A Christian Psychologist’s Approach to Weight Loss
As a psychologist, my preferred approach to weight loss is a cognitive behavioral one. I see the need for changed thinking before lasting change will occur. As a Christian, my preferred approach is to rely on God and His Word to create the needed change.
In I Deserve a Donut, you find both. It’s a reference book of the lies we tell ourselves that keep us overeating together with the tools we need to defeat them. Author, Barb Raveling, takes readers through a series of questions in every tempting situation that if answered, will be enough to bolster your resistance. In addition, Scriptures related to each tempting situation are available for the renewing of your mind.
Does it work?
You may have the same skepticism that I did in reading the premise of the book. Am I really going to pick up this book when I’m tempted to eat a donut? Maybe not. But the questions and Scripture can be just as effective after the fact.
The most powerful testimonial Barb shares in the book is that her friend lost 100 pounds by just reading through the book and renewing her mind with truth daily.
Even better, the book is appropriate for any approach to weight loss you choose. You will not be sorry you purchased this life- and waistline-changing book. I’m waiting for the author to come out with a book on procrastination.
You can get more out of Pinterest by finding great pinners and sharing their pins. If you’re completely new to Pinterest, check out this beginner’s guide. Then join us for a Pin Crazy time!
1. Pin the graphic above so more pinners will come to the party. (You can use the Pin It button by the graphic or the button at the bottom of this post.)
Don’t have a clue how to participate in a linky? Leave this tab open. In another tab, go to the page, board, or pin you want to share. Highlight the URL in the white box at the top of your screen. Right-click and choose copy. Click on this tab, go to the bottom of the post and click “Click here to enter.” Click in the URL box, right-click and choose paste. Give your URL a name. If the link is your personal board, write your name. After providing your name and email, you’ll be given an option to choose a photo. Choose “from the Web” and you should see the picture you want. Select it and crop it as desired. Choose “Click here to return to blog” to add another pin.
4.Go pin crazy by following pinners and pinning the great links you see below all week!
My kids had me watch this video and belted out the lyrics with gusto never seen in any other forum, including church. Unfortunately, the tune is so catchy that you find yourself singing it, even when you don’t want to.
Are you singing the same old tune?
This song got me thinking–not about how sad it is that people die as the result of doing stupid things. Rather, it got me thinking about the dumb ways so many of us live.
Eating junk. Sure, it can kill you, but even worse, it makes you feel junky while you live.
Wasting time. I don’t think funny cat videos are a waste of time, but media of any sort that discourages us is a dumb way to live.
People pleasing. I’m not talking about being a simpering fool, but about doing anything simply because someone might get upset if we don’t.
Focusing on anything but the present. Fretting about something that’s already done or is 99% certain not to occur robs us of the joy of life now.
Being self-sufficient. We weren’t created to handle everything ourselves, but to need God and one another. We have so much unneeded stress and experience so little love as a result.
Do you want to live smart?
I know I do! In the new year, I want to make some changes. I want to eat more vegetables, take in more uplifting media, be more purposeful in what I do, focus on the moment, and rely more on God and others.
How about you? Do you have any other examples of dumb ways to live? How do you want to live smart in the new year?
I read Jen Hatmaker’s post on the trouble with including Santa in the celebration, the problem with commercialism, and the guilt we ought to feel about purchasing goods produced by slave labor.
When I finished reading, I continued on to read the comments, of which there were many. Most of them were cheering Jen on with cries of, “Exactly! This is why my family celebrates this way (or doesn’t celebrate at all).”
I was left wondering if I was celebrating Christmas the right way.
I mean, I can’t really disagree with most of what Jen said and I’m one of the most guilt-prone people I know. But something kept me from wanting to beat myself up one more time.
I was confused by my confusion. Why wasn’t I reacting to this message the way I ordinarily do?
I took the matter to the Expert on all things Christmas and was surprised by what He said.
I expected to hear that although I celebrate well in some respects–like giving gifts similar to those the Wise Men gave–I was really messing things up. I figured He’d give me what for on the Santa stuff especially–lying to my children! How could I?
Then I was sure He would take me to task on how excited I get about buying gifts for people. He would remind me of the giddy anticipation I have of Black Friday and how it pales in comparison to my anticipation of Good Friday. He would be right.
But that isn’t what He said. He said, “Melanie…
Christmas isn’t about what you do.
