[Kelli]

The Diet
Day ___________________________ Date ___________________________

Start now:
Romans 7:4-25 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

Eat what you want:

The previous Scriptures are about how we are weak in our flesh, how we make rules, and how we try to follow them. We have diet and health rules that seem to change daily. With this diet there are no rules. You can eat anything you want; if you want a candy bar for breakfast eat it! If you want another for lunch or dinner, go ahead. I guarantee you won’t want another one for your next meal. This diet takes the attention off the food and places it on God. The more you focus on food, the more you want it. It becomes an obsession.

God formed our bodies to know what they need. He created your taste buds. He knows what you like and what you don’t. So, don’t be afraid to eat what you like. When I first started eating like this, I went crazy and had many small bites of everything I had denied myself for so long, because I was so excited about being able to eat what I liked. You can eat anything you want! Jesus declared all foods clean!

Mark 7: 18 –23 18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?” 20And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”



See! Jesus said in the above Scripture, don’t focus on the food. Focus on your spiritual health. The following diet is a guideline. Remember that this diet is a suggested diet. Don’t make it into “rules.” The worst thing you could do is try to make this diet guideline as an instrument with which to beat yourself. However, if you have food allergies, then by all means, don’t eat the foods to which you are allergic. The purpose of this study is to learn how keep your focus off of food and direct it to Jesus.

Slow down:

There have been numerous studies done on the correlation between obesity and how fast a person eats. It was determined in a study done by at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center that "suggests a slower rate of eating results in less food intake compared to a faster, steady rate of eating."

If you eat slower, you will be able to recognize God’s built-in cues. The cues are easy to recognize if you are paying attention and know what to look for. You start to notice the food doesn’t taste as good and you are feeling satisfied. When you say to yourself, “I think I am getting satisfied,” STOP EATING! That is God’s prompting. It is at this time you have satisfied your body’s need for fuel, and it’s time to stop eating, now! Don’t worry, you’ll be hungry again in three to four hours. Back when I would begin to feel this way, I’d start eating faster, making sure to get it all stuffed in before I was too full. That habit was a huge factor in maintaining my plump figure.

Don’t worry if you accidentally eat more than you need. God knows your heart. He understands your weakness and loves you. When I would catch my toddlers misbehaving, I would give them a count of three to stop. I would start counting “one”, and usually they would begin to pull away from the misdeed and turn towards me. I would never have punished my child if they had already turned and started towards me and then accidentally fell and failed to make it by the count of three. God is so much more merciful than we are. He knows when we are trying to be obedient.







Only Eat What You REALLY Like:

Don’t eat anything you don’t like, and make sure you eat what you like the most, first. You are probably doing just the opposite and saving the best for last!

I remember one time when my husband and I were first married, we went out to dinner with friends, and they brought some of their friends along. I had started to gain weight and was so miserable and self-conscience. This was especially prevalent since one of the girls was very thin, and, as usual, I was harshly comparing myself to her. My husband asked me if there was something wrong with my main course because I wasn’t eating it, and I told him, “No, I was just saving the best for last.”

The thin girl said, “I never save the best for last because I never know when I will get too full, and I am afraid I won’t be able eat what I really love.” She said, “I always eat what I like best, first. Sometimes I even eat my dessert first”.

This was an “Aha!” moment for me. Think about it. When you save the best for last, that’s setting yourself up to fail. You will need to retrain yourself to do the exact opposite. You will eat the juicy, sweet, most yummy items first and save the dry things you don’t like as much for last. Or better yet, don’t even eat them. We think it’s sinful to waste food, but it’s more sinful to worry about food. Give it to God. Now, I usually eat my dessert right along with my meal. That way I don’t have to worry about saving room for it.

God designed your unique body to crave what it needs. We were having a health fair at my work. At one of the booths they were selling supplements that contained high concentrations of the vitamins found in vegetables. My friend and I stopped at the booth and started chatting with the woman who was selling the vitamins. My friend said, “I can’t get enough veggies, I love them!” I said, “I hardly ever eat vegetables. I just don’t really like them.” The sales woman suggested that we try a sample of some liquid she had that would determine if we needed to eat more vegetables. She said, “Depending upon how the liquid tasted to each of us, would indicate if we needed to eat more veggies. We all joked about how we knew that I was the one needing to eat more vegetables. After we had each swallowed the concoction, she asked us what we thought it tasted like. My friend said, I don’t really taste anything, and I said “I think it taste like soda water or Alka-Seltzer. She said, “That’s odd.” She looked at her literature again to make sure she had read it correctly. She said, “If it taste like seltzer, that would indicate you eat enough vegetables. If it didn’t have a taste, that meant you needed to eat more.”

I concluded from this that God created all of our bodies differently, and we actually crave what our own bodies need. That’s why most people don’t like to eat leftovers. Don’t worry so much about wasting food or put the extra food in the freezer right away to save it for another day.

The Bible says in Romans 14:20a Don’t destroy the work of God for the sake of food.


Read what God told an Old Testament king when he was worried about wasting money.

II Chronicles 25:5-9 Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together and set over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, according to their fathers’ houses, throughout all Judah and Benjamin; and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them to be three hundred thousand choice men, able to go to war, who could handle spear and shield. 6 He also hired one hundred thousand mighty men of valor from Israel for one hundred talents of silver. 7 But a man of God came to him, saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel—not with any of the children of Ephraim. 8 But if you go, be gone! Be strong in battle! Even so, God shall make you fall before the enemy; for God has power to help and to overthrow.”
9 Then Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?” And the man of God answered, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this.”

