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There is nothing mysterious or secret to this diet. The problem with diets is that they don't deal with the real problem- sin. It is a sin to make a pig of yourself, and it is common to pass off fat with stories about metabolism and embolism et al. If you are still covering your sin, go find an expensive diet plan and a shrink and wear your soul and pocket book thin. When you have had it with that, come see me again. |
The Three R's
1. What is reality?
2. What is Right and Wrong?
3. What is your Responsibility?
Three R's Applied to Your Fat
1. Reality-
First- You eat too much, and you eat the wrong things.
Proverbs 23:2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
This is not a suggestion you go see the murderer Kavorkian if you are fat.
In the Second and Third points below I talk about some sin related things and causes, but you MUST realize that it is a SIN to be a glutton, for whatever reason. A few people just enjoy food. They overdo it in this joy. Enjoying food is not sin, but when you don't learn to set the fork down sooner, you are a SINNER. Your body is NOT yours to make into a barrel of fat. If you are an unsaved person, go right ahead, but the saint has no business eating to the point of sin. Fat people don't need civil rights-- they need to confess sin.
What is eating the wrong things? Answer: Eating carbohydrates at the exclusion of animal protein and fat. The research is in-- the FDA food pyramid has INCREASED heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Simply eat plenty of animal protein like red meat and dairy products, eat plenty of tropical fats and olive oil, and keep carbohydrates to a minimum. In fact, you do not need carbohydrates. The Inuit Eskimos of northern Canada and Russia eat nothing but whale blubber for six months during the winter, and they have NO heart disease, diabetes, or cancer. The Masii of Kenya eat nothing but meat, milk, and blood. They too have no heart disease, diabetes, or cancer. And, they are never over weight. I lived there. I saw this.
Also, you are out of control if you snack, and use at meal time, any form of junk food or prepared food if you could cook it from fresh food. Prepared food is always loaded with additives. Even allegedly "organic" food has ingredients that you do not need in the food if you cook it at home. If you are too lazy to prepare your own food, they get a good health cater insurance plan, because you will need it one day.
Second- You have made a security blanket, or a god, of food.
Many fat people have other problems- almost all in fact. They are not satisfied with their marriage, their work, or they are feeling like they have failed at something. The eating of food is an anesthetic to the mind and soul. Why? Answer: When we bomb the brain with carbohydrates, the blood rushes from the brain to the stomach to digest the latest load of Oreos, and the brain is temporarily quieted. It works. Prov. 23:21 It is also sin.
It is also a security blanket to drink coffee, eat chocolate, smoke, have business lunches, or any other food related activity if you are dependent on that food in order to function. This is happening all over the world daily, and it is an addiction more common than any other.
Many good godly saints cannot start the day without a cup of coffee. Now, coffee is one of the most interesting libations as to its association with good fellowship and relationships. In a formal British restaurant, the coffee comes last. It is in a separate room, and a cheese board is over on a buffet against the wall. Very comfortable sofas or chairs are provided, and the whole idea is to finish the evening talking with friends and sipping that amazing coal black mud the British call coffee. I love it. But, as I think of those evenings out in the Fairhaven Hotel, an old charming colonial era gathering place in Nairobi, Kenya, I at once think of who we were with and how I would love to see them again. Moderation in many things is no sin, but dependence on things passing "through the lips and over the gums," in order to feel good, is indeed sin.
If you drink thirty cups of coffee a day in order to "keep going," you are addicted to food. That is SIN. You simply cannot be freed from this without repenting.
1 Corinthians 6:13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
God made food to be enjoyed. But, food does nothing for the soul and the spirit. Of course, if you are starving, your soul and mind will not be very clear. But, most of you reading this have NEVER starved for more than a day, and if you DID starve for, say, a week, you would look a lot better for it, and your mind might finally go into high gear. I know this is a fact where people are well fed and tend to be fat.
So, God gave food to Adam and Eve, He gave meat to Noah (Genesis 9), and He served food to His friends in the Person of Jesus Christ who fed 5000 and 4000, as well as cooking breakfast for the disciples. Jesus ate with sinners so He could witness to them. He even used two food items, wine and bread, the ultimate "staples," to carry the symbolism of His death and Resurrection to the Church throughout the ages. The Church of Rome has mysticized these as literally Jesus' Body and Blood. The above verse shows the folly of this teaching. Food can nourish, enslave, or teach, but food has NO spiritual content. The spiritual content of life is in "Christ and in you, the hope of Glory."
So, food is NOT evil. Food is given to us by God to enjoy. Feastings (like the marriage feast Jesus attended) are not even evil if some wanton sin is not added to the feast. When the belly dancer comes into the feast, sin has entered, and men lust. It is interesting that the fat men feast their eyes on the belly dancer the most. Is this because many fat men have fat wives? Just for what it is worth :-)
So, eat your apple, or your chocolates, and enjoy. Just don't let food bring you into bondage to your appetites.
Third- Lust
James 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
People lust for things they think will make them happy. Things don't do that. Happiness is gained by a relationship, and you cannot have a relationship with mashed potatoes, at least not after about two years old.
