It’s encouraging to see others who actually see and believe that eating any and everything is a major lack of discipline and doesn’t honor God. The Bible says that our bodies are a dwelling place for God’s Spirit. Paul, says that he “beat” his body into submission, which translates into being the boss of our body and not giving in to every whim and craving. Exercise and eating right is the only way to accomplish this.

Many people that want to shed excess weight immediately go into “dieting” which in a sense is the worst thing you can do. If you diet and don’t exercise, then as soon as you stop dieting you’ll gain back the excess. If you continue to diet the rest of your life, you’ll curse your existence and hate everyone else for enjoying that cheesecake in front of you.

The only true solution then, is to make a lifestyle change. This is the hardest thing for anybody. We can start a diet. We can even start to exercise, but if we don’t change our lifestyle permanently, it won’t last. I’ve struggled majorly with a few excess pounds, everyone tells me I look fine the way I am, but trust me, I KNOW that I’m carrying around about 15-20 excess pounds and it just drains me.

My wife and I started at the beginning of the year on a great program called Body for Life. I recommend it. I’ve already seen some great physical changes in my body. I haven’t lost any significant weight, though. I chalk that up the fact that I’m lifting weights vigorously and adding musclemass at the same time I’m burning away some fat. What has changed is my shape. My pants are falling off, and my sleeves are getting tight around my biceps and shoulders! Yay.

We’ve taken a few weeks off. We’re going to get started again with another cycle next week probably.

Tip: to see significant change in you body you need to do 3 things.

1. Make a lifestyle change. Do it. Just do it.
2. Get a partner (or 2). Be accountable to someone.
3. Track your progress. Take pics, keep a chart, blog about it. This really helps you stay on course.

Have a great day!

Russ

Quick update on how our journey is going.

We started in January full-steam ahead and went 6 weeks hardcore. In those six weeks I was thrilled to see my body begin to change shape and my metabolism speed up a bit. Weeks 7 – 9 weren’t quite as intense as the novelty of the B4L program began to wear off and all that was left was the routine. We didn’t totally blow it, but we began to eat a snack here and there, mostly related to our involvement in student ministry and group gatherings. Our workout routine stayed pretty steady, we missed a few days. Weeks 10-12 were not all that great. Our workout routine fell off to almost non-existent. I got a flu-like cold, compounded by allergies and had absolutely no energy or desire to work out. All in all are eating habits have been pretty consistent, as we only shop once a week and by only healthy foods.

I guess our biggest weakness this first 12 weeks, was giving in to NOT working out. I think our eating was great, but our exercise regiment kind of fell off.

So here we are at the beginning of another 12 week cycle and hopefully by April 27, my 30th birthday, I’ll be in great shape!

Have a great week!
Russ

We decided to switch it up a bit. So now we’re doing Cardio on M, W, F, and weights on T, Th, S…

We’ll see how that goes.

God’s Best,
Russ

We’re going to hit the campus tonight I think, and run outside. It’s very pleasant weather. But I’m thinking we’re doing pretty good to get through about 7 weeks before we hit our first rough patch. It’s been a crazy busy week!

Well, anyways. Back to work!

God’s Best
Russ

I turn 30 on April 27th, so I hope to see a huge difference in my before and after photos!

I had chicken and rice with broccoli for lunch today. For breakfast, I scarfed down a bowl of oatmeal and a small portion of low-fat cheese. For my mid-morning snack, I had an orange and another small portion of low-fat cheese.

This weekend was a little crazy, so we kind of had a free weekend (Saturday & Sunday) instead of a free day. I didn’t over do it though. We were busy and had very long days each day, so the workout didn’t happen on Sat.

All in all though, I’m excited to be able to say that we’ve worked out and ate very healthy for 8 weeks! It’s awesome. I’ve noticed that I feel more energized and I really believe my immune system is a lot healthier since I’ve been eating a 1-2 pieces of fruit each day.

I’m really craving our sloppy joes though. Maybe we can have them again next week. We have a great recipe from the Eating for Life cookbook.

God’s Best!
Russ