Biblical and Scientific Reasons

Diets don’t work! We all know that or we wouldn’t be here. My guess is that this is not your first attempt at living a healthy, balanced life. I know it’s not mine. Yet, if dieting doesn’t work what hope do we have? Where can we turn?

In Chapter 16, Lysa reminds us that for this to be successful it has to be more than a diet. It needs to be “a journey with Jesus to learn the fine art of self-discipline for the purpose of holiness.”

Self-discipline!? That sounds harder than dieting! How do overfed, over-indulged Americans learn the fine art of self-discipline?

There is good news. New scientific research is coming out every day that helps us understand the amazing, intricate brain that we have been given by our Creator. And it’s no surprise to discover that when we apply the principles of lasting change that He has woven into us, and shared freely with us in Scripture, we really do experience change that lasts.

Here are two scientific and Biblical principles that will help us make long-term, successful change:

1. Lasting change begins with changing our thoughts as well as our behavior.

Biblical Basis

As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.
Proverbs 23:7

Do not conform to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Romans 12:2

Brain-Based Research
Today’s new technologies in brain imagining, such as PET scans, SPECT scans and MRI’s allow researchers to see our thoughts as electrochemical impulses. That means they can watch the formation of new neural connections as they happen.

They can observe where in our brain a thought is occurring, and more importantly, they can see what types of stimuli cause patterns to form and how long it takes for those patterns to become strong.

The results are in. It takes at least 21-30 days for new thoughts to begin to become new habits!

That means if we set a goal to eat healthier, we have to continue mentally repeating and reinforcing our goal daily for lasting neural connections to be formed. New neural connections then lead to new behaviors and with continued reinforcement this finally leads to new habits.

The key point to remember is that only the thoughts that are repeated again and again take root and eventually turn into a new habitual way of responding.

The encouraging news from this research is that we can actually change the way we think, the way we behave and even the habits of a lifetime.

But that news is also sobering. If you are like me, you’ve have been eating unhealthy for most of your life. That means for decades we’ve been training our brains to manage emotions with cheap sugar-highs.

It will take LOTS of RE-training for us to create new ways of dealing with the same old things. We must not grow weary in well-doing.

2. A strong emotional commitment as well as mental assent is essential for new habits to form.

Biblical Basis

“You shall LOVE the Lord Your God with ALL your HEART, and with ALL your SOUL, and with ALL your STRENGTH, and with ALL your MIND.
Luke 10:26 (emphasis added)

Brain-Based Research

Brain science has now discovered that there is a way to speed up and cement the change process: simply link your new goal to a very strong emotion.

The new neural connections that you are forming increase in both number and strength when you are in a highly emotional state. And connections formed with strong emotion are longer lasting and harder to break.

That is why dieting resolutions made on a whim don’t last. An effective resolution must be tied to a correspondingly strong emotional reason why.

No doubt, this is one of the reasons God made us to crave. In that deep craving, everything within us heart, soul and mind yearns for something to satisfy. We feel our need mentally, emotionally and physically and that combination is where we’ll find lasting motivation to make any necessary change.

The goal isn’t to deny, lessen or remove the craving – it has to be there for change to work. Instead, we need to take that God-given craving with all of its strong hopes, yearnings and desires and look to Him.

As we learn to love God more with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength, the neural connections grow deeper and deeper and we start to create a new path – one that leads straight to Him.

God has created us with the ability to grow and change, and when we cooperate with His design the change is sure to last.

How About You?

How can you apply these two principles to your healthy living plan?

 

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