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My Blog
What I've discovered on my 90 pound weight loss journey through compulsive overeating and weight gain to 12-Step recovery since 2005. Navigating healthy eating can be tricky! Check out my tips and food tricks below. I've included some healthy recipes - please send your healthy recipe ideas to info@reshapeandrecover.com for posting consideration.


Step 7 - Humbly Turning to God
🌟 Step 7: We Humbly Turn to God 🌟 One of the biggest mistakes many of us make is believing we can overcome overeating through sheer willpower. We promise ourselves we'll do better tomorrow. We'll be stronger next time. We'll finally get it right. But recovery isn't about becoming strong enough on our own. Step 7 reminds us that we cannot overcome sin and temptation on our own. We need God's help. Whether our struggle is overeating, emotional eating, dishonesty, pride, fear,

Julie Kleinhans
3 days ago1 min read
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Made New In Christ
Have you ever told yourself: 👉 "I'll start over Monday." 👉 "I'll do better next month." 👉 "I've already messed up, so what's the point?" The good news is that God specializes in new beginnings. You don't have to wait for a new week, a new month, or a new year. You can start again today. Learn from yesterday, but don't live there. God's mercies are new every morning, and His grace is available right now. "Put off your old self... be made new... put on the new self, created

Julie Kleinhans
4 days ago1 min read
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The Photo I Never Turned In
Sometimes overeating costs us more than our health. Years ago, our church was putting together a church directory and families were invited to have professional photos taken. We had ours done, and the photographer did a good job. But when I saw the pictures, all I could see was my weight. At the time, I was nearly 100 pounds overweight. I hated how my face looked in the photos. The photographer kindly offered to adjust the lighting, but there was no changing the fact that I w

Julie Kleinhans
6 days ago1 min read
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When Life Hurts
When life hurts, food can start looking like a solution. Not because you're weak. Not because you don't know better. But because food is quick, familiar, and always available. The problem is that food can distract us from pain for a few minutes, but it can't heal it. God can. If you're going through a difficult season right now, don't carry it alone. Talk to God. Talk to someone you trust. Stay connected. Isolation and overeating often grow together. Healing usually begins wh

Julie Kleinhans
Jun 11 min read
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Step 6: Becoming Willing
Step 6 isn't about becoming perfect. It's about becoming willing. Many of us can see the behaviors that keep us stuck—turning to food for comfort, holding onto resentment, making excuses, or trying to control everything ourselves. The challenge isn't always recognizing the problem. The challenge is becoming willing to let God change us. Sometimes we want freedom from the consequences, but we're not quite ready to surrender the habit itself. Step 6 invites us to open our hands

Julie Kleinhans
May 301 min read
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Be Blessed and Joyful
Be blessed and joyful this weekend. Remember: food is important for good health, but it's not the main event. Enjoy the people, family, conversations, laughter, worship, rest, and simple moments God gives you. Basically, the point is… there is so much more to enjoy in life than food. Have a wonderful weekend! ❤️ #christianweightloss #overeatingrecovery #foodfreedom #faithandhealth #12steps #reshapeandrecover

Julie Kleinhans
May 291 min read
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Food Is Not the Main Event
Food is not the main event.

Julie Kleinhans
May 271 min read
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Memorial Day Blessings
Silhouette of soldier saluting the American flag and Bible verse John 15:13

Julie Kleinhans
May 251 min read
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A Simple Weekend Plan for Freedom from Food Obsession
Weekends can feel challenging when you’re trying to stay on track with your eating. The routines change, temptations show up, and it’s easy to think, “I’ll just start over Monday.” But freedom often starts with a simple plan. One thing that has helped me so much is planning ahead: ✅ 3 meals a day ✅ Nothing in between ✅ Keeping it simple instead of constantly negotiating with myself around food Structure may sound restrictive at first, but honestly, it can bring so much peace

Julie Kleinhans
May 221 min read
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Carb Cravings Paused
Sometimes carb cravings can feel almost impossible to ignore — especially at night. You tell yourself you’re done eating… and suddenly all you can think about is something crunchy, sweet, or comforting. Many people assume this means they just don’t have enough willpower. But cravings can come from so many different things: fatigue stress loneliness emotional overwhelm or sometimes simply not eating enough during the day. One thing that has helped me personally is learning to

Julie Kleinhans
May 211 min read
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Think About What Is Lovely
Sometimes our own negative thinking adds to our discouragement. We overlook our small successes and focus only on our mistakes. But God encourages us to think about things that are true, lovely, excellent, and praiseworthy. Did you pause before eating? Pray instead of immediately turning to food? Eat one planned meal? Get back on track after a difficult moment instead of giving up? Those things matter. Small wins build momentum. Small wins build hope. Small wins remind us tha

