Perseverance and persistence: What keeps us going when we would otherwise give up?

One half pound doesn’t even register if your scale isn’t digital. If your scale is digital, one half pound means the number before the decimal point stays the same for two whole weeks. And two whole weeks of calorie restriction can feel like an eternity for one single pound. Can’t the time go quicker and the pounds melt off faster?

The high-end average for weight loss is two pounds—and if I could pull that off every week, I’d have no problem persisting. It is persistence both during weight-loss efforts and after achieving weight loss goals that fails us. We expect too much too fast. We are not happy with ourselves right now, so we want to lose weight faster. We are discontent with whatever “now” has for us, so we eat too much of the wrong things in order to anesthetize our discontent.

A friend recently posted a picture on Facebook that, among other things, featured my backside. It’s not an angle that I’m used to seeing, and I find it far less photogenic than my smile. When I mocked myself, she returned the comment with a compliment that reminded me, I am not my weight or my looks. It reminded me that I am too focused on my outward appearance and therefore prone to think that all of me encompasses what you see on the outside. Nothing could be further from the truth, especially as time ages me.

When the Apostle Paul wrote that the old has gone and the new has come, he was speaking of the Old Covenant versus the New. Ironically, our bodies are a testimony of the Old Covenant—of death and dying. And while, at 42, I’m hoping I have just as many healthy years to come, in Christ there is a sense that new life is happening within me. In other words, we’re supposed to be getting better on the inside, even as our bodies give way to the results of the Fall (I suppose that includes the cottage cheese I see on the back of my legs—I don’t believe we will have cellulite in glory.). “Getting better” means I grow in perseverance.

CBFC youth pastor Greg Carder explained to his staff at a recent conference that perseverance is being loyal to a belief or idea. It is different from persistence, which is maintaining a course of action. But you see, we need perseverance in order to remain persistent at what we do. It’s the belief or idea held fast (perseverance) that steers the rudder in that course of action (persistence).

If we give up in our course of action, it’s not just because we’re tired—it’s because we’ve failed to persevere in our belief. It may be that the belief was unfounded in the first place. How about this one: when I lose weight, then I will … If life for you begins when you become a certain way on the outside, you are persevering in a lie that will just leave you empty. You are not a number on a scale. You are not a dress size. You are not even a time in a 3K race. You are you. And you need something true to persevere in.

If for you, contentment begins when such and such a circumstance changes, you are persevering in a lie that will leave you empty—and no amount of chocolate fudge chunk brownie ice cream will bring you happiness. You are you right now. And at the risk of quoting Eminem, you only have one shot to seize all that you were meant to be right now. You have the most potential for God in this moment than you will ever have again. You will never be back to this place.

The scale, the passing of time and the moment right now can become our greatest teachers. They beg us to ask, what is it that you are persevering in? Why do you want to drop the weight? Why do you want to stop the weight gain? Why do you want to escape in a bag of chips? What do you believe right now? What beliefs are you persevering in that will steer your course of action so that you do not grow weary in doing good?

Am I over-spiritualizing the subject? It’s possible to make an idol of weight loss, health concerns and exercise. It’s also possible to make an idol of the antithesis—gluttony, irresponsible living and comfort. Everything needs balance—and we can only over or under spiritualize the subject if we are not living for God’s glory. And that in itself is a pretty good place to start persevering.

Top 11 Ways to Increase Your Metabolism

I’m a doughnut voyeur. I love to watch people eat them…sometimes up close. I’ve been known to beg others to eat, just so I can watch. Sick, I know. But the truth is, I really can’t eat doughnuts like I used to anymore—or at least I choose not to. Because, over age 40, my metabolism cannot pack in and burn off the calories it once did when I was 20-something. It’s a sad fact that, as we age, our metabolism slows and if our food consumption doesn’t decrease, we grow fatter. All is not lost, however. There are a few things we can do to increase our metabolism (the rate at which our bodies convert energy from the food we eat and the fat our bodies store).

1) Eat! Isn’t that awesome? When we eat our bodies go to work. In the same way that it takes money to make money—it takes calories to increase the energy efficiency of the calorie burning mechanism of our bodies. Thus, yes, eating a portion of breakfast increases your metabolism! But not everything you eat is created equal.

2) Eat protein. Your body burns two times the amount of calories to process protein than it does carbohydrate. This also means that you will stay satisfied longer and eat less.

3) Lift weights. The main reason your metabolism slows is that every year after the age of 35, you lose 3% of your muscle mass. Your body needs more energy to sustain muscle. So the less muscle you have, the less calories you will actually burn. By 40 years of age, the average woman has lost 15% of the muscle mass she had at age 30! That’s enough to begin making a serious metabolic difference (not to mention creating doodle sacs under the arms!). The great news is that you can actually reverse this process by weight training twice a week with weights that are heavy enough to exhaust your muscle in 8-10 reps of 3 sets two times a week. And, no ladies, this will not bulk you up as some fear. But it will set your body into a muscle building phase for up to four hours after your workout, which will increase your metabolic rate during that time. As your muscle mass increases over time, so will your resting metabolic rate.

