Bad Diets

Many people — including myself — go through yo-yo dieting. We lose weight, only to gain the same weight back and sometimes more. We cut calories and increase exercise, only to find that when we quit the exercise and return to our normal eating habits, our bodies crave the foods we shunned. The best way to lose weight and keep it off is to change our eating habits. Eat right, chew thoroughly — and slowly — and allow ourselves to enjoy “pleasure foods” in moderation.

Bad diets can also occur in religion. For example, the practice of fasting, if not done in moderation, can be harmful to our health. Obsessing over attendance at religious gatherings can leave us addicted to religion, and distracted and distant from our daily lives. Being overly zealous in our quest for peace can leave us restless and ill at ease.

A healthy spiritual diet allows us to use our natural abilities to their fullest, but also allows us to explore new practices. We approach this with moderation, balancing our needs against the demands of those new experiences. Remember, too, that spiritual desserts are not bad if taken in moderation. We each define what those spiritual desserts are for ourselves.