Reach Your Weight Loss Destiny and Keep Your SKINNY Victory!

During my research stage I listened to many testimonies and many failed attempts at weight loss. It took a couple of years but it was revealed to me that the problem isn't with the weight loss industry. The problem isn't even with food. I'm convinced that America's weight problem is in each and every one of us; it's in the individual. There is a reason the weight loss gadgets, the exercise equipment, the DVD's, the overwhelming food plans, the surgeries, the exercise plans, the drugs, the spirit of Anorexia and bulimia are all utilized and readily available and yet they don't answer the question of why 95 to 97 percent of the people who lose the weight gain it back. Even with all of the tools available to us today, we are still the fattest nation on the planet. I have discovered on my weight loss journey that weight gain and weight loss begins in our hearts and minds. It all starts with how and what you think about you, your life, your body, your health and your food. I believe if we change the way we think about our bodies, our purpose and then our food, we can change the outcome of our physical body and how we treat it. It has worked for me. I have lost close to 100 pounds and have kept the weight off for almost six years! I am a living testimony that changing the way we think, eat and live will change who we are and our overall physical outcome. Think for amount about the statistics I gave you when I started this section. A research study has shown that 95 to 97 percent of the people, who lose weight, will gain the weight back plus more! This statement alone means that almost nothing is working and that all of the advertisement you see on TV is a gimmick to make money. I am not writing this book to knock the weight loss industry, I am thankful that they are there. But if you are tired of losing weight and gaining it back; spending money on pills and weight loss meal plans and surgery, this book is for you. If I can lose 96 pounds and keep this weight off for almost six years, why can't you? God shows favoritism to no man. He is a respecter of faith because without faith, it is impossible to please Him. When I tell people that I lost ninety six pounds and have kept if off for nearly six years, they immediately ask me how I did it. They say, "How did you keep the weight off? I've tried everything and I just can't keep the weight from coming back" I tell them all the same thing; portion control, exercise and discipline. They want to know more and they want to learn more but they are usually unsure if they are willing to fully commit to a lifestyle with portions and eating five to six times a day. Look guys, I'm human just like the next person. I am not perfect. I reward myself by eating in moderation my favorite deserts for the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you've been paying attention you've probably noticed that I don't use the term guilty pleasures but rather guiltless pleasures. I stopped using the term guilty pleasures because it's an oxymoron. How can you be guilty and still get the pleasure? I don't feel guilty when I indulge in my favorite foods. It's a way to treat myself and still live the lifestyle I need to live. There are some things I absolutely stay away from because I choose to. Some of my favorite deserts are Pecan Pie and Key Lime Pie. I like an occasional piece of fried chicken or chocolate. What I've learned on this journey is that I am responsible for my body and what I put into it. I am also responsible for how much I eat and exercising. Food does not possess or control me, but I possess and control my food. Many of the reasons for obesity boil down to this; people have an addiction to food and people do not want to exercise. Many people allow food to control their lives and dictate their future. If I allowed food to control me based on my emotions, my stress levels or because it looks so good I have to have it, I would never keep the weight off. Simply put, people are enslaved to food. I'm not professing to be perfect but I know how to get back on course if I take a wrong turn because I've had to do that, more than once. It's not easy for me to forget all of my hard work and the investment I made in me. I'm worth it so I want to take care of my body and my health. God is not going to do that for me because it's my responsibility. I love being the size that I am and I feel healthier than I ever have before. When I sat in that doctor's office in 2005, and he told me that I had high blood pressure and that I needed to lose some weight, I was almost ashamed to go to God for healing. I didn't feel like I deserved it. Maybe that's a gift God gave to me, knowing when to pray and when to get busy. Yes I wanted to be healed from high blood pressure but I could not deny the fact that I had let myself get to this state, and for so many years I did absolutely nothing about it.