Words of Encouragement

I want to write you today to encourage you in your transformation journey. You made the decision to make a change in your life and to become fit and healthy for a variety of reasons, maybe you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired. Perhaps you can no longer fit into the clothes you once enjoyed wearing and you want to get your body back into shape and improve your self-confidence. Perhaps as you get older you realize the old adage “if you don’t use it you lose it ,” and you have decided you better start exercising your body so you can be more energetic, improve mental focus and stave off sickness. All of these things are wonderful reasons to get in shape, to eat healthily and exercise, but there should be a higher purpose for your actions.   The Bible tells us to “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:2) Your body is simply a vessel, it will eventually grow old, sicken and die, this of course cannot be avoided. Moreover, while your earthly body is important and you must strive to keep it vigorous and healthy for as long as possible, you must focus on your father above and give him praise and glory. Keeping God the focus of your life will give you the strength and courage you will need to achieve your fitness goals. God is glorious and all powerful, put your trust in him and he will help you achieve things you never thought possible.    

I Can Do All Things

What is keeping you from achieving your fitness goals? Do you make excuses to yourself, saying things like “I don’t have enough time,” or “I’m too out of shape to even begin,” does “I’m too old” sound familiar? These are but a few of the hundreds, perhaps thousands of excuses people tell themselves when it comes to reasons they have not taken control of their personal health and fitness. Despite the excuses we make to not achieve our goals, God reminds us that faith in him is all the encouragement we will ever need, we can do incredible things in the name of Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:13 tells us “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Remember, if God has put getting into shape and improving your health on your heart, then he will supply you with all the encouragement you will need to accomplish your goals. Instead of making excuses, put your faith in Christ and lean on him when working towards your goals gets difficult (and they will get difficult). Understand that when you put your faith in Christ, and you lean on him, you no longer have to muster the will power to say no to tempting treats. Instead, say to yourself “I can do all things through Christ.” When you don’t feel like getting off the couch to go to the gym, say to yourself, “I can do all things through Christ,” when you haven’t seen the scale budge in a long time and you feel like quitting, say to yourself “I can do all things through Christ.” Through Jesus Christ our lord, all things are possible, and faith in him will help us achieve our goals no matter how difficult or impossible they may seem.  

Will You Get Old With Vitality, or With Disease?

Your decision to get into shape is the best decision you can make, not only for yourself but for the loved ones in your life. I recently saw a commercial produced by the Heart and Lung Association of Canada that powerfully juxtaposed two alternative outcomes of an aging man. The commercial is shot in a split-screen format and in the beginning scene the man’s foot is slipping into a hospital slipper while in the other screen it is slipping into a running shoe. The narrator sullenly asks “what will your last ten years look like, will you be quick enough for a game of tag with your grandchild, strong enough to embrace every moment?” On screen you see the man, sickly and near death, being assisted by a nurse take sips from a straw. In the other screen the man is sipping from a juice box held by his granddaughter.

“Will you get old with vitality, or with disease?” The commercial is a powerful warning that the way we live today is going to have serious consequences in the future, the choices we make now will determine the quality of our lives down the road. This message should be enough to get you off the couch and into the gym, to say no to the bad habits that are keeping you from being healthy. God does not want this kind of life for you, instead he wants you to be strong of body, mind and soul, to live your life to the fullest with zest, confidence and good health. The Bible says “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well (3 John 1:2). How do you imagine your last ten years of life? Will you be alive with the spirit of the Lord, physically able to enjoy your family and friends, strong enough to enjoy the activities that are important to you? I believe God wants this for all of his people, make the change today and you will live long and healthy enough to be glad you did.     

The First Thing That Has to Change is Your Mind

Your decision to transform your body must begin with the transformation of your thinking. Romans 12:2 tells us “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” No matter how much will power you think you have or how hard you try to stick to your diet and exercise program, the state of your mind will determine whether you will be ultimately  successful or not.  Renewing your mind means first and fore most to accept Jesus Christ into your life and ask him to be your lord and savior, by doing so you will begin a life transformation beyond your wildest dreams. But renewing your mind also means to reject the trappings of our modern culture such as the desire for instant gratification, excess and selfishness. When you acknowledge that God is in control, and that he alone directs your destiny, you will find peace and fulfillment. God cares about you personally and he wants you to succeed in the goals you have set for yourself. When you renew your mind and believe deep in your heart that you are worthy and capable of achieving a healthy, fit body you will achieve it. It might take a while, you will have times when you want to give up, and it will be difficult, but with God and a renewed mind all things are possible.  

A Few Suggestions For Your Transformation Journey

Over the years I have learned a lot about exercise and nutrition by personal experience, trial and error, and wide reading and I would like to share with you what I have learned along the way. Following these suggestions will help you advance towards your goals. But remember, even the best plan is useless if you don’t stick to it.     