The Ads you see in magazines and on TV try to make you THINK you will have a relationship with Mazola corn oil or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Ad writers simply are playing up to your sin of ignoring people and God and hugging food. It works-- Only the Germans are fatter than we Americans. I wish you could go the the Middle East and drop in on a large feast in progress. These occasional feasts are the treats which come from not lusting for food BETWEEN feasts. But, you would soon realize that the feast is really only a pleasant setting for fellowship and relationships. Only White race Aryans and Westernized people make the tragic mistake of abandoning people for things. I KNOW I am right, for many people cannot enjoy "eating out" unless they can lust over that 40 foot serving table at an "all you can eat" restaurant. I hate going to these places for three reasons:
1. My lusts are enflamed. I end up fighting the urge to make a pig of myself.
2. If my spirit wins, and I order from the menu instead of from the pig trough, I am still miserable because I have to watch YOU make a pig of yourself. Furthermore; the food is not that good. You can claim otherwise, but the REAL food is two blocks down the street at the Mandarin Restaurant.
3. Pigs are bad company. At the Tri-Cities Cafe you get some home cooking, AND you get to hear all the local gossip. You know the waitress personally, and she may even give you a prayer request for her sick kid. The good old boys in the cafe love to tease each other, and, if you are accepted in the community, one of these rascals will announce you as you come in the door, like, "Watch your mouth now, the preacher is here, and he might use you in his sermon next Sunday." These small moments should be FAR more satisfying to a saint that seconds on greeeeezy fried pork.
If you want to know if you are guilty of food lust, answer this question:
Do I eat on the run and alone a lot BY CHOICE?
Go figure!
2.
Right and Wrong
Ezekiel 44:23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
You will NEVER have victory in the Christian life until you are EAGER to make a difference between what is sin and what is allowed. Now, saints worldwide sometimes don't see eye to eye on various matters of distinction. But, that does NOT mean it is not necessary to make a difference. I had a friend named Tim H. who was out of control on soda drinks. He drank all kinds of soda because he was addicted. He applied the above verse, waged war on his fleshly lusts, and won the victory. Now, I drink a can of soda when it is handed to me. I don't crave it, and I don't need it. But, I can enjoy it if it is not diet soda, which has poisons in it for sweetener- Aspartame. Tim HAD to deal with the soda differently than I did, and I prayed with him for victory. I was proud of his zeal to make the difference in his life between the profane and the holy.
Thus, food is no problem to many people. They eat it for the body, and they enjoy it in innocence as God gave it. You may find your attitude to food is profane. If it were not, then why are you so fat? Huh? Come on, let's stop making excuses. You need to get food out of the profane and into the holy.
Rush Limbaugh says he lost weight and looks a lot better now because he learned to hate food and consider it an interruption. This is the only way a pagan sinner, who has rejected Christ, can deal with fat. He has turned against the gift God gave him instead of dealing with his sin. He also needs to do this with cigars. I believe his arrogant use of the poison tobacco has crippled his ability to deal with food maturely. I don't trust a man like that. His political notions will also be tainted with his sin of self-indulgence.
This song was sung in the context of Bill Clinton's lust for sex and lying. Listen to it, and see if you don't hear a message on food in your conscience. "Wrong's Not Right" Are YOU "...blurring distinctions and making excuses"? "One day you'll pay the price" when the grease has plugged your arteries and you are too fat to see your toes. Shame will then overwhelm you. Bill Clinton's Oval Office escapades are not the only way lust overtakes us-- food is also one. Don't put off the day of making the difference between the profane and the holy.
3.
Responsibility
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Sacrifice means, put the thing on the altar-- give it up, and put it to death. Give up what? Answer: Your life. This does not imply suicide of course. But, it does mean that you give up ALL authority over your body, soul, and spirit to GOD! Do you suppose God thinks your fat is cute or OK? Read this....
Deuteronomy 21:18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: 19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. 22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:Note please that drunkenness and gluttony seem to go together. Both food and alcohol are substitutes for control of the Holy Spirit in the life. Gluttons could be killed in old Israel. I don't say this to imply you need to be hanged. The point is this- God considers gluttony a very disgusting sin. Some far worse sins can be hidden or practiced selectively. They are still wicked. But, gluttony is open sin.
As the Fundamental KJV Only Baptist pastor waddles up to the pulpit to preach, his people KNOW that he is not to be taken seriously. Why? Answer: That fat boy is screaming to everyone, except the blind lady, that he is OUT OF CONTROL and living in sin. No wonder his church is filled with all the religious backsliders of the town.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."IF" Did you see that word? It is up to YOU! Don't ask God to carve the fat off of you. The Jew had to carve the fat off the sacrifice at the altar in the Old Testament and give it to the Lord. YOU are the one who has to confront this sin, confess it, and WORK to conquer it.
The Charismatics in recent years have taught a doctrine of "binding." They bind stop lights, toilets, demons, Brazil, just about anything they can think of. They also "bind" the calories in food. Lord have mercy on their perverted souls. I had a young lady tell me her friends would order super fattening deserts, then join hands, and "bind" the calories in the food. BAH! Blasphemy. YOU are the one in charge of the fork honey. Drop the thing, and you will lose weight. Stop passing off you responsibility on God on the pretext that it is HIS problem if you stay fat.
TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR FAT.
Uncle Steve's Bible Believer's Diet
There are some principles from the Word of God and common sense which can help to keep the fat off and still enjoy food. I want you to know that food is NOT evil. Food did not make you fat. Indeed, there is even a moderate use of junk food may some slim and trim people. Here is the cause of your fat-- your sin made you fat. I assume you have confessed your sin of gluttony and are now ready to start giving that fat back to God.
FIRST-
Philippians 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
Weight Watchers has simply applied this Bible principle to their program. It is a great idea to tell a few friends of your victory so far in naming your sin and confessing it. Ask the friends to check on you to see how you are doing and pray for you. A British lay preacher in Nairobi, Kenya smoked heavily. He got under conviction of this sin, and he devised a plan. He told several friends that if they caught him with a cigarette in his mouth on the streets of Nairobi, they were to walk up to him and yell, "You silly ass." Now, "ass" in the UK is not a dirty work, but it is NOT a compliment either. It worked. One friend did this several times and embarrassed the man thoroughly on the street. He got the victory.
Now, "going public" is not all the battle, but it helps. Please tell a few godly friends and your pastor of this landmark day of victory and your zeal to get the fat off. This will give you the added incentive to do it since friends will be watching. Don't stand in the assembly and do this. There are, sadly, cruel folks in most churches who will get more joy out of your defeat than out of your victory. Keep it to a few choice friends who will hold you accountable in love. I must say this, and it is sad. If you have a big fat preacher, he will not be impressed with you. Change churches. This is a very good reason to look for another pastor.
SECOND-
The Dana Mathna plan. My wife has an uncle in Pennsylvania who has a very simple formula for weight control. Here it is.
1. Weigh yourself every morning. Wear the same thing every time, or nothing as you get into the shower.
2. If you have lost a pound, keep on course. Add the pounds up as you lose them. If you reach about three pounds lost, add a treat of a "feast item" that day. Feasts are celebration items, not backsliding, OK? Don't think this allows periodic gorging. Just a treat for being good, like a bowl of ice cream or cheese cake (one piece :-). Then, back to the diet.
3. If you go up a pound one morning, NO treats until the trend is back down.
4. Once you reach your weight goal, this plan, in the most simple way, will give you victory. By the way, Dana has never been fat. He keeps the body under subjection as Paul did. I don't think anyone I know enjoys good food like Dana and his boys, and NONE of them are fat. It can be done.
THIRD- Here is Uncle Steve's eating and dieting plan. Food is from God, and eating is not evil. Enjoy
Balance:
It has become very clear that carbohydrates are essential to your performance. A diet which pitches out all carbos is ungodly, especially if you work hard. And, hard working people DO get fat. Bread is the mose common staple in the Bible, and it is never cursed.
Breakfast:
Eat a balance of carbohydrates and protein, with the emphasis on protein. Do you have flaked cereal and toast and coffee and call that breakfast. Hey, this meal is supposed to be the breaking of a FAST-- breakfast. You have not eaten for 8 hours, and you are about to go to work where you need the fuel more than any other time of day. You need the carbos for the short haul and the proteins for the long day's work.
Also, flaked cereal is for flakes. That stuff is garbage. Most of its food value has to be added because the flakes are so toasted that the food value is gone. They are also full of chemicals to preserve them. You might actually get more food value eating the box they came in. Dig into oatmeal, fried eggs (Bible food), and a piece of fruit. I like cheese melted on the a rye cracker-- nuked in the microwave, and a cup of tea to start the day. Breakfast comes later.
For diet purposes, simply cut back on the amount of the above food. You should be content to lose weight slowly so you are not starved, especially at work after a tiny breakfast. If you want to skip a meal, just have an apple for lunch with some kind of protein snack. But, don't get into the "starvation" mode. Your body will adjust to this, and later, when you are slim and trim again, and you return to normal eating habits, your body will grab all the added food you want to eat and convert it to fat. God made us that way in case we do have times of starvation.
Lunch:
You still need carbohydrates. You will be working after lunch, and you need the fuel. You should again balance evenly the proteins with the carbos though. This is one of the keys to my diet- balance. Yogurt at lunch is a nice treat. Cottage cheese is good too. I like some hot chilies in there. They make my mouth burn, and I will drink more to kill the fire. That fills me up, and I don't crave the carbos anymore :-)
If you carry a lunch, ask your wife to reduce the carbos and beef up the meat. Eat lots of lean red meat. God gave it to you to eat. If you work late sometimes, carry cans of potted meat or chili in your glove compartment with a can opener and some plastic cutlery. This is what I do. That way, I can't make excuses to go through the drive thru and grab some French fries or stop for donuts.
Make plenty of time to eat your lunch if possible. This way, you can slow down, take a small siesta, and get you head clear. Maybe listen to a preaching cassette. This will make your lunch break an oasis in the middle of the day rather than a pig out party. When I tuned pianos for a living, I did not eat with other people. I wanted the oasis in the middle of the day WITHOUT people. If you need someone to yell in your face, turn on Rush Limbaugh. He will make you appreciate silence and the birds singing.
