Are You Too Busy to Squeeze Fitness Into Your Day?

By Laurette Willis –

Is it a challenge to squeeze fitness into your day? There are ways to incorporate health and fitness for spirit, soul and body into your day—and actually have more time and energy to do all you’re called to do.

Hectic schedules seldom leave time for two very important parts of a well-balanced life: our relationship with God and keeping our bodies strong and healthy. God wants us to put Him first. Yet before I made time with the Lord a daily priority, I wondered why I never seemed to have enough time. Without realizing it, the rest of my life was suffering because I didn’t have my priorities in the right order. But when I began investing time in my relationship with the Lord first, I found the peace and wisdom to handle whatever came my way the rest of the day.

Faith AND Fitness!

Why not combine the two—faith and fitness? The Lord delights to be a part of everything we do—even exercise! One woman I know respectfully calls Him her “Personal Trainer.” Suddenly physical activity is no longer drudgery but an extension of our worship time with Him. In His presence, the joy of the Lord lifts and strengthens us spiritually, emotionally and physically.

Here are 5 quick ideas to make the most out of a short amount of time:

1. Cut workouts in half and squeeze in a 10- or 20-minute session instead of your normal workout. These mini-workouts can still produce lasting results and keep you from putting off working out until tomorrow, the day after or next week. Make use of the time you DO have.

2. Get up a little earlier. Either ask the Lord to awaken you earlier, or set the alarm clock 30 minutes earlier to pray and get a workout in before your day starts.

3. Lunch break: Divide your lunch hour in half and devote 30 minutes to exercise before you eat. Curb your appetite and boost your metabolism at the same time!

4. Nap time: If you have children at home, squeeze in a 10- or 15-minute workout while they’re napping.

5. Commercial break: Instead of vegging out in front of the TV, use the three to five minutes during the commercials to get some exercise in. I keep my exercise mat and rebounder (mini-trampoline) in the living room so I can stretch or bounce-bounce-bounce through some of my favorite TV shows.

Better yet, speak aloud your Bible-based confessions for the day while working out, walking, running on the treadmill…you get the idea! Combine faith and fitness in every way you can.

Changing Your “Want To”

What is your “want to”? Make a decision to add at least 20 minutes of exercise into your day (30-60 minutes is even better!). Commit your decision to the Lord and ask Him to help you. I guarantee, you’ll quit saying that you are too busy. Instead, you’ll suddenly find you are able to have a few minutes here and there that you can devote to becoming a “Fit Witness for Christ!”

Christian Fitness Expert Laurette Willis is the Director of PraiseMoves Fitness Ministry (http://praisemoves.com). Hear the latest in faith and fitness at http://ChristianFitnessTeleseminar.com. Get her free “21-Day Christian Fitness Program” and “Fit Favorites Devotional” http://praisemoves.com.

The Stress Effect and Your Health

By Don Otis –

I was having dinner recently with a friend who works for our local power plant. He told me that half of his employees are on anti-depressants. Pharmaceuticals have become a way of like for many, if not most Americans.

When I went in for a treadmill test last year, a nurse asked me to fill out a form explaining which medications I was on. After I turned it in, she said, “Excuse me, I think you missed a section.” I didn’t miss the section; I just didn’t have anything to put in there. I asked her if this was unusual. She said, “Everybody is on something these days.”

Stress is a killer. Stress will tear you down physically, emotionally and spiritually. According to a new book, The Healing Code, stress is directly linked to 95 percent of all illnesses. Stress is linked to cancer, emotional disorders and even heart disease. The long terms effects of stress are enormous. As Christ-followers, we may believe that we should be impervious to stress. I disagree. As humans, we live in a fallen and broken world where stress predominates. The question isn’t whether we will have stress; it is how we deal with the stress.

If stress is prolonged, it weakens our immune systems. When our immune systems are unable to perform as God designed them, our physical defenses are unable to ward off sickness, disease and viruses.

Many of us live in a continual state of fight or flight, grabbing breakfast on the run, driving to work in stressful traffic, working through our lunch breaks, running kids to school or sports, committee meetings, small groups–you name it. We live hurried and harried lives. This lifestyle takes a toll on us. It saps us of our energy, keeps us from sleeping soundly and can even put pressure on our relationships.

Over time, this stress leaves us vulnerable to disease. But what can we do?

First, as followers of Christ, we lean into Him and on Him. He says, “Come unto Me all, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 NIV). He knows we worry and stress over life and He gives us hope in Himself.

