Saturday, December 14, 2013

7 Tips for a Healthy & Fit 2014

  
1- Make a decision. Make the decision that you will transform your life by the renewing of your mind. The first step to good health and fitness is to change your life. There is nothing about a fad diet or a fitness center membership that does that for you. You have to decide to do it all on your own. Anything else is just putting a band-aid on a problem.

2- Have a plan. When I made my decision 4 years ago, I decided to walk 25 miles a week. I had no intention in becoming a runner. It just happened. Running did not cause me to lose weight. Walking and healthy eating did. You should exercise by doing something fun! Biking, swimming, hiking, walking, lifting weights, running....it doesn't matter. If you don't enjoy it, you will quit.

3- Set a goal. I set a weight goal that I never reached. I wanted to weigh 190 pounds. I have maintained my weight at around 215 for 3 years. My weight, however, is not as important as living a healthy and fit life. My goal of 190 was the catalyst for a weight loss of 110 pounds in 16 months. You need a goal and you need to own it. Make your goal known through social media. It keeps you going. Not reaching the weight goal doesn't make you a failure as long as you have become healthy and fit.

4- Become obsessive. I have driven people crazy with my obsession of running. I have to be obsessed in order to maintain my healthy and fit life. Some people are obsessed about the Georgia Dawgs, I am obsessed about my health. What does it matter if the Dawgs win 10 straight national championships if you can't live to see it? Obsession is good if it's about the right thing, your life.

5- Educate yourself. I can tell you that when I started 4 years ago, I had no clue about healthy living. I have educated myself about what to eat. I am still learning every day. I have learned that we don't eat real food. We eat processed, fake food. Have you ever looked at the back of a Coke can? If the ingredients of your “food” looks more like a chemistry experiment, it's not good for you. Learn about real food and change your eating habits. You will learn to enjoy real food instead of processed junk.

6- Help others. You don't have to be as annoying as me but we have a responsibility to share what we have learned. I wish I had learned earlier in my life. I sure wish my Dad had been educated about good health and fitness. He died at age 53. Let's get with the program and help others learn about the joys of healthy and fit living. I have 2 grandsons. I want to live a long, healthy life and see them grow up.

7- It's a spiritual matter. Uh oh, I had to go there. I grew up in a “Holiness” church that stressed living a clean life....no drinking, no smoking, no “worldly entertainment,” no jewelry, no makeup, no shorts, no pants on women, no short hair on women or long hair on men, no, no no! But, nothing was ever said about being healthy concerning our food. We couldn't do anything but eat. As a result, we became an obese bunch. If God gave you a house to live in for a month, would you leave the place trashed? Then why would you trash this house He has given us? We have a responsibility to honor this temple He has blessed us with. It is not legalism but something we ought to do.
Let's do it!


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