4) Go for a run. Intense aerobic workouts such as body pump, cycling, swimming or running will burn calories during your workout as well as for a short time afterwards. Even if you’re a walker, consider incorporating short bursts of running into the walk to get your heart rate up. New studies have shown you need a 30 minutes a day of intense aerobic workouts to make a difference in your body weight. While these activities will not build muscle or reverse the muscle loss that comes with aging, they will help you to sustain your current weight or lose weight, depending on how much you are eating.

5) Hydrate yourself with 6-8 glasses of water a day. Studies have shown that even mild dehydration (the effects of which you won’t even notice) will slow your metabolic rate. Try drinking one glass before each meal, which will help to fill your stomach, leaving less room for seconds!

6) Drink cold water. Having just 5-6 glasses of cold water a day can burn an extra 10 calories a day. Big deal, you say? That comes to a pound a year simply because you took your water from the refrigerator or had your water on the rocks. I’ll take any help I can get!

7) Eat more often. Eating small portions more frequently as opposed to three large meals will help your metabolism to stay kicked in. Just make sure that you are eating less during your main meals than you would if you weren’t snacking—calories add up fast, and if you eat more than you burn, you gain weight.

8) Eat spicy foods. Studies have shown that 1 tablespoon of red or green chili peppers can increase your metabolism by up to 23% for a half hour after eating. Consider spicing up your pasta or soup to kick start your metabolic rate.

9) Drink black coffee. Two cup of coffee will burn an extra 50 calories in four hours. That’s equivalent to walking a mile. (Is it wishful thinking that 4 cups in 20 minutes will burn the equivalent of cross-country race? ) Just consider that sweeteners and creamers will reverse the affects, depending on what you and how much you use.

10) Drink Green Tea. If you don’t like coffee, green tea will do the same thing for you.

11) And, last but not least….breastfeed! This encouragement for a few special friends of mine. Not all of us have this option…but bravo to those who do and take it. One of the many rewards is that you will return to pre-pregnancy weight much faster than if you had bottle fed because your metabolic rate is increased during milk production.

The Effects of Gratitude on Your Bathroom Scale

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,  giving thanks through Him to God the Father. ---Colossians 3:17

Thirty minutes is not enough! I don’t’ know about you, but squeezing the federally recommended 30 daily minutes of exercise into my schedule has been no easy feat. And now, according to a March report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the average woman needs 60 minutes of moderate exercise a day to prevent weight gain. (Notice I said prevent weight gain and not “lose weight.”) It gets worse. If you’re clinically overweight (a body mass index of 25% or more) 60 minutes a day of moderate exercise supposedly has no effect on your weight.

Don’t shoot me. I’m just the messenger.

But I’m not disgusted by this finding—and neither should you be. There is tremendous hope because this confirms what we’ve really known all along. We eat too much and exercise will not cure it. But something else might: thankfulness.

Google tells me there are an awful lot of reasons why we overeat. I’ve narrowed them down to three categories in no particular order:

1. Boredom can happen when we feel like we have “nothing to do.” For some of us, though, it happens when what we have to do becomes tedious. That’s when I can think of nothing better than to invite a bag of nachos over for a party in my mouth. My eating is really a personal protest to my circumstances. I’m not hungry; but I’m not satisfied with the “now.” I want a food diversion—but what I need is an attitude change.

In this environment of unemployment, I rarely hear the term “dead-end” job anymore. That’s because most of us who are gainfully employed are just thankful to be so. Fostering a sense of gratefulness sometimes means considering what kind of loss I would suffer without the responsibilities I have in the moment. God gave me a husband, a home, children, a job and the opportunity to participate in His Kingdom through them. What does having them say to me about God’s blessings and goodness? (Sometimes, God takes them away and shows us how good He is through the losses). Focusing on how I have been blessed by God restores thankfulness to me for what I have to do. It also helps to fill my heart with passion rather than a discontent that nacho chips cannot cure.

2. Food therapy is a second reason we overeat. We’re so familiar with this that we have coined cute terms to identify the behavior. We “eat our feelings.” We turn to “comfort food.” We eat because we are lonely, angry, happy or nervous. Ultimately, we turn to food to help us. We don’t lift our eyes up to the hills—we place them on the freezer. Where does our help come from? Ben and Jerry.

It’s easy for me to dismiss this with laughter. But in a way, it’s not funny. What it says about me in the moment is that I do not believe my help comes from God, and therefore I am not grateful that He is with me; that He is my Healer, my Comforter, my Friend. I can give lip service to what I say I believe about God, but in moments of personal despair, are my lips engaged in praise or wrapped around a Twinkie? The writer of Psalm 50 instructs us to “sacrifice thank offerings” to God. Thanking God in faith for His help in our emotional despair is a sacrifice of faith. We are thanking Him for the help He gives us that we can’t see in the moment—rather than the food that we can see and taste. Doing this is saying, “God, I hurt right now, but I’m turning to you and I’m going to pour out my heart to you in detail about how I’m feeling. I choose to be thankful that you are here; that you are my helper; that you are my friend who never leaves me.”

