Seeing an old #AskVenus: Is Shapewear Body Positive? video by Shapermint brought me back to my teenage years. In the ad, even the "Venus" statue admits that the sexy body was hand chiseled and a myth! "Shapewear gives you goddess-level self-belief," ads claimed as it sold products. Although I have not bought their shapewear to test, "Venus" and I am on the same page in the campaign to reduce love handles and gain a positive body image!
Here's a back story. I have struggled with weight issues since I was a kid, tipping the scale at over 8.5 pounds at birth. Living in Asia then, I went to all-girls schools from elementary to college, wearing custom-made school uniforms all those years. Imagine all the summers lazing around and not being limited to breakfast on the go and a small lunch during breaks. I confess to enjoying the breakfast, lunch, and dinner lovingly prepared for us at home, along with the snacks served in between, all summer. Add to that midnight runs at our favorite 24-hour diner and our dad's "surprise" from restaurants, where he entertained his clients!
Two weeks before school started, my panic would set in as I tried to fit back into my uniforms. Adjustments will have to be made! And guess what I had to brace myself for when I returned to school? Comments like, "Seems like someone got into the refrigerator every day!" Through the years, my poor mom listened to my complaints about what I should do to reduce this part of my body or that part. It even came to the point of blaming her Spanish heritage for my hips, that don't lie! There were endless aerobics classes and tennis lessons, ballroom dancing, and Jazz to sweat it all out. Even as an adult, I have done all sorts of exercises—Zumba, Hot Hula, treadmill, etc. But it was an investment of all my evenings, religiously going to the gym and not having a life outside work and home, not to mention all the fees I had to pay!
But do you know you can't exercise to stay in shape or use shapewear to cover up your not-so-flattering shape? You also need to think of your food intake! For a minute, let me claim to be an expert on this. I have tried many kinds of diets over the years—vitamin supplements only, Scarsdale Diet of apples and tuna, Keto, and whatever else is trendy. The supplements caused me to develop ulcers because they were all I had for meals and were hard on the stomach. Apples and tuna? You can only enjoy them for a certain period until you get sick and tired of seeing and smelling them. Keto diet? Effective! But no cheating is allowed because it will cause you to gain even more weight. And you will be afraid reading the reports claiming the damage too much protein can cause to your kidneys and liver. Thank God there is one food I have been enjoying for many years now that has only served to grow the best part of me: my spirit. Jesus said,
“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).
Let me tell you more about this plan.
You join the exclusive club to have the best personal trainer-nutritionist in the world. A simple requirement is to acknowledge that you are a sinner, "confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead" (Romans 10:9). How easy is that? Considering the monthly or annual cost? There's no fee! "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Jesus paid for it with His own life! And just like those infomercials say, "Wait! There's more!" It is a lifetime membership!
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
This club is open 24 hours, seven days a week. But unlike the usual trainers and nutritionists of regular clubs who are on a schedule and working on the clock, Jesus is not bound by time. No need to work around His schedule or make an appointment. He has an open-door policy for anything and everything that concerns you.
The Jesus Diet is not limited to eating only one meal a day. It is an eat-as-much-as-you-can for free at any time of the day, any day! You can pile your plate high. The "unlimited" plan covers 66 books of the Bible to choose from—39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!" invites Psalm 34:8. How much of the Word you want to digest is up to you!
Now, check out the mouthwatering fruit of the Spirit display laden with "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). Don't just pick one! Have them all so you can appreciate yourself more! You will see that you will become more agreeable to others as you turn into better company! You will also learn how to avoid the sweet temptations along the way because "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13). You will have more wisdom as you use God's Word as your guide.
Unlike those appetite-suppressing and fat-burning pills that claim to do some slimming work, your feelings of hunger will be gone! You will have "fullness of joy… and pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11). You know why? The Jesus Diet burns away your worldly desires. The sourness of your flesh will be replaced by a fresh and life-giving desire to walk with God as His new creation. You will feel more "alive in Christ because your body is now dead to sin," as the book of Romans says (6:11). Total detox!
I have spent a lot of time and money over the years wanting to stay in shape! After going through all my crazy and extreme programs, muddled with cheat days and lazy days, the weight returns. Don't get me wrong here. I still would like to see a much-improved version of me because I know I have been "bought with a price; I am not my own; and my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:19). But I am not stressing as much as I did in the past because my goal is to take care of my health and not to attract the attention of the opposite sex for validation.
So, if you want the best diet and want to join me, this is it! Let's go on a diet using the Jesus Diet! You will be "perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:4). Let Jesus take care of our love handles!
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Vanessa Nunes
Luisa Collopy is an author, speaker and a women’s Bible study teacher. She also produces Mula sa Puso (From the Heart) in Tagalog (her heart language), released on FEBC Philippines stations. Luisa loves spending time with her family over meals and karaoke!