Running Kept the Pounds Away But Not the Greed
Growing up in Los Angeles, Teresa Reyes was always thin. Teresa ran both track & field and cross country all four years of high school, and maintained her weight through exercise. When she graduated high school, she stopped running but continued to eat the same amount of food.
Soon after, Teresa married her long-time friend, Miguel Reyes. They moved to Colorado in 1996 and Teresa found out she was pregnant. She says, “During my pregnancy, I believed I had to double my portions so that my baby would be healthy.”
Trying to Lose the Baby Weight Through Exercise Wasn’t Enough
Teresa had their daughter, Lilia, and then welcomed their second daughter, Faith, two years later. After her second baby, Teresa realized that she had gained a substantial amount of weight and it was showing on her petite, 5’1″ frame.
Teresa did the only thing she believed would work. She returned to exercise and faithfully ran 3 miles a day. Teresa drank 8 – 10 glasses of water a day. However, none of these external efforts to lose weight did anything to change her desire for excess food.
“Although I was married and had two children, a home, vehicles, family, and friends, I felt empty inside. I knew there was more to this life than just marriage and a family. I began to search by going to different churches. I was still empty and sad with no answers!”
Rising Above the Pull of Food
“My cousin invited me to lunch and shared the Rise Above book, written by Gwen Shamblin. I remember being rude and telling her I didn’t need it. She insisted and so I took it home.
“I will never forget that night. It was the beginning of a whole new life. I opened the book and began to read. I felt that it had been written specifically and especially for me! I began to tear up as I read through the pages. I could not put the book down!
“That night, I got on my knees and asked God for forgiveness and mercy. I wanted the relationship with God that Gwen was sharing about in her book. This book goes beyond losing weight, it is about an entire heart transformation.”
When Teresa began to learn about Weigh Down, she realized she could continue to eat all the foods she liked as long as she stayed within the boundaries God had established for her body. She began applying the principles and started to see she had been greedy and prideful. She had always wanted to please others more than she had wanted to please God.
40 lbs Down in Just 3 Months!
As Teresa lost weight, her life continued to change. In 3 months she lost 40 pounds! Teresa says, “I lost my weight and have kept it off! I’m healthy and so thankful for the opportunity God has given me to live to please Him!”
In 2002, she began to attend Remnant Fellowship Church through webcasting the worship services online. This helped increase her love, adoration and gratefulness for God. During this time, she attended Weigh Down classes and soon began to host classes in Colorado.
Teresa Can’t Stop Smiling!
“As my love for God grew, so did my love for my husband and my children. I began to put their needs before my own. I learned that we are to love God above all else, and to be loving and respectful toward my husband. We now have an amazing relationship! I also learned how to train my children up to love God.”
In 2006, Teresa had their third child, Noah, born 7 years after Faith. “I am so thankful for Weigh Down because I had no fear of not being able to lose the baby weight. It came off soon after he was born. The emptiness I felt was no longer present. It was now filled with love for God.”
Over the next few years, the family traveled to Tennessee to attend Remnant Fellowship festivals, Covenant Weddings and Summer Day Camp. Teresa heart’s desire was to live close to Remnant Fellowship Church in Tennessee and have her children grow up surrounded like-minded believers. Despite not living in Brentwood, being part of the church and living in another state only strengthened her relationship with God.
“I knew I could apply this truth to my life and be an example for my children. We moved to Tennessee in 2013. I felt like I had always lived locally, but now we had the local church surrounding us daily. All three of our children love God and have their own personal relationship with Him. My physical health has never been better! I had been diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2004, and my new doctor says I no longer need the medication.
Helping the Spanish-Speaking Weigh Down Community
“I came from a Spanish-speaking family, and I knew that Weigh Down teachings could help Spanish speakers as well. When I found that The Weigh Down Diet book was translated to Spanish – “Dieta Weigh Down”, I was so excited to share it! Now there are many Spanish Weigh Down resources. Remnant Fellowship Services are also translated into Spanish LIVE – every Wednesday and Saturday! I am also honored to help translate some of the materials and sermons into Spanish.
“One of my favorite resources is All Access. All of the sermons, music and testimonies, help keep me in step with God’s spirit!! The You Can Overcome Show on Wednesday evenings is also an amazing resource. Gwen’s books are life changing. There is no excuse! You too can attain this life changing journey if God truly is everything in your life. I’m healthy and so thankful for the opportunity God has given me to live to please Him.”
The Reyes family is overjoyed and growing! Their oldest daughter Lilia is engaged to by married to Levi Voorhis in an upcoming Remnant Wedding.
Teresa has shared her testimony in Spanish below along with her appearance on the You Can Overcome Show with Gwen Shamblin, Tedd Anger and Michael Ormaza. You can also WATCH Teresa’s video testimony here.
En Español…
“Dios no puso en la tierra el chocolate o la lasaña para torturarnos, sino para que los disfrutemos. Sin embargo, Él quiere que aprendamos a superar el lla- mado magnético de la comida para que ésta no con- suma nuestras vidas! Con la ayuda de Dios, podrás aprender a parar en la mitad de una comida sin tener deseo de comer la otra mitad, si tu estómago está satisfecho!
Hemos sido creados con dos espacios vacíos en nuestro cuerpo, que necesitan ser llenados. Uno es el estómago, y el otro, el corazón. El estómago es un órgano en nuestro cuerpo que debe ser alimentado con las cantidades adecuadas de comida. En cuanto al corazón, es posible que hayamos acudido a la comida para satisfacer nuestros sentimientos más profundos, las necesidades o los deseos, lo que ha resultado en llenarlos con mucho más de lo que necesita.”
