Calculating Points

I must confess that I’ve dabbled in Weight Watchers.  I’ve been fortunate enough to be someone who hasn’t struggled with their weight, but over the past five years, and especially post-pregnancy, I’ve had to make some modifications and adjustments.  Gone are the days of late night eating, and cheesecake sampling.  Chips and dip come at a price and it often involves a heavily sweated work out.

But for the past six months or so, I’ve been in maintenance stage of change.  That is, I’ve been cruising at a plateau and maintaining my current weight.  I’ve dug myself into a bit of a rut.

There is nothing like photographs to show you the “real you”, at least the outward you, to take you by surprise.  Recently, in viewing pictures from a friend’s wedding, I’ve been motivated to get back on the wagon and shed those last five pounds.  It’s time to step it up.  Unfortunately, it’s time to step away from the 7-11 run ins.  Goodbye licorice all-sorts…until we meet again…

In all seriousness, the beauty of Weight Watchers involves having a degree of control over your nutritional intake and still being able to enjoy your hankerings.  For those of you who don’t know, everyone is allotted a daily number of points based on their current height and weight, as well as their physical activity.    Each food you ingest is worth a certain number of points and what you eat on a given day, is subtracted off of your total number of points for the day.  For example, if you eat Chicken Alfredo, you are down half your points, and have minimal left to work with for the remainder of the day in order to begin taking the weight off.  Most vegetables are worth zero points, as are many fruits.  So essentially you can be a carrot monster for the day, enjoy a big mac for dinner, and maintain your svelte physique. 

As a bonus, throughout the week you are also given “flex points”.   These allow you to choose the goody that makes you weak in the knees at no penalty.  The system is healthy and wise, taking into account nutritional needs including fibre, protein, and carbohydrate intake.  I’ve watched dear friends of mine make life altering changes and achieve a size and outward appearance they were content with. It’s been a big success and when I’ve been mindful of the “points” in the past, I’ve noticed results.

I thank God he's not like Weight Watchers.  I think though, that it's human tendency to believe in an old world God who is making a list and checking it twice.  I blame Santa Claus.  The entire Old Testament is based on an ethical system of rules.  Do's and do not's.  Laws and regulations.  If you dissect a particular chapter from the larger story, you are faced with a giant system of weight watchers points and people trying to save them up, earn flex points, and redeem coupons in the form of sacrifices and offerings.   

It must have been exhausting and perhaps they sometimes felt successful.  But, I imagine, more often than not, they kept trying to get back on the wagon, when sin and messiness crept in.  Trying to order and calculate points to get good with God.

The thing that I love about Jesus is he was a rebel with a cause.  I imagine him entering the temple, and throwing out all of the weight watchers calculators.   He came to banish the point system.  All of it.  There is no earning or subtracting or flex points needed and the beauty is our heart fitness is made well in him.  And how can freedom not be found in that.  A person who came to replace the whole calculating system. 

~Let me put it another way.  The law was our guardian and teacher to lead us until Christ came.  So now, through faith in Christ, we are made right with God. ~Galatians 3:24