diets tried and failed

This morning I got on the scale and was okay with what I saw. Not ecstatic, mind you, but accepting. For most of my life I've tried to lose weight. I thought about how far I've come, having lost about 35 pounds, and what a long journey it's been. I've tried almost everything out there, with little results. Finally I found the one thing that worked. Don't worry, I won't keep it a secret. :)

-I tried Rev XP. Probably my first attempt at pills. Contains just a ton of caffeine and "herbal supplements" and gets you going crazy. I lost several pounds in the first couple days but after that not so much.

-I tried SlimFast. Okay, shake for breakfast, shake for lunch, and a sensible dinner is harder than it sounds. Who wants to drink flavored milk for breakfast and lunch EVERY SINGLE DAY. Not me. Although I do still drink SlimFast for breakfast fairly often. It is pretty good...in limited amounts.

-I tried Hoodia. Some kind of herb from an African cactus. It's supposed to suppress hunger and make you feel full. Well when you eat even when you're not hungry (like me) it isn't very effective.

-I tried a juice fast. I drank juice for four days straight. I lost like five pounds, but drinking only juice and not eating any solid food does some weird things to you. It was supposed to be some kind of detox program to do for a month and I was supposed to make my own juice with a juicer, but I didn't have one. This one actually sounds legitimate as a detox program, but for long-run weight loss, not healthy. Did you know if you heat up tomato juice it tastes like tomato soup?

-I tried the "apple diet." Don't worry, I didn't only eat apples. What I was supposed to do is eat an apple before every meal. Apples have a pretty high water content and relatively few calories so they will help you feel full without putting on the pounds. Well, I got pretty tired of apples.

-I tried the "yogurt diet." Ever heard that increasing your calcium intake will help you lose weight? Well, it's true. I ate yogurt for every meal, and I got really sick of yogurt. After that I didn't eat it for about a year.

-I tried a colon cleanse. I had to take these disgusting pills twice a day and drink this gross packet of fizzy juice. I'll keep my colon dirty, thank you.

-I tried SlimQuick. Probably the only diet pill I was on for an extended period of time. I actually did lose weight on this one, but it was probably because I was exercising too.

Add on to all the things I tried all the things I've even thought about trying and you've got yourself quite a list. And this isn't even counting all the actual "eat-less-exercise-more" diet diets I tried. But they didn't work. Finally one day, so sick of everything I just wanted to give up, I found the answer. Here is is:

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

This verse gave me the motivation to lose weight. I was trashing God's temple and it wasn't right and I didn't want to do it anymore. It's hard, but I also found this verse to help me stay focused:

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7

So now I try to eat healthy and I make a concentrated effort to work out fairly often. I've learned the hard way that making the right choices is the only way to lose weight. The other ways may offer a quick-fix, but they are not sustainable and they are not God-honoring. There is no discipline in taking a pill to lose weight. My body is disciplined to lift the weights I tell it too, it is powerful to withstand strenuous exercise, and I do my best to honor God by keeping his temple in good condition.