By Susan Gregory

Most people make New Year’s Resolutions, and losing weight is usually one of them. But, within a week or two, they tend to abandon their resolutions and weight loss intentions. If you’re saying to yourself, “Yep, been there, done that,” take some comfort in knowing you’re not alone. Thankfully, when God is a part of your health goals, you’re more likely to succeed.

Diets Rarely Work!
Diets fail because they include a set of temporary rules. In fact, studies show that, most often, the weight is regained. Plus, diets depend on deprivation or eating foods that aren’t very appealing. What’s the solution? It’s summed up in just three words: never diet again! Instead, change the way you think.

The Bible teaches us who we are in Christ: “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, New King James Version).

Can you sense the internal shift when you think about your body according to God’s Word? You are not your own. You are His! God has assigned you to be the caretaker of your body (the Holy Spirit’s temple). Immediately, when we adopt this approach, the need to satisfy our own desires and cravings diminishes. Unlike a diet that starts and stops, your position as God’s caretaker never ends. You develop a lifestyle — a way of being — for the rest of your days. Your fulfillment of this role doesn’t depend on your willpower. It depends on submitting yourself to your Father’s will. Because you have a higher calling, your weight loss goals wouldn’t hinge on fitting into last year’s jeans.
 
The Daniel Fast
Is this shift easy? Yes, in a way … if you use the Daniel Fast.
 
The Daniel Fast is a partial fast, based on the experiences of the Old Testament prophet, Daniel — as well as typical Jewish fasting principles. The spiritual fast is usually practiced for 21 consecutive days, during which only foods grown from seed are eaten, and the only beverage is water. Also, no sweeteners, no stimulants (including caffeine), no leavening agents, and no man-made chemicals are allowed. During your fast, you focus your attention on God and meditating on His Word. You also learn how to grow deeper in your faith. At the same time, your body experiences a natural detox and reset. Cravings disappear (usually along with five to twenty pounds!). Your body starts to operate better, and many people experience increased energy, better sleep, and the reduction or elimination of aches and pains. In my most recent book, The Daniel Fast for Weight Loss, I lead readers into a lifestyle of health and well-being, as they learn to be better caretakers of God’s temple.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 teaches, “A threefold cord is not quickly broken” (New King James Version). We can find hope in this truth because the first strand is God with His awesome nature; the second strand is a set of proven principles that we can use in our everyday lives; and the third strand is us!