Some Heavy Thoughts

I have been having trouble generating any enthusiasm about getting back seriously on my low-carb Atkins diet. The combination of the holidays and our cruise has left me with an additional ten pounds that I would like not have. But after eating bread, pasta and even pizza for awhile, going back to doing without them is difficult. I’ve considered the idea of trying another approach to weight loss; is there a bread and pasta and pizza diet? But what I won’t be trying is the Hong Kong approach I ran across recently--

A bold weight-loss program of the Life of Life Healing Spa in Hong Kong involves actually setting fire briefly to the parts of the body holding the most fat, according to a December dispatch in London's Daily Telegraph. According to owner Karen Chu, the fire follows an energy flow "reading," full-body exfoliation, high-pressure hose spray, and herb-and-potion and alcohol rub-downs (but wet towels and a fire extinguisher are at the ready in case of problems). Chu said about 100 clients have undergone the treatment, with no complications, and the ones interviewed by the Daily Telegraph reporter praised the service. Chu said the treatment is based on traditional Chinese medicine, but a Hong Kong doctor interviewed by Agence France-Presse said, "I have never heard of such a thing."

Ouch! A lot of people have been burned by fad diets and crazy weight loss schemes, but this is a bit ridiculous! It kinds makes my low-carb breakfast bar seem like a piece of cake!

Has it even hit anyone as a bit ironic that we live in a country in which one of our major problems is getting too much to eat! No matter what approach we take to weight-control, we are truly blessed to live in a time and place in which food and other life necessities are so plentiful. How dare we take that for granted! How dare we forget about those who don't have enough. Maybe if I spent more time in prayer thanking God for His bountry and asking His blessing on those in need, I wouldn’t have so much time to hear the call of that bag of cookies that someone left in the kitchen after the Super Bowl party!