Why Diets Don't Work
No one wants to talk about dieting with a feast on our tables and pies for dessert so I saved this topic for after Thanksgiving. Now, with most of
the leftovers gone, we're thinking about making healthier choices for the
three weeks between holidays. Eating more fruits and veggies ought to be doable until Christmas cookies and fudge start popping up. In our
family, December also brings a few birthdays, i.e. birthday cakes, which
make healthy eating even more difficult.
family, December also brings a few birthdays, i.e. birthday cakes, which
make healthy eating even more difficult.
Okay, so December isn't the best time to turn over a new leaf, lettuce leaf
that is, but what about January? Of course, New Year's Day, the perfect
time to start a diet! So why do more than 90% of us fail to lose weight and regain health even then?
time to start a diet! So why do more than 90% of us fail to lose weight and regain health even then?
I discovered the reason diets don't work in the book of Romans, which is
as applicable today as the day Paul wrote it nearly 2,000 years ago.
"Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind..." (Romans 12:2).
True transformation begins in our minds. Unless we change the way we
think about food, we won't change the way we interact with it. If we see
ice cream, soda pop, and Hershey bars as "good" and eat them regularly,
a diet plan in a magazine can't compete with that. Our accepted list of good foods has to include carrots, Brussel sprouts, and tomatoes, before those veggies will make it onto our plates.
think about food, we won't change the way we interact with it. If we see
ice cream, soda pop, and Hershey bars as "good" and eat them regularly,
a diet plan in a magazine can't compete with that. Our accepted list of good foods has to include carrots, Brussel sprouts, and tomatoes, before those veggies will make it onto our plates.
Diets don't work because external tools, no matter how sensible, can't
change the internal. Their truth has to replace the opposing "truth" we've
held in our thinking for years or even decades. It looks like the successful
diet doesn't begin in the kitchen but in our minds.
held in our thinking for years or even decades. It looks like the successful
diet doesn't begin in the kitchen but in our minds.
The same holds true spiritually. Romans 12:2 says to renew our minds
"so we can prove the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God." So we
can be more sure of His goodness than we are that the sun will rise each morning. When we take in the Bread of Life, God's Word, and let it replace
our opposing thoughts, it transforms our spirits. To accept His word as our
ultimate truth, changes us for the better. First in our minds, then in our
words and actions.
We don't have to replace pumpkin pie with pickles or Christmas cookies
with celery. Occasional treats aren't the problem. Choosing to eat truly
good food 340 days a year will improve our physical health. But more importantly, God's Word can transform our spirits today and for eternity.
And every word of it is good.
"so we can prove the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God." So we
can be more sure of His goodness than we are that the sun will rise each morning. When we take in the Bread of Life, God's Word, and let it replace
our opposing thoughts, it transforms our spirits. To accept His word as our
ultimate truth, changes us for the better. First in our minds, then in our
words and actions.
We don't have to replace pumpkin pie with pickles or Christmas cookies
with celery. Occasional treats aren't the problem. Choosing to eat truly
good food 340 days a year will improve our physical health. But more importantly, God's Word can transform our spirits today and for eternity.
And every word of it is good.
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