Jon Stanton

I'm back from Virginia and reflecting on the awesome experience of being on the 700 Club with Joy Bauer. Joy and I both had a great time, and what a fun experience! Did you see that plate of spaghetti they put together to represent what I used to eat for dinner? Actually, it occurred to me afterwards that I probably did eat that much spaghetti, it's just that I divided it up into two huge servings - it wasn't all on my plate at the same time.

If you missed me on the 700 Club and would like to view the show, click on this link: http://www.cbn.com/700club/guests/bios/Joy_Bauer030409.aspx

You can watch the video by clicking where it says "Watch Now" and be sure to scroll down the page a little bit to read their "bio" on my weight loss journey.

So what was it like being on the 700 Club? I've already answered that question many times, but I think I can sum it up best by saying it was "God-ordained" and I'm confident that God will use it to help inspire many Christians and others who battle weight problems. Let's face it - a lot of Christians struggle with their weight, despite the fact that most of us have heard the "your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit" mantra for most of our lives. In many churches, congregational life is built around celebrating "food," and while this is certainly not wrong, it can be taken to an extreme sometimes. Speaking from experience, potlucks are a nightmare for someone who's morbidly obese!

The bottom line as far as I'm concerned is that God intends for us to be healthy and happy. The two go hand in hand - it's hard to be one without the other. Certainly we can celebrate food from time to time (after all, Jesus himself attended many feasts and celebrations), but the problem we have in America, IMHO, is that we want to eat like we're celebrating all the time. Combine that with our "fast food - give it to me in a box that only takes 5 minutes to prepare" mentality, and it's literally a recipe for disaster!

My advice? Celebrate food when it's clearly a time to do so (no more than 10% of your overall food intake in a year), and the other 90% of the time, follow the principles found in Joy's LIFE Diet. This has worked for me, and I know it can work for you too. BTW, Joy's LIFE Diet is much more than just a diet - it quickly becomes a way of life and incorporates much more than just a traditional "diet plan." Give it a shot - check out the "links" page for more info.