Answering Your Questions, LIVE! Coaching Session

I reached out to my Fit Sisters in Christ Facebook group and asked the question, “What is the biggest problem you need help with on your fitness journey?” Tell me in the comments. So today, I’m going to answer as many as I can.

Before I dive in, let’s pray!

Dear God,

So many of us are stuck. We need answers. Our fitness journeys feel like an on and off again roller coaster. Please help us remember that your mercies are new every morning and in you, we don’t need to have guilt about food or missed workouts or what we weigh or how we look because our worth isn’t tied to any of that. Our worth is in you. Please Father help us remember this so we stop getting stuck and basing our level of commitment on our performance. Make it clear, lift the negative spirit of confusion, laziness, and inconsistency and help us go all in with you. we love you and want to live for you for your plans and purposes. Stop this fitness thing from getting in the way. We lift our hands and hearts to you for a breakthrough.

In Jesus’ name, amen!

Free guides and resources?

Did you know I have tons of free guides and resources to help you through all the questions and comments I will list below?

Strong. Confident. His. Faith and Fitness Devotional Bible Study

F.I.T. Bible Study

Free resources on how to eat God-made, get fit God’s way, and gain Godly confidence

The most common questions and concerns:

• Knowing if I’m eating correctly for my health/fitness goals, i.e. fat loss. I used to have a health coach and did the calorie counting with macros for fat loss and maintenance over the past year and a half.
• Get motivated to lift weights again. 
• Afternoon snacking when I get home from work.
• Knee pain that just won’t go away. It makes it hard but not impossible.
• Eating over the weekends! I do excellent through the week and exercise has always been a regular part of my daily routine for many years, but I can undo EVERYTHING I worked so hard for over the weekend! 
• Staying consistent
• I'm a binge eater of junk food. Also, I'm such a picky eater. So it's hard to get protein in when I don't like fish, chicken, and most meat.
• One-on-one accountability from someone serious. I’ve been thinking I’d love to have a coach - but all coaches I know In my area are doing the expensive, non-God-made food programs.
• Eating enough or too much! 
• Not overeating even the right foods. Only eating when I’m hungry. Stopping when satisfied.
• Eating because I'm watching tv, stressed, and just needing something to do so I munch.
• Motivation to stay committed. Being able to feel good eating right, occasionally cheating without a loved one commenting on my habits ALL the time.
• I do not want to be a short order cook, cook something healthy, the kids don’t like it or husband. Great healthy recipes for chicken breast is the hard one. It might be easier to have an accountability partner…
• Discouragement and staying vigilant. Choosing God-made goodness is typically more expensive, so I often find myself opting for less expensive options, which at times sacrifices the God-made goodness option. Also, planning for meals all of my kiddos will eat.
• Staying motivated after I mess up. I tend to be a perfectionist, so after I've set goals, made a plan, and gotten started, if I trip up I'm too hard on myself, and I give up. I know it's the enemy telling me lies. 
• I do really well for a little while, and then I start to sabotage everything, and I lose hope of ever being healthy and just don't care anymore... Sounds like I've approached this just like another diet and I'm just stuck.
• Staying steady during the storm, knowing God has got me, and to keep going. If the family is sick or something going on in the household it’s hard to prioritize me still to keep the ship going
• To be committed and press forward, remembering the disciple that is within me and to Believe in myself again.
• Self doubt: I know it’s the enemy and horrible old thinking patterns.
• Finding time and energy between being a caretaker for my father and my job.
• Believing that my efforts are even going to work.
• Honestly doing it. That is my problem. We got a bunch of groceries, and I want to sit down and do a meal plan for our busy family of 6, but I don't do it. I don't do the work. I have all the tools, but the action isn't being taken.
• Prepping meals for the week.

Here’s the big overarching answer to all of these questions…

Worldly fitness is legalistic and once you spot that ugly performance and perfection-based lie you can get free when you start thinking I can't believe I ate that, I can't believe I missed another workout, etc.… catch it, and say, “God set me free…I’m going to press on.”

If you think about it, this happens all the time. You eat something you didn’t want to and you feel like a failure and instead of forgiving yourself and turning to God for grace you let one bad decision derail you, and the enemy wins.

Consistency is not possible because we are in the flesh…

We are only able to press on in God’s grace becasue if we choose to embrace that His mercies are new every morning we get a clean slate a do over, every day. We can't keep dragging yesterday or last week into today, this is the day the Lord has made…

Instead of promising God, we're going to be perfect let’s promise Him we’re going to press on! 

Once you make this mindset shift that you’ll never be perfect, Sister, it’s liberating. The best we can do is get up every day and give our best to the day we are in, without any regret of yesterday.

Faith Fuel:

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”  Romans 7:15

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-15

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23