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Thursday April 23, 2009 ~ 18 Comments
Let me say one thing first: taking weight loss advice from me is like taking parenting advice from Bill Gothard. It can be good, it might be right, but it is also theoretical. It boils down to this related to me-- you should not take advice from a person who has lost a bunch of weight but has not kept if off for any significant length of time. I've lost 110 lbs so far, and still have a way to go -- but, to answer everyone's questions, here is how I got started. Donna (my beautiful wife) started us off about a year ago. She was continually tired and not feeling well so she decided to try a homeopathic physician. (I affectionately refer to her doctor as the "witch doctor.") Well, the doctor (who is a believer and attends our church) put her through a bunch of tests and then recommended she avoid all wheat and processed sugar. There was much more to it than that, but she lost over 70lbs. That was inspirational. And inspiration and motivation continued to come. Motivation came from several sources. First, over dinner with Junior Hill, he told me how he had lost so much weight through a physician-assisted plan. I decided I wanted to try that. In other words, I needed to hook up with a physician. I did that a couple of months later. My friend Dino Senesi was also an inspiration. He had lost a bunch of weight leading me to say he looked like a crack addict (but only in a good & manly way). He offered to coach me and hold me accountable and explained how that helped him. Although I did not take him up on his offer becuase of my pride, I knew I needed accountability. Additional motivation came from trouble sleeping. When I went to my doctor, he prescribed a sleep study (which I blogged about here for other reasons). I had sleep apnea and I had to sleep on this horrible device called a C-Pap machine. And, I could not handle some Alien-like face-hugger on me while I tried to sleep. My doctor said that losing weight might be a solution and I knew I needed sleep. My final inspiration came at an amusement park on a trip with my daughter. We were getting on a ride after waiting in a long line and I could not fit-- the bar would not go down. Now, if you are big, you know that fitting into airline seats, booths at restaurants, and other tight places is a pain. For years, I sat at tables (not booths) and requested seat belt extensions on airplanes. (The world is not designed for big people.) But, it became more important when it involved my family and I know I needed to not limit activities with them. In the end I knew I needed to lose weight for my own health. But, honestly, that was probably not the most important reason. I actually have consistently good physicals--healthy heart, good cholesterol and blood pressure, etc. But, I know that can't last so I decided to make a change. I knew I could not enter my 40's this overweight. All of this worked together as motivation. It compelled me to do something. But, most importantly, I knew that God had a better plan for me and my physical health. And, I believed that making a change would be in line with His leadership in my life. Soon, I will share some myths about fat people and weight loss. Then, I will share some about what I have done thus far. Finally, I will share a bit about future plans. Now, this is not the Richard SImmons blog, so I will only write on this occasionally becuase people ask and I know that many pastors struggle as I did and do. Some of you may not find this very interesting, but I receive Twitter messages all the time from people thanking me and saying my journey was an encouragement. So, maybe this will help. But, it also is a help for me-- by writing this out, I am creating another venue to hold myself accountable. More soon... Posted on April 23, 2009 at 8:53 PM ~ 18 Comments Tagged with: health, personal, weightloss 18 CommentsLeave a comment |
  
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I'm not overweight, but have gained more weight over the past few years than I would have liked. And I'm very out of shape. A couple of flights of stairs and I'm very winded. Thank you for this encouraging post and I look forward to follow-up posts.
Well, the only negative side effect. We will no longer hear you say while attending the annual meeting of the SBC that you go because when there you feel young and thin! - grin
Hey Ed-
I'm one of those guys who asked you about weight loss via Twitter. I've been in ministry for 7 years, and I am currently following God's call to plant a church. And... I'm fat. Plain and simple. By God's grace, I have a very fit and beautiful wife (which means I must have a killer personality, or something) and I want to get physically fit and more healthy so that I can be a faithful servant for the Gospel as long as possible.
Thank you for being honest about your experience. I, too, cringe whenever I get into a tight booth at a restaurant or hop on a plane and realize how uncomfortable I'll be for the flight.
Anywho, I just wanted to tell you that I'm undertaking the task of getting healthy and I hope you'll continue to post about weight issues from time to time. It helps me feel like there's someone else who understands.
