Years ago, the husband of one of my teachers loved to fly and owned his own plane. He had several licenses and was also an instructor to teach people to be a pilot of fixed winged planes and helicopters.
During one of his yearly physicals, it was discovered he had developed diabetes. Because he became insulin dependent, he could no longer be a pilot. He could no longer teach people to fly.
He asked the doctor what he could do to reverse the health problem. The doctor was not sure, but he told him it would help if he would lose 50 pounds. I did not think of him as being overweight, but he decided to give it a try.
The man ate salads for over 6 months. I am talking about lettuce, day after day. He lost fifty pounds. The dieting worked. The diabetes subsided, so he was not insulin dependent. He regained his license to pilot planes again. He continued to be very careful about what he ate.
There is a parable of Jesus in Luke 5. Jesus tells us we cannot put a new life in an old lifestyle. My friend started living a new physical life and eating new food for him. He was able to do this because he loved piloting a plane more than he loved food. He loved being a pilot more than eating what I call real food.
When our love for Jesus is greater than our love for ourselves and our selfish desires, we can change our old lifestyle to a new lifestyle. When our love for Jesus is greater than our love of sinning, we can live the new life of serving Jesus.