Jesus Gospel Of Love: With so many good Christians wanting the opportunity to inject their faith into their lives, it seems inevitable that Christian weight loss will become the hottest diet trend since the famous Scarsdale diet. But what goes into a Christian weight loss program, and what can you get out of it?
Number one, Christian weight loss, in terms of the actual plan, is similar to any other diet-there is plenty of healthy food on the menu, portion control is a high priority, and of course exercise is a key component.
The major difference comes in the mindset of the dieter, and these differences set Christian weight loss apart from other diets-both Christian and secular.
Many mega churches in America offer a community lifestyle centered on faith. The weekly activity calendars for these churches include aerobics classes called “Jumping for Jesus”, and there are many diet support groups that meet in church recreation centers. While there is a faith element in these activities, it’s more about bringing together dieters who have more in common than their desire to lose weight. This can be an advantage to the dieter-placing added emphasis on the group goal(s) and inspiration(s).
Then there is Dr. Rita Hancock’s Eden diet, which delves into the idea of showing God that you’re worthy of His love by being a good Christian through dieting. As she says, “God is not a whip-cracking overlord who cares about the minutia of what you do or don’t eat.” She posits that: “He loves you the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, no matter how much your weight fluctuates.” Knowing this, you should change and make weight loss a vehicle that demonstrates your love for God-as opposed to your obedience to Him.
Others take a harder line on Christian weight loss, suggesting that overeating reveals flagrant hypocrisy, which ruins your Christian witness and steals your energy, zeal, and ability to serve the Lord physically. They offer up proof through the Scripture that overeating, and therefore being overweight, is the very definition of gluttony (one of the seven deadly sins.)
They use this scare tactic to force you into purchasing their weight loss guides. While this might work for some, in general negative reinforcement rarely works in weight loss. These types of diets are the “Christian Boot Camp” version of harsh diet regimens, and should be avoided.