Jeff
That is awesome! I too had quit riding roller coasters at amusement parks just when my daughter was tall enough to start riding the good ones. I have lost 26 pounds since january and am getting ready to run a 5k! Can't wait to go back to the amusement park!! Its really nice to be under 275 when at one time I weighed 315! My goal is 250...and eventually 235. But mainly 250. Tryibg to become a missionary overseas has been my inspiration. I have consulted with a dr as well and been advised that I would not fit the bmi scale unless I lose muscle mass which I do not want. Hopefully I can get a pass on the bmi. Don't think I could make it to 200. Keep up the good work. I have absolutely loved my lifestyle change!
I need to shout out to all the things I have learned on health and nutrition from the Weston A Price Foundation. http://westonaprice.org. It't not a diet, educating people and challenging the "diet dictocrats" by focusing on wholesome "real" foods often eaten by traditional cultures, like the States before we got into canning everything and processing everything else.
We are in a local co-op here that is a branch of the WAP foundation and have been continually pleased with the things we learn, and the real, filling foods we get to enjoy for our health! (ie: real grassfed beef, real milk, real butter, etc etc).
Check it out. Its worth it. I am continually grateful that God provided this avenue to challenge and grow our understanding of what it really means to be "healthy" when it comes to food and nutrition.
Thanks for sharing your struggle and the steps you have taken to make the progress you've made. I just posted a blog entry today related to this--
http://bit.ly/u5ZgN --, so I won't rehash it too much here. The bottom line is to do what you have done--investigate the options, educate yourself and make changes that are sustainable for you and don't try to just follow what someone else says is the answer.
Sounds like you are doing a great job!
Ed that's fantastic! I look forward to hearing more about how you did it, and I especially hope that God's grace (and your approach) will allow the weight to stay off! You must be feeling like a new man :)
I also found myself way heavier than I should have been, and over the past three years have lost 65 lbs. By going slow and making a series of small changes, I was able to form new habits and feel confident about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and good weight. Different approaches work well for different people of course. I blogged a bit about my weight loss journey as well (follow the URL link in my name above this comment). God bless - Larry
Thanks for the encouraging post, Ed. I fall in the out of shape category. I don't really get short-winded too much, but need to loose weight. I don't anticipate this becoming a fitness blog, but it's a struggle that our bodies are the temple of God and we generally treat them horribly. While I don't look forward to fitness posts dominating your blog, I do look forward to hearing how you're doing and what helps you the most along the way.
Thanks for the insights into your life.
Thank you so much for sharing. I have been following your progress and will continue to do so. The decisions you made about your health are inspiring and research shows that these decisions will allow you many more days in ministry and with your family.
Dr. Stetzer,
You are an inspiration to many. Thank you for being transparent about your hard work. You've been looking great!
You and the Church!
R.A.
Congrats on your weight loss, Ed! I do think this is something we should talk about more than we do.
I often tell people I go to the gym to avoid the "Baptist preacher midsection." I think we kind of have a reputation for this as ministers.
I know you are inspiring others to take better care of their bodies. Bless you for that!
Hi Ed,
Thanks for sharing this. I'm a chubby Mexican who needs to lose weight as well. I like to do long fasts every other year and can shed 40 pounds pretty quick when I do, but it usually comes back over time.
I find your story inspirational. I saw you speak at the Chicago A29 bootcamp last January and thought you looked strong and "husky!" :-)
Be blessed!
Ed,
Thanks for sharing this. It actually does relate to everything else in ministry. And I have lost a measly 15 pounds since Christmas (the easy 15) and long to lose another 15 or so, and your updates have really encouraged me. I think to lose the next 15 I may need to let my Dr help as well. But I am definitely feeling better (even though I just hit 50) and loving life!
Ed, keep checking with your doctor about the sleep apnea. Even losing weight will not treat true apnea. It can be deadly.
Thanks, all, for the kind words.
And, thanks Mike, I checked on it and they said I am O.K.
Ed
Good job, Ed. What a great testimony.
Ed,
Stumbled upon your blog through another facebook friend. Good stuff! I'll be watching in the days ahead. I had my first amusement park incident with not being able to ride a roller coaster with my son just this weekend. It was embarrasing and a bit of a wake-up call. Thanks for sharing your story as well.
Ed: Your right it's a life style change, my lovely wife also has encouraged me, maybe demanded me to lose the weight. For some odd reason she likes having me around. I have beat one battle by being a cancer savior, so I am slowly working on the weight thing, my goal is to run a 5k sometime this year. Thanks for your advice and encouragement for life changes.