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Christian weight loss isn’t just about losing weight.
It’s about transforming your life from the inside out.
When I was obese and 100 pounds overweight, I wasn’t asking God for help.
It’s not that I didn’t believe in Him back then or didn’t trust Him.
It’s just that I had no idea God could be (or would even want to be) a part of my weight loss journey.
(If you’re looking for faith-centered encouragement for your own weight loss journey, check out my 30-day weight loss devotional!)
I tried to do it on my own. I jumped into diet after diet, losing weight for a while and then crashing (which usually looked like binging on Nutty Bars and french fries).
Again and again, I climbed onto that weight loss roller coaster and every time I was left feeling defeated and discouraged.
My willpower was never enough to keep it going.
That’s when I decided to ask God to help me lose weight.
Christian Weight Loss
Christian weight loss changes the focus from your body to your soul and that lasting lifestyle change begins in your heart.
Losing weight for God isn’t about being skinny or fitting into a smaller dress size.
Losing weight with the power of Christ is about finding freedom.
Often times, we don’t see freedom as the ultimate goal because we don’t realize that we are being held back by chains of all sorts.
- Do you struggle with emotional eating?
- Does it seem like you’re on a never-ending rollercoaster of yo-yo dieting?
- Do you find excuses to get out of activities that feel outside of your comfort zone (like going on a hike or bike ride with friends)?
- Do you often feel “less than” other people because of your weight?
Shame, insecurities, addiction, and emotions are common things that can hold you back from living a full and purposeful life without you even realizing it.
Still unsure about the idea of Christian weight loss? This post on 5 Things Christian Weight Loss Is NOT may help clarify a few more things.
Bible Verses for Weight Loss
One of the most powerful and underutilized tools Christians have to help them lose weight (and do all sorts of other things in life) is the Bible.
The Word of God is powerful. It’s alive, living and active, and sharp as a double-edged sword.
It not only reminds keeps you rooted in the Truth, but it renews your mind.
Yup. You can actually change your thinking with the Word of God.
- Feel like giving up? There’s a verse for that. (Galatians 6:9)
- Are you afraid to fail? There’s a verse for that. (Isaiah 41:10)
- Are you tired of working so hard for so long without seeing progress? There’s a verse for that, too. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Don’t just read the words and then go about your day.
Apply them to every area of your life.
Memorize them. Write them on notecards, on your bathroom mirror, in notes on your phone. Get home decor with powerful words, pictures, and Scripture that will constantly point you back to God.
Find more Bible Verses for Weight Loss here.
Prayer for Weight Loss
Another important part of Christian weight loss is prayer.
Don’t write this area of your life off as something that would be unimportant to God.
He wants a deeper relationship with you, so bring your frustrations, your joy, and your discouragement and lay it all down at His feet. Ask Him for wisdom and guidance and lean on Him for strength when yours gives out.
Use this prayer for weight loss to get you started.
One Small Change
Whether you are trying to memorize Scripture, stop emotional eating, or start exercising, I always recommend focusing on one small change at a time.
Don’t try to squeeze 5 years of changes into one month. That will only lead to burn out and discouragement. Take it one day at a time, making one small change at a time.
Every healthy choice you make matters.
Think of your bigger goals (losing 100 pounds, giving up soda, running a 5k) and break them into small daily action steps.
Focus on small, consistent changes and they will lead to life-changing results.
Weight Loss Support Group
Losing weight is difficult (heck, so is life in general!) and you need people by your side. If you have a group of great, supportive people in your life already, ask them to help you.
It doesn’t have to be 30 people. Maybe it’s just one or two close friends.
Maybe you want:
- an accountability partner
- an exercise buddy
- someone to do meal prep with
- a few people to be a part of your weekly Fitbit step challenges
People who love you won’t know how to support you without some direction, so ask for help!
If you don’t already have a group of encouraging people in your life, start gathering them today.
