Shannon’s weight loss journey…

 

It was summer and a hot one at that. I was on another one of my famous “lose 20 pounds in a week diets” My closet sizes ranged from a size 8 to a size 24 and I was determined this summer to get closer to the single digit outfits! I was a career weight loss counselor and a professional dieter. I knew how many calories I had burned during any given activity and could draft a meal plan with my eyes closed. I KNEW everything; I simply did not know why I could not get my own eating under control.

 

This time was it...

 

I was about to conquer the final few pounds, just three days left until my big trip back home to Los Angeles. The morning after an intense jog I came home feeling especially proud of myself and determined to stay “on track” for the rest of the day. I raced up the stairs in my New York brownstone and began to feel slightly faint and out of breath. My heart was beating faster than usual. My chest pounding harder, I remember thinking that I was about to die! I cried out to God in my broken and helpless state. I heard God’s voice very clearly speak into my spirit: STOP!

 

The veil lifted from my eyes...

 

I heard a gentle voice speak to my spirit…Diets don’t work…but Jesus does! God revealed to me that “knowledge had puffed me up…but it would take His love to build me up.” I had all the information but was fighting this spiritual battle (gluttony) with a very carnal and secular weapon (dieting). 

 

The truth that set me free...

 

I began to read the Bible and spend more time in God’s presence, God revealed to me that I was hungry for purpose, hungry for significance. I was carrying a burden of shame, past hurts and abuse that I continued to stuff down and bury alive with food. Through the principles of Body Temple Wellness I learned to admit my own weakness, and need for a Holy God. I sought His strength and the miracle of healing was realized! I was set free from the bondage of my own limitations. I began to literally melt down to my desired weight, each week losing more weight. Today, more than a decade later and still free from over 70 pounds of excess weight I can testify that Diets Don’t Work…But JESUS DOES!