1. Have a goal and remind yourself daily what it is. As the old adage goes “fail to plan, plan to fail” a body transformation is all about planning. Planning your nutrition, workouts, water intake, etc Think of it like taking a trip to a place that you have never been to before, you don’t just get in the car and start driving around (let’s pretend it is 2003 and you don’t have a smartphone with  GPS) you get a map and plan your journey, that’s what a goal is, your end destination. Once you have visualized your goal and you know what you want to achieve, write it down and put it in a conspicuous place. I put mine on a 3X5 index card and tape it to my bathroom mirror. One other word about goal setting, your goal should be specific and obtainable. Your goal should also be achievable within a reasonable amount of time. I remember being 18 years old and thinking if I really work out hard I could look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in six months, um… not going to happen. Losing a pound of body fat by next week, or dropping a dress size is achievable and you should commit to your goals. You should set goals short term, about a month or two, medium term about six months, and long term 1-3 years.                         
2. Do not weigh yourself every day.  Once a week is fine, but make sure you do so first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Your weight will fluctuate greatly due to water retention caused by sodium consumption. A more useful gage of progress is the mirror. When you start seeing results in the mirror this will be more significant than a number on the scale. Keep track of your progress using a progress log. You might also want to take transformation pictures along the way. Sometimes we forget what we looked like when we started, and it is very motivating to see the changes over a period of time.   
3. Enjoy the process. A total body transformation should be a long-term goal, it is a marathon not a sprint. Do not expect to look like a fitness model in the next few months, your transformation is about you, not someone else. Each of us was created by God to be exceptional, and we have unique genetics, as a result your body will respond to diet and exercise differently. You are going to have to experiment along the way to figure out what works best for you. That is why your transformation will be both art and science. Remember if the journey were easy you would see a lot less obese people, transforming your physical appearance will require you to reprogram your brain as well, it will be difficult, but nothing worth having ever comes easy. Remember if Christ put transforming your body on your heart, then he has already equipped you to face this challenge.
4. You will mess up. You will have those days in which you don’t feel like exercising or sticking to your nutritional plan, the key is to pick yourself up, and start again where you left off. One bad day of eating is not going to send you back to square one, but you should try to understand why you did what you did. In other words try to figure out your “triggers” and have a plan in place for when you are in that situation again. For example, if someone at your workplace brings cookies to work every Friday and you find yourself compelled to eat as many as you can, put a plan in place to deal with this trigger. You could have a protein shake, eat an apple or munch on some almonds to help you weather the storm.     
5. Drink water and lots of it. Water will help you keep hydrated but it will also help in fat loss by keeping you feeling full and by assisting in the metabolic processes associated with burning fat. Water consumption is also important to keep your body functioning properly and helps eliminate toxins.
6. Give yourself a reward for staying on track. You will need to have a psychological release from the calorie restriction and healthy eating, plan on a cheat meal as a “pat on the back” for a job well done. Your cheat meal will depend on you, in terms of how long you can diet before needing one, I would start by having no more than two cheats a week. The key here is to plan them and to not go overboard. You want to satisfy your sweet tooth or craving for a cheeseburger, but not eat the entire value menu. Your will power or commitment to your goals will be strengthened over time just like your muscles. In the beginning you will not have very much of it, but as you experience success in your transformation journey you will notice that it will become easier to say no to those temptations. This is your mind growing stronger!           
7. Diet alone is not enough. You must exercise, and preferably incorporate some kind of resistance training. There are several reasons for this, the first being it is important for overall health. I am sure you have heard the expression “use it or lose it” and that is exactly what happens with our muscles, if they are not used they become weaker, and unfortunately the older we get the quicker this happens. Muscles are what give shape to our bodies, if you are looking for that lean and sculpted look than weight resistance training is exactly what the doctor ordered, don’t worry training with weights or other forms of resistance such as exercise bands and your own body weight will not make you big and bulky like a bodybuilder, instead you will find this kind of training will tone your muscles and make them stronger. Have you ever heard of skinny fat? This is what happens when people are not necessarily overweight, but carry a high percentage of bodyfat without discernible muscle tone. In addition weight resistance training will help you burn more overall calories throughout the day. It will do this by using energy to perform the exercises but the benefits will continue long after you have put the weights down due to the “afterburner effect.” This means that your body will continue to burn calories after the workout, in fact weight training has shown to be much more efficient at burning body fat than long drawn out cardio vascular workouts. Lastly, think of muscles as the body’s engine. Like a car, your body needs fuel to run just like an engine needs gas, the larger the engine the more fuel is consumed. Therefore the more muscle you have as a total percentage of your body, the more calories you will burn, even in a resting state!         
8. The best diet and exercise program is the one you will stick with.