It finally happened! I've prayed for this, asking God to change my identity, to see myself how He sees me, to be free... And it has!

If you’ve followed this blog for long, I’ve explained why this blog is called Rescued Writer. It’s because God completely rescued me from worry and fear, years ago. He not only rescued me, but showed me how to live free from it forever! However, the dark cloud of anxiety isn’t the only thing He’s rescued me from. In more recent years, He brought this extremely effective plan to us that helped me, my mom, and my sister break free from all food addiction. I’ve dealt with being overweight since I was 10 years old. I would lose some then gain it back. No matter how many diets I tried, I was still addicted to food. That is until October 2018.

My mom was doing her devotions with God when she got the leading to go on facebook. She quickly pushed the thought away, thinking, “this can’t be God. I’m reading the Bible. It’s not the time to go on my phone.” The urging continued so she finally set her Bible aside and picked up her phone. The minute she pulled up Facebook, a video popped up. It was about a new way of eating that covered the willpower gap. (if you would like more info about this program, please feel free to contact me. It’s not a club or membership so there’s no cost involved whatsoever. No strings attached! I promise!)

The plan involves, weighing your food, only eating 3 meals a day, and no sugar or flour. I know, it sounds a little crazy. I thought so too…at first. My mom just knew, this was the answer to our struggles with food addiction.

Later on she showed the video to my sister and I and asked if we wanted to do it with her. I immediately said yes, yet my mind screamed, “are you crazy? How can anyone live without sugar and flour? Or more importantly, CHOCOLATE?” It was definitely a leap of faith.

All three of us, dived in and never looked back. I’m not saying it was easy. The first three weeks, we went through some pretty extreme detox symptoms. I actually grieved the food I was giving up. I had to just take one meal at a time. But after that, it started to get easier and pretty soon, it was just as automatic as brushing your teeth. And we began losing weight quickly.

We have each lost about 87 pounds and feel like a completely new person. Looking back, it seemed fast. But at the beginning, it seemed like it would take forever.

One of the first things I noticed after starting the plan was the guilt cycle was gone. I was used to going to bed every night with severe guilt of all the bad food I ate that day, and the amount of it. I would kick myself over and over and couldn’t break free from it. Thank God, the cycle was broken! I also noticed all heartburn had vanished. I used to have it every night. But within 3 days, it was gone. I haven’t had it since.

I work as a pharmacy technician part time where I stand for 9 hours. All pain in my feet and legs slowly disappeared.

All food addiction and horrible cravings stopped after those first 3 weeks. I felt free! No more whispers in my ear that I needed dessert to make me happy, no more late night snack attacks and going out late at night in the frigid temps of Minnesota winters to get a treat, to calm that fix. Eating that sugary food didn’t satisfy. It only turned me into a monster that couldn’t be stopped. It was the strangest sensation to be free. Freedom was so foreign to me at first. But it felt so good.

Now, the only cycle left was, changing how I saw myself. This took the longest. Praise God it finally happened! I was at my church's 2020 New Year's Eve party and something was different. I felt light. I felt free. I finally realized what it was... I WAS FREE! For the first time I didn't have ONE single thought of, "I can't play that game in front of everyone... I'm too fat. My clothes are too tight. What do I look like? I'm so embarrassing..." Not one negative, self-conscious, degrading, unhappy thought about myself.

I'm 5lbs away from goal and the weight loss has slowed some...BUT other things are changing even if the scale isn't. I'm still losing inches, but more than that...my self-image is finally changing. Even so close to goal, I still would see myself as overweight. I didn't want that! I didn't want to only be free of food addiction. I wanted to be completely free! I wanted to be able to be anywhere with anyone and not think about weight. I didn't want to be that skinny thin person who still sees themselves as fat and obsesses about it constantly. (Ever met anyone like that?) And it finally happened! I've prayed for this, asking God to change my identity, to see myself how He sees me, to be free... And it has! If this is still a longing in you, take heart. It will happen. It might take time...a lot of time...years, even. But it will come! I promise! Just stick with it. Pray. God is faithful!

Or maybe you are thinking, “well, good for you. You were lucky. But this is impossible.” Believe me, I thought it was too. Your story to freedom is possible! And you don’t have to go on it alone. There are amazing support groups and more importantly, God is with you. He’s not just hanging out either. He’s there to guide and help you. It just takes a submitting to the plan and to God. He wants you more free than you want to be free.

Someone said, “it’s hard losing weight. But it’s hard living overweight. Pick your hard.”

Amazing things have come from all of this too.

February 2019, I started a Facebook group called Recipe Ideas no sugar, no flour made easy. In 1 year it grew to 10,000 members and as of today, its 18,300!

In August of 2019, my sister Natalie wrote a cookbook and I helped her publish it. Since then, she has over 15 very successful cookbooks in print!

We have made some of the most precious connections with the kindest, most amazing people through this. I wouldn’t trade it for the world! All because my mom took that step of faith and we dived in. Many dear friends have joined us in this new way of life. Some saw the changes in our pictures on Facebook and wanted to know more. It just shows, people are watching us. Our lives are our biggest influence and witness for God.

I hope this blog post encourages you. If I can do it, someone who was out of control and addicted to sugar, ANYONE can! Just take the first step. Soon, you’ll look back and see you have become a completely new person, inside and out.

There is ALWAYS hope! Love, Kelly.