Julie Kleinhans
May 201 min read
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Your Health Is Important
Your doctor may have warned you about your weight. Maybe they mentioned blood sugar, heart health, inflammation, sleep apnea, joint pain, or other serious concerns. And if you’re struggling with overeating, those conversations can feel discouraging, embarrassing, or even overwhelming. But this is important: There is hope. You are not doomed to stay stuck. Many people battling food struggles already know what they should do. The hard part is dealing with the cravings, emotiona

Julie Kleinhans
May 181 min read
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Step 4: Taking a Look At Resentments
Step Four can feel intimidating at first. Taking an honest look at our resentments, fears, hurts, and patterns isn’t easy. Most people would rather avoid it completely. But here’s the truth: what we refuse to face often continues to drive our behavior. Many people who struggle with overeating aren’t just fighting food. They’re carrying pain. Stress. Shame. Fear. Old wounds. Unforgiveness. Emotional exhaustion. And sometimes food becomes a way to cope with feelings we never re

Julie Kleinhans
May 162 min read
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Emotional Eating - Bring Your Pain to God Instead of Food
God invites us to come to Him for comfort. Sometimes we try to numb difficult emotions with food because we don’t know what else to do with the pain, stress, loneliness, or exhaustion we’re carrying. But God never asked us to hide from Him. You don’t have to pretend you’re okay. And you don’t have to carry everything alone. In this short encouragement, I share a reminder from Matthew 11:28 about bringing our burdens to Jesus instead of turning to food for comfort. “Come to me

Julie Kleinhans
May 141 min read
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Isolation Hasn't Worked
Most people don’t talk about their struggle with food. They joke about it. Hide it. Minimize it. Promise themselves they’ll “do better tomorrow.” And many people are trying to fight this battle completely alone. But isolation hasn’t worked. Especially when you already know what healthy eating is… and the real struggle is what happens in the hard moments: stress discouragement loneliness fatigue cravings emotional exhaustion That’s why recovery often requires more than informa

Julie Kleinhans
May 131 min read
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Step 3: Turning it Over to God
Have you ever felt hurt so deeply that you didn’t know how to move forward? Joseph did. Betrayed by his own brothers and sold into slavery, he could have stayed bitter and angry. But instead, he chose to trust God through the pain. And in the end, he was able to say: “What you intended for evil against me, God intended for good.” — Genesis 50:20 That’s what Step Three is all about: turning our will and our lives over to the care of God. We fight so hard to stay in control—but

Julie Kleinhans
May 91 min read
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The Problem May Not Be the Food
If eating healthy worked… this would have fixed it by now. And that’s the part that feels so frustrating. Because you’re trying. You are making better choices. And yet… something still feels out of control. Basically, the point is… 👉 It’s not just about the food. Because if it were, this would have worked. What’s often underneath is something deeper: Stress Loneliness Habits that feel automatic Wanting comfort at the end of the day That’s why willpower and diets don’t last.

Julie Kleinhans
May 61 min read
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Step 2: There Is Hope
If you’ve ever felt like your eating is out of control… like no matter how hard you try, you keep going back to the same patterns… you’re not alone. Step 2 is where things begin to shift. It’s where we stop relying only on ourselves—and start believing that God can actually help us. From my book 12 Steps to Recovery from Overeating: “As Christians, we already have a faith in the God of the Bible, but do you believe that he can help us recover from the disorder of compulsive o

Julie Kleinhans
May 21 min read
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Eating Out Doesn’t Have to Throw Everything Off
Video of Julie at Subway eating a protein pocket. For those who love to eat out! Eating out doesn’t have to throw everything off. It can be done fairly healthy if you’re careful. You don’t have to do it perfectly. If you can eat at home and eat whole, healthy foods, that is best of course. Sometimes though it’s just about making a better choice in the moment. Here’s what I did today at Subway. #christianweightloss #overeatingrecovery #emotionaleating #weightlossjourney #faith

Julie Kleinhans
Apr 301 min read
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Don't Give Up
Having a hard time sticking to a healthy way of eating? Don’t give up. It’s not always easy — but it’s worth it. You are worth it. 💛 It didn’t happen for me right away. I struggled for a couple of years before it finally stuck. But I kept showing up — and with God's help, I found freedom. 🙌 Isaiah 41:10 (ESV) reminds us: "fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right

Julie Kleinhans
Apr 281 min read
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