Oops, I did it again

My mother-in -law makes exceptional chocolate chip cookies. Every time we go to see her, she always has a fresh bag full of them for us to take home and enjoy. They really are a nice treat and I have always been a sucker for chocolate chip cookies.
Obviously this type of snack doesn't it lend itself to my regular eating plan so I decided when she gives us cookies, I'll eat them as quickly as possible and use that as my "cheat" day. Needless to say, I eat a ton of cookies in a short amount of time, so it's not so "bad." Well, this morning I woke up with a terrible headache. I rested terribly and have felt a bit anxious all day. This happens to me every time I fall off the sugar wagon.
It just goes to prove that your diet can and will have a huge effect on your life. If you eat like crap, expect to feel that way too. Garbage in, garbage out (No offense mom)

Get Smart

Do you remember in high school when the term dumb jock was used to describe our athletes. Now, I'll be the first to admit there are some athletes out there who are just a few cards short of a full deck. In fact, my freshman year in college, we had the Scholar Male Athlete of the year with something like a 3.98gpa. Meanwhile, the team gpa was 2.2...you do the math. There were some people on that team barely staying afloat.

However, research has shown that people engaging in exercise actually have improved mental function. That means that exercise actually makes you smarter. The next time you need to be fully with it mentally, take some time and get a quick workout. Your brain will thank you.

Don't Burn the Day

Back in the late 90's, the Dave Matthews Band was my favorite group. What do you expect though, they seemed to be every college kids' favorite. I listened to them at the house, in the car and even at the gym to workout. Their combination of real instruments and meaningful lyrics was a nice change to the "pop" craze that was overtaking the airwaves.

DMB had a song that talked about not, "burning the day." In essence, don't waste the day, it's too important. Take advantage of every opporunity. I really liked that song and still think about it often. The song goes right along with the bible verse that says, "This is the day that the Lord hath made, Rejoice and Be glad in it."

As I've gotten older, I've began to realize how many days I've "burned" over the years. We are so easily distracted that it is actually common to waste minutes and hours doing meaningless stuff. With the combination of email, facebook, youtube etc, it's absolutely possible to spend hours online everyday and never watch the same thing twice.

Another way to burn the day is to not take care of yourself physically. If I eat poorly, don't exercise and sleep 4-6 hours a night, I am effectively burning the day because I can't give all I have to it. If we would make some minor lifestyle changes we would be so much more productive at work, at home, everywhere!

I recently challenged myself to be in bed by 10pm each night. I haven't succeeded every evening but I am quite aware of the difference in my attitude, focus and drive when I go to bed 45-60 minutes earlier.

Be passionate about today! Live a life worthy of your calling.

The Young and The Restless

If you've ever wondered how important rest is to your entire being, trying taking care of a sick 12 week daughter. This past saturday night, I stayed up the entire night with my daughter Riley. She had contacted a cold or something that gave her horrible congestion. Anyway, long story short, I did not sleep a wink on Saturday night.

Sunday presented some interesting situations and I re-learned the importance of sleep. I had an extremely short fuse with my son and other family members. I was extremely unfocused with no desire to do anything. I ate extremely poor because I didn't have the extra energy to make a good meal. (Interestingly, this made me even more tired, irrational and cranky...can you see the circle that many people live in?)

Thankfully I have wonderful parents and a wonderful wife who allowed me to grab a nice nap on Sunday afternoon and a good nights sleep Sunday. I'm now back to living the PIES lifestyle and I feel great.

Never take for granted the importance of each of the rest in living a productive and healthy life.

Looking for more guidance to healthy living? Email me

Got any fat genes?

Alot of my clients have fat jeans and skinny jeans and can tell whether they are gaining or losing weight depending on which jeans they wear. But this genes thing is completely different.

In case you missed it, researchers have isolated what they believe to be a fat gene. That's right, a gene that some may carry that may make them predisposed to the chances of obesity. Pretty amazing huh.

I'm not sure how they found this gene, but have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen though. There will be thousands of people that will now claim that they can't be healthy because they have the fat gene. You know, it's a shame but God just made me this way.

Ok, newsflash for everyone: Just because you are predisposed to a condition doesn't mean you have to live it. God made us in His Image. He deeply desires for us to live whole, healthy lives. I'm pretty sure His image is not overweight, sedentary, chomping on snickers bars. So let's just be clear here. Just because there may be a gene that we carry that "could" makes us predisposed to obesity doesn't mean we have to be obese. That is a lifestyle choice.

I was wrong

I ended my blog on Tuesday using the quote, "You'll be swimming upstream" as something to be avoided. After giving it some thought, I think I was wrong. Maybe swimming upstream nowadays isn't such a bad idea.

We all know the health crisis our communities are in. 40 million people are expected to have diabetes. 66% of America is overweight. Maybe it's time to raise up some individuals that will swim upstream.

What I mean by this is that it is quite obvious that the way we are living is not working. Our current lifestyle leads to sickness, disease and death. It's time for a change. How about this, let's swim upstream. Let's lead a lifestyle of health and wholeness: One that understands Who made us and how He wants us to live. Let's exercise and be ready to serve. Let's eat well and have plenty of energy to go where He leads. Let's rest and recover so as to enjoy His blessings. Finally, let's do it together. What do you say?

No Man is an Island

Does this sound familiar? "I'll start on Monday." "I'll get started October 1st" "2009 will be the year I really get in shape." As a fitness coach, I hear these comments all the time being thrown around the gym. The truth of the matter is that although people may start "on monday" most likely they will quit in less than 3 weeks. The root of this problem isn't because they don't want to do it, it's because they take on Fitness alone.

Study after study has shown that individuals that have workout partners or meet with personal trainers are far more likely to succeed and stay fit then those that go it alone. Actually a recent study proves this once again.

"Researchers at the world famous Karolinska Institute wanted to findout why some men and women succeed at weight loss while others don't. They studied many men and women using an Internet Weight Loss Club,and found that the people who used the site the MOST also LOST the most weight. That means that going online for social support in your weight loss program is one of the most IMPORTANT things you can do."

The exciting thing is the study proves that even an online community or trainer can give you the support you need to succeed. Fit Church members know that Community is one of the Pillars of our program. We need to have community to keep us accountable, cheer us on and give us direction. Without community we are swimming upstream.

If you'd like to be part of a bunch of Believers striving to glorify God with their lives, Email Me Here!!