Does God care about dieting and weight loss?

Does God care about whether or not we are dieting or trying to lose weight, overcome eating disorders etc?  I think He does and my reasoning is based on an experience that I had about 15 years ago.  I had been on one of my many "diets" and at the time was worried more trying to lose about 30-40 pounds rather than 130-140 pounds.  If I had listened then, I probably wouldn't be in the predicament that I'm now in.  I had just polished off a package of cookies and knew I had "blown it" once again.  I had been praying and asking for help to overcome my eating problem, so I decided to once again approach the Lord and explain to Him that the diet I was trying to follow simply wasn't going to work for me and I needed some other suggestions.  As I was in the process of explaining this, I heard a distinct voice in my head say "1st Corinthians 3:17".  I was a little confused and didn't really understand what was happening, so I paused for a second and continued on with my plea.  Again the voice came, only a little firmer this time..."1st Corinthians 3:17".  Again, I tried to ignore it, not really comprehending why this was happening, or what exactly was happening and I continued on with my complaint..."So anyway Lord, I need a new diet...."  and again, I heard the voice, only this time it was very firm and almost commanding"1st Corinthians 3:17!" At this point, I finally got the picture and thought--"okay, I'll look it up!"  I remember walking into the kitchen and sitting at the kitchen table as I opened my bible to 1st Corinthians 3:17.  As I read the verse my blood ran cold and I felt as if I had been slapped:

"If any man (or woman) defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy.  For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 

It was then that I knew that this wasn't a trivial matter to the Lord.  He had blessed me with this beautiful temple and I was "defiling" it with my gluttony and food abuse.  He has given us this time here on earth to overcome the flesh and anything that we would focus on more than Him.  It wasn't about finding another "diet", but about following Him and letting our light shine through our obedience to His word.  I still struggle with this same issue every day, but I know now that this is important to the Lord that I overcome this.  He does care and wants all of His children to be happy and free from addiction of any sort, including food. 

Woah!!!

It's funny, I just started with this website and I was wondering that myself. I've struggled all my life with eating right and weight gain (runs in my family, etc.) and I've always wondered "does God care?"

And just today, I had my revelation. Yes. God does care. And it was because of that very same verse, believe it or not. Being skinnier will help me to perform the tasks God has me to do with more energy than before. I'm not obese, but I am slightly overweight, and I have been controlling my weight all wrong before this. I've never had an eating disorder, or have never been close to having one, but I was in the mode of trying to "fast" or essentially "starve" to lose weight. It didn't work. And so I started trying smaller portions and realized I'm a slave to food. I like large portions, always have.

So, God wants me to be healthy, and not be killing my body. As a result, I'm eating... well, not less, which is weird... but eating more normally, and actually, oh my goodness, losing weight. :D

Thanks a lot for the encouraging post! 

thank you!  I think there are a lot of people that have had similar experiences out there.  I hope they share them as well!

you're body is a temple.

perhaps, thank god everyday for giving you a body,

and giving you the ultimate power to do whatever you want with it.

appreciate the power.

life's all perception.

no one can change the past.

when presented w/ the same situation you don't repeat the same mistake.

" I treat this body like a temple, you treat your's like a tent" - Jimmy Buffet

sorry couldn't help myself

Given what you've just shared with us, I would think that God wouldn't want you to hate (scorn, ridicule, etc.) His/your temple either.

:)

 It's ironic, but everytime I've asked God to help me with weight loss, I either get the flu or the worship services in our church get really long (I am pentecostal and on the worship team) ;) But I have another verse for you It's Hebrews 12:1 "Run with patience the race that is set before us." Hang in there!

Zilla

BTW fellow Christians. DO any of you ever fast? We have a churchwide one coming up at the first of the year (a Daniel fast) and I find myself conflicted becuz of all the admonishments Jesus gives about fasting for the wrong reasons. O don't want to be perceived as fasting to God, but really in my heart I am doing it to lose weight or am more enamoured with the weight loss than the spiritual benefits. What do ya'll think?

Great post!!  Yes it took a while for me to believe that God cared about something as small as my weightloss in this great big world, but He does!  Thanks for reminding me!

Zilla, about the fast.  I have been in that situation.  I think if you fast to cleanse its okay, just remember to do it unto God.  Meaning, pray, read the Word, take extra time with Him in those times where you would have eaten and ask for direction in things... even your weightloss journey and get direction and the right mindset for your whole year.  Make it be more about Him, and take your prayers to Him and expect direction, and the added benefit of maybe some weight loss. 

