Our image should not be about our body, but our health should be. We were given our bodies to glorify God. We should take care of them. We only get one. What we do with our bodies physically forever affects us mentally.
We can honor God in many ways. Taking care of ourselves is one of them. Living a healthy lifestyle honors the body we are given, and helps us thrive while we live life on this earth.
We may think that our bodies give us the freedom to choose whatever we wish to do with them. When we have this mentality, we are actually being enslaved by our own desires. Sin creeps in when we succumb to our own desires.
Whether the external sinful choices we make involve what we consume or lifestyle choices, we are affected on the inside. Maybe drinking a few too many caused some bad decisions to be made. Should we continue behavior that makes us feel good in the moment but horrible for the long term? We can't erase those choices no matter how much we wish we could forget.
I know some things I wish I could. I think of all of the hurt and heartache I could have been spared if I had realized sooner the purpose of God's parameters.
Good thing we have the holy spirit to help us with those decisions. If our inside is screaming "don't do this," we should probably go with our gut. God does not leave us on our own to make decisions. Nor does He give us restrictions to hold us back. He knows our desires will sometimes leave us hurting in the end.
It's so easy to get caught up in the feel good moment. "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire." James 1:14 ESV
Strength is built by making the hard choice to not give in. Would you rather feel good in the moment, only to feel the guilt sink in later? Those feelings are not what God desires for us. He does forgive us if we ask when we don't have the strength.
I no longer have regrets from certain mistakes. His forgiveness has freed me from the shame I once felt. I have taken away wisdom from the moments in life that I'm not so proud of.
God's desire for us is to feel whole and free and alive. Those feelings can only be completely felt when we live in the healthy parameters that God puts in place for our own good. Freedom begins when we realize God's restrictions are good restrictions.