Dinner (Supper)-
Make this a feast-- of things not fattening. Eat well-- Lots of salad with slim topping additions (NO hydrogenated oils please). Do NOT completely obliterate carbohydrates though. Beulah land was a land of milk and honey. Honey is a carbo. Jesus included carbos in the Lord's Supper. I feel sorry for these Catholics who get that insipid bit of over-processed wheat on their tongue. Bread ought to taste like bread. Bake your own in one of these home baking machines. Add sage of dill and interesting things so that the bread is fun as well as nourishing.
Eat a big portion of hard protein for supper. Red meat is preferred with the fat included- "eat the fat and drink the sweet." You need animal fat to metabolize other fats and take off YOUR fat.
Your fast of eight hours in bed is a time of rebuilding the body and defragmenting the hard drive for the next day. Your body replaces itself completely every 7 years, and you better feed it some good things or you could become a walking waste management dump. Wheaties is NOT the breakfast of champions. Professional athletes eat mountains of meat. Why? They are trying to build their own red meat up to the point that they can bash the begeebers out of the lineman across from them. Flakes are for flakes, not hard working people. Mr. Kellogg was a New Ager and an SDA, and he hated meat eaters. He is the godfather of flakes.
Eat early in the evening so that your food starts to be burned off before you go to bed. As you go to bed, drink a hot non-caffeine beverage like bouillon, and add a couple of crackers and a modest slice of cheese. You will burn this up by morning. It also prevents getting up feeling starved. More important, it draws blood from the brain to the stomach, and you don't have so much trouble getting your mind to shut down for sleep.
Desert-
NO dessert on an empty stomach. Always have dessert AFTER a solid protein meal. If you are going to cheat, which is very dumb if you are diabetic and don't want your legs chopped off in your old age, ask for a patty melt before the pie, or at least ask for two slices of real cheddar cheese with your pie. If the waitress looks at you cross eyed, yell her your family came from England where they do this.
At home, sprinkle some nutmeg or cinnamon on top. The people who laugh at you will soon be asking for a bite.
You have been assuming that desert has to be gooey and rich. Ain't necessarily so, honey. What's wrong with a baked apple? Add raisins to the carved out center, butter, and a bit of cinnamon. Also, I often settle for a cup of tea in place of desert. How about a cappuccino? Gooey deserts can be a treat after losing several pounds, and once you are down to control and healthy weight, include moderate deserts which don't cause backsliding.
Recently (May 2004) we learned that sugar snacks alone jolt the sugar processing mechanism of the body. This habit of snacking on sugar is why many Western Whites, and their Black neighbors, have diabetes. People in developing nations do not do this, and they have almost no diabetes. So, have you sugar treat after a meal. The protein will slow down the digestion because protein takes the longest of any food to move out of the stomach. This will hold the sugar for longer processing by the stomach before it gets to the intestines and into the blood stream. This sugar treat will then actually become useful food, IF taken in moderation. We are talking about refined sugar, like candy and cakes and pies with sugar in the recipe.
Added Rules:
1. Eat slooooooooooowly-
Visit with someone while you eat.
Listen to a preaching tape for 30 minutes.
Steal a kiss from the chef (IF she is your wife)Stop when you feel content. "Enough" is a dirty word in our modern perverted culture. Shove off from the table, or stack your dishes etc with someone else's so you can't easily change your mind and sneak seconds. And, remember, seconds are killing you! To feel content after a meal that your old nature says was too little, have carrots on hand to munch. They DO help vision according to late research. Also, celery is great. It lets you hear yourself chewing, and that can be very satisfying, AND it has soduim nitrites in it which are great for your heart.
As to seconds, one issue I deal with is church dinners and other gatherings. When a buffet is provided, there will always be some big pig who returns for seconds and thirds. He will say, "Come on brother, let's get some more of that fried chicken." The old nature in me says to go on and be sociable. If you want to make a fat slob of yourself and waddle through life with a size 58 waist, please do NOT invite me to follow you. Kill yourself quietly please. Thanks.
2. Eat lots of fruit and veggies raw.
This is just plain common sense. But, before you got right with the Lord on your body sacrifice, what did you crave? Fruit? Of course not-- You craved starch and grease, right? "I'm a meat and potatoes men myself." And you are a jerk. The cardiologists LOVE you good old boys who feast on potatoes. So, replace the carbos and with fruit and veggies and lots of animal fat and tropical oils, which God made for you to enjoy also. New research tells us that tropical fats, lard, butter, and tallow BURN FAT. Did you ever see a rancher feed his cattle hamburger to fatten them? THINK-- he feeds them carbohydrates and vegetable fats.