Jesus didn't want people fasting for show, to toot their own horns and make it a public thing, but to be quiet about it and not complain or brag.  That's what the wrong part would be.  Hope that helps!  =)

"Does God care about dieting and weight loss?"

My faith tells me that God is all-mighty, all-knowing, and all-seeing ... and that He (1) counts the hairs on our heads; (2) has our names written on the palm of His hand; and (3) planned our lives before the foundation of the world. So, clearly, God cares about us ... including our health, our dieting, and our weight loss.

But one thing I needed to keep in mind is that while God cares for the sparrow ... He doesn't throw food in their nests, they need to fly around and gather it. And, in the same way, God doesn't throw weight loss or even healthier eating lifestyles into our "nests" -- we need to chase after it and work at it, sometimes.  After all, it took both time, effort, and (often) a lot of poor choices to get INTO our present weight situations, so it's not really unreasonable to expect it to take time, effort, and a lot of wise choices to get OUT of our present weight situation.

I often think about the line from the Lord's Prayer that I've said so many times without really thinking about it ... "Give us this day, our daily bread ..."  Not more bread than we need for one day, rather, the correct proportion of our bread to meet today's needs -- for there will be more bread tomorrow. And, if I truly believe this, then I should be content with eating just today's food.

So, I use my faith in the Lord as a powerful tool in my healthy-eating transformation / weight-loss adventure, reminding myself that He DIED for me, and I can DIET for Him.

Romans 14:7-8 (NLT), "For we are not our own masters when we live or when we die. While we live, we live to please the Lord. And when we die, we go to be with the Lord. So in life and in death, we belong to the Lord."

=^..^= MOLLY

I agree - the Bible says God cares about us, and our health is part of us....I don't think he cares if we are a size 16 or 10 or 6 or 2.  I think it has pretty much been said here already, so I won't add more!

I do not think that God cares that we look like, but that we are healthy. He would rather us live lifestyles that give us the most energy in which we could contribute back. So if you can be active out in the world with a huge waistline, no problem.  (Only my thoughts).

 

Many of us care more about what society thinks than what God thinks, however.

ummmm... WTH?

God caring about our weight? i dont think so

If you realize God made us, made the digestive system, made the elimination systems, made metabolism, made the endocrine system, then you realize He can perceive what is going on when there are things wrong with the body. 

Anyway, He came to give life and that more abundantly...  I think He cares, but not so much about the body as about what is going on inside of us.

I have only been able to lose weight (60 lbs so far) and in 1985 to finally quit smoking when I have fully given it to God and asked his daily help.  That is when he will assist me, after I have tried on my own and failed to maintain. 

I am in distress as I read these comments.

My one thought?

I am so sad to see people giving someone, or something, else credit for all of their hardwork! YOU did this, for yourself. YOU lost the weight. YOU are capable of being all you can be.

You are achieving your goals, not God.

Philip 4:13  "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

THanks for the advice. I told my hubby maybe we could fast something besides food, like TV! However, I am not going to worry about it too much. I'll know that I am not fasting JUST to lose weight.

I think God wants us to treat our bodies with care and respect and try to be healthy... but I'm sure he really doesn't care less whether you're a size 6, 12, 16 etc. He doesn't want us to waste our energy in hating ourselves, beating ourselves up, starving ourselves etc. Being healthy means eating nutritious food (and enough of it!), not binging or over-indulging (indulging every now and then is fine - he made yummy food to be enjoyed! - OVER-indulging isn't good) Do I think he cares that I'm losing weight? Of course not... but I'd hope that He's glad that I'm respecting the body He gave me and treating it kindly.

(semi-related, I think those 'religiously-based diets' are a very bad idea... simply because if you try one of them and fail, how's that going to make you feel about your faith? God wants us to build our faith up, not pull it down...) 

I think that God cares about our weight loss when being heavy is not allowing us to be our best.  God desires and deserves our best whatever that may be.  And part of being our best is giving Him the glory, not me, not the web site, not the food, but HIM.  I know that I am here to serve His purpose and share Him with others, and if my weight is preventing me from doing just that; I need to seek after Him to do something about it.  I try to look at it this way; my body is His temple.  I have invited Him to live in my heart/body; therefore, I would not go and destroy a physical house of worship, so why should I destroy this one. 

 This is a daily struggle for me.  I have to remind myself of my body being a temple at each meal.  Currently I am at a point of frustration with no weight loss, and needing to rely more on my Savior.  I want and desire my temple to reflect Christ to the world, so I am trying to improve it to be a good example of and for Him.  I think that is what God wants from us; our best!