Vicki's Story

When I decided to join the Grace and Strength Lifestyle program, I really had no idea what I was about to experience.

My entire life I have been an emotional eater. Whenever I was feeling sad or nervous or hopeless, I would turn to food. Food became my god and it was an all-consuming deity. It plagued my thoughts and poisoned my mirror. Every time something happened in life that brought tragedy or discomfort, I would turn to food to make me feel better. However, the feeling of pleasure was fleeting, and the problems didn't go away. In fact, not only did they not go away, but I developed new problems - a widening waistline and an ever-sinking self-esteem. The worse I felt, the more I ate. The more I ate, the more I hated myself, the worse I felt and the more I ate. This was the cycle for years, like a dreadful merry-go-round and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find my way off.

I knew that simply changing my diet and going to the gym wouldn't provide lasting results. Been there, done that! I needed something that would get to the root of my disordered eating. But where could I go where someone could help me sort through this mess I had created? I knew why I was overweight and unhappy, but I didn't know how to stop the destructive cycle I was living. And I knew I couldn't do it alone.

One day when I was looking at my favorite Bible website, I saw an ad for the Grace and Strength Lifestyle. What caught my attention was the fact that it claimed to be "Christ centered weight loss coaching" program. I was intrigued and had to look into it. After one conversation with a consultant, I knew God had provided my answer. Not only would this program provide me with a diet and exercise protocol to lose weight, but it was a community of women who meet once a week to build a culture of health, love, challenge and encouragement. Most exciting of all, I would have a coach to walk alongside me as we worked together to get me healthy - body, mind and spirit.

Not only did I go from a size 16 to an 8, but I was guided through a journey of self-discovery that I never expected. My life became one big onion, peeling layer after layer of lies believed and false securities exposed. I found myself unlocking hurts that I had buried deep down inside, the courage to face those hurts and the grace to lay them at the cross of Jesus. Just as when you peel an onion, tears are shed, I cried many tears that washed away years of negative self-talk and hopelessness which had been my reality for as long as I can remember.

Grace and Strength has literally changed my life and not just because I was able to lose the weight. For the first time in my life I am in a place where I no longer turn to food in order to cover up the hurts and disappointments of life. Grace and Strength gave me the tools necessary to live life with confidence, guided by the grace of God. The support, wisdom and guidance I received from my coach has been unlike anything I've ever experienced. She taught me that without the mess there is no message. I am so blessed and humbled that God has taken my mess and has given me the opportunity to be a message for Him. He took my mess, which I couldn't clean up on my own, and gave me a new life - a life with focus, hope and freedom from food addiction.

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* Individual results may vary.