Though Tina Turner is certainly a great performer, she’s a little off when she suggests in her hit tune that love is either a second hand emotion or a sweet old-fashioned notion. Here are some snippets from an interview with my favorite theologian, Ravi Zacharias, on the always interesting question in life, “What’s Love Got To Do With It?”

“Religion can become such a single-dimension thing that you miss the horizontal. True spirituality is the focus on God and your fellow human beings.”

“There are four fundamental questions to life; origin[where did we come from and why were we created?]; meaning [what shall we do with this life?]; morality[how shall we behave in this life?]; and destiny. [where are we going at the end of life?]“  (The brackets contain my own expansion of these one word questions.)

On discussing atheism’s belief that religion is a crutch, Ravi said this: “If meaningless came from being weary of pain, their belief could have some value, but meaningless comes from an excess of pleasure.”

One of the wonderful things I learned in recovery and later in my Christian faith is that simplicity and service to others will bring joy, and that what we instinctively think we need for happiness–stuff–will not.  Stuff binds us, limits us, frustrates us, and can ultimately destroy us. Look at the sad end of Elvis Presley. He didn’t die like most of us fear we might, lonely and poor. Rather, he died in a house filled with his toys, his servants and everything but love. He did die lonely, and that is true poverty.

It’s easy to say this stuff, but to do it is hard. That’s why I write these blogs, because in a way they serve both purposes. They enlighten or at least encourage people concerning their efforts to serve others instead of just seeing a transformation as a chance to get that bikini butt or those killer abs back. I hope that everyone realizes that the joy from true spirituality transcends any amount of happiness you’ll get from the momentary ideal body that you might develop here.  And, as Ravi Zacharias says, true spirituality is focus on God and service to your fellow human beings. The greatest evidence of love is how you treat someone who can do you absolutely no good.

Make this a day worth remembering. Do something for someone who can’t pay you back, and do it without getting caught. You’ll be so joyful you’ll feel like you’re going to literally pop from it!

This is a copy of a post I put on the Body for Life guestbook on January 2 2009.

Wait! I know what some of you are thinking–”what business does a guy have telling ladies how to do their dieting and transforming?!?” This is like the 4th year in a row I’ve posted these, and I know some of you are thinking that because you have gone out of the way to chastise me. BUT, most ladies have been good enough to at least hear me out, and I’m hoping you are one of those.

1. See, Bill Phillips wrote the original book, and though the theory in there is perfect for transforming, getting rid of fat, and looking like a million dollars in twelve weeks, a book written by a male bodybuilder did not cover all the different ways that men and women transform. And there ARE huge differences!

2. HOW MEN AND WOMEN LOSE WEIGHT: Men lose weight quickly and easily during the first 2 to 6 weeks of BFL, just by cutting back on the fatty and sweet foods, doing some running, and some exercising. In fact, most men have done this many times before. We don’t even look at it as a “diet,” or a “quick weight loss” but as “getting into shape.” Most women lose fat and weight on BFL very slowly at first, often seeing nothing beyond the first week’s loss of water weight (about 3 pounds) until around weeks 6 to 8. THEN, the hard work really pays off! THe changes come rapidly. So, here’s what ladies need to do, things that the book really doesn’t cover because it was written by a guy:

A. DON’T try doing a “jumpstart” type of diet where you basically fast or just drink liquid crapola for the first week! This DOES result in a pound or two of scale weight loss, but it also deprives you of the strength and stamina to work out hard so that you can pull off the ultimate goal of losing fat and gaining lean muscle all at the same time.

B.DON’T weigh more often than once a week. THe scales jump around all over the place on this routine, because the exercise often causes people to retain water in the muscles and elsewhere. You can go up or down 5 pounds in twenty four hours for no apparent reason. This can drive scales addicts nuts. The far better way for ladies to measure progress is simply measuring your waist or trying on a “too-tight-to-be-comfortable” pair of pants, jeans or outfit.

C. DON’T cut down on the number of eating opportunities in a day. Often, the attitude is “if six meals works fine, then 4 meals must work even better!” Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. The six VERY SMALL meals spaced evenly throughout the day keeps your blood sugar levels stable, which keeps your insulin levels stable, which allows you to preserve muscle, burn fat, and avoid the cravings or sleepy times that the eating of fewer but heavier meals causes.

D. DO clean out your cupboards and refrigerator and get rid of all that end of the year crap that you are telling yourself you’ll save for free day! Throw it away. No one needs it, especially you, and if it is around, especially those little teeney things like chocolate kisses or nuts, you’ll find yourself doing the old “just one won’t hurt me” routine! I promise you, that in spite of all your good intentions and all your zeal for this program, your old self is still around and old habits die hard. One chocolate WON’T hurt you, but it will start a cascade of things that will KILL your challenge, so don’t do it. I’ve heard women say a million times “I kept the stuff around for the rest of the family.” Do the rest of the family a favor and serve stuff that is good for them!

E. DON’T do extra cardio! This is another trap women get into. THey reason that 20 minutes is NOT ENOUGH to help them lose weight so they do cardio every day and they do way more than twenty minutes. That is a bad idea. The 20 minutes of HIIT cardio done as the book recommends is enough to burn fat, especially if done early in the morning on an empty stomach. If you do more, you’re only guaranteeing that you won’t have enough energy to do the most important part of the exercise routine, the heavy lifting! If you just do the “bell ringer” type of tossing around light weights–the old “toning” routine, you’re wasting your time! You’ve got to lift weights just like the guys do, grunting and straining to get that last rep in, pushing those muscles to the max. And don’t worry–unless you already have big muscles due to your genetics, you won’t get big muscles from that. You don’t have enough testosterone to make that happen.

F. Mind the portions! The six small meals a day are tiny, only about 200 calories each for most women. In fact, a Myoplex Lite meal replacement shake for women is only 190 calories. If you are using the Eating for Life book, pay attention to your portions, and make sure you realize that YOUR portion is not the same as a “serving size” in the recipe. Read the book before you cook!

Ladies, BFL works well. But, recognize that your old habits to get fit will be counterproductive to this new program. You’ve got to TRUST that this will work, and you’ve got to be patient.I realize this isn’t in your nature–it’s not in mine either. Quick weight loss is always the number one article in every women’s magazine, almost in every issue, but it ALWAYS is on the cover this time of the year. Unfortunately, real transformation involves more than drinking some goofy diet drink. It involves transforming your body by adding lean muscle mass, and eating right, which transforms your blood chemistry and your entire life.

Mike Harris, 2006 Men’s BFL Champion