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Weight Loss Story
My husband should probably be the one writing this article, but I've gained a lot of insight, as I've watched him struggle with his weight gain. Not until recently, when he unburdened his heart to me, did I understand the real reason behind his sudden and careless weight gain.
I had tried to be the patient, non-critical wife, but expressing my concern over his health problems that kept cropping up ( he had had two major surgeries done in the two years of our marriage) in a gentle way. He heard me and yet, he didn't. The gym he had membership to, he lost interest in. He piled on the butter at meal times, heaping his plate to overflowing. Big bowls of ice cream became an every night occurrence.
Meanwhile I looked on in sadness and disappointment. Where had the man, I had fallen in love with, gone? What was his motivation for lack of self-control and lack of regard to his body?
I tried not to show it, but it confused me. Before we were married, I had cut way back on food and snacks to lose the 10 pounds I needed to fit into my wedding dress. I was determined to do it for him, though I guess I was doing it alot for myself; for my confidence and self-esteem.
Finally, I gave up asking. Yes, I was concerned of where his overeating would take him physically, but nothing was changing. In desperation I took it to the Lord. And about a year later ( this year ), my husband came to me and said he wanted to try again. He has a new job, as a mortgage lender with hours flexible to working out. He began slowly, by refusing sweets, then cutting back on his food intake, putting more greens and salads into his diet. He started running the track at our local school every night after work.
Now, at 210 lbs (with his goal of losing 10 more pounds, then focusing on strength training and bulking up), he is looking great! I am so proud of him! I tell him this frequently; how sexy he looks in his "old" clothes that he couldn't wear before, how sexy his butt looks in his jeans.
And what makes me more proud of him than ever, was when he told me why he put the weight on in the first place, starting just before we were married. He had been abused, just months before our marriage. Keeping this horrible secret inside, he ate and ate so he wouldn't resemble the man he had been-so he wouldn't be attractive to men like the one who had raped him.
Now that I know this, we're getting him professional counseling and working together to get him on the road to healing.
I thank God every day for my husband and even more I thank God for not letting me overstep my bounds as his wife in pressuring him to lose weight, because I could have caused undue hurt, not knowing then the reason for the sudden weight gain. I thank God for His still small Voice, that said, "Wait."
And now my husband's heart, as well as his body is beginning to heal.
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