Why are you on this journey? You may have short-term motivations, like losing weight for a wedding or a reunion. These motivations are a good start, but they stop after you reach your short-term goal. More effective whys are eternal and based in your relationship to God. In this episode of Phoenix Chronicles, Jes and Martin discuss their whys – how they found them, how they shifted over time, and how they reached their eternal whys.

Learn how you can find and stick to your why, and how Isaiah 43:19 tells us that God will give us a way out.

For detailed show notes, navigate using the time stamps below:

[1:04] This episode is all about Martin and Jes’s “why” for losing weight. Martin’s motivation goes back to his diabetes diagnosis. He knew that not properly managing his diabetes could kill him. His “why” has since shifted to be more eternal.

[4:22] Short-term whys have the drawback of not motivating you past your short-term goal. Once you hit your goal, you will feel like you can relax and celebrate by going back to the habits that got you to where you were.

[6:58] Now, Martin feels called to continue to lose weight and to help others do so. This motivation is eternal and not based in fear.

[11:54] Jes’s why started as a more surface-level desire to fit into smaller clothes, and later became wanting to not feel restricted in her body. Now, she wants to set a good example for her son.

[15:24] Jes also realized that her struggle was about obedience to God. Martin points out that obedience is not perfection.

[19:14] Only after starting this program and worshipping daily has Martin felt that he is obedient to God. He has also become a better husband, father, and man because of his transformation.

[21:06] How do you cement your why? You can start by writing it down. This can help you get your emotions in tune with your desires and internalize your goals.

[25:48] If you are struggling to find your why, make a list of the things that are important to you. You can also ask God to help you find your why.

[28:13] In Isaiah 43:19, God says “See, I am doing new things! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” By making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland, God provides a path for us out of our struggles.

RESOURCES

Visit the Phoenix Chronicles Website: https://www.thephoenixchronicles.com/

Buy A Phoenix Chronicle by Martin Crowe: https://www.thephoenixchronicles.com/book

What are some of the strangest ways you’ve tried to lose weight? In today’s episode of Phoenix Chronicles, Martin and Jes describe their efforts at weight loss before turning to God. Their attempts at weight loss ranged from relatively common programs like Weight Watchers to liquid diets and misusing medication for weight loss. These efforts often rest on the idea that your need to lose weight is your fault, and because of this you need to punish your body. But you do not need to be cruel to yourself to lose weight; you can rely on God.

Learn how to turn your journey from diet-hopping to consistent worship, and how music can help you along the way.

For detailed show notes, navigate using the time stamps below:

[1:05] Today’s topic is about diets, specifically the many types of diets that Martin and Jes have tried in an attempt to lose weight. Martin tried hypnosis, acupuncture, an all liquid diet, and more. The most unusual thing Martin tried was the Schick Aversion Therapy Treatment, which involved revulsion techniques.

[5:21] Martin struggled with dieting for years. He lost hundreds of pounds, but struggled immensely with sticking to his diets until he accepted God into his weight loss journey. He began to have conversations with God throughout his day to help him stick to his diet.

[10:00] Martin took inspiration from Romans 8 and the Prayer of Jabez, along with many other scriptures, as he began to work consistent worship into his weight loss practice. He also worked on the idea of worship, and found inspiration to stay true to his health through his worship.

[12:49] Martin and Jes believe that their weight loss plan is not something that they created, but something that God gave them. Going to God for weight loss was a relatively new idea, even for the Christians Martin and Jes knew.

[14:05] Jes engaged in some reckless dieting, including misusing HCG drops to the point of liver and gallbladder failure. She also tried healthier methods like clean eating and shots similar to Ozempic; on which she experienced negative side effects.

[17:33] Jes believed that abusing her body was a part of the process of weight loss. She thought of her weight gain as something that was her fault, and used weight loss as a form of self-punishment.

[21:09] One example of Jes’s ups and downs is an experience where she had planned to eat a treat at the end of a difficult day, but she felt God’s presence guide her not to. The next day, she ate a pint of ice cream.

[25:00] Worship music has multiple benefits. For one, music has a strong tie to memory and allows you to return to the moment you began your journey. Additionally, worship music can help give you the strength to remember why you are on this journey.

[32:20] Praise music can stay with you throughout the day – you can make it a part of your morning routine, your drive to work, and your tasks throughout the day. This allows you to receive its messages continuously.

RESOURCES

Visit the Phoenix Chronicles Website: https://www.thephoenixchronicles.com/

Buy A Phoenix Chronicle by Martin Crowe: https://www.thephoenixchronicles.com/book

Are you struggling to quiet the desperation and stress that comes with dieting? Learn how to care for your spiritual needs and build worship into your weight loss in this episode of Phoenix Chronicles. For Jes and Martin, food represented an idol that was controlling their lives. You can reach your goals and find peace and stability by surrendering your weight loss journey to God.

The first step to caring for your spiritual needs is admitting to yourself that you need God – that you cannot do this on your own, and that you need His strength. Once you accept this, you can build a worship practice through consistency and lean on God’s guidance throughout your day.

For detailed show notes, navigate using the time stamps below:

[1:03] What are your spiritual needs, and how do they factor into your weight loss journey? When you diet consistently, you may reach a point of desperation and anxiety that causes you to break your diet. make food our idol, and turn to it instead of God. Not being able to turn to food for comfort is stressful.

[6:36] Jes explains that while other types of addictions can be removed completely from people’s lives like when former alcoholics stop drinking completely, food addicts cannot stop eating. We have to find a way to incorporate food in moderation.

[11:05] Jes’s desperation was at its worst in 2020. Before this point, she felt that she should not bring God into her weight loss because it was her problem that she needed to solve on her own. She continues to struggle with surrender.

[17:33] The consistency of worship is key. Learning to worship is a lot like learning to drive a car – it is difficult at first, requires consistency, and eventually becomes muscle memory.

[21:55] The first step to consistent worship is admitting that you need God. You have to be comfortable admitting that you cannot do this on your own, and that you need His help.

[25:10] Martin shares the Prayer of Jabez, which states that “Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory, let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain,’ and God granted his request.” Pray for your own blessings, and God will grant your request.

[30:42] If you do not know where to start with prayer, you can start conversationally. You can also start by reading prayers like Psalms 23. What matters is talking to God and surrendering to Him.

RESOURCES

Visit the Phoenix Chronicles Website: https://www.thephoenixchronicles.com/

Buy A Phoenix Chronicle by Martin Crowe: https://www.thephoenixchronicles.com/book

Weight loss doesn’t have to be a battle you fight alone – surrendering to God can allow you to change your mind and transform your body. On the Phoenix Chronicles Podcast, father and daughter Martin and Jes discuss their weight loss journeys, with Martin at the end of his and Jes at the beginning of hers.

Martin struggled with an addiction to food for years, eventually hitting a rock-bottom after developing a severe case of diabetes and having to stay in the hospital. He began to change his diet, but the process shifted significantly after he surrendered to God and did not have to rely on his willpower alone. Jes has had a more volatile journey, eventually realizing that food was an idol for her. She is letting go of her need to control food and surrendering to God in her weight loss journey. Learn Martin and Jes’s process and how you can apply it to your own journey.

For detailed show notes, navigate using the time stamps below:

[1:33] Welcome to the Phoenix Chronicles! In this episode, Martin shares how he was able to “worship into weight loss,” or build worship into his weight loss plan. Jes introduces herself and explains that while Martin has lost 450 pounds and is at the end of his journey, she is in the beginning of hers.

[2:45] People often ask Martin how he weighed 660 pounds. He was eating large quantities of food at a time and would frequently eat entire pizzas in one sitting. When he ordered food, he ordered to get the maximum quantity of food instead of thinking about what he might enjoy.

[7:05] Martin worked every day while he was 660 pounds, but he collapsed at the end of every week. He was very depressed and struggled to show up for his family.

[9:43] Martin always believed that he would eventually lose weight. Instead, he developed a severe case of diabetes. He knew that with his habits, he would not be able to take care of himself and would increase his chances of outcomes like blindness, amputation, and heart disease.

[12:20] Being overweight or obese is difficult, and martin wants to help people lose weight before they reach the rock bottom that he reached. Once he surrendered his journey to God, he was able to change his life.

[16:50] Jes recounts a moment where she realized she was overweight – she went to a doctor’s appointment and was told to go on a diet and developed an insecurity about her body. She remembers her house being centered around food, which influenced her relationship with food and her body.

[20:50] In 2020, Jes had an identity crisis and realized that she had made food an idol in her life. She knew that she would have to surrender her obsession with food to God, and doing so was terrifying.

[23:44] Right now, Jes is the most unhealthy that she has ever been. She knows that she is at the beginning of her journey, and she looks forward to sharing her progress.

[26:01] Martin and Jes have a practical approach to their worship into weight loss practice. He recommends blocking out fifteen to thirty minutes each day to pray for God’s guidance, blessings, and presence.

[27:50] The second step is to take in God’s word by reading the Bible. You will find yourself having revelations every day and applying God’s word to your life.

[28:54] Third, worship. Jes and Martin created worship playlists, which they turn on and spend time worshiping. Worshiping is not just about listening – the Bible says to “make a joyful noise,” so even if you aren’t happy with your voice, taking part in worship vocally is a key component.

[31:48] Finally, Martin makes a commitment to God every day about what he will do to lose weight. There’s no better diet buddy than God.

[36:55] Martin and Jes discuss scripture, specifically the verse “"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice.” (Romans 12:1-2). This scripture has been used for thousands of years to help people transform their lives. Jes thinks of it as surrendering her idol.

[39:20] Dieting is a type of sacrifice because you deny yourself food that you like. By making that sacrifice to transform your life, you can surrender to God and change your mind.

RESOURCES

Visit the Phoenix Chronicles Website: https://www.thephoenixchronicles.com/

Buy A Phoenix Chronicle by Martin Crowe: https://www.thephoenixchronicles.com/book

Phoenix Chronicles is a faith-based podcast that teaches listeners how to overcome their vices, such as gluttony and addiction. Cohosts Jess and Marty explain how weight loss and faith are compatible because both develop your sense of routine and self-discipline.

Through an approachable, conversational format, Marty and Jess take the listener through their weight loss journeys and help motivate them to take on their own. They debunk fad diets and alarming trends, give the listener actionable tips to improve their health, and ultimately help their audience build programs around worship.