Christmas isn’t about what I do? But that’s all I hear about these days–what people DO for Christmas. Facebook, Pinterest, even the news is all about what we do for Christmas. There are all kinds of ideas for gifts, decorating, and food. There are even lots of ideas about how to focus on the Reason for the Season.
While I was still trying to make sense of what He’d said, He explained:
Christmas is about what I did.
The grammarian in me recognized immediately His use of the past tense. Christmas is about what God had already done. He sent His Son, Jesus, to be born to a most humble couple in the most humble of circumstances.
What God had done changed my life. That’s the past perfect tense. What God did for you and me in the past, He did perfectly in Jesus. But I still wondered if I was celebrating Him in the right way. His answer surprised me again.
I sent Jesus to answer that question.
He sent Jesus to tell me whether I was celebrating Christmas the right way? To tell me about Santa and slave labor? Then I understood.
The answer to the question is a resounding “no.” I’m not celebrating Christmas the right way. What’s more, I’m not living the right way. But if I were capable of living right, I wouldn’t need a Savior. Doh.
I was seized by a joy that I haven’t experienced at Christmas in years. Christmas isn’t about what I do. It’s about what God did!
The most glorious truth about the birth of our Savior is that I can’t mess it up. Christmas is here whether Santa steals the spotlight or some Grinch steals our goodies.
Christmas is here whether the whole world trades “Merry Christmas!” for “Happy Holidays!” It’s here even if Black Friday begins the day after Halloween. It’s here no matter what you and I do.
We’re not celebrating Christmas the right way, friend. But Jesus came for that very purpose.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
This post is part of the Inspired Holiday Hop. You may enjoy these participating posts:
If you know me at all, you know that I’m like a QVC host when it comes to talking about productivity and time management. After talking about something nonstop for a short time, something else becomes the latest and greatest thing that you just HAVE to try. I’m getting a headache just thinking about listing them all with links, so I’ll skip doing that.
The last couple of days I’ve noticed the signs that I was about to start looking for a new product to pitch. I was reading about methods I’d already tried and discarded (GTD and Toodledo) as well as a method of phone automation that would require me to get a degree in engineering to set up. I first noticed my own tendency to perpetually seek out new methods of managing tasks when I hung out on Mark Forster’s forum. Every couple of weeks there, I would post about the latest tweak or software program I was using. What’s more, the psychologist in me was fascinated by the number of people (including Forster himself) who did the same.
What’s Wrong With Me?
I’ve spent years in personal productivity “psychoanalysis” and plenty of time diagnosing others’ time management woes. Some of the factors that lead to serial program addiction include:
Overcommitment – We often switch programs to avoid dealing with the fact that we simply can’t do everything
Perfectionism – We sometimes believe (against better judgment that the right program would allow us to get everything done every day)
Comparison – We may believe that others are getting more (or more important) things done because of the approach they are using
Discontentment – We think that somehow we can have more time to do what we want if we change programs
Boredom – We may recall the last little bit of excitement we had when changing approaches to getting things done and switch gears for a pick-me-up
The Real Reason We Change our Task Management Approach
Those insights haven’t kept me from once again going down the slow road to sloth. So I asked myself WHY once again.
I immediately thought, “I need to get motivated.”
A reasonable rationale, for sure. After all, I had a whole blog devoted to motivating homeschoolers. A desire for motivation underlies all the other factors that lead to problems with our current approach. If we’re overcommitted, we feel we need to get motivated to get more done or drop some commitments. If we’re perfectionistic or comparing, we think motivation is just what we need to get our time management up to standard. If we’re discontented or bored, we believe that a good shot of motivation will be a cure-all. But for the first time, I questioned the premise. Do I really need to get motivated?
The Charles (Pa) Ingalls Productivity Approach
One of my heroes is Charles Ingalls, Pa from the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I would love to know if he was really the incredible dad and man Laura made him out to be. I hope so! A model of productivity, he built homes and fences, farmed, hunted, traded, parented, helped his neighbors, and played the violin. Along the way, he seemed to have a lot of fun. I can’t imagine this productivity hero of mine ever saying, “I need to get motivated.” Pa saying he needed to get motivated to build furniture, make the long, cold trip to buy supplies, or harvest the hay? Laughable.