The food isn’t more valuable than your body. Look at what happened to the Israelites when they tried to save extra manna. It turned to maggots!

Exodus 16:17-21 Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. 18So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one's need. 19And Moses said, "Let no one leave any of it till morning.” 20Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.

Trust God and soon you will learn how much food you should take, so you won’t waste as much. Don’t worry. God doesn’t mind if you waste a little until you learn how much it takes to make you full. I know this, because there are many instances in the Bible where God tells His children to destroy all the booty left after a battle. I am sure it seemed wasteful to them but was necessary to preserve the purity of God’s children. It’s the same with us. It’s more important that we keep ourselves from the destruction of our bodies.

Beverages:

The only thing I would caution you on is sugary drinks. You should be careful about drinking them between meals, because they don’t really satisfy your hunger yet are so high in calories. Between meals, you can drink diet soda, black coffee, and tea. If you like your tea and coffee sweetened, you can use one of the artificial sweeteners on the market. Another option is you can drink a nice cold glass of ice water. Feel free to have sugar in your coffee with breakfast. Just don’t drink it all day. Sugary drinks should always be considered as part of the meal. Don’t drink sugary drinks unless you are hungry. When I used to drink a lot of soda, I would get cravings for the carbonation. If you drink a big glass of water when you crave the carbonation, your craving will disappear. Try it, it’s amazing!


It’s hard to remember to drink at least eight glasses of water a day, but it’s good for you. I have worked at Boy Scout camp for a number of summers, and you must stay hydrated. It is the difference between feeling lousy or feeling energized and good. If you get a headache while doing this study, it’s probably because you are not drinking enough water. According to Mayoclinic.com, we get about 20% of our water intake from the food we eat. So, if you are eating less food, you are probably a bit dehydrated and that is giving you a headache. Being dehydrated can also make you feel a bit shaky. Also, I tend to mistake being thirsty or tired for being hungry. However don’t overdo it. Drinking too much water can be bad for you as well, do all things in moderation.

Bible Study:

The most important part of this diet is to examine what God says about your relationship to food. This study will examine the Bible to find the answers to our dieting dilemma. It is designed to be done five days a week, for about thirty minutes a day. Don’t try to breeze through it quickly. It’s meant for study and contemplation. Some of the points used in this study may seem redundant. I have found it easier to understand a concept if I hear it more than once.

At the end of each day’s lesson, there are three activities. First there are some Bible passages related to the study. You should use your Bible and study it. Circle anything that touches you. Read the passage aloud, really work the Scripture. The next activity is to answer three questions relating to the day’s lesson. These questions are designed to help you relate the lesson to your own life. As you are reading through the study, underline things that touch you. Then go back through it, pray, and ask God to show you one or more statements or Scriptures from the study. He wants you to understand more and put it into practice. This is a personal question and applies only to you. It has no right or wrong answer.

When considering the second question, spend a little time praying. Ask God how He may want you to respond to this question. Then I’ll ask you to reword that statement or Scripture into an expression of faith. That simply means you affirm your belief that God will give you the strength and faith to take those steps. These three questions should become a time of prayer and meditation each day as you ask God what He wants you to do in response to each days study. The following is an example of the way I might have responded to today’s study.

• In light of today’s study, what was the Scripture or statement in today’s lesson that most spoke to your heart? “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him” And don’t focus on the food, focus on your spiritual health.
• What steps of faith does God want you to take towards Him today? God wants me to stop being consumed with dieting and food and get my mind on growing my spirit.

• Rephrase the Scripture or statement into an expression of faith: Lord thank you for showing me that it’s not a diet, or food issue but a heart, and spirit issue. I believe you will teach me how to keep my mind off of dieting and food and direct my thoughts .

The last activity is to memorize one Scripture a week. This is a very important step in your recovery because the Bible is THE weapon you use to fight Satan. It is the only thing that can break the bonds Satan has on you. I have a difficult time memorizing anything, so every day I’ll take out words. Try to fill in the blanks without looking at the Scripture. I have found this is useful for me. If you are one of those blessed individuals who find it easy to memorize then use your own method. Do whatever is easier for you.

You have to surrender your weight problem to God. You will begin to stop frantically dieting and worrying about what you look like. When you stop running to the refrigerator for physical pleasure and comfort, you will start eating normal foods God created for you to enjoy. You will be eating only when you are actually hungry. You’ll be eating about half, or even less of what you have been, and you will lose weight.

Trust God. The Bible lets us know we “are fearfully and wonderfully made,” (Psalm 139:14). Don’t make it too hard. There are no set rules. We are individuals, and God will have a separate plan for each of us. God is brilliant, and His Bible is our manual. By following God’s Holy Book, we find the answers for life’s problems. Remember you are learning, and God knows your heart.

Read Isaiah 55

• In light of today’s study, what was the Scripture or statement in today’s lesson that most spoke to your heart? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________________________________

• What steps of faith does God want you to take towards Him today? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________________________________

• Rephrase the Scripture or statement into an expression of faith __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________________________________

Scripture to memorize this week

Isaiah 55:9 “ For as the Heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.