Empty Calories NIV: Proverb 20:1 Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

MATTHEW HENRY'S COMMENTS: It seems hard to believe that men of the greatest abilities, as well as the ignorant, should render themselves fools and madmen, merely for the taste or excitement produced by strong liquors. It smiles upon him at first, but at the last it bites. It rages in his conscience. It is raging in the body. Drunkenness, which pretends to be a sociable thing, renders men unfit for society. A drunkard is a fool, and a fool he is likely to be.

MY OBSERVATIONS: Don't undermine your dieting attempts by choosing alcohol as part of your caloric allotment. Yes, I know that the French drink wine with their meals, and the German love their beer, but this verse is given to the excess of alcohol. Anything in excess--alcohol or food--will indeed rage in the body and in the conscience. As we attempt to limit our caloric intake, this empty calorie source needs to be all but eliminated or eliminated entirely. Alcohol slows the metabolism down immensely. When you take a drink it increases your appetite and it has been found that people consume an extra 350 calories in the meal than they would have done without the drink. If we are dealing with both an alcohol and food addiction problem, seek first to diffuse the brawler in us, which is in reality the "weightier" of the problems. At this point in our diets, we are responsible for making wise choices.

Dear Lord, help me always to be filled with the new wine of the Holy Spirit. May each and every choice I make concerning my lifestyle glorify You, having Jesus Christ as my supreme example. Amen

NIV: Proverb 20:17 Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man, but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel.

My Observations: Yes, there really comes a time during the diet that the body becomes so acutely aware of what is nutritious and what is junk that it revolts at the junk food. I’m not saying the temptations go away, but rather when you do cave in to a gooey something-or-other, the results are terrible. Anywhere from a headache to stomachache, to extreme sluggishness or just plain, I don’t feel well feeling. Can you believe while we were working our way up to an unhealthy weight, we ignored all these warning signals? I will try to remember that the slice of cheesecake will be like eating a handful of gravel. And I will try to remember that just like the runner’s high, (and you have to have experienced it to know how good it is) there is a dieter’s high when we eat well that nothing else compares with.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for the restraints that You place upon the natural body, and I am pleased that I am finally understanding them. Lord, thank You for Your Word that confirms these things to me. Amen

Today's Diet Tip:20.- Journaling makes you aware of your own eating patterns and how to correct them.

Today's Positive Thought: The difference between stepping stones and stumbling blocks is how people use them. Make dieting your stepping stone to self-confidence again.