According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly 60% of Americans are obese.

Medical and disability reasons aside, a common cause of obesity is perpetual overeating. I personally know what it's like to have no self-control, to binge and binge, day after day. The self-loathing, the despair - hating the obsession, but loving the taste of the food all the while.

If you often "drown your sorrows" in a tub of ice cream, read on . . . 

For the first two years of my marriage, I used the Birth Control Pill (BCP). I really thought nothing of it. When the walk-in-clinic doctor first perscribed it to me, he said only that there was a risk of blood clots; a risk that was supposedly greater if actually pregnant. My only complaint in those two years was the evening nausea I often experienced as a side-effect of the hormones ...

Some Christians who are like waves tossed on the sea. Their walk with God lacks vitality. They don't bear much fruit because they're too busy fretting over how "weak" or "strong" their faith might be. When trials come, they feel singled out and worry that God is punishing them for some terrible sin they must have committed. And when God doesn't answer their prayers exactly as they'd like Him to, they doubt He even hears their prayers.

In short, they overlook the simplicity of faith: that is, living a life of fidelity to Christ despite what hardships may come their way. These Christians share at least one thing in common: a misunderstanding of the true meaning of faith. ...

Whoever it was who came up with the concept of “100 Calorie Packs” is a marketing genius. I mean seriously, this person (or persons) has hit the jack pot. With the countless diet merchandise and foods already out there, it’s impressive that someone came up with something so deceptively simple; it has already permeated every grocery and convenience store shelf out there with immediate success

Psychologically, the advertising possibilities are endless. People are falling for this hook, line and sinker. Made by Nabisco, these 100 Calorie Packs offer any one of your favorite, forbidden snack foods in a mini little package. Doritos, Oreo Cookies, Ritz Crackers, Teddy Grahams . . . whatever it is you’re craving, chances are you can find it all wrapped up in pretty little “100 Calorie” bow ...

My husband and I have recently discovered how to greatly reduce our monthly grocery bill while improving our diet at the same time.

Without going off on a major tangent about the dangers of eating processed foods, suffice it to say that processed foods (basically any food that comes in a colorful cardboard box/bag), deep-fried restaurant and snack foods (fries, chips, donuts), and grocery-store baked goods (muffins, pastries, cakes, cookies) are laden with chemicals, outrageous proportions of sugar and iodized salt, artificial ingredients, preservatives, and trans fats (hydrogenated oils, shortening, lard).

So, why does this matter? ...

I’ve been reading through the Old Testament and it seems so shocking the way the Israelites were constantly forgetting the Lord and going back to worshipping idols made of gold. I’ve always found that hard to comprehend: If you saw God part the Red Sea with your own eyes, how could you later “forget” about him and bow down to a hand-crafted, golden calf, of all things?

Yet every generation seemed to breed a new generation that had no interest in God. And of course, the children hadn’t seen the miracles of God firsthand, as their parents had, so to them, it really had no more effect on their lives than any other “fairytale.” ...

I used to be overweight.

And I remember those days all too well. Envying thin people day in and day out. Obsessed with the scale, obsessed with the mirror. It's just so easy for skinny people, right? They can eat whatever they want and stay thin and beautiful. Yeah. ... SURE. But, that's really how it seemed at the time.

I was just fifteen. I was 50 lbs overweight. I hated myself.