It’s not about what you eat, it’s about why you eat.

Have you ever heard this before?  I’m teaching a Wednesday night class at my Church right now called “Lose It For Life” (LIFL) for the second time and absolutely buy into the philosophy of the author, Steve Arterburn.

I’ve posted before about using root cause analysis to find and eliminate (seek and destroy) the underlying issues for your weight issues.  The LIFL approach, and others like it, is much along the same lines but also includes spiritual healing to help physical and emotional healing.

For most, willpower alone just isn’t enough.  If it were as easy as identifying the underlying issue and just willing it into non-existence, it would be great!  However, for the vast majority, this ends up being an exercise in futility.

The LIFL class isn’t necessarily a class.  It is more of a support group.  Each person in the class brings their own unique perspective that has been shaped by their life experiences.  Each person in the class, though, is there because they have found themselves in a position where they are looking for something more…more than a fad diet and empty promises…to help them lose the weight and keep it off.

This isn’t at all about this specific book or this specific class.  This is about knowing you have issues that you can’t resolve on your own and letting others help you on your journey. It’s about identifying that issue and overcoming it.

Support groups of this type can be the one thing that helps you finally find that issue that’s been holding you back for all these years.  You CAN find that root cause and eliminate it.

Spousal and friend support is a wonderful thing and I don’t want to diminish the importance of it.  However, in many cases, your spouse and/or friends cannot relate to what you are going through.  They don’t have the training or the life experience.  They have no way to truly connect with the issue because they don’t have a point of reference.

You need something more than a meal plan and an exercise routine.  You need something that frees you. 

Many turn to God for His help.  There are a lot of Churches out there right now that offer this and other scriptural based classes.  Don’t just relegate your support search to your church, though.  Look at others as well!

There are other support groups out there as well outside of the Church of course. I’ve mentioned some online support groups on this blog before such as 3fatchicks.com and sparkpeople.com.  Offline, there are some as well.  Overeaters Anonymous comes to mind.

Now, go out there, get off your butt, and get the support that will truly help you!