Like-minded people are everywhere! Get involved in a small group at your church, join an exercise class at your gym and talk to the person next to you, or join a Facebook group (we have an awesome Christian Weight Loss group full of encouraging women!).
I know how difficult it can be to reach out to people and especially to ask for help, but don’t miss out on the encouragement, support, accountability, and wisdom from the women around you.
The Best Foods for Weight Loss
There are all different kinds of diets out there and you can easily get lost in the overwhelm of all of the options.
I believe God created us each uniquely, so finding the best diet for you will take some trial and error.
After going on many different diet plans, I custom-made my own diet plan to fit my tastes and body.
I have friends that have gotten rid of chronic headaches by eliminating gluten or dairy. I know people that have had great success on the keto diet. Others have found Weight Watchers works best for them.
There is no “best diet”, but there is certainly a best diet out there for you – it just takes some time to figure out what that is.
Where most diets focus on the foods you can’t have, I suggest focusing more on the foods you can.
When you fill your diet with the nutritious, healthy foods that make you feel good, you won’t be as tempted to overindulge in the junk food (though I am very outspoken about the fact that I don’t believe in forbidden foods in my own diet).
With few exceptions, I believe the two best foods for weight loss that nearly every diet agrees on are vegetables and lean protein.
Vegetables
The first piece of advice I usually offer women wanting to lose weight is to eat more vegetables.
Vegetables are low in calories and packed full of nutrients your body needs to function properly.
Try to “eat the rainbow” (not Skittles-style!).
If you don’t like the taste of vegetables right now, find ways to sneak them into your food. Cook and puree carrots and stir it into spaghetti sauce or add shredded zucchini to chili and meatloaf.
Check out this post if you are looking for creative ways to eat more vegetables.
Lean Protein
Many of the foods we eat are heavy on the carbs, which won’t keep you full for very long. Eating lean protein can help keep you full and it also helps to build and repair muscle (which help to burn fat!).
Some good sources of lean protein include:
- beans & lentils
- eggs
- fish (salmon, tuna, cod, etc)
- skinless chicken or turkey breast
- lean (90% or higher) ground beef
- lean cuts of pork (pork tenderloin, loin chops, or sirloin roasts)
- nuts and seeds
If you haven’t tried hard boiled eggs in your Instant Pot yet, you are missing out! They are so fast and SO easy to peel!
AIs there such a thing as a Bible diet?
There are diets out there, like The Bible Diet and The Daniel Plan that pull the foods specifically mentioned in the Bible into a biblical diet plan. From the information we have, Jesus most likely ate a mostly plant-based, clean diet, similar to the Mediterranean diet we have today.
They didn’t have readily available fast food, family-size bags of Cheetos, and king-sized candy bars back then, so the Bible doesn’t specifically speak of those by name, but I do believe it gives us the guidelines for how to handle them in our diet today.
Does God care what you eat? I fully believe the answer is YES.
Here are 5 Bible verses on healthy eating.
Eating Healthy to Lose Weight
When it comes to biblical dieting, I recommend taking the principles of the Bible and applying them to your diet.
One of the Fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians is self-control, a very important part of weight loss.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23
When you are used to eating whatever is easy and sounds good, you are likely eating a diet full of a lot of junk food. It is so convenient to grab a bag or chips or run through a drive-thru!
The Bible does speak about the consequences of gluttony, addictions, and uncontrollable habits.
And it’s tough to learn to say no when food cravings hit or if you struggle with emotional eating.
Once you have done the trial and error to figure out which foods help your body to function at its best, then it takes the discipline to start saying “no” to the foods that may sound good at the time, but you know aren’t good for you.
Check out this post to learn more about how the Fruit of the Spirit can help you lose weight.
Christian Fitness
*Always check with your doctor to make sure you are cleared for exercise.
Workouts to Lose Weight
The most effective workout to lose weight is the one you will actually do consistently.
The most important question to ask yourself is, “What kind of exercise will I actually do regularly?”
Think about your priorities, your family, your time, and your finances and think about ways to plan workouts you will actually enjoy.