3. Make an investment in good food and hard protein.
You used to buy cheap food high in carbohydrates. So, now that you are on the way to victory over fat, buy food which costs more and is a treat to eat. Make sure it is not heavily processed, for this wastes money, and you get too many chemicals added. Cook more of your food from scratch. The reward will come in the preparing, and when you eat, you will not just inhale it. You will appreciate your success as a chef. If you cook for someone trying to lose weight, make more fuss over china, decorations, and serve the plates in the kitchen and take them to the table. Married couples and families can occasionally indulge in shrimp as an appetizer. A small serving will be a treat without breaking your budget. Make your own beef jerky. All you need is a dehydrator from WalMart and a good recipe.
4. Clear soup is a great snack.
It gives you something to do while you are in the snack mode. By the time you heat it and eat it, you have had your little break, and the famine is over. Just don't eat a bunch of Ritz crackers with it. In the old days bouillon was served on ocean liners midmorning. This is something you could think about on winter days or if you work outdoors in the cold. Take a thermos of it along to work, and watch the gang envy you as you drink your gourmet snack drink. Fill a small thermos with bouillon soup. Add some celery and parsley leaves, or a bit of barley, if the soup seems weak. So try to make your own soup so you don't overdose on salt.
5. No snacks with carbohydrates-
This is what is killing most fat people. The smell of deep frying potatoes is so seductive. Find a way to deal with this, even if it means going around McDonald's on the up wind side to avoid temptation. Beware of those finger food gatherings at church. They are always carbo oriented and deadly to a fat person. Talk to your pastor about encouraging people to bring less carbos and more fruit and veggies. One reason people bring carbos to church gatherings is that they are too cheap to invest in good food for their friends. THAT is a fact. We made a policy in our church in Michigan that carbos would be minimized at our gathering times, and everyone was delighted. It DID cost us a bit more though. Victory is never cheap.
Don't buy carbos to stock the pantry. That is, carbos which are ready to eat. Stocking up on flour and oatmeal is OK since you will not be tempted to go grab a hand full of uncooked rolled oats I trust :-)
6. Stop eating out.
Those restaurants often over-portion on the carbos. My wife and I order one meal and share it. If you think treating yourself means being a week end glutton, go around to the hog farm and ask the farmer if you can eat with his pigs. He will charge a lot less than the restaurant.
Also, restaurants are no longer safe places with so many new deadly viruses being passed around. Restaurants are one of the best places to go if you want to get sick. Second best place to get sick would be to go to the hospital. If you do eat out, make sure the waitresses are mature woman dressed properly, for the young racy girls will be shacking up this weekend and coming to work with STDs. Also, take a look into the kitchen. If it is filthy, keep moving.
7. Brush your teeth every time you eat.
This will discourage you from dirtying them again by snacking right away. Carry a tooth brush all day where you can use it. Eschol Cosby, at 90, is slim and trim and in great health. He eats NO snacks, his supper is butter milk and corn bread, and he brushes his teeth every time he eats something. He still stands up with a hop. It works.
8. When you are a guest, don't make them miserable trying to satisfy your diet plans.
That is rude. Eat what they serve you and tell yourself that this is your treat for the day. None for tomorrow. BUT, don't use this as an excuse to pig out.
9. Feasts are not evil.
Plan ahead for them by cutting back, and do the same the next day. The Bible is loaded with feasting. However; feasting and gorging are not the same. As you enjoy a feast with friends, visit all the time to reduce your eating load. This way, your satisfaction point will arrive (in about 20 minutes) and you will be content. It seems that the desert ("afters" in the UK) is the problem with many of us who gain weight. Tell the hostess that you really ate too much at the main course because it was so good. Ask to have a very small serving of desert, and no seconds.
Here is a somewhat morbid thought. If you are called to a feast, and if you eat too much, you will be reminded of what you are being delivered FROM. Now, do NOT talk this way at the feast, OK? Be sweet about it, but a one meal binge will bring flashbacks from the pig pen and give you renewed zeal to press on with the plan :-)
One more observation. Dieting and Christmas and New Years do not go together, right? So, you may want to look into the Christmas issue. This is just one of the reasons many saints are swearing off of Christ-Mass. It is the High and Holy Day of Fat and Grease of the Western world. Why participate? Can you imagine Joseph and Mary going around to a local cafe and gorging themselves to celebrate the birth of their son, Jesus Christ? Hmmmmm
10. Stick to it.
For some time, you will not lose much weight. This seems to be because your body is getting by without burning off excess fat as yet. After a while though, your body will be forced to burn off the fat because you are not sending it enough to stay healthy and, as the British say, "Put some in the go-down." You have stored fat to use up, and your body will do so if you simply cut back on the carbohydrates. Don't give up.
11. WALK.
You need to get your heart and body juices moving better. Most Western nations and city folks in developing nations are working in jobs which demand a minimum of physical output and are high in tension. Walking deals with both problems. It works your body and gets the muscle tone up, and walking gives you a break from tension and problems associated with work. The Chinese go to the park and do some sort of traditional exercises. Finlanders go to the sauna, get red hot, then jump out in the snow for a stiff chill. Many choices are possible, but walking is the easiest thing if you can't think of an alternative.
