Ads
Print This Article
Email This Article
Search For Related NewsHome & Family
Putting a spiritual spin on weight lossJim Pinson
Editor
NASHVILLE – Weight loss is something that most people struggle with for most of their lives. But diets are temporary or they simply do not work. What you need to do is make healthy lifetime changes.
New Life in Jesus Christ Church invites the public to join them in their new “Healthy Choices” weight loss group. The group meets on the first Saturday of every month at 11 a.m., they also weigh in every Saturday.
“Healthy Choices” is led by church member Angie Martin. She has been a nurse at St. Michael’s Hospital in Texarkana, but was recently hired by the Board of Visitors of Cossatot Community College University of Arkansas to teach nursing on the De Queen campus.
Martin has lost a total of 75 pounds since May. She joined Weight Watchers and a local gym to help her make the healthy choices in her life. She hopes to lose about 35 more.
Martin leads the group to discuss challenges and obstacles that obstruct people from obtaining their weight loss goals.
In January Martin challenged the group to stop and think about why they were going to the fridge or pantry. She stated that you needed to realize why you were eating. One group member stated that she used food as a distraction to accomplish other task.
Martin informed the group that they needed to set a goal for weight loss and visualize themselves accomplishing their goals.
“Everyone needs food,” said Martin. “Food is necessary. Food is not bad. It is what we do with food that makes us fat.”
When you decide to make healthy choices, you need to celebrate every healthy step you make. Martin also encouraged the group to not depend on others to make them happy. You need to be “your own cheerleader.”
Martin also warned folks not to be a perfectionist. Everyone makes mistakes and no one is perfect, except Jesus.
The most difficult thing about weight loss is the fact that it takes time. You can not lose weight overnight and the safest way to loss weight is by changing your eating habits.
Martin informed the group that several research papers encouraged folks that were interested in losing weight to add two things to their diet: fiber and calcium.
This month’s challenge is to write down every day something that you planned to overcome that day and then write down what steps you took to overcome that obstacle that day at night before bed.
Members maintain food journals to reveal eating habits and unhealthy food choices.
For more information contact Pastors Lankford and Mary Alice Moore at 845-5683.
