DR BRIDELL’S logical and rational & poetic and beautiful & completely guaranteed DIET
#42 ― YOUR comments on the Bridell Diet
By the Mysterious Dr Bridell

Today’s article is the 42nd installment of a column that explores a new diet based on mental and spiritual rather than physical paradigms.  It is arranged in "bite-sized chunks" that come to you each Friday and that build on each other.  Bridell’s promise to you who follow the diet is that you will lose a substantial amount of weight —.and that that will be the least important of the ways in which you will benefit! Columns from the past three weeks have tied the Bridell diet directly to the principles and admonitions of the Word of Wisdom and the law of the Sabbath.  Click here to go to the archives and read those columns. 

But TODAY, I thought it would be a good thing to take a little break, and hear from YOU!  I've had so many interesting letters form Meridian readers, and they are not just testimonials and gratitude....they often give additional insights about making the diet WORK!  There are a lot of them here, so the column is quite long, but skim through and find the ones that match or mirror your own feelings.  There is strength in numbers!  And it's exciting to think of THOUSANDS of us doing the diet together, and getting more out of life (and less out of overeating)!

By way of update:  All who requested a free copy of the Bridell book when it is published next year should now have been notified.  If you did not win the drawing but would still like to reserve a copy in the first printing at a 40% discount (or if you would like to be a "bookstore" as described a couple of weeks ago) contact Dr. Bridell at drbridell@meridianmagazine.com.

Here is a sampling of comments from your letters: (I identified them only by initials, so you may be able to find your own.  But the important thing is to find others who have the same views as you ― or who have a different perspective or different way of viewing the diet that can be helpful to you.  See you next week!  Dr. Bridell

• A life-changing approach to weight loss.  MS

• I love the insights about the spiritual aspects of our relationship to food.  LJ

• All of your concepts just ring TRUE.  KS

• After looking at and trying nearly every diet out there, your whole program has made total sense to both my husband and me. I have lost 20 lbs. with more to go and he has lost 50, not gained any back and has more to go. Thank you very much for your timely and inspirational series. We're really looking forward to the book. I am looking forward to sharing it with our children!!  EE

• Your articles have been such a great help to me.  I have lost 33 lbs. by putting into actions all of your suggestions.  CM

• I know this "diet" works! It's totally in harmony with the gospel. How can it not! JH

• I've truly enjoyed your columns and especially appreciate how the three parts dovetail.  I didn't need to lose weight but the slowing down and appreciating all aspects of my life have helped me be more at peace with myself.  LH

• I am one of those obese woman who have found it very hard to lose weight, and more so when my husband passed away nearly three years ago. I just couldn't seem to find any incentive to even try. I kept telling myself what's the use ― I am getting old. Since trying to do it your way have lost the weight.  I admit to sometimes cheating in my intake of food, but boy do I suffer for it when I do. This is one way I know it is working because not just my tummy tells me I have eaten too much of the wrong food but I feel bad mentally for letting myself down, so I try harder and as I said it is working CC

• I have already enjoyed sharing the concepts and incorporating them. It has been a spiritual journey. VH

• I found hope on both the physical and spiritual level.  I must have this book.  It has given me the only hope I have felt in years of dieting. FB

• I loved the second half of the book ― on the spiritual appetites ― best. FG

• It is definitely more than a food issue for me.  I like the spiritual approach to focus on life management.  LM

• I have used the ideas and suggestions to help my friend lose 68 pounds.  RH

• Insightful and thought-provoking. HD

• When I first started, "eat half" was a challenge. After all, if I was eating a dozen chocolate chip cookies a day then would I lose weight if I only ate 6? But when I stopped snacking, and truly cut down my portion sizes, the light bulb went on. I've lost 30 pounds.  TK

• I’ve been working and working for years to get this weight off that came on during years of infertility treatments, and it’s finally working.  SA

• I absolutely swear by the eat-half diet and I loved the spiritual advice too.  KS

• From the beginning, I have felt that this is the answer for me because I had come to the realization that my weight issue and my spiritual progress are tied together. MM