- Maybe you are a busy mom who squeezes 20-minute HIIT workouts in first thing in the morning.
- Perhaps you enjoy Zumba classes after work in the evenings at your local gym.
- You might be a retired grandma who enjoys morning walks with a neighbor.
Whatever you do, make sure you are pushing yourself enough to get your heart rate up and aim to get 150 minutes of exercise every week in at least 10-minute increments.
If you are just beginning to exercise, you may want to work up to that number slowly.
There will always be reasons not to workout, but being intentional and scheduling your workouts like you would an appointment with a friend, you can still exercise when you don’t feel like exercising.
Faithful Workouts
When you are working out for Christian weight loss, exercise doesn’t have to be a punishment. It can even be an act of worship, using your body to bring glory to God!
Pray while you walk, dance to worship music, or walk with a friend for exercise mixed with fellowship.
Instead of focusing on the drudgery of working out, choose to see it as a blessing to honor God with your movement.
Your exercise doesn’t have to be outwardly Christian for you to inwardly experience God is the process.
Check out this post for more ways to make your exercise an act of worship.
Join the free 5-day faith & fitness challenge for some great worshipful workouts for any fitness level!
Running for Weight Loss
Running is a popular exercise for people who want to lose weight. It used to be my most dreaded workout, but now it is my favorite because it challenges me, I can run wherever I am, whenever I want to, and all I need is a good pair of running shoes.
I started running by following a basic couch to 5k running plan. I couldn’t even run a block when I started and now I regularly run 3 miles straight.
Running is not only good for weight loss, but it is great for building confidence!
When I proved to myself that I could run my first 5k (even though my mom beat me), I started trying all kinds of exercises that were way outside of my comfort zone before – cardio kickboxing classes, Zumba, water aerobics, hiking 14ers, and so much more.
I use “prayer markers” – landmarks on my route to remind me to pray for different people in my life. It’s a great distraction and adds a deeper purpose to my runs.
Just be aware that running is an intense exercise that can make you very hungry! Don’t undo the hard work you put into your exercise by overeating (especially junk food).
If you want to start running for weight loss, check out this post for a Beginner’s Guide to Running.
Home Workouts for Women
I was a member of a gym for many years and, though I started out hiding on the elliptical in the cardio cinema, I eventually found that I enjoyed cardio kickboxing, Zumba, water aerobics, and lots of other group fitness classes.
I have since learned that I am much more consistent in my workouts when I do them at home, though. That drive to the gym always felt like an extra step!
The only equipment I use is a yoga mat and a set of hand weights.
These are some of my favorite home workouts:
- Faithful Fitness – Kristen combines faithful encouragement with all kinds of workouts for every fitness level with a free 5-day challenge to get you started!
- free HASFit workout videos – A very encouraging husband/wife team who show beginner and advanced moves for every exercise.
- Jesus-Centered Yoga videos with Caroline Williams on YouTube – Build strength, balance, and flexibility while relieving your stress and fixing your eyes on Jesus in these workouts.
- The 30-Day Shred with Jillian Michaels (I love that these are only 20-minute workouts and they show modifications for the exercises, beginner to advanced)
- SparkPeople exercise videos – Workouts of all different lengths for any skill level and any muscle group you want to work.
Oh and don’t forget the music! I have 30+ song suggestions for Christian Exercise Music for your workouts.
Christian Weight Loss Programs
Want to start taking action with Christian weight loss, healthy eating, and fitness?
I run a Christian Weight Loss program called Faithful Finish Lines with Sara, who has also lost 100 pounds.
We support women in grace-centered weight loss, but if you are serious about losing weight, our Faithful Finish Lines 2.0 Christian Weight Loss Program is the program you want to join!
We have helped hundreds of women of all ages lose weight while deepening their relationship with God.
We’d love to have you join us!
Not sure you’re ready for the full program yet?
Try our free 7-day Jump Start Your Weight Loss Challenge for a taste of what we do in our program.
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