Pilgrimage and Pounds
Health and Wellness on the Way
Since January 1st, I’ve lost 55 pounds.
No drugs. No fad diet. Just a slow, intentional reorientation of body, mind, and spirit.
I don’t usually discuss my weight openly, and writing this post isn’t easy. I’m sharing this now because I believe I’m not alone and because the questions this journey (or pilgrimage) has made me confront are ones I want to explore openly and with support. This post is the first in a new Substack series, “Health and Wellness on the Way,” which will chronicle my journey and seriously examine health and wellness questions from a biblical and theological perspective.
Who am I?
For those who may not know me, I’m Fr. J. Michael Strachan. I’m 43 years old, an Anglican priest (ACNA), and a New Testament scholar. More importantly, I’m a father and husband. I’ve been married to my wife, Michelle, since I was 18, and we have two wonderful kids, Anna and Joshua, who are both in middle school. If there’s any reason I should be a healthy adult in body, mind, and spirit, it’s my family. They’re the most important people in the world to me, and every pound I’ve lost feels like a step closer to a longer life with all of them.
Ironically, as a pastor and theologian, one of the main topics I often write, preach, and teach about is how Platonism has influenced Christian thinking and distorted the Gospel. I’ll discuss this more in another post. But for now, I want to point out the irony (and shame) that I have stood in a pulpit many times and told God’s people that the story of the Bible, especially the story of Easter, affirms the goodness of creation and the human body, while I was treating my own body as if God didn’t really care about it or about how I cared for it. I preach that we must care for the creation that God called “very good,” yet I was doing nothing to care for that part of creation that God entrusted most personally to me.
What Changed
I’ve been overweight most of my life, but late last year, something changed. To borrow a line from Kant, I was awakened from my adipose slumber.
Two things woke me up. The first was a series of conversations with my mentor David Roseberry. The second was a single conversation in which someone asked me a question I wasn’t prepared for. I knew the answer immediately, but I wasn’t ready to say it out loud.
It’s a testament to David’s skill as a mentor, coach, and friend that, while my physical health and wellness were clear issues that needed attention, he always approached them with gentle, kind, and encouraging care. David would talk to me about the “halo effect” that results from living a healthy lifestyle and how when our body is disordered, it causes disorder in other areas of our life as well, and vice versa. He wanted me to get healthy so I could bring order to the rest of my life.
He said it. I heard him. But I wasn’t listening.
I made excuses. I deflected. I said I was working on it. (I wasn’t.)
But David didn’t stop bringing it up.
The second thing that woke me up happened after church last year. I can’t remember which Sunday it was, but after the service, a well-meaning parishioner approached me and complimented my sermon and teaching. I appreciated her words, and honestly, I hear those kinds of comments often, but I struggle to accept them.
Then she asked me the question that started this entire journey, not immediately, but a few months later, when I couldn’t shake the answer to her question from my mind. After telling me I was one of the best teachers and preachers she’d ever heard, she asked sincerely, “How come your ministry and reach aren’t so much bigger?”
I knew the answer right away, even though I didn’t say it out loud. I wasn’t ready to go to confession yet. Maybe now I am. I can’t even remember what I said. I’m sure I rambled about something, but the answer that was crystal clear in my mind was this:
“Because I’m so incredibly overweight.”
Nothing changed right away, but the thought was fixed in my mind. I knew that David had been right. My physical health wasn’t just impacting me; it was also affecting everything around me. I was determined that with the new year, everything would change.
What I’m Doing
As I mentioned, this isn’t about weight loss from drugs or a trendy diet. I actually tried a GLP-1 last year, and while it helped somewhat, I didn’t like the injections or the side effects I experienced. That route wasn’t for me.
Starting January 1st, I committed to walking 10,000 steps every day, praying Morning and Evening Prayer while I walked, logging every meal in MyFitnessPal, and cutting out soda, juice, and sports drinks entirely. I had been consuming between 1,000 and 1,500 calories a day just from drinks. Now, I eat a protein smoothie for breakfast, a protein bar and Greek yogurt for lunch, and a sensible, protein-rich, low-carb dinner. I also set a goal of reading 52 books this year.
Since the beginning of the year, I’ve added new habits to my daily routine, like learning a language and reading (usually Tolkien). I also bought a treadmill and squeezed it into my home office.
I don’t have a specific weight goal in mind. Even though I set a monthly target of losing 10 lbs, I’m ultimately not focused on reaching a certain number; I’m aiming for a complete lifestyle change. It’s time to love the Lord not just with my heart, soul, and mind, but also with my strength (Mark 12:30).
How It’s Going
I’m four months in, and here’s where things stand. I’ve walked 10,000 steps every day this year, averaging 12,777 steps daily. I have lost 55 pounds, about 13.75 pounds per month. I’ve prayed Morning and Evening Prayer every day while walking. I haven’t had a soda since my son’s birthday party at the start of January, though I do have 8 ounces of juice in my breakfast smoothie every morning. I’ve finished 16 books, which keeps me right on track, and I rarely eat fast food (except for the occasional burrito bowl from Chipotle with plenty of veggies and brown rice).
Where Now
I’m on this journey. I don’t know where it will lead me, but I know I want to keep walking this path, and I hope my family, friends, and readers will walk with me.
My goal in this series isn’t to moralize about anyone else’s body or habits. I don’t have the standing for that. What I want is to share honestly how my journey is going and to think seriously, as a theologian and biblical scholar, about what Scripture and the Christian tradition say about the body, health, creation, and the whole person. These are questions I’ve only ever wrestled with in the abstract. Now, I am trying to answer them with my feet as well as my mind.
This first post is free and something like a public confession. Subsequent posts in this series will be for paid subscribers. A great deal of what I plan to write about is personal and more than a little embarrassing, and I want to share it with readers who are genuinely along for the journey. If you’d like to be one of them, the cost is $6 per month. If you’re already a paid subscriber, thank you.
Let’s walk.
Congratulations. An amazing feat. Make it a permanent lifestyle change to maintain the weight when you hit your goal. You are doing great.
Well put and well done, Fr.
Keep up the good work!
My family and I will be in your neck of the woods in July. Hope to worship with you again.