Healthy Living

Mirrors Don't Lie

by Pastor Dan White
01/07/17
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7 JAN 2017

“To thine own self be true.” – Shakespeare

I looked at my shirtless image in front of me. Mirrors don’t lie. 

Of course, I saw my image every day and ignored it. But, a few days ago, I really saw it. I mean I really saw it! 

There in front of me was a big blob of belly fat. 240 lbs on my 5’10″ frame.  I couldn’t live in denial any longer. 

The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV), “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

My heart which is the seat of emotions had deceived me to ignoring my obesity. But, the mirror and the scales told the truth. And, for the first time, I saw the truth in front of me. 

Jesus said, “The truth shall set you free” (John 8:32). The truth I saw in front of me set me free from the deception of my emotional denial. I determined to change my unhealthy relationship with food. 

For me, I like to understand things and that means I have begun reading about diet, nutrition, and losing weight. Reading also motivates me to change. 

I’m on a second read of a life-changing book for me – “I Can Do This Diet” by Dr. Don Colbert. He simplifies the complexity of weight loss, how the body processes food, what causes it to store fat, and how to change the way I approach food. It’s been revolutionary for me. I am grateful. 

One thing he advocates is STOP weighing daily as I did. Instead, weigh monthly. Well, I don’t want to do that and will weigh weekly. I greatly anticipate my next weigh-in in a few days. 

I feel I’ve lost a little. My pants aren’t as tight. My wife says my eyes aren’t puffy any more. I feel great – the best I’ve felt in a long time. And, I have energy. 

Mirrors don’t lie. They tell the truth about me, and I am hopeful that a year from now that I will be free of a lot of this excess baggage. It’s like carrying 60 pounds with me every where I go. That’s hard for an out of shape man like me to do. 

So, that’s why last night at one of my favorite restaurants, The French Market Grill, where we ate dinner with friends, that instead of ordering my usual cup of jambalaya over white rice and shrimp creole over white rice, I ordered a cup of gumbo which is a soup and a garden salad layered with boiled shrimp. Instead of eating two or three of their delicious rolls, I ate one. This was a big victory for me!  

The truth shall set me free. It won’t be tomorrow, but it will eventually happen. I’ve taken the first step. There are many more to follow on this journey. Meanwhile, I’m excited and motivated to watch the new me take shape in the mirror. Amen!