"I (God) will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking bout their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!" Psalm 65:24
This is a day to celebrate achievements! Stats say it all!
Today's post is #2000! There have been over 155,000 visitors to the blog; a number that fills me with gratitude and the encouragement to keep writing. You, dear readers, are a blessing unlike no other!
Today is the 1st day of Bridging the Gap with Gina Livy. The Gap group is a zero cost group for people who participated in the Spring/Summer 2023 program and are signed up for the fall group as well. The 91 day program finished yesterday. It left me feeling both sad and excited like all endings do because an ending is the start of another beginning.
I couldn't be happier with the results both on and off the scale!
As of today, I have dropped 26.2 pounds, lost 4 inches around my hiney and 4 1/2 from my waist. Up top was a bit less but that's okay I am happy to keep the curves! All my other body parts are noticeably thinner even my toes!
The double chin has become one due to a bit of a sag courtesy of gravity's force of 9.8 meters per second squared. However, over the next 3 months my skin will become tighter around my new, smaller frame as it renews according to the rate of renewal God created our cells to have. The slightly sagging chin won't be as noticeable.
Ruth Kane, a Livy Loser herself of 70ish lbs., is a researcher at the University of Ottawa. She has been given government funding to study Gina Livy's program over the next several years because of the program's 95% success rate. While the study's focus is weight loss, they are also studying the statistics of people who are able to overcome diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, digestion issues, inflammation and many other illnesses related to being overweight.
Governments are at a loss about how to address the growing obesity problem here in Canada, currently at 29%. The US obesity rate is even bigger at 39.6%.
The eat less/exercise more/calorie in/calorie out strategy the diet and fitness world has said is the only way is unsustainable. Eventually, the body believes it is starving so it will shut down the metabolism and convert all food intake to fat. It is possible to gain weight eating a mere 600 calories a day while exercising like a fiend. (This is part of Gina's own story.)
One of the major weight loss organization is now pushing medications. Medications I might add which require a lifelong commitment. Some of these cost upwards of $1000/month and can have terrible side effects.
Successful weight loss according to Canadian government standards is 5% over 6 months. Gina's plan blows this out of the water. My loss is just over 10% in 3 months! And I am not alone. This is a common result for people who follow the carefully designed program.
Which, by the way, does not involve starving, depriving, weight or measuring. There are zero special foods to buy, zero prepackaged meals, and zero fat tasteless stuff is gone forever!
It's also normal for people to not lose weight in the beginning. 5% of the participants in the Spring/Summer program had this happen. The body might need time to heal from past starvation/deprivation diets. Underlying health issues could mean it will take longer. But, by giving the body what it needs to heal and repair the damages of the past, it will eventually be able to focus on shedding the fat the body doesn't want either!
There is zero scientific evidence anywhere that says you cannot lose weight regardless of health, age or gender. (I love this statistic from Gina.)
The majority of these people who have a slow start go on to reach their goals.
Losing weight is just the start of the 4 stages towards reaching and maintaining your "finally and forever" as Gina calls it. Her plan teaches us how to maintain and sustain the loss permanently. Yes, permanently!
I think the biggest challenge with Gina's program is that it takes time. It is not a quick fix.
In a culture where everything is about NOW, it may not appeal to everyone. I figured since it took 59 years to get as heavy as I was, if it only takes 2-3 years to get me back to what I weighed in my twenties, I'll take the slow route thank you very much!
Because I feel great!
Now, if I could only preach the love of Jesus as much as I've shared about the program...Or maybe this is preaching the love of Jesus because I see how much stress and shame and guilt is attached to body size. I see a culture that uses food for comfort which in the end is of no comfort at all. This is not what God wants for anyone.
The 91 day Fall/Winter program only costs $75 Canadian. Sign up soon because Gina's groups have a 100% sell out rate.
Someone said to me the other day, "You're not going to lose so much weight that we don't recognize you are you?"
It surprised me a bit so I didn't know how to respond until much later.
"I will lose the weight I need to lose until the body God designed especially for me is finally revealed!"
While my goal number has some flexibility because it involves my body telling me when to stop, the one I've picked will be 63% less than when I began last April! Holy Cow! That's a whole other not-so-small person inside of me that will be forced to vacate the premises! Praise God and AMEN!
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