The second thing you can do is to become active. I remember years ago when my father was in such depression that he was curled in a fetal position inside a room in my house for days. The room was dark. He refused to eat or to get up. One day I finally said, “Dad, I’m going to the running track and you’re going with me!” He did. I ran and he walked. It was the turning point for him. All of us feel overwhelmed at times. We just want to run away or medicate ourselves into numbness. Don’t.

When we exercise, we combat the stress in our lives, build our immune systems, and send oxygen-rich blood to our brains and extremities. The stress-effect will destroy us while the exercise-effect will help cleanse the impurities from our bodies. The more we elevate our heart rates through aerobic exercise (walking, biking, swimming, running, hiking), the more we build our heart and lung muscles. We also send the cleansing stream of blood pulsating through our bodies, which helps clean out our delivery systems.

Life is tough. Stress is toxic. God has given us avenues to overcome.

Don S. Otis (don@veritasincorporated.com) is an ACE Certified personal trainer, the author of Keeping Fit after 40 and Whisker Rubs: Developing the Masculine Identity. He is the president of Veritas Communications, a Christian publicity agency based in Canon City, Colorado.

There’s Strength in Numbers

By Julie Morris –

If you have been in a Christian weight-loss group, you already know. If you’re just getting ready to join, you are about to find out first-hand: It will be life-changing! With the help of your group, you’ll be able to do things you would never be able to do alone. There is strength in numbers.

Do you know why?

In your group, you have friends who love you unconditionally. They won’t judge you, give unwanted advice or talk about you behind your back. They are like the family you may have never experienced. They encourage you to make healthy life-style changes even when it’s hard and you want to give up.

That’s why God exhorts us to get together with others when he says: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25 NIV).

You have two very important things in common with others in your group: a problem with food, and a desire to get to know God better. You don’t have to pretend with each other. You have hidden your hurts, but now you can relax. You’re among friends. It’s a relief to find others who think the same way you do, have struggled with the same things and have made the same mistakes.

You come from all denominations, different backgrounds and various ages. It doesn’t matter. When you relate without masks, you understand each other. When you walk in someone’s shoes, you know them and appreciate them. When you look at life through their eyes, you are able to see your own better.

Your goal is not just to lose weight, it’s to draw closer to God and become more like the person you’ve always wanted to be.

In Christian weight-loss groups, growth is contagious! You inspire each other. You see how God has helped those in the group and what they are doing to know him better, and your faith grows. You hear yourself say, “If they can do it, so can I!” You want to change, and, because you have a mighty God and the encouragement of your group, you know you can.

The love in Christian weight-loss groups is a real example of Christian community. You listen, empathize, pray for and help each other. You don’t take responsibility to “fix” each other or carry other members’ burdens because you know you have a wonderful God who is far better able to do that. You care about each other and share what God is doing in your lives. You study His Word together and confess your weaknesses to each other. And, together, you recognize choices where you thought you had no choice. You grow and learn and face the future with a new sense of expectancy because the love and acceptance in you group free you up from things that have held you prisoner.

There’s something else special about each Christian weight-loss group: it’s a safe place. Because you don’t judge each other and are careful with confidentiality, you can be yourselves, take off your masks, be honest about your mistakes–both accidental and premeditated–and no one will criticize you or gossip about you. Even better, no one will make you feel guilty or (heaven forbid) lecture you. You are loved and accepted just as you are.

Now that fall is in the air, why don’t you consider joining a weight-loss group or even starting your own? There are many groups available to choose from. What do you have to lose… besides extra pounds!

Julie Morris (julie@guidedbyhim.com) is the author of 12 books and founder of two Christian weight-loss programs: Step Forward (www.stepforwarddiet.com) and a lighter and easier version of Step Forward, Guided By Him (www.guidedbyhim.com).

Fuel-up with “Cross-Bearing” Veggies!

By Laurette Willis –

It is recommended we eat 5-9 servings of fruit and vegetables every day to nourish our bodies, prevent disease and control our weight. For most Americans, that means another helping of French fries and tomato ketchup, but not for those of us seeking godly fitness! Read more

Going Solo

By Don Otis –

I set out on a mountain bike ride recently on the back side of Pikes Peak in my home state of Colorado.  It was atop this behemoth of a mountain that Katherine Lee Bates wrote “America the Beautiful” in 1893, first as a poem. The peak dominates the west side of Colorado Springs and is the easternmost 14,000-foot mountain in the United States. Read more

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