• The connection between the physical and the spiritual is the best part of Dr. Bridell's plan!!  PH

• The words and "spirit" of the whole diet resonate with me ― with my soul. DM

• Your ideas are so different from the usual run-of-the-mill diet as you use gospel principles. I think this is the only way we can really achieve anything of value. JG

• Your diet has given me thoughtful reflection on a lot of habits or attitudes I did not even know I had.  This has made me more aware of choices in a lot of areas  KP

• As I read, your diet feels like revelation.  PW

• It has been so refreshing to see a common sense and reasonable way to handle weight problems.  I am grateful as one of those who are fed up with the usual "diet" fads and have appreciated your wonderful ideas.  They have worked wonders in my life.  CW

• This has been a great journey for me. I have been amazed at the way that I have been taught the gospel through this diet, which has addressed the Spirit as well as the body. LS

• I began reading it because I was interested in losing weight, but my motivation became much deeper as the weeks went by. DC

• Enlightening, thought provoking and enjoyable. SB

• This stuff is amazing! ER

• The half plate idea (especially when eating out) has helped me control my portions.  I try using a smaller plate at home and listening to what my body is saying. JF

• What worked for me:  eating half portions, slowly, with a glass of water beforehand.  Being thankful, savoring the food, and relating it what I can to the spiritual self as well. The idea is great.  BE

• I have seen a change in my physical body but really the best change is in my spiritual body.  Thank you, thank you.  I have learned so much and been so motivated by this wonderful adventure  KB

• Fun, down to earth and easy to understand and implement. CB

• My husband lost 36 pounds in 6 weeks using your diet. When he went to see his doctor he told him he needed to reweigh him because the nurse must not have gotten the weight right. He couldn't believe the scale was accurate and wanted to know how he was able to lose the weight. He has been given your web address and I know of at least 5 people he has given it to as his patients. Everyone wants to know how he has lost all this weight. We have given this out to many people.  JG

• Thank you Dr. Bridell for your really different way of looking at weight maintenance.  It's ahead of its time in melding the physical and spiritual.  DW

• It's the first diet that has been articulated to what I have always believed a diet should be.  Yes it works because it encompasses the total person and not just the physical side of dieting. BN

• Whenever I realize that I am in "gulp & guzzle" mode, I stop, and downshift into sip and savor mode.  Tying your principles into the mental and spiritual elements of life make this diet easier to stick with.  SS

• It's common sense, and I like that it involves spiritual principles that will help me with the problems behind my over-eating. RB

• As a physician, I say thanks for your work and insight. I agree with you concepts and fundamental ideas. LS

• My friends and I are starting a support group based on the principles of Bridell. KS

• I gave the Bridell diet to my friend and it was the beginning of a whole new person in her. LW

• I am enthused with your ideas! And it only makes sense that our eating experiences would be multi-faceted, since we are made up body and spirit  NS

• As a compulsive eater I've found that using a 12-step program in concert with your plan has blessed me very much, I have used your "diet" as my food plan and to define my abstinence and it has greatly blessed my life. AP

• I have read a lot of diet and self-help books through the years, and yours is by far the very best.  The advice is so simple yet so profound, and I love your writing style.  It is very straight forward and to-the-point, not "wordy" as so many advice books are. JR

• I love the way your diet works. MM

• I was not overweight, but as I blended principles from the "eat half" diet into my personal eating habits I gradually lost over 10 pounds and have maintained my weight at a lower level.  MZ

• I love the new way I have of thinking about food and life.  It is amazing how bridling even the passion of food helps me to be more aware and contemplative of the things around me. HC

• I have noticed that you are right about my body (when intake is limited to half) craving good food to get the nutrition it needs.  I have studied nutrition for years and I know all about what not to eat, but learning what TO eat has been a challenge.  This eat half concept has really motivated me to dig into my huge healthy recipe collection and start learning how to feed myself and my family well. JM

• The Bridell diet has made a profound difference in our family.   Your "diet" is the most effective approach we have read; the results are gratifying and the effort has been made so much easier as we understand and appreciate the correlation between mind, body and spirit. LM