Was Pa just naturally motivated, I wondered? Perhaps he got more of the motivation gene than the average person. Maybe that was my problem. I just lack the super charge I need to get things done and it isn’t my fault; I wasn’t born with the gene.
Nah.
Like romantic love, motivation wasn’t considered necessary to be faithful in times past. Pa didn’t need motivation to do what needed to be done and neither did Ma. They didn’t read about every conceivable way to achieve their goals; they just got busy and didn’t worry about the rest. Believing that we need motivation is like thinking we need a smart phone to get things done. It’s nice, but NOT necessary.
Christians aren’t commanded to have the mind of Pa Ingalls, but the mind of Christ. What if Jesus had thought, “I need to get motivated before I feed these people, heal this man, go to the cross”? Thank God, He didn’t.
Why It Only Takes 5 Minutes to Super Charge Your Productivity
In the time it’s taken you to read (or skim) this post, you have exactly what you need to have super-powered productivity: Recognize that you do NOT need to be motivated. Nike was right: Just DO it.
If you’re still here:
Close the app store window (you don’t need a new productivity app)
I’m not asking about life after you’ve just had a baby. I’m wondering if you feel like you’re the walking dead, not because you’re so exhausted, but because something is missing in your life. Maybe you’re not Undead, but someone you know is.
My Life as a Zombie
During my first years of graduate school, I staggered around campus exhausted, not because of the work or even the stress, but because I was existing apart from God. I thought psychology could put life into my life and solve my many problems, but it couldn’t. Studying psychology for me, was like a Zombie thinking that devouring brains could assuage the pain raging inside them. My book, So You’re Not Wonder Woman, is about my transformation from Zombie to Wonder Woman through the Super Power of God. Wonder Woman became the object lesson I used to tell women they don’t have to live as Zombies amid piles of dirty laundry, unpaid bills, and broken relationships.
Zombies: The Ultimate Object Lesson
I’ve had many women tell me that Wonder Woman is a powerful word picture for them of who they can be through the power of Christ. That’s why I was excited to read Undead by Clay Morgan. The book not only depicts life apart from God as a Zombie-like existence, it turns the entire Bible into a series of macabre stories that share the Gospel. The book is well-written (I’m a very picky reader), funny (Clay creatively uses footnotes to inject humor), and incredibly informative. He shares a rationale for our obsession with all things zombie (and vampire, too) and gives us fascinating lessons in history and science along the way.
You Need to Get Undead If
You feel like something’s missing. Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve been to church, you’ve been having a difficult time, or you’re just curious about Jesus or the Bible. Undead will encourage you.
You have a child fascinated with zombies or vampires. If you’re a Christian homeschooler, the book would serve as an excellent unit study.
You have a relationship with a young adult who has left the church. Clay speaks directly to the UnChristian generation, but especially to those who have some church background.
You want to learn a method of reaching unbelievers. My sister-in-law teaches story-telling as a means of sharing the Bible with people of all cultures. Even if you could not get someone to read the book, you can learn Clay’s method of turning the Bible into creepy stories–and I mean creepy in a good way!
One Important Note
On page 33, Clay writes, “Most conservative Christians don’t like to consider any other possibility outside of God creating all of existence in six literal days, although I think it’s possible that the origins of the universe aren’t as squeaky clean as that.” He then goes on to make it clear that he does not believe in traditional evolution wherein everything was created by chance. In saying this, he certainly appeals to a culture that clings to the evolution-based premise that the earth is billions of years old, while refusing to agree with a universe that was not created. If someone takes your suggestion to read the book and isn’t familiar with evidence against evolution, I highly recommend the video, The Grand Experiment, produced by our friend, Dr. Carl Werner. Our baby has a bit part in it! This superb material is also available in book form.
Finally, I must disclose that I requested a free copy of the book to review. As an author myself, I know how important social media and reviews are to getting books into the hands of readers, so I wanted to be of help. However, if I hadn’t liked the book, I wouldn’t have given a positive review (unless of course I were a zombie).
Get a Free Copy of Undead
In the interest of getting the word out about Undead (this is the official book page) and also building this blog’s following, I will be giving away a free copy to one of my readers. If you buy and read the book, please take a few minutes to leave a review on Amazon. While you’re there, please review So You’re Not Wonder Woman as well. Reviews are the number one determinant of buying decisions. Have a great Undead day!
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