Do you recall Dana Mathna's weight control system in Number Two above? Add to this a one or two mile walk. Dr. Post in Fremont, Michigan was overweight and smoking. He stopped the smoking, and he runs about six miles a day. He said he can eat just like he ever did, but he is now slim and trim. And, the Dr. is in great physical form. If you have the time and heart for it, work up to a mild jog of about 5 miles. That will pretty much wipe out the fat problem.
12. Siesta.
I want to stress the positive results of the siesta. I have many Mexican American customers in my piano trade. They are energetic and prosperous. Anglos in the US have the notion that because of the Mexican siesta Mexicans must be lazy by nature. Quite the opposite. The siesta is their way of charging their batteries in the midday. This is true all around the equatorial part of the world. Pastor Eschol Cosby takes a siesta every day for about one half hour. At 90, he is still going strong. He has been a bronco buster and cowboy for many years before he became a pastor. His siesta is part of his good health today.
13. Bible Reading.
You need to get alone with the Lord. When I was in college, before I married my wife, she used to send me letters. I would sit and pour over those letters, and I would try to find every indication that I might one day dare to ask her to marry me. Well, I graduated from college and went off to Michigan to see if she could tolerate me, and we ended up getting married, praise God. But, those letters were the foundation of the thing, along with memories which went all the way back to Africa and missionary boarding school.
You have 66 letters from your Father in heaven, and one day you will be seeing Him face to face. He has included many things to comfort you in troubles, and He has given you a road map of His dealings with the world. How sad that so many folks don't know how their Father thinks and works until they are in a panic and go scream for help. Make time every day to read your Bible alone. Read a chapter or whatever you can handle. Don't use someone else's plan for reading. Make a plan, and stick to it.
14. Get a hobby.
A lot of folks have no hobby. I want you to talk to those you love about this. Is there something you did long ago which has fallen along the wayside? Get it out and dust it off. You need something which has NOTHING to do with your vocation to which you can resort. Don't let it turn into a money making thing. That can be allowed after you retire though. A great hobby is one that husband and wife can do. My father in law used to knit with my mother in law, as did Rosey Greer, the football player. Sounds silly to some folks, but it beats having a heart attack from carrying home a briefcase of work every day.
15. Other folks are more important than your job.
If you ARE carrying home work, you are in for heart trouble or a stroke. If you want to go out that way, you are a fool. You better get your priorities straightened out friend. Also, make a morning time every week to stop in at the Hilltop Cafe before going to the office. You can't wear office clothes and get a seat at the round table in the middle of the room. At that round table though, you will hear tales and gossip for men, and it will give you a group to "hang out" with which will not drag you into tension. Be sure they are not godless wicked men though. Maybe there is an old timer in the city near you who has no friends to visit him. Make it a matter of importance to drop by and visit with him every week. It will be good for both of you. After all, YOU will be old one day and need a friend. Ignore the old folks, and your kids will ignore YOU. I have SEEN this many times.
16. Exercise.
Buying an expensive exercise machine is stupid unless you are in prison for 20 years. Walk! Also, do dynamic exercises some. Check on the Web for some suggestions on this, but don't go bonkers on this either. Moderation is the word. PAIN is from God, and it says, "You are going too far." Pain is not a goal. Do exercises which do not lead to pain, rather; they lead to moderate tiredness. Sweat is good for the pores, but, again, don't overdo it.
17. Devils in the church house.
If you are very overweight, you must have experienced this. The church dinner is over, and the ladies are clearing the table. There is one piece of mincemeat pie left, and a well meaning matron brings it over to you and serves it to you with the loving comment, "There is one piece of pie left brother Hanes, I am sure you will just love it." Plop, and the pie is yours. In the past you put up with this. People seem to think that overweight people are garbage pails into which other saints should dump tasty leftovers. This is wicked in my book. Don't put up with it anymore. Simply pick up the dish with the pie on it, and hand it back to the lady. Tell her politely that you no longer care to be the waste disposal department. If you can think of a nicer way to say it, fine, but do NOT let them get away with this stuff. You owe no man a debt to sin, and for you, that extra pie is sin.
BIBLE FOOD
Anything God said is good food in the Bible must NOT be avoided and called "bad" for you. Here are some Bible foods which you can eat freely. I have included all that I know are cursed by New Agers and sundry diet space cadets.
Genesis 9- Obey it or suffer.
Genesis 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. 3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
Noah could eat just about anything that crawled and walked in the animal kingdom. The law on pork etc. did not apply yet until Moses came. So, SDAs and other vegetarians who legalize over meat are heretics. You MUST eat red meat because God commanded us to eat it. Disobey this law, and you will suffer for it. NEVER even look at a diet that excludes red meat.
Eggs-
Luke 11:11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
Jesus is clearly suggesting that bread and eggs are good food, AND it is startling that in the one parable he included a carbohydrate with a protein. God knows what his creation needs. Eggs are good food. Use them liberally. They help the memory, and the cholesterol is handled by the lecithin God put in them. You cannot find a handier package of fast food than a boiled egg.
Honey and Sugar-
Exodus 3:8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey;
God's idea of the ideal land is one with milk (protein) and honey (carbohydrates). Anyone, even a good godly Fundamental Baptist preacher, who calls you to a diet that curses honey and milk is heretic. Run home and have a milkshake and praise God the your blessings. Ah, maybe a small milkshake for now, until you lose some weight, OK?
