Let’s Get Physical
Okay. The subtitle is going way back — all the way back to 1981 and the smash hit by Olivia Newton-John on her eleventh album. The song and the video for the song used the metaphor of exercise, but it was obviously about sex.
In this post, I literally want to write about physical health.
Before you continue reading, you should know that some of the facts and stats we’re about to discuss could be difficult or challenging to read. I hope you know that I’m writing as a friend, not as a critic.
In fact, let me describe my motivation for this post. I’m convinced that both my Dad and Mom died prematurely. They were both incredible people! If you never had the chance to meet them, you missed out on two really special people. If you did, you know what I mean.
My Dad had his first heart problems in his 40’s. At that time, his doctor challenged him to change his diet and begin to exercise. That if he made adjustments, he could live a long and healthy life. Unfortunately, Dad never adjusted. We lost him way too young. He passed in 2008.
There’s no way of knowing whether or not he would have still experienced brain cancer, but what we do know is that doctors could have treated the cancer more aggressively had his body not been so weakened by several heart attacks he had experienced before the cancer hit.
My mother experienced her first health problems a few months after my Dad’s passing. She, too, was encouraged to adjust her diet and add exercise to her life. Unfortunately, she also failed to adjust.
In 2011, the high blood pressure that was the result of a poor diet, probably brought on her first stroke. That stroke significantly changed my mother, leaving her significantly challenged in regards to her vision. The impact of the stroke, along with a poor diet, eventually led to Type 2 diabetes. But, even then, docs indicated to my mom, “Mrs. Goins, this too, can sometimes be reversed through diet and exercise.” Mom failed to adjust. We lost her in the fall of 2019.
I’ve missed my Dad for the last fourteen years. Sometimes the vacancy left by his passing feels overwhelming. I’ve missed my mom for the past two-and-a-half years.
Maybe you’re thinking, “But, Chris, it was just God’s time for your Dad. It was just God’s time for Your Mom.” Maybe? Maybe? This side of heaven, we’ll probably never know.
But I’m convinced that some events that occur in life don’t have anything at all to do with what some of us refer to as “the sovereignty of God.” They have more to do with the poor choices we make. This is why Bible passages like Galatians 6:7 hit with the force of a baseball bat to the temple:
“Don’t be misled — you can’t mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.” —GALATIANS 6:7 NLT
In other words, sometimes the bad things that happen to us in life are simply a result of the poor choices we’ve made. I know that this has been true for so many of the things that have occurred in my life.
In this post, I want to inspire and perhaps even challenge you to love your family and friends well by honoring God with your body.
Love your family and friends well by honoring God with your body!
Since I’m not a health and fitness expert, I’ll not complicate this post with complex diets or complicated exercise regimens. I’ll simply suggest three basic decisions we all can make.
Three Decisions:
A decision to:
- EAT in a way that fuels your body and mind for excellence.
- EXERCISE to gain strength and increase flexibility, mobility and endurance.
- REST in a way that reveals your faith and trust in God. This involves sleep and a concept called “Sabbath”
By making these three simple decisions, you’ll likely live longer, feel better, enjoy life more and honor the love of friends and family by taking actions to possibly prevent your premature passing.
The current health crisis in the U.S. is staggering.
According to the CDC, an unprecedented number of Americans are obese. 39.8% [1] of adults — that’s 1 in about every 3 Americans, or about 93 million people. [2]
On top of that, about 71.6% of Americans are overweight. That’s more than 2 in about every 3. [3]
Here are the consequences related to obesity and being overweight.
- Increased risk for Type 2 Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Increased risk for mental health issues [4]
- Heart disease
- Increased risk for stroke
- Increased risk for several types of cancer
And…
- Premature death — it causes about 1 in 5 deaths in the US every year.[5] It’s now the leading cause of preventable death and life-years lost in the US.[6] An unhealthy diet now contributes to 678,000 deaths each year! [7] We are literally eating ourselves to death.
The estimated annual health care costs of obesity-related illnesses are now a staggering $190.2 billion or nearly 21% of annual medical related spending in the US.
