Get Healthy and Get in Shape!

Enough is Enough.

With the new life in uptown, new baby, new church plant, camp pastor for MLab again, and taking summer classes...it has certainly been a far from normal summer. One of the main areas of my life that has slipped is my personal fitness. I have always been a pretty disciplined dude in this area of my life. Throughout high school and college I played competitive basketball, so that always kept me in shape. Since then, I feel like I have done a pretty good job staying in the gym...but then came this summer.

Stats tell us that 2 out of 3 adults in America are out of shape. When you take a look at most congregations and pulpits, you will confirm that the church is possibly even worse. I have always been aggravated by the majority of Christ-followers in our country (especially pastors) who take a stand against drinking, partying, and drugs but look like a beach whale. This is completely hypocritical. The sin of gluttony is as serious as the rest of sins we love to highlight. If you don't think this is serious, read Proverbs 23:2: "Put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony". I believe God desires for us to engage in two activities. #1 Repent, #2 Eat & Get Healthy.


I just returned from the gym above. This is Temple Gym on Magazine St. The owner, Gus, has blessed Andrew and I with permission to work out here. Our church meets above his gym for worship. In the middle of my workout today I took a bathroom break. In the bathroom was a scale. Here is what I found out:


Right now I am 210lbs. I am not a freakin whale, but for me this is not good. In college I was a solid 185. This summer I have not taken care of my body and I repent for my irresponsibility with the body that Christ has given me. I refuse to be another fat husband/pastor/friend. Anytime that I have gotten serious about my physical health it has had a great impact upon my spiritual health. That is motivation enough. Now it is time to get healthy and get in shape.

Below is my plan until 2009. If you feel convicted about your health, I want to invite you and challenge you to take this journey with me. Don't worry about following my plan, find something that works for you. The main point is to get healthy and get in shape. My goal weight is to return to my college b-ball playing weight of 185lbs. That is 25lbs. I am going to post my weight each Sunday for accountability.

Strategy:

Get Healthy: 6 smaller, healthier meals a day for 6 days. (meal times: 7:30-8, 10-10:30, 12:30-1, 2:30-3, 4:30-5, 7-7:30) 1 free day (eat what I want) each week. (go to Body for Life for tips)
Work Out: 3 days of weightlifting with 15 minutes of cardio. 3 days of cardio (45-60 minutes). options: running, biking, crosstrainer, bball, tennis, rollerblading, etc. 1 day off.

There it is. Enough is enough. I would love for some of you to join me in this journey. Let me know how I can pray for you and encourage you to get in shape.