• I am an avid fan.  Thank you for your approach and insight, it works for me.  It is the best approach I've seen so far. JB

• Your column has given me a different kind of hope and a renewed desire to truly lose weight for all of the right reasons. SN

• I must be ready to hear your counsel because the correlation between spiritual and physical is becoming more evident to me.  I feel more spiritually blessed when I have the grace to restrain my physical appetites. KM

• I haven't lost a lot of weight (ten pounds) but I have changed how I look at a diet. I love the "eat half" way of eating. I've been trying to eat more sensible for years. This has helped me look at life a different way.  I love the metaphor of the horse and bridle. BB

• The combination of physical and mental is so important, and you have combined the two wonderfully.

• I’m trying to convince my wife to try it, but so far she is resisting. DH

• I feel better!  I look better! KK

• It has given diet a whole different meaning. MS

• As a doctor and an amature theologian, I would like to observe that the Bridell diet has an approach that seems to be an” East meets West meets Gospel” approach to well-being. CC

• I am so very grateful that  a diet book that looks at the spiritual side has finally come to my attention.  I believe that the having a good and righteous spirit is the very best foundation for success in everything.  I did find that reducing portions helped me to lose quite a bit of weight already ― 40 lbs. HK

• The Lord has blessed (and cursed) me with strong appetites and emotions.  He has also personally admonished me to control (or bridle) them.  I know that as I am able to accomplish this task I will be able to emphasize the positive aspects of such a gift and do great things.  Your diet has most certainly been an essential tool in this pursuit. JB

• I have faithfully read this new and revolutionary diet, trying to digest as much of it as I can.  I have loved every morsel.  KL

• I love it and look forward to having it to share with a very dear friend of mine so that we can work the program together.  GH

• I am interested in a healthy lifestyle and although I do not struggle with weight problems I have family members and friends who do.  Your sensible principles just sound right, not only for people who have weight to lose but those of us who just want to feel better. CB

• I believe in the principles & have applied them successfully. It is the epitome of sage & sane advice. JF

• Thank you for putting into words what I've felt and thought about for the past several years. JW

• I especially appreciate the fact that you are using spiritual principles and examples to help us understand our behavior, desires, motivations, etc.  Not only does it help people eat better and lose weight, but hopefully, also improve their spirituality and strength to endure. CH

• I have lost 15 pounds so far and am continuing to use it in my life.  Thank you for bringing new ways of looking at things to me MB

• Thanks for your delightful and practical writing.  It has been a long time since I have bridled a horse, but I find this new kind of bridle challenging and delightful. EC

• Great approach!  I've made wonderful changes in my thinking and my eating. TW

• I have discovered flavors and tastes I never knew of before. Somehow I feel so much more at peace and in tune with the spirit. WT

• I will be telling family and friends about your diet ― anyone who wants to lose weight and, especially, anyone who feels the need for more spiritual enlightenment (that describes most all of us). SD

• Much more reasonable and doable than all the other fad diets out there. I think your approach is the best way to achieve a permanent healthy lifestyle and the best way to respect the gift of our bodies. GD

• We have decided to start an Enrichment health class using your chapters as text and adding exercise ideas and group support to help us all with the life changes essential to lose weight and reach optimum health.  AB

• I think the opportunity of becoming a “bookstore” and adding the personal touch when sharing Dr Bridell’s book is a most excellent idea. MP

• I would be interested in selling copies of your book to my friends. PM

• I have long believed in the true principles you teach ― that our physical fitness is so closely connected to our emotional and spiritual fitness. SR

• The Bridell diet has had such profound effect. It helps us bridle our passions and gain more joy in physical and spiritual ways.  LN

• My weight loss now exceeds 20 pounds and my colleagues cannot believe that my lifestyle adjustment is working. SA

• I've been in conflict with eating disorders most of my life.  I'm hopeful this will be my spiritual, mental and physical breakthrough. KB

• I completely agree that solving a weight-gain problem can only be successfully accomplished by addressing the sprirtual roots of the problem. CR

• Thank you for helping me realize just what I am doing to myself. I am bound and determined to stick with this and be a better me, in all aspects of my life. I think I understand better just what our bodies can do and should be like.  DP

• I love the balance between physical and spiritual, especially the section on fasting. EB

• Thanks so much for you insight.  Please continue to minister to those with a heartbreaking addiction that is just as destructive as drugs or alcohol, but doesn't receive the same help or compassion that other addictions have. DG

• I lost my wife two years ago after 36 years of marriage and 5 children.  My adjustment has been difficult and I have looked for things to keep me from gaining weight and doing other unhealthy things.  Your articles have given me many good, practical ideas. JF

• A diet book like this, that discusses more than just food, is one I would very much like to read and share. CB

• The plan is simple.  Simple to start, but not hard to keep going either. It just makes sense. JS

• What you are saying does make a lot of sense.  I especially like the way it ties the physical, mental, and spiritual together, and how the same basic principles can be applied to all three.  I know in my case that when I apply correct principles to the physical and mental aspects of my being, the spiritual aspect does much better.   KJ

• I have tried diet after diet after diet and have given up due to the failure that I felt After reading and scanning the Bridell, I feel like there is hope! CW

• What a diet!  I have been "enlightened" in more ways than one. AR

• This poetic diet has slowed down my life as well as decreasing my caloric intake. KB

• Thank you for this wonderful diet, I am losing my weight slowly and so pleasantly! GC

• As I have read each installment, the principles espoused have all "rung" true with me.  Some of the principles I had stumbled upon myself before I had read your diet, and you gave them a voice.  LH

• I am an 80+ widowed female, living alone,   I haven't found words to express my gratitude for such an enlightening information.  The food diet has helped me lose 20 pounds but even that is not so valuable as the spiritual aspect of the diet. AH

• One that has touched me is the principle of the living waters. Whenever I drink a glass of water, I think of the words "Living Waters".  I love this comparison. I immediately think to myself, have I filled my self with living waters of the scriptures  and the words of God as much as I craved  the waters that fill my body many times a day.   I love the visual idea of the bridle.  Your spirit is very much felt in your messages LJ

• I especially have liked realizing how all the different pieces of the diet fit together.  Understanding the mental and spiritual part of the plan has given me a much better understanding of how to handle the physical.  I had just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when the book started appearing. Thus, the diet has been, for me, a "tender mercy" MS

• My favorite part about your approach is the linking of the physical with the spiritual and mental/emotional.  I don't believe any real, long-lasting benefits can happen without addressing all three.  TC

• The most poignant point that you have made was the bridling of the horse anology.  It really touched me RJ

• I do appreciate so much the spiritual aspect, because I do believe that “dieting” and eating issues are definitely more than just having “will power” as I hear. JR

• Thank you for a great new approach to dieting, and life.   I have a long way to go but you've given me a way to go, and in "bite-sized" pieces that really work. LS

• The emotional and spiritual aspect of your series had a tremendous impact on my outlook.so very often. DF

• Thanks for the new perspective on life. NR

• So much of what we need is just plain common sense, but we forget it. Thanks for putting it together so well.  I particularly enjoy the spiritual aspect.  SH

• I have lost 12 lbs. so far.  I have to say that this is the first diet that's really made any sense to me, and I've realized that this is the first diet I haven't had anything to rebel against!!  I have enjoyed eating all of my favorite foods, but I have also learned to gauge when I am reasonably filled.  This is a new feeling, but I am learning to trust it and it is working.  And you were right ― I am starting to crave more fruits and vegetables. It's also pretty amazing to think I have poetry inside of me. CP

• Your diet is easy to follow and doesn’t require special equipment, hassle, or frustration! RS

• This diet has totally changed the way I think about eating. RP

• I love the horse analogies and how they helped me really understand the body, mind, spirit differentiation analogies. SC

• Thanks for taking the time to address the entire realm of dieting and bringing to light one of our missions here on earth which is to learn not only to control our appetites but also to understand, care for and master our mortal bodies. DA

• Excellent advice and help with physical as well as spiritual appetites MS

• I enjoy my food more even while I eat less (the quality of the food I eat has vastly improved as well as the kind of food I want to eat!)   AT