1 Samuel 14:25 And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground. 26 And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath. 27 ........wherefore he (Jonathan) put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.
Honey brightens you up. Natural sugar, like sugar cane which is the source of white sugar, is a great eye opener. It also can be overdone, so it is cursed in all diets. Well, I am telling you to get a bowl of hard candies, and put them where you get under stress. When the stress builds, pop one in your mouth, and get back to work. Do NOT get chocolate and nut bars etc. They will fill your teeth with junk and the aftertaste in your teeth will prod you to get more later. Hard candy will NOT harm your teeth. The Amish kids suck on hard candy all day long, and they have the best teeth in the USA. Just don't use the hard candy all day and everywhere you go.
Honey and sugar are the very same thing. Honey is simply processed by bees while sugar is processed by man. If you think your sugar has additives or problems, switch to honey. This food is a fast energy food which can carry you through hard work and stress for the short haul. The danger in sugar is that it tastes very good, and it tranquilizes the mind under stress. In that way, it can act like a mild drug to the mind. Beware of this. Also, please read our article on refined sugar. Blackstrap molasses (treacle in the UK) are great natural sugars, and they go well with oatmeal and in milk as a drink.
Bread-
Proverbs 12:11 He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.
Psalm 104:15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.
Eating bread is associated with the reward of hard work. That is the key to eating bread. It is the fuel of hard work. The harder you work, the more bread (or carbohydrates) you need. Bake your own if you want to be a health nut. We do. Read about refined flour. Store bought bread IS airy and over processed. But, if you are on a diet that excludes all bread, you are "void of understanding." Bread is only a problem if you are eating more than you are burning up.
Fat-
Genesis 45:18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
1 Samuel 28:24 And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof:
Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Leviticus is full of instruction from God about cutting all the fat off of the sacrifice animal and burning it. This is often taught as God's way of telling us to cut all the fat off of meat. WRONG! The fat is the tastiest part, so God is demanding the best in the sacrifice. When it is time to feast, as when Nehemiah finished the wall of Jerusalem, eat the fat. Fat is symbolic of abundance and God's blessing also. Fat on meat is NOT that bad for you. There is not proof that meat fat causes problems for healthy people. Those with clogged arteries will get them no matter what they eat. The body MAKES its own artery clogging matter.
Now, look here-- you see all that fat in the meat you bought at the store. How did the animal get that fat, by eating red meat with fat in it? Of course not- that fat came from the animal eating (Grab hold now) CORN! Feeder lots fatten cattle on corn and molasses. So, if you don't want to get fat, cut back on carbohydrates, or burn them off better. Eat the fat. It is biblical. If you have a cholesterol problem and the Dr. says not to eat fat, you better do what he says, but don't go around making other folks paranoid because your body is playing some bad tricks on you. Your cholesterol problem is YOUR problem, not the rest of ours. Shuta you mouth!
Old Bill Veltcamp Sr. worked hard all his life. He farmed by hand with his 13 kids. He died at 94 in a nursing home. His body was still going strong, but his mind kind of slipped away. How did he do this? Answer: By eating lots of bacon and eggs every morning of his life. His wife used to fry up a great mess of pork in the fall when they butchered a hog. She would layer this cooked pork in a crock with lots of lard surrounding it. In the winter, she would pull out some of the pork, make gravy of the lard, and that was a feast. Remember, Bill died at 94 with a great heart, according to the doctors. One of Bill's sons, Jim, had real problems with cholesterol. So, don't be careless if you tend to store fat in the plumbing. But, again, fat is not the problem. The problem is in YOU and how your body metabolism deals with what you eat. Beware of diets with blanket curses on fat.
Peter on the housetop-
Acts 10:3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:
6 He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
7 And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;
8 And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.Long passage. I gave you this to show you that eating pork and shrimp are NOT against any law of God. As the Gospel would be going to the Greeks and the whole world, and not just to Israel, even so, the law on food was a symbolic lesson to teach Peter that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was to no longer be exclusive to Israel. If pork is still illegal, why would God say, "Kill and eat"? God is not the author of confusion. He would not say this if it were not a literal option of Peter. Now, if you are allergic to pork, as my daughter is, or if you came to Christ from Islam, no one should be telling you you HAVE to eat pork. But, don't you dare go around teaching the heresy that pork is illegal for Christians. In fact, as I write, a big mess of pork bar-b-que is simmering in the kitchen, and I can hardly stand it :-)
I recall our church dinners at Yermo, out in the High Desert of California. The high light of them all was Delores Pribbenow's ciche, Marie Plog's tamales, Ed Arnold's ranch cooking, and Ruth Posey's bar-b-qued ribs. Friend, it don't get any better than that! I feel sorry for you folks in the big city churches with your number 10 can dinners. Ugh! I have to tell you a story. One Sunday, the tables were just loaded with great food for the church dinner, and we were eating well. I came around for seconds on the ciche, and I went to Delores Pribbenow and told here, "Delores, you know I think the ciche is a bit musty." Well, poor Delores about fell off of her chair, and she looked like she was getting ready to give me what-for. Then I said, "I must have more." Well, you should have seen her face. Talk about severe emotional changes. She was a very patient lady :-)
