Starting today, think of your body as God’s temple, a masterpiece that He does not want you to ruin. Your goal should be to live a healthy life – which doesn’t necessarily mean fitting into a size 6 dress or having the best abs in town. A healthy life is one in which you eat responsibly, exercise, and think positively.

Each day, God offers you new opportunities to live well. Make choices which honor His plan:

* Develop an eating plan. Take responsibility for what you put in your mouth. Learn about the different food groups, calorie values for different foods, and how much constitutes a portion. Don’t depend on others to manage your food intake.

* Change the messages you send to your brain. Instead of sending a message that says, I’m fat, say I’m thin, then immediately ask yourself, What can I do this instant to give myself pleasure that doesn’t involve food? This shift in self-talk will help you change your eating habits.

* Take inventory. List the top one-to-five activities, relationships, and circumstances that typically zap your energy, get you down, or make you feel depressed or angry. What can you do to improve the way those situations make you feel?

* Speed up your metabolism. Commit to 30 minutes of active stretching, walking, weight lifts, or aerobic fitness at least every other day. This will raise your metabolism, eat up calories, and increase your energy – and you will feel good about yourself.

* Decrease the portions, increase the number of meals. A healthful plan generally involves five to seven meals a day. Obviously, these meals are smaller and more frequent. This way you will eat less because you will be less hungry at each meal and will maintain an even blood sugar level.

* Lose the sugar. Reports indicate that adults consume, on average, 20 teaspoons of sugar a day, or 135 pounds per year. Watch out for sodas, most desserts, and foods with hidden sugars.

* Stop eating “fat-free.” Most people increase their portions while eating fat-free, which results in eating too much of the wrong kinds of fat. You need fat – but the right kinds: polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. Good fat should be limited to 20 to 30 percent of your daily caloric consumption.

* Drink 64 ounces of water a day. Water enhances metabolism and increases the flushing process of bad fats. When consumed before a meal, it reduces hunger and food intake. Juices can be substituted, but not alcoholic or caffeinated beverages.

* Temper alcohol use. While studies show that one to two glasses of wine per day can decrease the risk of heart disease, they add 62 pounds of calories to your body each year.

* Quit smoking. Current estimates say that 25.2 million men (26.7 percent) and 23.2 million women (22.8 percent) are smokers, which increases their risk of heart attack, lung cancer, osteoporosis, hearing loss, and stroke. In addition, 4.1 million teens are already habitual smokers. Don’t be part of these statistics. Make a plan for quitting, then stick to it.

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Closing the Gap by Todd Duncan. Copyright (c) 2000 by Todd Duncan. Used by permission of J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc.