Breaking Free from Society's Wedding Weight Expectations with Michelle Ragon
Do you feel the pressure to modify yourself for the better before a wedding or other big event?
Do phrases like “shedding for the wedding” or “I need to get back to my wedding weight” sound familiar?
The need to change yourself for a set of pictures is real, but so is God’s love for you—just as you are.
In this podcast episode, Michelle not only shares her story of deciding not to partner with the belief that she needed to diet for her wedding, but replaced that thought with this: “I need to let God love me as I am.” And that, my friends, is grace.
Grace is undeserved merit. Nobody is perfect as they are, but God loves us not for what we have done but for what He has done in His son Jesus.
And this truth sets us free from society’s ideal images of weddings and other big events. Our hope is that the love of God will break through any idolized images of the “perfect” picture for your life too.
Because just like a man asks a woman to be his for life exactly the way she is, before she shows up in that flawless white wedding gown, so Jesus lays His life down for you before you can do a thing to deserve it. This is the gospel.
May this message break open any resistance in your heart keeping you from the freedom that is already yours in Christ.
About Michelle
Michelle is an ex-dietitian turned food freedom enthusiast! After a 12+ year battle with her relationship with food and her body, she had a God encounter that led her to leave behind her career as a dietitian and go to ministry school in pursuit of the One who set her free. There, God taught her how to live in freedom, love, and compassion. She now runs a mentorship program that helps women experience this same life-transforming freedom.
You can find Michelle here:
Instagram: @michelle.ragon
No More ‘Shedding for the Wedding’
In our latest episode on the Joyful Health Show, Kasey chats with Michelle Ragon, ex-dietitian and mentor of a 6-week food freedom program, about why she intentionally decided not to diet before her wedding. Michelle shares about her journey behind that decision and the resulting impact on her wedding day, marriage, and relationship with God.
3 Takeaways:
You have the choice to not partner with the belief that you need to change your body for your wedding day or other big event
Remember to ask yourself if the cost of dieting will benefit your relationships
Get your hopes up and see how God is transforming your life and future in ways outside of your appearance
Scripture for the Pressure to Diet before an Event:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
Do not spend your precious time, energy, and passion devoting yourself to being conformed to the world’s body ideal. If this goal something you feel nudged to let go of, take time to grieve. Anything that is not of the Lord will pass away, but the unseen is eternal.
As Michelle tells us in this episode: “Say yes to truth. Say yes to love, honor, and worth.” We’ve heard it said that worship is “worth-ship”—the action that express what we put our worth in. Do our actions reflect worshipping a certain image in our mind about the right body, the right set of pictures, or are we worshipping the God who loves us and calls us to lay our lives down to love others in response?
3 Food Freedom Resources for Christians:
If you need more resources for eating disorders, please visit the National Eating Disorder Association
Nourished: 8-Week Food Freedom Mentorship Program with Michelle Ragon
Have You Taken our Body Blessings Course Yet?
Do you need a tool to help you praise God with your health and body? This is it.
Michelle talks a lot about being loved in the body you have. If you want to begin that journey afresh, our Body Blessings Course will walk you through body scans partner with praise, intuitive health tracking pages, and more journaling exercises to move you from being preoccupied with your body image to thanking God with your body instead.
If you can answer "yes and amen" to the following, then we think this course would be a great fit:
Get unstuck with a body image centered prayer practice
Integrate emotions and sensations into a healthy body image with printable guides
Discover intuitive eating and movement patterns and respond with kindness
Uncover how to fully enjoy God in your right now body
Move from preoccupation with self to worship and praise
Share your takeaways:
Connect With Us!
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