When faced with life's challenges,
it is Important to Remember
that although Daniel was saved from the lions,
he was not saved from the Lion's Den.


Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Do you diet?


So, I have mentioned once (or maybe twice), that I have been dieting.  I have been doing it for a total of three weeks and have lost ten pounds.  It is a hard struggle.  But there are some very important concepts that I am learning along the way. 
The first, is the importance of water.  This cool, refreshing beverage is essential to me in my desire to lose weight.  I have to drink 64 oz of water every day, whether I want to or not.  I have found that to be more of a struggle than nearly anything else that I am currently doing.  I thought it would be easy.  I thought that I was already drinking that much.  Well, I thought wrong and it continues to be an ongoing struggle. 
The second concept is that you do not have to be hungry to diet!  Yep, that is completely true.  No matter what type of diet you go on, you should not be hungry.  If you are hungry, you are going to eat the things that you shouldn't just so that you can feel full.  The problem for me is that I eat for other reasons than simply hunger.  I am learning how often and when and what I should be eating.
The third, and most important concept of all is simply that I have been eating all the wrong foods in the wrong amounts for nearly my entire life.  That can be just a little bit depressing.  But it can also be very eye opening.  I am hoping, as I learn more and more about what is healthy and what is not, that I will develop strategies to keep the weight off permanently. 

We live in a world of instant gratification.  If we want food, we drive through the window and pick it up.  There is no mess and no fuss.  We get whatever we want to, no matter how healthy or unhealthy it might be.  We drink Soda pop like it was water, even though it isn't.  We have turned aside from the things that are healthy to chase after the things that are "good". 
We live in a world where we can buy nearly anything we want on credit.  You can have it all now.  Never mind the payments or the paybacks.  You can order it and use your credit card and never, ever, want for anything.  We have forgotten that Christ is the bread and the water in our lives.  We are supposed to live by His words and teachings.  We are supposed to recognize the importance of His blood in our lives. 
We are, very simply, eating all the wrong things in this world.  We are pursuing those things which will not bring us lasting happiness. 
I have tried to diet before, but I have failed because I kept looking at it as something I had to do.  Not something that I wanted to do.  I looked at a diet like it was depriving me of my life.  Does that sound familiar? 



Don't we sometimes look at living the Gospel of Jesus Christ as something that prevents or keeps us from doing the things we want to do?  Don't we sometimes look at it as a "diet" from life, instead of as a way to live a fuller and more enjoyable life?  Don't we sometimes view obeying our religious beliefs as something that ties us down instead of as the one thing that really lifts us up? 
I have learned that the things that are most important in life today, will be the same things that are most important tomorrow.  Our Heavenly Father does not change His teachings or His principles.  Instead, He softens our hearts and teaches us how to improve our spiritual health.  He is there to guide us on our journey.  All we have to do is be willing to "diet" from the influences of the world, and follow Him. 

4 comments:

  1. Good for you! Ten pounds is great! Keep it up! My mom has always been a health food fanatic and I'm so glad. I've learned the basic and it has been great.
    After baby #3 I started doing the "Eat 4 Your blood Type". It was great! I'd never had so much energy before! And yet, I'm having a hard time getting back to that point since baby four. But I try.

    And once again, I loved how you tied that into something spiritual. And so spot on too. =)

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  2. My daughter in law is using that diet and she says the same thing! I might go to that one as a way of life once I have lost this weight. Right now, it is the hard road for me! Thank you so much for your comments. I always appreciate them!

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  3. Oh wow!! for you!! I have the problem of Chocolate!! I eat it all the time. I love it! I eat it to help with stress, to reward myself for something, because it's there. I have found that if I eat almonds, I don't crave it as much. Reading this article has made me think of other things that I do that are harmful. One of which is get on the computer or watch TV. I use this as an escape. But I need to face the problem head on and then I won't need to escape it. Thank you for these amazing incites. I am going to reevaluate some of these things.

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  4. Congrats! Losing weight is not easy, which is totally not fair considering how easy it is to put it on. Love your tie in with the spiritual.

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