Woman of Inspiration- Lindsay

I am so very excited to share about this woman, my heart is close to this post. She is my sister (in-law) and I have had the pleasure of seeing this transformation step-by-step. I have prayed for her to have victory in this area for a while. Lindsay is definitely a story that has taught me a lot, and in more than one way. I have seen her at her thinnest (marriage) and through 3 pregnancies.  I have seen her try to lose weight on her own strength and I have seen her just not care about any of it. We have had many talks throughout the last few years and I have tried to help her on my own strength at times, only to fail because her heart wasn't there. But it is amazing when you let go and let God work in the lives of others because the Holy Spirit can have His way, which results in more than just a physical transformation.  Here is her story!

My journey began at the end of last October. Through a significant trial, God was doing a lot of molding in my life. After dealing with some other sins and struggles, He came to the sin of overeating that I have lost the battle with my entire life. So one day, shortly after October 15 (the day my husband truly repented!), I started counting calories using MyFitnessPal. I also added lifting heavy weights (using CheLEAN Extreme videos) to my workout schedule.
For awhile it was easy! And I was enjoying keeping track of everything I put in my mouth. I wanted to choose carrots over tortilla chips, and I went to bed each night thanking God for another day of victory.
Just like a honeymoon, the high had to end. Now it is a daily struggle, but by the grace of God, I still have victory most of the time!
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26
I’ve attempted to lose weight many times in the past. Why was this time actually successful? Because it wasn’t about losing weight. It wasn’t even about being healthy. It was and continues to be about glorifying God with my body (1 Corinthians 6:20). I fail a lot and often get distracted by the fact that I finally get to wear basically whatever I want (woot!) and have the metabolism of a teenager (thank you, ChaLEAN!) but God is faithful to remind me that it is only by His grace that I am where I am.
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36 

Before (during 3rd pregnancy April 2012):

Before (October 2012):

Weight - 175 

I avoided the camera as best I could so finding before pictures has been hard. And, I honestly just didn’t know for sure if this time would be different until I was down almost 20lbs! So I didn’t take “before” pictures or stats.
Here’s the stats and a picture from when I finally believed I was really going to reach my goal! 

Before (January 2013): 

Weight - 159 Chest - 40.5 in 

Belly button - 39 in 
Left arm - 11 3/4 in 
Left thigh - 21 in
Left calf - 14 1/4 in

Current (June 2013): 

Weight - 137.8
Chest - 36.5 in
Belly button - 35 1/4 in Left arm - 10.5 in
Left thigh - 20.5 in Left calf - 13.5 in 

I am about 1.5 pounds away from being my wedding day weight! That is the ultimate goal for now. We plan to try for baby #4 toward the end of this year so my goal will change to gaining only the healthy amount of weight (20-30lbs) followed by getting back down to the mid-130s and ultimately flattening my pregnancy-abused belly! 

When I think about getting pregnant again, I get nervous! I’ve always planned on keeping the weight under control during pregnancy, and I’ve so far failed. But this time I’ll be doing it the way God wants me to so I will be completely relying on the daily strength from the Holy Spirit Himself. Steph will keep you up to date :) And you can keep up by following my blog also (DandLJacobs). Prayers are always appreciated! 

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine... (Ephesians 3:20) ...Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25).