About ten days ago, my wife and I were having our morning coffee in the living room when she asked if I had any resolutions to make for the new year. Now, I don’t usually make “resolutions” for the new year, so I was surprised when I blurted out, “I want to lose thirty-five pounds by Easter!” Immediately she warned against the dangers of severe diets for very senior people like me, and she insisted I consult my doctor before beginning any diet, and fretted over just how I would accomplish this.

Now I recognize that in a two-person household, when one goes on a diet it affects the other, especially if the other one is the one who cooks. I did some online research, and my wife talked to a couple of people who have recently lost weight, and then we discussed some of the plans. I decided the easiest thing to do would be to track my intake and put a temporary lock on the wine cellar. And I decided to use the MyFitness App to track my daily meals. The app told me that losing 35 pounds would entail restricting my intake to 1,500 calories per day, minus any exercise I might do. My wife fears I will perish from a lack of nutrition, even though she thinks I’m fat. Women!

Basically, with the My Fitness App, you just log in everything that goes into your mouth. It’s easier than it sounds given their extensive base of foods and quantities (for example a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with cheese weighs in at 513 calories and don’t ask me about the fries). The app also breaks down the constituents of my daily intake: carbs, fat, and protein. It’s important to get the right proportion of each of these for the body to function. (Yes, we need fat, TBTG!)

Sounds a lot like a proper spiritual diet for the growing Christian. Not that we need to restrict the intake of spiritual food, but rather that we make sure we’re getting a balanced diet. The three aspects of faith life are; Worship, Prayer, and Study.

The ideal form of Worship is gathering with your church family to sing, repent, pray, listen, and rejoice in the God who made us all. Prayer is next, it’s kind of like drinking water frequently during the day. It’s you and God, face-to-face, all day long. That may begin with a formal morning breakfast, brief thanks at mealtimes, breathed prayers throughout the day (snacks), special prayers for specials situations, and a bedtime snack of thanksgiving. Study is the last vital nutrient for a healthy life of faith. Daily Bible reading coupled with meditation and other helps leads to growth in Godly wisdom and comfort in all life’s circumstances. Sounds like a lot, but it’s easy once you establish the habits.

So here’s the report for week one of 2024. (And relax, I do not intend to report on every week.) My faith life is pretty healthy, but I’m always hungry for more. All daily goals met and our Men’s Bible study resumes Thursday evening. I logged all my food (including that dang Quarter Pounder) and came in at just under 1,500 calories per day. I lost 2.8 pounds. I have not perished much to my wife’s relief, and, God willing, I’ll celebrate my 81st birthday this week. SDG