Bonnie Mechelle weighed almost 300 pounds and she tried almost everything to lose weight: pills, powders, pre-portioned meals, expensive slimming spa treatments, gym memberships and private personal training. All of these things actually worked for her… for about a month, then (like most people) she reverted right back to her old habits of frequent fast food trips and sitting sedentary at her computer at home and at work.

Bonnie wore a bright smile on the outside but deep down inside she was miserable and I hated her body. Her blood pressure was high and her energy was low, she felt really bad all of the time (Can you relate? If so, visit www.victorysteps.net).

One day she sat down and seriously went to God in prayer and asked Him to deliver her from the fat on her obese body. She told God that she was tired of being fat and wanted so desperately to be healthy so that she could play with her children without running out of breath. She desperately wanted to be able to walk up a flight of stairs without running out of breath. Read more ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bonnie Mechelle is an AFAA certified group fitness instructor; holistic nutritionist and board certified Christian Life Coach who has lost over 120 pounds on her own with no help from gastric bypass surgery, liposuction, fat burning diet pills or expensive food delivery plans. She lost her weight using the power of faith and motivation coupled with diet and physical fitness education. Bonnie believes that God helped her lose weight so that she can show others how to break free from the bondage of obesity, yo-yo dieting and low self-esteem. Read more ...

Jesus went on a spiritual fast and the Devil came to him and tried to tempt him with food. Jesus told the Devil:"It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:4). Christians are being tempted to overeat and hold food up as an idol in their lives because it is an easy, socially acceptable escape from the fear, stress and anxiety.

When we find ourselves repeating a behavior that causes premature death (like overeating), that is a big sign that we are operating outside of the will of God. Romans 6:23 says, For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Food was made by God as a gift for us to nourish, heal and re-energize our bodies. Food was not made for us to use as sin to replace God or forget God when times get tough and life takes a turn for the worst.

Many Christian’s find themselves turning to food for comfort and peace because food is a cheap, quick, tasty fix that is not condemned but encouraged at the church. Every time there is a gathering for fellowship, you’ll find a vast array fattening foods to choose from and it’s very hard to resist the temptation to overeat, when everyone around you is doing it and you have people encouraging you to partake in foods that will send you over the edge.

When you replace the Holy Spirit with a physical substance like food, drugs or alcohol, you’ll never fill the void in your heart or heal the source of the pain you feel in your soul. Eating fatting, sweet sugary treats is not sin, but the overindulgence of food is sinful because it leads to obesity, depression, diabetes, heart attack, cancer and strokes. Read more ...

Motivation to Exercise: 6 Good Tips to Be Consistent with Your Routine

Exercise is one of the greatest things you can do to improve your health, elevate your mood and increase your self-esteem. If you are having trouble staying motivated to exercise, you are not alone. Exercise gyms are crowed with people at the beginning of the year, but by Valentines Day the herd of enthusiastic people thin out as New Years resolutions fall by the wayside.

The main reason people are not motivated to exercise is because they engage in activities they don’t enjoy or do too much to soon in an attempt to maximize results in a short period of time. When you do a workout that is too challenging, painful or boring, you will “fall of the wagon” and eventually quit. Here are some tips that will give you motivation to exercise so you will be consistent with your routine:

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Overcoming Self-Sabotage When Losing Weight

Do you ever find yourself having (self-sabotaging) negative thoughts about your body and inability to lose weight?

How did I let myself get this darn fat

Look how big I am, I look disgusting

I can’t believe I’m technically obese

Look at my big fat stomach, arms and legs…gross

I’m a big fat loser

I hate the way I look

I’ll never get this weight off

Maybe I was meant to be fat

I might as well get used to being big, because I’m never going to change

Weight Loss is too hard, I might as well stay fat

I hate taking pictures

I hate going shopping for clothes

I hate looking in the mirror

Why am I cursed to be so big

I can’t stop eating and I hate to exercise

It sucks being me

These thoughts are not unique, out of the ordinary or strange. These types of thoughts are actually quite normal. Studies show that two out of five women and one out of five men would trade three to five years of their life to achieve their weight goals. One out of three women and one out of four men are on a diet at any given time. Two thirds of dieters regain the weight within one year and virtually all regain it within five years. After viewing images of female fashion models, seven out of ten women felt more depressed and angry than prior to viewing the images. No wonder you’re so frustrated!

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One out of three women and an estimated one out of six boys have been sexually abused in their lifetime. If you struggle with obesity and being overweight, it’s important for you to realize that the sexual abuse that you experienced when you were younger may be a contributing factor to your weight gain, food addiction or eating disorder.

It is obvious that inactivity and eating more calories that you can burn off is the physical reason that your body carries excess fat. As you may already know, any diet or exercise plan can work in getting weight off… temporarily. The weight comes back 90% of the time and you blame yourself for lack of willpower or strength of character to keep the weight off… right?

It’s time to look a little bit deeper if you were a victim of sexual abuse as a child or as an adult. There are spiritual stumbling blocks that are holding you back from your ideal weight and size. Although you know in your mind the right thing to do, for some reason you can’t make yourself do it. The Apostle Paul in the bible shared these same feelings…

Romans 7:15

I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate

Side-effects/Symptoms of being sexually abused:

Feeling angry, afraid, ashamed, guilty, embarrassed, confused and worthless

Thinking you’re unattractive, incompetent, inadequate, and unwanted by others

Developing antisocial behavior, learning disabilities, interpersonal tensions, inefficiency at work

Being abusive to yourself via overeating, self mutilation, drugs or alcohol

Developing sexual problems, aversion to sex or becoming promiscuous

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The Spiritual, Emotional and Physical Reasons for Compulsive Eating, Binge Eating and Addiction to Food

Compulsive overeating, binge eating disorder and emotional eating  are defined by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) as, “. . .characterized by recurrent binge-eating episodes during which a person feels a loss of control over his or her eating.”

This is such a huge issue that there are entire Tv show series dedicated to the subject. Turn on your television and you'll see people struggling with compulsive eating disorders on The Biggest Loser and Addicted to Food on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). When you get down to the core of the issue, compulsive eating is about trying to fill a deep spiritual need with food, which is an impossible task. Every human being whether they believe in God, have any kind of religious tradition or sense of spiritual connection with a power greater than themselves, has an inherent spiritual hunger within themselves to know, love and connect with God. Matthew 4:4 says, “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[a]” Read more ...