40 Pounds and Counting...Some of my health and fitness tips!

For a very long time now, God has been speaking to me about health and fitness, and the importance of taking care of myself. I knew He wanted me to make changes in my life, but for whatever reason (usually my own excuses), I didn't do anything about it. The years ticked by and I rang in each new year the same inactive unhealthy person I was the year before.

Sure I tried dieting...only to fall into the same failure time and time again. I tried going to the gym...only to find reasons NOT to go. Finally, I decided to give this area of my life over to God. I knew that only God could take nothing and make something. God, alone, could take my nothing exercise and make me fit, and my lack of food awareness and make me healthy. I had to admit that I was helpless and needed Him.

Here's the amazing part...GOD CAME THROUGH (did I ever doubt him;) and I wanted to share some things that He has shown me along this journey to health and fitness with you. I have to note, however, that I am by no means a professional when it comes to wellness. I'm not a trainer or a nutritionist, just someone who has succeeded at losing weight and getting fit, and I hope this can inspire you too!

I'd like to break down my tips into three categories: 1. Spiritual, 2. Fitness, and 3. Food

1. Spiritual
I love the Lord with all my heart soul mind and strength, but for waaaay too long, I failed to worship God with my body. I don't think I really understood the connection between my relationship with God and how I treat my body. God has shown me through His word that our bodies matter to God. We all know that the bible says our bodies are temples of His spirit (1 Cor 6:19), but I love what comes after this verse: "You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Cor 6:19-20). Isn't that wonderful? Our bodies belong to the living God, and He desires us to honour him with them! When we take care of the bodies God has entrusted to us, we are actually worshipping him! Romans 12:1 says "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship." Did you catch that? THIS IS OUR SPIRITUAL ACT OF WORSHIP. Giving our bodies to God is a spiritual act. God WILL honour you for it!

2. Fitness
Anyone who has known me for a long time knows I was never much of an athlete. I didn't excel in sports, and barely passed gym class! The thought of me getting outside and running seemed to me pretty much impossible. I never thought of myself as a runner, and didn't think I could do it. BUT I dreamed of running. When I would see people running down the street I would secretly envy them, longing to have that ability. As God was teaching me more and more about fitness, I realized that maybe I could actually run! At first I could barely make it around our block, and had to stop many times to catch my breath. However, I persisted and each day I went out running, I could go a little farther and a little faster. At this point, I'm running 2 km pretty much every day, and LOVING it! I'm so addicted! One thing I have learned is that running is, I'd say 70% in your mind. As I run, I remember God's promises to me, and I find this helps when the going gets tough. One verse that really speaks to me is Romans 8:11: "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." I like how the KJV puts it: it will "quicken your mortal bodies". The same God that can take a dead person and make them alive again lives in me! Surely such a mighty God can help me run that last 1/2k, or up that oh so daunting hill!

3. Food

I call this section "food" and not "diet" because, having tried many diets in the past, I'm SO done with them. I like how Marty Copeland puts it when she says that diets are "carnal weapons" that we try to put our hope in. The problem with carnal weapons is they fail...time and time and time again. (check out www.martycopeland.com) 1 Cor 10:4 says "the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds". I believe the secret to weight loss is trusting God to help you to eat the right things and not to eat too much. Sounds simple, I know, but God made our bodies, and He knows what foods we need to fuel them. He will give us the power to DEMOLISH the stronghold that keeps us eating too much, or eating the wrong things! Some awesome recipes I've tried, and believe are part of my success can be found athttp://www.youtube.com/user/candiball. Check it out:)

I hope that these tips can be an inspiration to you! Remember "that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion" (Phil 1:6). God does not start us on our health and fitness journeys to fail, but rather, He wants to see us through to the end. He is faithful!

Preparing for Setbacks

I was thrilled to hear from some of you that my last blog on weight loss and fitness encouraged you in your own health journeys! I've decided to write another with the hope that my story can inspire you:)

I wanted to write a blog today about goals, but the more I thought about it, I realized that goals and set-backs really do go hand-in-hand. As surely as you have a goal, there will be something that comes in the way of your goal. I believe that setting goals, and preparing for set-backs are two valuable tools in your health journey. For today, I will focus on set-backs.

To begin, let me be very clear that I DO NOT endorse preparing for failure. Preparing for set-backs and preparing for failure are two very different things. Preparing for failure means that you expect yourself to "fall off the wagon" at some point, and revert back to your old ways. A person preparing for failure might buy unhealthy food while grocery shopping, or hold on to clothes that are too big, "just in case". When we prepare for failure, we set ourselves up for just that...failure! God's word says that we can "do all things through Christ" who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13), and this includes keeping us on the right track.

On the other hand, preparing for set-backs means that we are still focussed on our goals, but understand that sometimes things happen that might throw us off course. A set-back might be an illness that keeps you from exercising for a week, a special event where eating 100% healthy foods may not be an option, or even pregnancy. When we are prepared for these set-backs, we know that falling into a set-back does not mean that our health journey is OVER, but rather it means that we need to be extra vigilant in the future to get back on track. Someone not prepared for a set-back would think "I blew it, it's over, I might as well just give up", in which case, their health journey would be over!

The good news is that we have a God who understands our weaknesses. Hebrews 4:16 says "let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need". Even if it means we come to God over and over and over again, He promises to give grace and mercy when we need it, and that is all we need to continue on the journey. I mentioned in my last blog, and feel it's worth noting again, that God does not start us out to fail, and He is faithful to finish the work He began in you (check out Philippians 1:6). Whether your set-backs come for a minute, a day, a week or longer, remember that we serve a kind and loving God, who wants to help keep us on the right road!