I notice that I throw out the word “diet” every once in a while. I don’t want anyone to be confused. When I say “diet,” I mean “how & what you eat.” Not how you eat for four weeks while trying to lose weight. Not how you eat when you’re on a “plan.”

How and what you eat. Now and forever.

Seriously, I sometimes forget that “diet” means different things to people. To most people, it means a temporary fix. They’re always looking ahead to the day when they aren’t on the diet and can eat whatever they want. Newsflash: eating whatever you wanted got you to where you are in the first place. Going back to that will give you the same results as before.

And to most people, “diet” means restriction, denial, and being hungry. It’s all about what you can’t eat.

I don’t think of what I eat as a temporary thing or an off-limits thing. I can’t. I’m one of those people who wants it to be over now, get here now: are we there yet?. When I can’t have something, I want it even more. I start to dream about it–and that’s when I know I’m gonna get in trouble.

²³“Everything is permissible”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”–but not everything is constructive.
³¹So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
I Corinthians 10:23, 31

Paul was speaking about food that had been offered to idols (and so was considered by many to be “unclean”) and how eating that food might make some people think you weren’t a real Christian. (Oh, so many tangents. But that’s a whole ‘nother blog.) But the applicable point is that while, yes, we can eat whatever we want, it may not benefit us. Cakes and cookies and Doritos and their friends aren’t “off limits,” but they won’t help us lose that body fat.