How I lost 90 Pounds- My Faith + Fitness Journey

Psalm 40:1–3 “I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.”

The goal isn’t to get smaller — it’s to grow stronger in Him.

I’ve realized that The Process: Slow, Steady, and Sacred.

Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Your Daily Encouragement: You just have to take one small, surrendered step. Invite God into your journey. Pray over your meals. Ask Him to help you crave His presence more than anything else.

Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”

Lord, thank You for walking with me through every step of this journey — through the highs, the lows, and everything in between. Father forgive me when I think of my weight or food before You. And Jesus, for the woman listening today, I pray You lift her out of shame and fill her with Your Holy peace and strength. Help her see that she is not behind — she is being rebuilt. Give her courage to take the next step, to trust You with her body and her story.
 Do what only You can do, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Are you sick of trying diet after diet and NOT losing weight?

Hey there friend, I'm Lindy Schlabach, Christian Fitness & Nutrition Coach. I gained 100 pounds in my late twenties and struggled for years to get it off. Seven years ago, I found a basic system that worked and has helped me lose 90 of those pounds. I’ve been working with women in online fitness and nutrition ever since to break chains of diet culture, embrace their bodies and fueling instead of dieting.

In this podcast, I'll teach you how to:

• • Lose Weight in a Way that honors God without obsessing about the scale
  • Meal Plan and Prep for Your Family
  • Follow a MACRO based plan that allows you to eat the foods you love.
  • Recognize and pray through triggers keeping you stuck.
  • I’ll help you Plan your week and schedule your self-care time.
  • Cultivate a spirit of self-discipline in your workouts you actually enjoy.
  
  It's time to give God your health journey and watch Him make you new, from the inside, OUT.

Join The Biblical Weight Loss Framework: https://www.herweightlossmindset.com/framework

Join my FREE Community: https://bit.ly/JoinTheChristianWeightLossCommunity

Join my Insiders List with weekly tips for weight loss for Christian women: http://herweightlossmindset.com/herweightlossmindsetinsiders

Transcript

Don't forget to hop in my free community for the Christmas Bootcamp. We kick off December 2nd. So go to herweightlossmindset.com if you haven't already.

Join my mailing list, and I will send you the link to join us. We will see you in there. God bless.

Are you sick of trying diet after diet and not losing weight?

Are you tired of doubting your ability to actually lose weight in a healthy way? Do you wish you could find a laid out for you plan that will help you stay accountable to your goals?

Hey, friend, I'm Lindy Schlabach, Christian Fitness & Nutrition Coach. I gained 100 pounds in my late 20s and struggled for years to get it off. Nine years ago, I found a system that works and has helped me lose over 90 of those pounds.

I've worked with women in online fitness and nutrition ever since.

In this podcast, I'll teach you how to reframe your thoughts about weight loss and your ability to achieve lasting results and lose weight in a way that honors God without obsessing about the scale and meal plan and prep for your family.

So grab your pre-workout and let's chat.

Today is a special one for me, friends. So thank you for being here. So I just wanted to take a few minutes today to share something personal.

A story of how I lost 90 pounds and more importantly, how I found freedom in Christ along the way.

I know I share with you often and hopefully encourage you, but I don't often talk about crying in dressing rooms when I couldn't fit into the size 24 pants or the 3X shirts that were the largest that they had, or the self-deprecating thoughts that I

put myself through at home. Sticking my finger down my throat after binging on potato chips and dip every Sunday. I justified eating an entire bag of chips.

I'd always talk about the anxiety and depression after my rape that led to many of the struggles that I faced and the weight that I gained.

But today, looking back, I've come to realize that this journey hasn't just been about food or fitness or even weight loss. It's been about surrender. In 2010, I reached my breaking point.

I was exhausted physically, emotionally, spiritually. I didn't recognize myself in the mirror anymore. Every diet I tried ended in failure, guilt, shame, and disappointment.

And so many nights, I felt God had abandoned me. I felt so far from Him back then. I was reeling from the loss of my grandpa and loathing everything about myself.

And one day, I remember, it was as clearly as I'm sitting here right now. It was like the Lord spoke to me. And this isn't the life that I had planned for you.

And I got up and I tried again. And then I failed again. But nine months later, I decided that it was time to do the work.

And I knew I didn't want a quick fix. I wanted to eat and move my way back to health. And little did I know that this journey would bring me back to a passion and love for the Lord.

