Diets Don't Work! - Healthy Living Lesson

Now, you may have heard this phrase before, diets don’t work. How many of you have been
on a diet before and you have tried to gain some kind of advantage, lose weight or gain
weight or try…diets don’t work. I have three phrases that you will find interesting
on the board here:
1. Counting calories is useless 2. Measuring grams is fruitless (these are
things you’ve all done, right?) 3. Weighing portions is senseless.
There is a reason why it doesn’t work. The reason it won’t work is because you won’t
do it forever. No one is going to walk around with the little measuring cup and count and
weigh and measure every single thing that is going in their mouths. It is not practical.
The Bible has something to say about the wisdom of today’s age, the world we live in. When
we look at the ways mankind approaches making gains or coming up with a change, how they
accomplish some change, even if it is something as simple as losing weight, they come up with
some kind of formula.
God says in 1 Corinthians 3, Let no one deceive himself, if anyone among you seems to be wise
in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise for the wisdom of this world
is foolishness to God. That is very important. This is our Creator saying the things that
you have come up with are not good. This is what the best of the industry has come up
with. Count calories, measure and weigh the portions that you are taking in consideration.
But the only thing that really works is a lifestyle. Your attitude about wanting to
know the truth is what will make the difference. It also says in the Bible that people perish
for lack of knowledge. If you don’t want to know the truth, you are not going to have
the truth, and you will not make lasting changes. Your lifestyle or your diet will be like a
yo-yo. You lose ten pounds, you gain 12 pounds, you lose 16 pounds, and it will be up and
down and up and down forever.
So the first thing you have to do is discover the truth. We have talked extensively about
things that many of you have never heard before in the previous three classes. Also, you have
to develop discipline and then apply what you have learned. You can have the truth and
you can do nothing with it and it is not going to get you anywhere. There are actually some
scriptures that I want to tell you about, what the Word of God has to say about these
areas. Of course it says in the book of John, if you know the truth, the truth will set
you free. There is a freedom to knowing the truth and it is not just the truth about certain
specific details that the Bible talks about. Some people are not spiritual or religious,
so they say well how does that apply to me? Well, the truth is, truth is truth. Something
is either true or it is untrue. Early on in this series we talked about being black and
white. In this case, truth is not relative. Something is either true or it is not true.
If you have the truth you have freedom, because then you have something on which to base what
you’re doing. If you don’t have truth, you will be led astray.
Develop discipline. It also says in the Bible to be sober. And to be self controlled because
we have an enemy, an evil enemy in this world who is prowling around trying to take away
our life. That happens through deception. Without any self control, it is easy to be
deceived. You also want to apply what you have learned. It also says in the Bible, to
be doers of what you hear. Be doers of the Word, not just hearers. You have to put into
action what you are learning. So, what you have to do is come up with a plan that is
realistic. You have all heard information in this series, is it realistic? Does it make
sense? Moreover, there are dozens of people who have heard these lectures live and thousands
may see them on tape, but how do you actually know what you’re hearing is the truth? You
could all go to a bookstore right now and pull out a hundred different books on nutrition
and health and probably get 200 different opinions.
How do you that what I am saying is true? You have to ask yourself that question. You
can’t believe me because I am standing here or because you hear a radio program or you
read a book. Things get published that aren’t true. There are tape series that aren’t
true. How do you know? Well, it is very simple, you have to apply what you have learned to
what we know about the human body. One thing seems to be sure and that is everybody, all
the experts agree that the human body works a certain way. Now, let’s see if what you
are doing makes sense. If you apply what you learn to the human body does it make sense?
Does it make sense to have a high protein diet as a human being? Well with what we know
about the human body, the answer is no. Then how come millions of people have fallen prey
to the idea that they need a high protein diet? How did that happen? It happened for
the very reasons that we just discussed. People are not interested in knowing the truth. They
are interested in one facet, like I need to lose 20 pounds. How many of you know that
you can lose 20 pounds and be just as unhealthy 20 pounds later? You all know that. It happens
all the time. And you know that invariably you will gain it back and then some.
So, the other thing to remember and this is a very important concept before we go on to
the next chart is: there are no long term benefits to anything in life that you do short
term. I will say that again: there are no long term benefits to anything you do short
term. Now if you came to me, we have a private practice, if you came to me and said doc I
would like some advice on exercise. And I’d say, well I know a lot about exercise, I’ve
studied exercise for years, I am going to give you a good exercise program. And you’d
get out your little pencil like you’re doing now and say I’m going to take some notes.
And I’d say, this is what you do: you get on this particular exercise program and you
stick with it and you do it for three months and get yourself in really good shape. And
you’d be like, yeah? Yeah? And I’d say, Yeah, and then you stop and you don’t ever
do it again. [laughing] And that should last you for the rest of your life. You’re 30
years old now, three months of exercise should take at least till you’re 70. Now, you’re
all laughing, it sounds ridiculous but how many actually live by that principle? They
think they can do something for a short period of time and get long term benefits. There
are no long term benefits.
If I gave you a diet and told you to stick to this diet, this is a health diet; this
is a problem with dietary programs, you just get on this program, it’s a 12-week program.
There is no such thing as a 12-week program. There is now and for the rest of your life.
There is no 12-week program unless you only have twelve weeks to live. Then it happens
to be a 12-week program.