3. Entitlement is a third reason we overeat. This is my default mode. I eat because I can. Because it’s “my food.” Because I bought it; I own it; I cooked it and I deserve it. Sometimes I think of it as my reward for the day. Oddly enough, when I say grace, I do not say, “Thank you Nan for this food.” So there is something wrong about my thinking—and what’s wrong is my ingratitude toward God.

My food is not my food—it’s food that God has given through His provision. The assumption that I can use it in the way I choose because it’s mine is at best an ungrateful assumption. While the rest of the world strives to protect its health by getting enough food to eat, our striving is in not eating too much. This is a clear stewardship failure on our part. Gluttony is not God’s intention, and the antidote to it is gratefulness for the food He gives us.

I’m not throwing in the proverbial towel on exercise. Although 30 minutes no longer cuts it for weight maintenance, it is still enough to protect us from heart disease. Losing and maintaining weight as we age, however, will always be dependent on how much we choose to eat--and that is a consequence of an entirely different kind of heart condition.

*Note according to the study: Sixty minutes a day of moderate exercise will maintain the weight of the average over-40 year old woman as long as she does not overeat. Thirty minutes of intense exercise (running, swimming, fast cycling) will do the same.

Exercise will not make you thin

For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. -- 1 Timothy 4:8 (NKJ)


It’s natural that anyone who spends 40 minutes in treadmill torture land will want to clobber me for stating that exercise will not make you thin. Why in the world would we submit ourselves to hamster-like hell if it wasn’t taking us at least a few steps farther away from the sales rack at Lane Bryant?

The fact is, exercise does help--but only a little, and not enough to make the kind of difference that most of us have in mind. When the Apostle Paul told Timothy about exercise, he had no idea how prophetic those words would become for us 2,000 years later. There was no such thing as Oreo cookies in first century Palestine.

Consider this: one Oreo cookie (less than half of a serving size, according to the package) is 70 calories. It takes 20 minutes of fast walking on a treadmill to burn the calories of one Oreo cookie for the average 150 pound person –as if anyone who loves food would eat only one Oreo cookie! And if we were eating only one Oreo cookie and this was our only vice, none of us would be concerned about weight loss. But weight loss entails some cold, hard facts.

You need to exercise off 500 calories every day off the calories you need daily to sustain your weight. If you are relying on exercise alone to help you lose weight, you need to do this every day, seven days a week, in order to lose just one miserable pound. I could gain a pound by accident. I swallow too much air and the scale goes up.

If you run a ten minute mile for 40 minutes you will probably burn something like 400 calories. So you’ll have to do that every day and supplement with at least a two mile walk every day or some other exercise that will make up the difference every day in order to burn your 500 calories. And then you must make sure that you eat no more than it takes to sustain your current body weight, even if you are hungry. If you go over the calorie limit just one day, technically speaking, you will not achieve your weight loss goal.

It is possible that you could lose one pound a week through exercise alone on a consistent basis. But possible and probable are two different things. Relying on exercise alone to make us thin is a recipe for disillusionment (a.k.a hitting the Haagen Daaz in disgust after a week, if we make it that long).

There are some compelling reasons to exercise. Helping with weight loss is one of them. I advocate exercise. It has changed my life, and I will write about that more another day. But more importantly, there’s a clue in what Paul wrote to Timothy that can help us far more than increasing our exercise time.

For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

Paul wasn’t dismissing exercise; instead he was promoting something that is of far greater value—godliness. Contrary to the images that Saturday Night Live and Dana Carvey have forever put in my mind about godliness, it has nothing to do with the church lady. Instead it literally means “to worship well.” In other words, it means to reflect on and express outwardly the characteristics of God in our lives.

Godliness, Paul says, is also profitable for “all” things which help us both in this life and the one after. So if godliness helps us in “all” things, it certainly helps us when it comes to our health and our eating habits. What does it look like to be “godly” or to be “like God would be” in our eating habits? Can my food consumption affect my spiritual well being?

There are too many Scripture references about food to cover them all in this post—but when it comes to food consumption under the New Covenant (that refers to the Christian), Scripture deals most with the subject of how much we eat--self control or portion sizes--rather than what we eat.

2 Peter 1: 5-7; 2 Timothy 3: 1-9; and 2 Corinthians 10:5 are great reference points toward which to turn for thoughts about self-control and the consequences of lacking it. This is an incredibly convicting notion for a woman who loves to eat. Portion control is an indication of self control or a lack thereof, and ultimately how I worship God in my eating habits.

No amount of exercise will make up for a pattern of putting too much food in our mouth—exercise will probably not make us thin. Worse, it will never fix the spiritual consequences and implications of gluttony. But mastering self control through faith and knowledge (2 Peter 1:5-7) in this very personal, daily discipline of what goes in our mouths will--and those benefits will help us now and forever.