Breaking the Stronghold of Food

and Debbie Marie, key members of the Charisma Media team And lastly, on a personal note, I'm thrilled that my ministry audience can now be directly exposed to Nancy's wisdom. She has been a rock in my life for so many years, and I often speak of her influence when I preach and teach. Now you can hear her for yourself, which blesses me as much as I believe it will bless you. Shall we begin? Let me encourage you to take your eyes off food for a moment and dream together with me, asking the simple question, what if? What if you could be the healthiest you've been in years, or maybe in your whole life, reversing some life-threatening diseases and finding yourself more vibrant at 60 than you were at 40, all without drugs? What if you could be fit and trim, having tons more energy for your family, your friends, your job, your ministry, your hobbies, and your life, not to mention for your Lord? What if you would never feel bloated or stuffed and never feel bad about what you ate? What if you weren't ashamed of the way you look? What if your stomach didn't sit on your lap? You could tie your shoes. You could see your toes. You could wear normal clothes rather than clothes that looked like tents. You didn't have to stealthily unbutton your pants at the restaurant and remember to rebutton them when you got up to leave. You didn't have to wear stretchy pants. You didn't have to avoid mirrors or plate glass windows. You didn't have to worry about buttons bursting off your shirt. You didn't have to buy all kinds of loose-fitting clothing to cover your fat. You didn't have to buy even bigger clothes the next year after the holidays in your latest weight gain. What if? Only you know what bothers you most about your weight, and I write this not to shame you, but to encourage you, since I, too, was once fat. Some people might be offended by Mike's use of the word fat, but both of us like to tell it like it is. Many prefer to call it overweight. That certainly sounds more pleasant, but there was nothing pleasant or pretty about the fat on my body, so we will be using the words overweight and fat interchangeably throughout the book. But this is not meant to insult or criticize others. My fat was a hindrance to me and a burden that was choking and destroying my life. And the bottom line is, there was nothing nice or redeemable about the fat that encumbered my body. What if you could do all this simply by changing your relationship to food? Would it be worth it? Would it be pleasing to the Lord? Would it enhance your witness and effectiveness? Would your loved ones appreciate it? Would you appreciate it? The answer to these questions is obvious. Of course it would be worth it. Of course it would be pleasing to the Lord. Positive, not negative. Good, not bad. For the better, not for the worse. Then why do so many of us find ourselves overweight and obese, weighed down, literally, with food addictions, our energy sapped, our blood vessels clogged, our hearts overworked, our later years plagued with unnecessary disease? For the most part, it is because of our unhealthy relationship to unhealthy foods and, more specifically, because we don't know how to break free or we're simply not willing to break free from our bad habits. I'm here to tell you that if Nancy and I could break free and change, you can too, with God's grace and help. I'm here to tell you that there is hope for your physical transformation. It's not a pipe dream. It's not hopeless and impossible. It's not too late, even if you have tried a thousand times, read the latest diet fad book, and taken the latest weight loss pill all in vain. In August of 2014, I weighed 275 pounds. Less than eight months later, after I began a new lifestyle of eating a healthy, plant-based diet, I weighed 180 pounds and had lost more than 10 inches around my waist. I cannot tell you how wonderfully this changed my life.