Caroline had enrolled on one of the Fit For Life Forever courses.  She had a long history of trying to lose weight and had been on several diets, all of which she had hated.  Not surprisingly, the moment she came off her diets, she found herself eating all the foods which she had been forced to avoid and quickly regained all the weight she had lost.  At our first meeting she came with the misconception that I was going to give her a list of foods she could eat ‘freely’ and other foods she should avoid, so she was bracing herself for the worst!  ‘Just don’t tell me to eat salads,’ she told me (with a hint of defiance in her voice). ‘I’ve had enough diet food to last a life time and I can’t stand any more!’ The relief, when I told her that she didn’t have to eat anything she didn’t want to, was visible. When I then went on to tell her that she should only eat foods that she enjoyed she could hardly believe her ears!

Just in case there should be any doubt about the matter let me make it perfectly clear that I do not believe in diets, in the conventional sense of the word.  I believe that when we are given rules about what to eat and what not to eat it immediately causes us to focus on what we can’t have and makes us feel deprived.  It also produces negative feelings about what we can have, so that we view ‘diet’ food as boring and rebel against it. We may consent to the logic of the arguments about salads and vegetables being low calorie so we can eat as much as we like with impunity, but it just doesn’t ring our bell!

Having said this you may be surprised, then, to learn, that I absolutely love salads and eat a lot of vegetarian dishes.  I know they are nutritious and low in calories but my main reason for eating these foods is that I’m crazy about the tastes.  Mediterranean vegetables, like bell peppers, aubergine and artichokes are my favourite, but I also love vegetable curries and stir-fries.   But this hasn’t always been the case…

Like most seasoned dieters I used to eat such dishes only out of sufferance.  Then God began to show me that he had given us all things richly to enjoy; also that all foods he had created were good and that nothing need be refused if it was received with prayer and thanksgiving. As I began to trust God with my eating I dared myself to eat many hitherto ‘forbidden’ foods and I actually started to enjoy food again, without the pleasure having an awful sting of false guilt in its tail.  It was truly liberating! I was careful not to eat more than my body needed and only to eat when I really was hungry, so I found that I could still lose weight and eat whatever I liked (within reason!)

But then a curious thing started to happen – many of the foods which I had previously loved, which I resented being deprived of, simply lost their magnetism.  Having given myself the permission to eat what I wanted, I found I no longer wanted much of it, or if I did, I was satisfied by a very small amount. In fact, I found that in some instances that whilst the idea of eating certain foods appealed to my imagination, my taste buds were no longer in agreement. One example of this is ‘croissant’ which comprises of little more than refined flour, refined sugar and fat. I used to love these breakfast treats, especially laden with strawberry jam for good measure. But now, you know what…. I’d choose plain yoghurt with chopped up fresh fruit any day!  My taste buds have changed.

Isn’t it true that when we first surrender to the Lord we imagine that he is going to bring all sorts of restrictions into our lives? (I am speaking here generally, about any area where we are presented with his rightful claim over our lives, not just food.)  Our response initially is to draw back, fearing loss of control.  However, once we submit to Him, the Holy Spirit works within us to will and to do of his good pleasure and suddenly we find ourselves doing naturally the very things we once rebelled against! St. Paul could never find the moral strength to keep all the Law, but he found that by yielding to the Holy Spirit he no longer fulfilled the sinful desires of his flesh nature. ‘If we walk in the spirit we do not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.’ SIMPLE!

These spiritual principles work in relation to our eating just as much as they do in any other area of our lives.  The Holy Spirit will lead us to eat just the right amounts of food and to make wise, healthy choices. This doesn’t happen overnight and he doesn’t lead us all in exactly the same way.  At the end of the day I am finding myself eating in a way that many a more enlightened slimming club might be proud of – but my motivation and methodology is entirely different.  I never think about calories or counting points; I rarely weigh myself and I don’t feel deprived in the slightest. 

So back to my title question: ‘when is a diet not a diet?’ It is, I believe, when we eat and drink to the glory of God. The outcome, in practical terms, may look pretty similar at times but one has its origins in the wisdom of man (and is therefore inherently flawed) whilst the other is founded upon the wisdom of God. Thanks be to God for the wonderful variety of food he has created; for the pleasure which good eating affords and for providing us daily with all that our body needs to function perfectly. Who could wish for more?!

Have any of my readers had a similar experience? Add your comments here…