Oil-
1 Kings 5:11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.
Get your oil pure. Oil is good food, and it can be used in any diet. In fact, they tell us that food oil helps the body process the other food fats. So there :-) But, oil can be messed up in processing. Hydrogenation is highly suspect for example. Also, some kinds of oil encourage cancer, as does canola oil. Soy bean oil can cause impotence and infertility. The most harmless oil is the one God the Son used in His home- olive oil. It is neutral with regard to cholesterol. Tropical oils, like coconut and palm oil, are very healthy. They are also very friendly to health, and you can get them bulk and very reasonable at an oriental food store in a city or on the Internet. The reason people say they are bad is because the oil producers of the USA convinced the FDA to tell you that American oils are better for you.
Also, butter is very good for you. It actually helps lower cholesterol, and helps your body burn fat.
Jeremiah 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
Joel 2:19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
Oil will be on the menu of Messiah in the Kingdom soon.
Isaiah 7:14 (KJV) Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.Fish-
Jesus cooked fish for breakfast for the disciples. Fish is very good for health and provides things essential to growth and prevention of disease. Also, from the Bible we see that fish is a great breakfast. The British know this well, for they serve kippers with their eggs for breakfast. Nothing will wake you up and get your attention like kippers in the morning :-)
Please do be careful about poisons in fish. Some inland lakes are polluted, and you should not eat that fish. The best fish is usually deep sea fish with scales. Some shell fish is OK, but do be a bit defensive here.
Veggies-
"I'm a meat and potatoes man myself." Ever hear that? That is a man on his way to the heart doctor. Meat and potatoes are good food, and they are balanced in fact. But, veggies and pulse are essential to get the minerals and vitamins which metabolize those meats and carbos. Chances are, that "meat and potatoes" man is also constipated. Why: Answer: He has not added the fiber and diuretic factors in fresh veggies. Poor fool.
Be a regular saint-
Elimination is the key to good health. All biological organisms take in fuel, water, and oxidizers and give off waste. The Bible city of Jerusalem even had a Dung Gate. Get rid of waste as quickly as possible. When I was growing up in Kenya my pals used to love to ram a potato or corn cob up the tail pipe of some unsuspecting missionary's car. When they tried to start it, everything worked find, and it would start and fire a few times and die until the potato was removed. One kid retired from the prank business when he tried this and stood behind the car and laughed. The car finally accomplished the elimination process on its own and fired the potato right into the brat's shin.
Keep tyour plumbing moving well. God's foods for this are figs and raisins, which are a big item in the Middle East and in the Bible. They are also a bit of a delicacy. Grape juice helps also. Leaving some of the chaff in the wheat will act as a scrubber to the plumbing and help prevent cancer of the plumbing parts. Urinate every chance you get, well, within reason, OK? That keeps the bladder from backing up, and you know how that works in the bathroom. Why take chances? Grape juice works just as well as cranberry juice for this. Coffee is also a good diuretic.
Preservatives and Chemicals-
God did not put them in the food when He created it. So, you better get as little of it as possible.
ARE YOU A "HOPELESS CASE?"
You have dieted fiercely, and you are at under 1000 calories a day, and you have been for months. And, you have not lost weight. Well, you may be so heavy that you messed up your insulin metabolism, and your body will not burn excess fat. If this is your case, and if you are being truthful about it, then there is a diet which has been developed for your case. Also, it is not a starvation diet. If you are a vegetarian, this diet will only offend you, so you will have to go elsewhere.
The diet is is presented in a book called, Dr. Robert Atkins New Diet Revolution, by Dr. Robert C. Atkins. It is published by Avon Books, ISBN 0-380-72729-3. We have tried it, and it is not objectionable, and it does not violate the Word of God in its principles. If you are not greatly overweight, you may modify the diet and use it parallel with Uncle Steve's Diet Plan above.
The book should be at Amazon.com or in your local bookstore.
LETTER
FROM THE BATTLE FRONT:
Here is an added trick to help take off weight.
From:
KH
To: "'steve@balaams-ass.com'"
Subject: Thanks, Uncle Steve...
... for the Bible diet plan.
I have been bothered for some time by my weight and knowing full well that it is a poor witness. Recently I started a plan of "moderation" which I have been able to stick to with God's help and have lost over twenty pounds. This is only about one third of my "goal"... but my main goal is to not be an embarrassment to God (and God's people). Fortunately I don't look as heavy as I am, but I'm still watching the scale.
I appreciated very much your use of those Bible passages... These are all passages that I know very well, but seeing them used in this way is a blessing. One thing I've found to be a great "gluttony" deterrent is to drink a big glass of water before meal time. And a big glass of water between meals helps me to stay away from the candy dish. I don't drink coffee (sorry, but I just don't like it) and I have been able to avoid soda pop for the last couple of months.
Any way, I appreciate, your burden for the saints (even the fat ones) that we all might be of more use to God. Thanks, again.
KH