Weight loss success: day 22
Try eating smaller portions at every meal and with every snack. Remember that 7 less calories do matter! You are either building disciple in every circumstance or you are ripping it apart. Build it every time you have the strength to improve it!
Review your plan to quit addiction regularly. Dr. Thomas Horvath in his book Sex Drugs Gambling and Chocolate noted the following: “Reviewing your plans regularly will keep them as a focus of your attention. You can notice a slip or relapse well before it actually happens. When you first notice a slip or relapse on the way, review your motivations for overcoming addiction. All relapses start as slips, but a slip does not have to become a relapse. If you follow through successfully, in time the process of following through on change, and the process of living your life, will become identical. When you arrive at this point you will have overcome addiction!
Finding your purpose: You are the problem solver that someone needs. You don’t decide what your problem solving skill is – you discover it. What you love most is a clue to your God given assignment. Anger can be a clue to your assignment. It angers me that many churches won’t teach the Bible as written and because of that, addicts have little hope.
How to lose weight: tip #2 Exercise vigorously 2 or 3 times per week. Life is not easier when you don’t exercise. Exercise makes everything better. You will be sick less, feel better and lose weight. (See you physician to make sure you are healthy enough to start a exercise program).
The mad cycle is addiction, cleaning up, freedom, then complacency. Some of you reading this article have just started the cleaning up phase. Sometimes this is the simple phase. Your addiction caused pain again and you are committed to change no matter what. A few of you are in the freedom stage. You are currently free from your addiction and you have motivation to stay that way. Not many of you watching are in the complacency stage. This stage is a big problem. This is the problem stage that causes the mad cycle to begin again.
This is the stage where we skip WW meetings. We don’t work on our discipline anymore. We become overconfident and try to do it on our own. We splurge a little. We settle into a new rut.
But be aware. When we settle into a new rut we will most assuredly find our way back into our old rut. Here is an example. If you were committed to gambling and now you are committed to watching a lot of great movies, you have committed to being in a new rut. Sitting around hoping that you will stay clean does not help you or anyone else. Instead get involved in helping at overcoming addiction meetings. Get involved in working at your Church. Be the person who helps out the little old lady who lives around the corner. By helping others the person you help the most may be yourself.
Quitting addiction permanently is actually quite mathematical. Let’s look at a few addicts who have quit their addiction. Which of the three following people do you think will have the best chance to quit permanently? First we have Bill who is/was a former sugar addict. Bill now spends his free hours the following ways. Monday night is softball night with his new friends. Tuesday night is game night with his family. Wednesday night is Church night. Thursday night he spends with his new friend mike recording original songs just for fun. Friday night is WW. Saturday is helping out at the shelter and he has Harry coming over to watch the football game. Sunday is going to Church, doing a few odd jobs around the house and getting refreshed physically and spiritually.
Next we have Joe who is/was a former drinker. Monday night is AA. Tuesday is free. Wednesday he plays cards with his clean friends. Thursday is free. Friday he tries to get a date if possible. Saturday is mostly free but he often plays pool with his buddies on Saturday night.
Last we have Peter who is/was into drugs. Peter hates scheduling and loves going with the flow. His only planned activity for the week is NA on Monday night. His drug addiction caused him immense destruction and he is very determined to quit.
Even though the only person we said was determined to quit was Peter, most of us would say that Bill is more likely to succeed than Peter. I would say that Bill is three times more likely to suceed than Peter. Reason number 1 is because he is busy. Staying active gives him less time to be tempted. Reason number 2 is because he is developing new friendships with people who care about him. Now he can start to lean on them in hard times instead of only having his addiction to lean on. Reason #3 is because always has something to do, he rarely is bored. Being bored is a springboard back into addiction. Reason #4 is because now he is doing things to help other people. This gives him a satisfaction that he has never felt before. Reason #5 is because he is balanced. He is busy but he has a planned day of rest-Sunday.
Just as important as the addiction mad cycle is the Spiritual mad cycle. The Spiritual mad cycle is bondage, repentance, freedom and complacency. This cycle is vitally important for us because when we become complacent spiritually it often leads us back into addiction.
We fight complacency by what we do every day as Christians. We read the Bible every day. We have a time and a place for prayer. We learn to fear the Lord. The Bible says 100 times that we should fear the Lord. Philippians 2:12 (NKJV)
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
If you don’t have a joy and a light in your life ask God why it is this way. If you are sincere in asking He will show you the problem. Then if you commit your life to following him He will be with you every step of the way.
Read Matthew 8