And I've been working and often failing, but trying daily to give him this journey. So I want to share with you Psalm 40, verses 1–3. It says, I waited patiently for the Lord to help me.

And he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

And that's exactly what God did. He steadied me. It wasn't overnight.

It wasn't with a magic plan. But one surrendered step at a time. And here I am, nine years later, still working every day to honor him with my body.

Imperfectly, but intentional all the same. The real shift came for me when I began to surrender instead of strive. Now, I won't lie.

I still find myself going back to this old, unhealthy mindset, almost weakly, but the Lord continues to remind me to just be still. For years, I tried to lose weight with my willpower. But when I invited God into my journey, everything changed.

So instead of asking, how fast can I lose this weight? I started asking, Lord, how can I honor you with my next choice? I started walking and listening to worship music instead of counting every calorie.

I stopped punishing myself for slipping up, and I started praising God for that seemingly small progress. And I started to pray before I ate, not out of guilt, but of gratitude.

And I realized something truly powerful, that the goal isn't to get smaller, but it's to grow stronger in Him. I've realized that the process is painful. It's slow, it's steady, but mostly it's sacred.

And it took time, years. I've been working on my weight loss journey for years, not weeks. But the weight eventually began to come off.

One habit, one prayer, one decision at a time. And I finally learned to fuel my body instead of numb her or belittle her. I learned to rest instead of run myself ragged or over train my muscles.

I learned to let go of shame and cling to God's grace. There were setbacks. There still are setbacks.

There were tears and seasons of really slow progress. Sometimes I feel like I'm in one now. But through it all, I kept returning to one truth.

Philippians 1.6, it says, And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. This wasn't my work. It was his work in me.

My job was simply to keep showing up, even if it was messy. And my true victory came when I realized that I'm more than a number on a scale. And so are you, by the way.

One day, I realized that I had lost 90 pounds. But even more than that, I had gained peace because it wasn't anything I had done. It was what the Lord has done through me.

I gained confidence, joy, and a deep trust in God's timing. This wasn't about physical transformation. It was about spiritual renewal, and it feels really good.

And even in my struggle, even when I feel inadequate, I remember that I am his, and he alone sustains me. And when I surrendered the scale, God gave me strength. When I released my timeline, he gave me endurance.

And when I stopped chasing perfection or the all-or-nothing mindset, he gave me peace. And my friend, that's the kind of freedom that I want for you too. So I'd like to offer you a bit of encouragement today.

If you're listening and thinking, I've tried so many times, I see you. And you don't have to do it perfectly.

You just have to take one small surrendered step at a time and invite God into your journey in the mess, in the middle, in the good, in the bad. Pray over your meals. Ask Him to help you crave His presence more than anything else.

Isaiah 40 31 says, But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary.

They will walk and not grow faint. Isn't that the promise? New strength.

Not because you're trying harder, but because you're trusting deeper. And it's interesting that I say that because, as I was preparing for this podcast, those were the words that my pastor shared in our sermon last Sunday.

Literally those exact words. You're not trying harder, you're trusting deeper. And that was just such validation for me because I have been struggling.

I gained some weight this summer and I've been working to get it off. And, you know, it's just it makes me feel inadequate to share this message with you because I have lost 90 pounds. I have gained a couple pounds back.

And it's sometimes it's like, well, can I even get on here and share my story? Yeah, because I have done it. And so never lose heart.

We're not trying harder. We're trusting him deeper. So let's pray.

Dear Lord, thank you for walking with me through every step of this journey, through the highs, the lows, and everything in between. Father, forgive me when I think of my weight or food before you.

And Jesus, for the woman listening today, I pray that you lift her out of shame and fill her with your Holy Spirit, peace, presence, and strength. Help her see that she's not behind. She's being rebuilt.

Give her courage, Father, to take the next step and to trust you with her body and her story. Do what only you can do, Jesus. And it's in your name we ask these things.

Amen. Sweet friend, if my story shows you anything, I hope it's this. God can redeem your health.

He can redeem your habits and your heart all at once. One seemingly small step at a time. You are not walking alone.

He is with you. And so am I. My bless.

Hey sis, I hope you enjoyed today's episode.

If so, would you take 30 seconds and share it with a friend? Also, please leave a quick review for the show on Apple Podcasts. It lights me up to know this podcast is helping you.

Okay, it's time to go make a protein shake and get my sweat on. No more standing in the kitchen waiting for motivation to appear. I will meet you back here for another episode.

God bless.