Sheryl looked down at her bathroom scale. She kicked off her slippers and started to step onto it. She stopped and pulled her nightgown over her head and tossed it on the bathroom counter. She began to step on the scale again but hesitated and removed her ponytail hair tie.
She was anxious to see the results of her third week of consistently following Level 3 of our Eat Live Thrive Diet, but decided to make one quick detour back to the toilet. After flushing, she walked back to the scale, took a deep breath, and stepped onto the cool, hard surface. Eyes squinting, she had to bend down to be sure she was reading the numbers correctly. The scale was the same number as last week.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she exclaimed in frustration.
“I dieted all week and didn’t even lose an ounce.”
“I hate menopause!”
“I lost ten pounds my first two weeks and now my weight won’t budge.”
Like many post-menopausal women, Sheryl’s body was insulin resistant. And, she didn’t realize how losing even a couple pounds of muscle mass since she turned fifty had significantly decreased her metabolism. What she did know was just cutting calories no longer produced results.
So, she joined our 10-Day Change Your Body Challenge. As promised, her body responded immediately to the diet we designed for women in all phases of menopause. Of course, some of her initial weight loss included the release of fluids retained due to systemic inflammation all over her body. She was amazed at how much better she looked and felt in ten short days.
BUT…now, in week three, Sheryl wanted to experience the same weight loss results every week. She didn’t realize that even though the scale did not change, her body was undergoing many profound changes beneath the surface.
By eliminating empty calories full of unneeded starch, sugar, and processed vegetable oils, her body’s inflammation continued decreasing, albeit more slowly. At the cellular level, she was releasing toxins that had built up over years of unhealthy eating. Her daily exercise with an emphasis on adding simple strength training was stimulating her flabby muscles to build new fibers.
Like most of us, Sheryl wanted an immediate and visible reward now for every week of self-discipline. The problem was that her expectations were unrealistic. She was tempted to quit, but she stuck with our coaching and learned the physical, mental, and spiritual principles we’ve used with thousands of women to change our habits from the inside out – permanently.
The Misery Factor
When our expectations are out of sync with reality, our “misery” (frustration and discouragement) is high. For example, if my idea of a perfect husband is a clone of George Clooney, but instead I married George the plumber with the stereotypical plumber’s crack to boot – my misery will be great. 😊 😌
Or, if I’ve decided that I can’t be content unless I have a huge home with designer furnishings, I will never be happy with my lovely, yet modest townhouse. And if I think that every week of my weight loss journey will produce the same three to ten pounds my first few weeks did – I will get frustrated and give up.
Managing our diet expectations in a realistic and godly way can propel us toward success. When we focus more on the consistency of our actions and greater health rather than the scale to determine our progress, we’re more inclined to stay the course when the scale fails to give us positive feedback.
Sheryl’s body did reward her…because she stuck with the eating plan we designed for her phase of menopause. The key was consistency. She will continue to see and feel like a brand-new woman if she’s willing (and she is) to follow our program with 80-90% compliance.
Sandi’s Story
Like Sheryl, Sandi had struggled to lose weight in peri and post-menopause. She’d grown so frustrated that she started to believe she would just need to accept the weight gain as her new normal. Fortunately, she had one more “try” in her and joined one of our challenges back in 2018. Over several months, Sandi lost 30 pounds. In the years that followed, she lost another five pounds and has never gained any of it back by following our Eat Live Thrive Lifestyle program and using her Eat Live Thrive Academy membership to keep her accountable. Don’t believe the lie that you cannot lose weight in this season of life. Is it harder? Yes. Is it doable? Yes, yes, and yes!
Our motto: Progress over PerfectionIn the spiritual realm, God expects us to take responsibility for managing our thoughts. He wants us to see the whole of our life accurately through His perspective rather than the world’s. Our current culture is so conditioned to receiving immediate gratification, that we become easily discouraged. If you are a woman of Christian faith, you know that your life and your body are not your own. You were bought with a price and are called to glorify God with your body – so you can live out your purpose with health and vitality. (1 Cor. 6:20)
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2
In my own journey with food, and in coaching thousands of women, I’ve realized that God cares as much about the process (how we get to our goal) as He does the outcome. That’s why one of my life mottos means so much to me. It reminds me to pause and look at my methods and my motives and not just my results.
Do the right things for the right reasons and trust God with the results.
When we get impatient because we’re not seeing the results we desire fast enough, let’s use those negative emotions as a trigger to cause us to intentionally “set our mind on things above”. Let’s ask God to help us see with spiritual eyes and know in our minds that all the good choices we are making are adding up to eventual big changes. Let’s “slow our roll” and train ourselves in our new lifestyle with patience and endurance. It is the path that can lead to lasting transformation.
If you’re ready to take the journey toward putting God and health first, we invite you to get a taste of how we coach, encourage, and support mature women by joining our very affordable (only $19.95) 10-Day Change Your Body Challenge which begins on September 14, 2024. LEARN MORE HERE
The message Jesus gave me on this matter:
I know you get discouraged and frustrated when it seems your hard work is not paying off. Don’t believe the lies of the enemy. Healthy choices matter and your body will reward you. Be patient and trust in the beautiful way you’ve been created. Your body needs to trust you. And you need to trust Me.
Prayer
Lord, forgive me for my impatience. Please help me see with spiritual eyes how my choices (good and bad) affect my body. I want to take care of this temple you’ve given me. I want to learn the lessons on this journey that will help me run to you for comfort and joy instead of food. Amen
