cookie-milk-photopinIs dieting wrong in God’s eyes? Is it (gulp) a sin?

Diets. Gotta love them, gotta hate them.

We love slimming to look better and feel energetic. We hate diets because we feel deprived, grouchy, and depressed when we regain the weight we worked hard to lose.

I have a crazy Weight Watchers story. You can read part it in the intro of my eBook, Fit for Life.

Back to the BIG question:

Is Dieting Sinful?

The quick answer, “no.”

In fact, eating right is good. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Cor. 6:19, NASB)

However, dieting can turn nasty.

It all depends on your attitude.

If you turn to food for comfort then you need a heart change not a diet. An excellent resource is Love to Eat, Hate to Eat by Elyse Fitzpatrick, a biblical counselor and author.

What About OVER-Eating?

Derived from the Latin gluttire meaning to gulp down or swallow, “gluttony” means over-indulgence of food or drink to the point of extravagance or waste. The religious leaders claimed Jesus was a glutton.

Listen to their haughtiness: “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matt. 11:19, NIV).

And UNDER-Eating?

Strangely, under-indulgence of food is also gluttonous because it is an extreme use of food. For some, the problem is bulimia or anorexia. The latter took hold of my counselee Heather (not her real name), who found healing as she smashed her underlying idols of people-pleasing and pride, and found put God first and to bring glory to him in everything she did.

Like Jesus she learned to enjoy eating food, a gift of God.

For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. 1 Tim. 4:4-5, NIV

3 Quick Food Tips

These tips will make a huge difference in your success. They have for me and my counselees, who wanted more energy, better emotions, and a greater fitness.

1. Cut out or reduce sugary drinks like soda. When my husband corked the pop, he dropped 15 pounds in three months and has maintained.

2. Eat fruit and veggies. You’re less likely to crunch a cookie when you have fruit and veggies in easy reach.

3. Decide NOT to diet. A diet is an eating plan you go on and off, typically regaining the weight you lost. Instead, listen to advice from MayoClinic.com:

Successful weight loss requires permanent changes to your eating habits and physical activity. This means you need to find a weight-loss approach that you can embrace for life. . .Combining a healthier diet and more activity is the best way to lose weight and keep it off for the long term.”

This is exactly the approach of my ebook Fit for Life, with a strong biblical emphasis. You can read the introduction here, my compliments.

“Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).

photo credit: hjhipster via photopin cc

Sharing hope with your heart,

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