Many people, including myself, find dieting to be quite thee challenge. As a rabbi, I have come to discover that even in the Jewish tradition; the entire enterprise of eating is filled with obstacles and opportunities. Meal time is termed in Jewish literature as "the hour of war"; the Hebrew word for war - milchama - has the same root as lechem - bread. Eating is supposed to be an act of elevating oneself through the medium of thought, speech and action. In the realm of thought, we are told toview eating as an act of fulfilling the Almighty's will. In the realm of speech, we say a blessing over the food. And in the realm of action, we eat the food with care and appreciation of the Almighty's beneficence. When we think of holiness, pictures of serenity often come to mind. But few people have any guidelines for actually achieving holiness. The Torah, (Scripture) tells us that the Jewish people have a national character and that character is enhanced and developed through the food we eat. Living a life in which the food we eat is prescribed by God and a Torah that proclaims this a diet of a holy people, is surely going to affect our psyche and change our physical sensitivities. When one consistently eats healthily, often it is only late in life that one comes to appreciate the cumulative affects of a good diet. And perhaps one can never really appreciate how he or she would have turned out with a different, less healthy diet.
I was overweight. My wife was on my case, my friends were also pleading with me to lose weight because my health was being compromised. So, in January 2010, The GYM, which I have been attending since May 2007, had a “biggest loser” contest. This was speaking to me. With various strenuous exercise set up by Deborah with a new way of eating, I don’t want to say ‘diet,’ I began to drop pounds and inches. Starting out at 211 lbs. with clothes on 206 without; after 6 weeks I was at 192 lbs with clothes on 188 without. I have gone from a 38 waist to a 34. I have changed my eating style by eating 5 meals a day; a protein shake for breakfast, piece of cheese (Swiss knight) and 10 almonds for mid morning snack; a shake or salad with protein for lunch; a fruit or a couple of walnuts for afternoon snack; fish or chicken with half a sweet potato and veggies with mushroom made on the George Foreman Grill for dinner. Sometimes I would have a glass of red wine measure out to 6 ounces with dinner. Of course, I would drink lots of water during the day as well even drinking a couple of cups of coffee with cream. I have come to love my meals and I am not missing anything. I also came to realize that this was a chance to take care of myself, whereas a rabbi, I am taking care of others.
I am deeply grateful to Deborah and to the staff of the Gym for their support and for their commitment to the well-being of the GYM’s clients.
