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(OPINION) As someone who battled unhealthy eating habits the first 59 years of my life, I am the last one to criticize someone for trying almost anything to lose weight. These are difficult battles, and many of us will take a lifeline wherever we find it. So, to repeat, I am the last one to criticize.

The truth be told, outside of using pharmaceuticals, I tried just about every shortcut I could find to help lose weight. There’s even a chapter in the book that my wife Nancy and I wrote, “Breaking the Stronghold of Food: How We Conquered Food Addictions and Discovered a New Way of Living,” devoted to listing all the various shortcuts that I tried. It’s titled, “Anti-Fat Cream and the Magic Energy Pill.” Yes, I tried it all!

You might ask, “Anti-fat cream? Are you serious?”

Yes, I am.

As I explained in our book, when it came to losing weight, I looked for a cheap and easy fix. One pill promised to boost your metabolism while you slept. Wonderful! I could eat what I wanted during the day and take this pill before bedtime and, voila, I’d be thin almost overnight.

Another pill promised to provide all the fruits and vegetables I needed in one day. Perfect! I could not imagine eating so many fruits and vegetables in a week (or even a month), let alone do it every day. This pill would do the trick!

One time while flying, I was flipping through the airline magazine when I discovered the most amazing thing yet. (This is really embarrassing, but I’m going to tell the story anyway). It was a special cream that you would apply to the fat parts of your body, and if you did it regularly, the fat would be reduced. I kid you not!

Well, the embarrassing thing is not that I read about this product but that I actually bought it, without telling Nancy. How in the world could I tell her I did something so stupid?

Unfortunately, using this cream was quite uncomfortable, since there was never a really good time to put it on, day or night. It was greasy and would stick to your clothes or pajamas, and since the whole key was to apply it and leave it on, you were stuck for hours with this gooey cream on your legs or stomach or wherever you applied it. I don’t think I even tried it more than a couple of times before realizing how idiotic this was, telling Nancy about it and then throwing it way. What a joke!

And even though I exercised when I was overweight, sometimes very intensely I was looking for a magic exercise solution too, and I took notice of some of the sensational claims that would appear in my email Junk folder, like one that announced: “60-second morning routine KILLS, High Blood Pressure & Reverses 20 Years of Deadly Belly Fat.” All that in just one minute per day!

Other emails featured special “tricks” and “secrets” — all yours for just a few bucks. And the same seductive messages were always there: This time, one of these will work for you, even though none of the other gimmicks worked before, even though you’re bypassing the one thing that will work: radically changing your lifestyle!

The reality is that nothing changed in a lasting way until, by God’s grace and Nancy’s help, I made a radical lifestyle change. (Truly, it was with His gracious help).

In short, I stopped eating all unhealthy foods and began to eat only healthy foods. (Nancy and I have found the guidelines of Dr. Joel Fuhrman, famous for his “eat to live” message, very sound, transformative and sustainable).

That’s how, beginning in August 2014, I was able to lose roughly 100 lbs. in less than eight months, going from 275 lbs. to 175 lbs. — not by dieting, but by making a radical lifestyle change.

And that’s why today, more than 10 years later, I weigh about 170 lbs. and do heavy workouts with men in their 20s. (I’m 69 right now.) That’s also why my blood work and health are optimal, and, again, by God’s amazing grace, I’m pain free and medication free. (I am not boasting about tomorrow; I’m simply deeply thankful for today).

To be sure, I know how hard this is. I fought a losing battle for almost 6 decades. I was addicted to chocolate. I was a pizzaholic. I was not the master of my diet; my diet mastered me.

That’s why, to say it once more, I am the last person to criticize or judge. To the contrary, I have both empathy and compassion!

I simply want to encourage you — with Nancy joining me wholeheartedly – to get to know what is healthy and what is not (please do check out Dr. Fuhrman’s materials). And then, work towards getting rid of the bad stuff (most of the standard American diet is bad!) ingesting only the good stuff. This can radically, dramatically, and lastingly change your life (and I say this as one who travels around the world doing ministry yet is able to sustain this lifestyle).

And for you who are people of faith, if the Lord could help a lifelong chocaholic like me and a self-professed glutton like Nancy, He can help you. We are praying for your success!

Dr. Michael Brown is the host of the nationally syndicated “The Line of Fire” radio show. He is the author of over 40 books, including “Can You Be Gay and Christian?” and “Our Hands are Stained with Blood.” You can connect with him on Facebook, X or YouTube.