Mintle Linda - Lose it for life: the total solution-spiritual, emotional, physical-for permanent weight loss

Praise for Lose It for Life Institute

This is a comprehensive approach to victory over weight issues... Lose It for Life isnt just about weight; its about lifethe abundant life the Good Shepherd promises to all His sheep.

Ive decided I will not pay the price for the sins of others and that I truly desire the best for me. Thanks for getting me on the path and telling me the truth that I will have to persevere. Mostly thank you for your love and the hope youve given me to create a new life for myself.

Thank you for helping me find the grace and peace that God has given freely and I never accepted until now. I did not realize until last night that I had not surrendered the pain and anger of my daughters death. Now I have, and I am free of that hiding in my body.

LIFL changed my life and my thinking about diets and my weight. I know I am not alone and can now face the future and make some needed changes.

I can keep it off, and I can make positive and gradual changes in my life! The biggest change for me has been to my goalfrom just losing weight to living a truly healthy life.

LOSE
IT FOR
LIFE

THE TOTAL SOLUTION
SPIRITUAL, EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL
FOR PERMANENT WEIGHT LOSS

Revised and Updated
with Workbook

Stephen Arterburn, M.Ed.
and Dr. Linda Mintle

2004, 2011 Stephen Arterburn and Linda Mintle

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Stephen Arterburn published in association with Alive Communications, 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80920.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations designated MSG are taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible. 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations designated NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Publishers. Wheaton, Illinois, 60189. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations designated TLB are taken from The Living Bible by Kenneth N. Taylor. 1971. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations designated NKJV are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN. 1982. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations designated AMP are taken from THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE, Old Testament, 1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation and THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE, New Testament, 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations designated KJV are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version.

This book is not intended to provide therapy, counseling, clinical advice or treatment or to take the place of clinical advice and treatment from your personal physician or professional mental health provider. Readers are advised to consult their own qualified health-care physicians regarding mental health or medical issues. Neither the publisher nor the author takes any responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, action or application of information in this book to the reader.

Cover Design: Micah Kandros; micahkandrosdesign.com

Interior Design: Walter Petrie

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBN 978-0-8499-4726-1

Printed in the United States of America

11 12 13 14 15 VG 5 4 3 2 1

To the thousands of losers who have attended
the Lose It for Life Institute. Thank you for helping
me shape this material into what it is today. And
thanks for staying in touch and connected.

Contents

from Steve Arterburn

If you are struggling to lose weight or to keep off pounds already lost, you are in good company. Obesity is a veritable epidemic in our society. Nearly 65 percent of American adults (or more than 120 million people) are considered overweight or obese. And despite billions of dollars spent on countless diet books and health products, we Americans are more overweight than ever.

To be overweight or obese means to have a medical condition caused by an excess of body fat. By general definition, you are overweight if your body mass index (BMI) is between 25 and 29.9; obese if it is above 30. And while these terms can be easily defined and measured through a number of techniques, most of us need only look in the mirror or stand on the scale to know if we are in trouble.

Samuel Klein, president of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, notes that technically advanced societies with an abundance of food and sedentary lifestyles are especially at risk for producing overweight people. The speed at which this is happening in America is reason for concern. If you are like most people, you are probably trying to lose weight right now, or you are at least thinking about it. And while losing weight seems like an uphill battle in which the mountain is never fully climbed, it is in truth a battle that can be won.

It is our hope that this book is the last one youll ever have to read concerning the topic of weight loss. We know most of you have stacks of books youve purchased over the years that detail all sorts of angles and fads for shedding unwanted pounds. Each of those diet books represents your good intentions to conquer that mountain. But for reasons only you know, you havent won the battle... yet.

Perhaps you know someone who is losing weight on the fad diet of the day, or maybe you are trying yourself. After a while, were you right back where you started or in even worse shape than before? Its a familiar story, and its likely that you are reading this book with a bit of mistrust or skepticism. Let us reassure you that its okay. We arent here to help you embark upon another failure. We dont want to promise hope and not deliver. We want you to be successfulto lose weight for life.

Actually, losing weight isnt really the issue. Your closet full of multiple-sized clothing is testimony to the number of times youve lost and gained weight in your lifetime. Some of you are experts at weight loss and could write your own books about your experiences: eating grapefruits, downing vats of fat burning cabbage soup, consuming liquid shakes, protein bars, low-fat brownies, and low-carb ice cream. Our personal favorite is the diet in which you lose weight by breathing differently. Its enough to make us all crazy!

We Americans are tempted by quick fixes. The problem with quick weight-loss ideas is that they dont work for very long and require drastic changes in the way we eatchanges that are impossible to maintain over time. Some fad diets are even dangerous and can lead to serious health problems. Recently, I (Steve) was sitting in an airport with executives from my publisher. We were reviewing the cover for this book when the woman at the table next to us overheard our conversation. She wanted to know which diet we thought was the best and asked if Lose It for Life was a healthy plan. She explained that she had just quit a diet because of her health. Though she had lost weight, her cholesterol was at 148 and manageable when she started the diet. However, after only a short time she was forced to take medication to get her cholesterol under control and had to stop using that particular diet. She is only one of many who have hurt their health while trying to lose weight the wrong way.