These past few days, I’ve found a couple of different calorie counters that determined that at my height, weight, and activity level, I must be consuming approximately 2300 calories per day to maintain my weight. That’s what I needed to know, but I sure didn’t like hearing it! So, I’ve decided to count my calories and try to lose about a pound per week, which means I need to cut about 500 calories per day. The funny thing is that I’m down about 1000 calories per day, and I’m not sure where it came from! How did that happen? Sure I get hungry sometimes, but usually I’ll just drink a glass of water or eat an apple or something healthy. Honestly, I don’t think I’m really that much hungrier than I was when I didn’t think about what I ate and just shoveled it all in. Maybe I just think now about how food affects me–that is, it makes me gain weight.

My particular problem is that if I don’t eat until I’m over-full, I don’t feel satisfied. No, let me rephrase that so it’s the Biblical definition–my problem is gluttony. It’s habit, I know, but it’s hard to break. It’s particularly hard when in certain situations, like going to an all-you-can-eat restaurant–you feel like you haven’t gotten your money’s worth if you don’t stuff yourself sick. Also, meals like Thanksgiving and Christmas are supposed to be feasts, right? We’re supposed to chow down and eat till we can’t button our pants any more, right? Well, if we ate on a daily basis and worked on a daily basis the way the Pilgrims did, we could probably afford to feast like they did. The only problem is, I think what we eat on a daily basis is more like their special feasts. And then there’s the meals at my mom’s house–her homemade tacos and pizza–I eat like a teenager, but gain weight like an adult.

And it’s gotta stop. That’s why I’m making myself count calories, so I know how much I’ve taken in. It’s far too easy to forget that you ate something, or to minimize how much you ate: “It was just a bowl of cereal, and 1 serving size is just 130 calories!” True, but what about the fact that a bowl-full is over two servings? and you forgot the full-fat milk you poured over it! All of a sudden your “healthy snack” of 130 little calories becomes a full meal of 500 calories–that’s 5 miles you’d have to walk or run to get that extra off! Enough!

So I’m down 1000 calories per day! And it’s easy (but not fun). I feel different, too–maybe it’s my empty stomach, but I feel cleaner and lighter inside. Probably because I’m not weighed down by so much daily food–and so much extra sugar and other bad stuff I shouldn’t eat. Plus, I’m exercising again. I’ve got my old videos out, and I’m doing one or two a day! Two pounds a week looks doable for now!

Just for the sake of honesty, it’s about 9:30 in the morning right now, and my stomach is grumbling. So I’m going to go have an orange or something.

As a Christian, I must look to the Bible first for instructions on how to live life, and what to do in certain situations. Diet is no different. I forget the exact reference, but I believe it is in one of Paul’s letters to Timothy (could be Titus), and it is speaking of certain unbelievers, “whose god is their belly.” I’ve thought of that phrase lately. What does that mean? Well, in ancient times, the worship of the various gods was to give the gods whatever they wanted–sacrificing your children, livestock, produce–anything to appease the gods.

So what does that mean when your god is your belly? In ancient times the “gods” cried, “Feed me! Give me your offspring, your cattle, your wheat.” Your belly cries, “Feed me! Give me pizza and french fries and milkshakes.” Now, if you give your belly whatever it wants, then you are making your belly into a god–a force not to be denied its desires. But if you master your belly, then you make it eat what you want it to, what would be good for it and you as a whole person–it is the slave, not the master.

So, is your belly your god? When your belly calls for food, do you sacrifice your health to your god? Do you give your god what it demands, or do you give your belly good things, nutritious things, and the right amount?