire of my heart to lose the stubborn weight, trim the belly fat, get my body into the shape I both want and need it to be so I can travel well, be healthy when I arrive, and be strong and beautiful for the rest of my life -- or until the rapture comes, and yes, I am a pre-tribber, so there's that. I think we're on the cusp of going home. Before we get there, since we live here, I want to look the part and feel the part of a wonderfully healthy and fit woman who isn't afraid to follow disciplines and put in the exercise and attention needed to meet the goals. It's just that my body was refusing, utterly refusing to do what the experts all say happens if you do exactly what they say to do.

    I was (and am) eating correctly, working out daily, or almost every day, because you're not supposed to stress your body.  I sleep more than 10 hours a day, no seriously, I sleep a great deal of the time I am on this Earth. I am a lot like a cat at times. I drink more than 100 ounces of lemon water every single day, I don't fudge on that, in fact, fudge hasn't been a part of my life in over a year. I take the supplements I need to take to poop better (and they work). I eat only fresh, lively, natural foods with very few preservatives, barely any carbs and I think the word sugar only comes in play with words like grapes, honey, apples, and such. I am a machine! So why was my weight literally stagnant for over 90 days? I didn't budge a single pound, and at one point I gained 2 or 3 pounds and that was a battle royale in my own soul believe me. I hit the closet double time in prayer and just kept thinking what am I doing or not doing? I have to stop this.

    VIOLA!!  Oh, joy! Let me tell you, God was fantabulously wonderful in having my own best friend point out to me that the supplements I was taking were mostly gummies and they had calories. She mentioned that the collagen I put into my smoothies had added calories. She pointed out that the smoothies themselves actually could be reduced in calories if you thought about it, and used different natural foods to replace the other natural foods that had more calories. JUST by paying more attention to what I put into the mix made a massive difference. I had NO IDEA I was adding over 800 calories to my morning smoothies but I was. Things add up. Here are the two smoothies (basically) and you can see for yourself.

BEFORE:

1 scoop of protein powder (usually chocolate or strawberry) named brand, good reviews.

1 banana or 1/2 cup of strawberries

1/2 cup of coconut milk

1/2 regular milk

2 teaspoons of chia seeds

1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil

1 egg

2 tablespoons of yogurt

Spices: cinnamon, ginger, paprika

Papaya seeds

Honey

Collagen powder

That mix was 815 calories approximately.

By rethinking the smoothie I was able to do the following with much better and greater success calorie and carb-wise.

1/2 cup of blueberries or strawberries

2 eggs

2 tablespoons of yogurt

Some honey, not much

1/2 cup of coconut milk

Water

Spices, papaya seeds, and crushed pills of collagen, not the powder supplement. I reduced my intake to around 300 calories and I take a flaxseed oil pill that has 25 calories, not 110. I literally get the same benefit.   

I gave up the gummies supplements and replaced most of them with a one-a-day vitamin that I knew had all I needed, but I preferred the gummies; who wouldn't? Well, the gummies, each of them, had calories, and when added together I was taking in over 200 extra calories a day just because I liked the texture. I can get over myself now. I have no need to pamper myself or to allow myself to be so slack. I gave up over 700 calories a day just by paying attention!

    On Thursday last I wrote in my journal that I would eat 900-1000 calories a day for the next 4 days, meaning from Thursday through Sunday I would eat 900-1000 calories, work out lightly, as to not exhaust myself, and I would see if there were changes. WOW...there was a major movement. I went from 2200-2400 calories to 900 (maybe even less on Thursday) and by Saturday I had lost two solid pounds, that's a pound a day.  This morning when I woke up I had lost another .8 pounds, a near pound, and there is no way I'm going to stop what I'm doing for at least another week to see if God will continue to bless me and lower the numbers on my scale even further. Please, and thank you, God.

    Well, that's about it, I know it sounds odd, strange, and even unorthodox, but to be perfectly honest, it is the most orthodox thing out there - - trust and obey God and He'll listen to you when you ask for something. I mean, I don't need a million dollars, I need to be healthy. I don't need to be famous, I need to be fit. I don't need to be recognized, seen, applauded or praised. I need to feel vibrant, joyful and be willing to serve. I can only do that with a strong, healthy, clean body and soul. It makes sense, it's science, and it's all 100% God. Thanking Him constantly just doesn't seem like I'm doing enough.  I just can't decide though, and maybe you can help me out by commenting below - - which of my two daughters do you think I should look more like? Should I go for the sexy queen Caity or the gorgeous, athletic Wonder Woman type of Laura?  LOL...maybe both?