Eat Less, Exercise More

I am always fascinated by the plethora of diet/weightloss books that are available out there on the market. It seems you can go at weightloss in any way imaginable! You can do low carb, low fat, low calorie, low glycemic, vegetarian, hunter/gatherer, dairy free, Atkins, Weight Watchers, South Beach, SugarBusters, etc, etc, ad nauseum. I have said it before and I will say it again...all of these plans will work...IF you follow them!! The obvious problem we have is the fact that many of us fail to follow the plans that have been laid out. We cheat, sneak, and binge our ways off the plan and end up in despair because we have failed...yet again.

Curious how God tells us what to do, yet we choose not to listen to His advice. We have all heard the phrase, "Every thing in moderation" yet we do not seem to be faithful in applying it to our lives. The Scriptures speak about self-control countless times. My personal desire to lose weight is not just a vanity issue. It is a health issue and it is a spiritual issue. When I made the decision to confront my weight head-on, I knew I had to insure that it was not just for carnal reasons. I chose Galatians 5:22-24 as my motivation...not only for weightloss but for my entire life. As a Christian, I *must* display the fruit of the Spirit and continue to grow daily. I know my *fruitbowl* has become more full over the years, but there is so much room left for more. I want more. I want to have more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This is a life long journey of sanctification that we are in as Believers in Jesus Christ. If the Lord wills it, I look forward to having a number of years of seeing that fruitbowl fill up. Although, it will never be truly full until I am glorified (Romans 8:29-31)..but that is another post.

So, what is the answer and what are the best tips for losing weight? I am no authority on this, especially since I am still in the midst of the journey. But from what I can see, if we strive after becoming molded into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ and continue to seek after the fruit of the Spirit, we are going to be well on our way to a healthier life, both physically and more importantly, spiritually.

But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature
with its passions and desires.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Galatians 5:22-26

One other note of interest. If you are a sister dieter, then you will have heard that cutting back calories without exercise will lead to muscle loss, which inturn leads to lowering your metabolism. I just read an article that you may be interested in if you sometimes struggle with exercise. I think exercise is very important for me, when wanting to live a more healthy lifestyle...however, for those days where I might miss, this article encouraged me!!
Read it here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070126/hl_nm/diet_exercise_dc