Please read Project F6 = Faith, Project F6 = Family, and Project F6=Fun before you read this if  you haven’t already…

Fitness…Before I start, let me say, this is without a doubt the hardest category in Project F6 for me.  This is one area that I am weak in, but still work towards.  I strongly believe in and have been convicted over the years about this area.  Fitness is a term that I am using for our over all health.  Not just our weight (although that is a part) but also the amount of rest we get, the exercise we do, the mental health, and the lifestyle we live. If you’re not taking good care of your health, you may have cancer years from now. If health and cancer related blog interests you, look for Hope 4 Cancer site online.

God cares about our body and so should we.  Our health makes a big difference in the way we approach life.  If we are always tired and worn out how will we give energy to the things we are called to do? If we aren’t taking care of our body how will we live strong in order to fulfill all the things God has called us to work at? Fitness is a big part of the Christian life that is most often overlooked or not talked about at all.  Our body is the temple of God, it is what houses His Spirit within us, we should treat it with honor and respect.  If we don’t take the time to take care of ourself then we will miss out on many things in life.  The older I get the more I see the importance of health and fitness.  I am still on the journey of putting God and fitness together.  Realize that we can only live and do the things we want to do if we are alive and healthy.  Pretty simple, but a profound truth.

I think there are 4 areas that need to be fit…

1. Food

Being careful of the kind of food we eat, and how much food we eat.  I LOVE FOOD, so this is the hardest area in my life to control.  As you know from F6 = Fun, one of my hobbies is cooking and eating.  I truly enjoy eating new foods and trying new ideas and combos of food.  I have to be careful about this and honestly I am not careful enough many times.  The one thing that keeps me somewhat in line is I try to give and take.  What I mean by that is, I have days where I eat whatever I want and enjoy foods, but then try to off-set that by laying low and eating better foods on a more consistent bases.  If I didn’t do this I would weight about 573 pounds.  I find that I go through seasons of eating well and other times not so well.  The goal of course is to make sure that I keep my food balanced and be careful to not let it control me.

2. Exercise

This area is a little easier for me than food.  I have been running 3-5 times a week on the treadmill for 9 years now.  However, there are times that I miss some weeks and have even gone some months without a consistent pattern over the years.  On average I run about 8 months out of the year consistently.  I hate to run, but I love to run.  I find that exercise keeps my confidence up, my health up, and my weight down.  It gives me energy, more breath, and more stamina, as well as helps me sleep better. Many people also love the effects of phentermine together with proper diet and exercise. It builds up a running and exercise regime and gets the body into shape.  Erin and I did P90x and I really enjoyed the discipline of that program, we didn’t completely finish it but were very close.  My goal one day is to make it through the 90 day program.  Whatever the case I think it is important to do something that brings exercise, wether that is running, walking, playing sports, hiking, working out, etc.. just do something. Get discount on your gears by getting Fanatics coupons.

3. Rest

This is so important.  Your body and mind can only function with proper rest.  If you don’t not get the rest you need, you will begin to slow your performance in life.  It is vital that we take time to rest and relax, our health depends on it.  God created the Sabbath so we would slow down and rest.  Hey, even God rested on the 7th day.  If God took a rest you better believe we need it.  The funny things about rest is if you get too little you will slow down, but if you get too much you will slow down as well.  You have to find your sweet spot when it comes to rest.  Too much can be just as bad as too little.  I actually took about 4-5 months to track my sleeping patterns and created a plan out of the results.  It helped me identify how much I needed and how well I function at times.

4. Mental

Our mental health is just as important as our physical health.  What we put into our minds makes a difference in our energy level.  When our minds are filled with stress, depression, and anxiety so goes our health.  Our physical health is directly related to our mental health, as our mental health is directly related to our physical health.  We need to filter what we allow to enter our minds and thoughts.  We need to find proper and healthy ways to control our stress and deal with our emotions or they will control us and deal with us.  Taking time to vacate and get away is very healthy.  I hear about people all the time who haven’t taken a vacation for years, that is NOT healthy.  We were designed to get away from camp and retreat.  Jesus got away from others and spent time retreating.  He went up the mountain, into the garden, out on the boat.  We need to make sure we are mentally taking care of ourself in order to effectively do what God has called us to do.

So what is your plan or your map to make sure you are getting “Fitness” time in your life? If you have no map you will NEVER have time for “Fitness”.

Get a map for your “Fitness” time and live it out.  Here are some ideas for your Fitness Map…

Project F6

Fitness

Purpose: My health 

Question: Am I taking care of my body?

First, take out a piece of paper and write “Fitness” at the top, and then put a circle around it.  Now, using one word, write down a sub-category that you feel is the most important under the banner of “Fitness” (see examples below).  Put a circle around that word and draw a line connecting this circle with the “Fitness” circle.  You can have as many sub-categories as you want, but don’t go too overboard for now.  Better to start small and work your way up to more later.  For example…some of my sub-categories for “Fitness” are…

Fitness

– Food

– Exercise

– Rest

– Mental

Now that you have taken the time to map out the sub-categories that are most important under “Fitness”, take it one step further.  Under each sub-category begin to write down the things that will help you accomplish these areas.  For example, my things are…

Food

– Meal Planning

– Event (are there any days (date nights, party, holiday, etc…) that I will eat whatever, this way I can plan accordingly)

Exercise 

– Running

– P90X

Rest

– Sleep

– Relaxing

You can continue to break down each category into action steps to help you define what you are going to do in each area.  For example here are some of my areas broken down…

Fitness

Meal Planning

– Weekly lunch/dinner menu

Running

– 3-5 times a week

– 2-3 miles 

Sleep

– 5-7 Hours 

– Schedule weekly plan