For me, my health was deteriorating; High Blood Pressure (Hypertension), High Cholesterol, Weight Gain, Sluggishness, Skin Cancer, Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), and Sleep Apnea. I was a train wreak waiting to happen. So my reason had to be something that was stronger than my own will.
Now, I believe that all people are comprised of Body, Mind, and Spirit (soul). We are going to be working on the body part, but we have to remember the other two. Our minds have to be challenged and conditioned to keep going; this can be accomplished in a number of ways which we will tackle in a later blog. Our spirit has to be alive and working in order to complete our lives. You can check out http://whatisbibletruth.blogspot.com to help on the spiritual stuff.
My reason for exercise was my relationship to God, my wife and my kids. The Bible tells me that my “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in me, whom I have from God and I am not my own.” (1 Corinthians 6:19) I am also told that I am here on this earth for a purpose and that God has a plan for my life.
Philippians 1:21-24 states "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better (for me). Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you."I firmly believe that we are all here for a purpose and that nothing is a coincidence. We are all here for a special reason. My life here on earth is to FIRST do what God wants me to do. Well, how do I know what that is? The Bible tells me what God wants of my life. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells me to "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." SECOND, my life here is to love my wife. This one is more of a challenge. Ephesians 5:25 informs me that I am to love my wife just as "Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for it." That is tough since Jesus died on a cross for the church, but I will try. THIRD, I am here for my kids. 1 Timothy 5:8 states "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." LASTLY, I am here for anyone else who may benefit from my existance. So there you have it, long and detailed, but it carries me through those days when I don't "feel" like exercising or when the pain is too much to bear. The above lists the motivation for my exercise, but why do I exercise?
I exercise so I can be healthy and more physically fit to fulfill the above items. If I die early or young because of an unhealthy life, I'm blessed because I go to heaven, but those here on earth are not blessed from God's work in and through my life. If I'm healthy, I am more ready to do what God wants me to do, I am strengthened to love my wife when I don't "feel" like it, I'm here to help my kids grow up to be productive members of world, and I'm here to bless you.
Find your reason why you want to exercise and let me know what it is.
For me, I've lost about 40lbs. The turning point for me as a fat man (acutally according to my BMI I was "obese") was when I went for my physical. My blood pressure results indicated that each time I visited the doctor, my blood pressure was showing an upward trend. The doctor said if it continues I'd have to treat it medically. I thought to myself ok so what's next ...more pills? I hate pills. A coule of weeks later I was trying to buy some new mountain bike shorts (the baggy style) and discoverd I could no longer fit into the size I'd always bought. The next size up ended up being too long and my ankles were showing and made me look short and stocky. No, they wont do. I was disappointed. The following week, the frame on my mountain bike cracked. This was a fatman penalty, and this being my hobby was going to be expensive. I was really upset. Had I been 50lbs lighter I'd still be riding that bike. Other signs included not being able to keep up with my son while in Boy Scouts, and bonking out on BSA hikes. Most of all my reasons for loosing the weight is because I needed to be there for my son and my wife for the long term. Hobbies come and go, but family is forever. Now, there is a downside to this, and my wife being at least 70lbs overweight does not share the same views about weight control and why she needs to loose it. She continues to eat Mc Donalds, eats rich fatty resturaunt food and trying to get her to exercise is impossible. She drinks Pepsi all day long instead of water. If I could get this one habit changed it would make a significant improvement in her health. She is medicated for high blood pressure and needs prayer.
ReplyDeleteWombat,
ReplyDeleteDon't give up. My wife was the same. After about a year of exercising regularly, she started to get interested.
I purchased the P90X series on DVD for her and the kids. I didn't pester her, but just kept going on. Finally, she put the first DVD of P90X on the TV and tried it.
After a few months on P90X, she switched to a Walk Fit program and she started Weight Watchers. We both still look fat, but our health is improving everyday. And the desire to eat junk is going away. I notice that when I eat poorly, my workout the next day is very hard. Keep going.
Sorry about the bike, I know those are expensive.