BTW, nine states in the US have obesity rates above the 35% mark.
Do you think Alabama was in the Top 9?
You bet!
It’s interesting that as recently as 2012, no state had an adult obesity rate over 35%. But, evidently, as stress has increased, stress eating has increased, as well.
Alabama is #6 on the list for highest obesity rates. In fact, more than half the states in the top 10 are in the south. Evidently one thing people love to do who live in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky and Alabama is that we love to EAT. We love our fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, corn bread and banana pudding and more.
Two Mind-Changing Truths About Fitness
There are two mind-changing truths that motivate and inspire me when it comes to my health and fitness journey.
- TRUTH #1: My BODY is a GIFT FROM GOD.
As a person of faith, I really believe that all of life is a gift, including my physical body. Because my body is a gift, I don’t have the right to misuse or abuse it. I need to honor the gift God has given me.
1 Corinthians 6:20 is a passage from the Bible that describes my responsibility to my body like this:
“…God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
—1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT
Your body — my body — is a gift from God. Which brings us to the second truth.
- TRUTH #2: What I do with my BODY is my GIFT BACK TO GOD.
Once again, here’s the way the Bible describes our responsibility when it comes to our physical health.
“You know the old saying, ‘First you eat to live, and then you live to eat’? Well, it may be true that the body is only a temporary thing, but that’s no excuse for stuffing your body with food, or indulging it with sex. Since the Master honors you with a body, honor him with your body!” —1 Cor 6:13 MSG
Don’t miss that last line: “Since the Master honors you with a body, honor him with your body!”
This is apparently a theme in the Bible. When we receive a gift, we should honor that gift by using it according to its design.
The question then becomes: How do I honor God with my body?
There’s a lot of science on this subject. If you want to dig deeper, a lot of really smart people have written a ton about the subject. But, when you get down to the bare basics, honoring God with your body involves the three basic decisions I mentioned earlier. It’s really that simple.
Three Basic Decisions
Today, you can make a decision to…
- EAT in a way that fuels your body and mind for excellence.
- EXERCISE to gain strength and increase flexibility, mobility and endurance.
- REST in a way that reveals your faith and trust in God. This involves sleep and a concept called “Sabbath”.
My Personal Fitness Journey
For several years I’ve attempted to honor God with my body in terms of diet and exercise. Unfortunately, those attempts didn’t always lead to success. However, in the Spring of 2021 I made a decision to spend $450 to hire a fitness coach to help me reach my fitness goals. Her name is Meag Hengeveld with Your4.Health. She gave me the tools, guidance and insight necessary to reach my goals. I highly recommend her. Please tell her that Chris sent you.
Before you object, I know that $450 is a lot of money. And, yes, it was a significant stretch when it came to our budget. But it was so worth it! Think of it this way — high blood pressure medicine or a hospital stay is even more expensive! So, it was definitely worth it! Because…
One year later, I’m more than 30 pounds lighter!
I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. For the first time in my life, I’m doing unassisted pull-ups and chin-ups!
On top of that, for the first time ever, I can actually see my abs. They’re not really a six-pack, but at least they’re there. (Nope, I won’t be posting pics.)
I’m sleeping better.
I’m taking Sabbath more often.
I feel terrific!
I’m in the best shape of my life.
With three grandchildren and maybe more on the way, I never want to have to say, “No!” to an opportunity to run, laugh, jump, laugh, play, love and experience life with family and friends due to poor choices I’ve made.
Why not make a decision to begin your journey towards fitness today?
After all…
Your body is a gift from God.
What you do with it, is your gift back to Him.
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
[2] https://www.tfah.org/report-details/stateofobesity2019/
[3] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm
[4] https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/28/health/americans-weight-gallup-poll-trnd/index.html
[5] https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2019-09-19/obesity-in-america-a-guide-to-the-public-health-crisis
[6] https://www.healio.com/primary-care/obesity/news/online/%7B282eb826-ae05-4260-86b7-3d69dc75c916%7D/obesity-no-1-cause-of-preventable-life-years-lost
[7] https://cspinet.org/eating-healthy/why-good-nutrition-important