Now on to the the long lost art of blogging. It seems I have been away far too long.

Some say life is a marathon. I say life is a series of runs. Some long and grueling and some short and downhill. Sometimes God assigns us to a race and sometimes He allows us to choose, in our brilliance or stupidity where and how we run (no God sovereignty comments here please). Right now I am on day 9 of 37 straight days of sprinting, and I am already tired. I feel the headwinds coming and I see an incline up ahead. What am I to do? Let’s look at the options.

1. Go hard then quit. A lot of people would simply say to me, “give it your best as long as you can and then don’t worry about it.” Tell that to wedding number 5 this month, or to the couple who is struggling in their marriage and need to talk to me even though I have already had 3 counseling sessions that day. Quitting is not an option for me or for you. It does not matter how hard you go if you do not finish. Remember the words of the Word. “Let your yes be yes. Do everything as to the Lord.” I could go on but you get it, right? Once you get in the starting blocks, you finish the race.

2. Gut it out and complain the whole way. This is my favorite. While I run, I can make sure and breathe hard, moan and limp a little, and mock those weaklings who haven’t got the guts to take on the load I am toting. Once again the Word trumps me. “Do all things without complaining. Rejoice in the Lord always, AGAIN I say REJOICE!”

3. Just slow down. Go ahead and kick into a jog and see how many people you let down. I know, I know, we can only do so much. We need balance, etc, etc. According to the Bible that is bull. Jesus was not looking for disciples pursuing balance. He was looking for disciples who would take up the cross, run with endurance, and run to win. Joggers don’t win much. They have well regulated breathing and steady heart rates, but they don’t win the race.

4. Put your head back, run hard, and remember Who is running in you. It hit me today on the treadmill. I was in mile 4, hating life, despising the run, looking at the miles ahead with dread and anger (both metaphorically and literally). Then I remembered something. Yep, it was from the Word again. “I am with you ALWAYS. Christ in YOU the hope of glory. I can do ALL things through Him.” Do I need to continue? I re-focused, sped up the machine, and finished the run. Yes, I was tired but I was also strengthened by the renewing of my mind. Without Christ I am puny, but in Him I am a warrior who can keep running until the rest comes.

I hope to see you a little more in the days and weeks to come, but no promises. There are other sprints that I have to run before I write.

Gotta run,

Steve

I think that many of us just want to become more like Christ by osmosis. We eat, live, and breathe, and magically God transforms us into the person, spouse, parent, child, that He wants us to be. Unfortunately, God tells us often in His Word that it is just not that way. Consider the following scripture references.

1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

Philippians 2:12
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

Colossians 1:10
so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Colossians 1:29
For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

2 Timothy 2:15
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

2 Timothy 4:5
But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

James 2:17
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

1 Corinthians 9:27
but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

1 Timothy 4:7
But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

It seems like our spiritual health is much like our physical health. If we want to be spiritually strong and fit, we must work, expending time, energy, and effort. We must prioritize out time in His Word, speaking and listening to Him in prayer, serving and finding fellowship in His Church, and sharing the gospel in an unwelcoming world.

I believe that the lack of effectiveness for the American church in the world today is that we as believers have become spiritually obese, eager to eat of the goodness that God gives to us but unwilling to workout our faith as God has commanded. We love the desserts of God’s blessings but shun the the effort required of God’s commands. What do we get? A lethargic body of believers looking to be spoon fed at the table and missing the rewards that come from a healthy mix of nutrition and work. In addition, we add the junk food of culture which makes us go from bad to worse. We are a sitting duck for the enemy who is prowling, looking for who he may destroy!

Consider your spiritual health even more than your physical health! What does a man gain if he gains a perfectly fit body and yet loses his soul.

until next week,

steve

Have you noticed that today’s gyms look a lot more like a social meeting place than a place to get fit. I often chuckle at people who come in to take a  10 minute “stroll” on the treadmill or who pedal the stationary bike as they catch up on texting or their favorite afternoon television show. Here is the deal. The gym is happy to take your money for that effort but you are not going to get much gain for the dollar.

My goal is to leave the gym exhausted and dripping wet with sweat! I run 25-30 miles a week at an average pace of 8 1/2 minutes per mile or less. When I run I make sure that the last mile of the day is the fastest mile. When I am on the weight machines, I make sure that I am increasing the weight every couple of weeks because I want to keep pushing past comfortable into the strenuous zone. Whether you are at a gym or on your own at home, you must discipline yourself to work hard and work often.

Why do you think people on “The Biggest Loser” are successful? It is because someone has helped them learn to control their diet and has taught them to push their body past what they thought was possible. You can give yourself excuse after excuse, go from fit to overweight to obese, or you can make your body your slave and begin to change who you are. It is a matter of the will!

Pick a goal and go. You want to run 5 miles and right now you cannot even run to the mailbox? Start by walking,  jogging, walking. Time yourself. Then next time run a little more and cut your time. I PROMISE, if you do that 4-5 times a week before long you will have run your first mile and be well on your way to five. Can you run 3 miles in 40 minutes? Next week run three miles in 37! I sure didn’t get to my fitness goals by waking up one day and declaring a thirty mile week. This has been years in the making.

Make sure that both cardio and weight training are a part of your routine. When you build muscle you will increase your metabolism, which means you will burn more calories during the day even when you are not working out. Do it at the gym, get some resistance bands and do it at home or at the office, just do it somewhere. Get a workout DVD, get an app for your phone, look up a fitness website, but get going with the sweat equity that will get you fit.

Create a regular routine. How many times a week are you going to workout? When are you going to workout? Where are you going to workout? You need to find a schedule and a routine that you will not violate. For me it is now 5-6 days a week, for at least an hour each workout. Sometimes I have to skip lunch to get my workout in and sometimes I go at the end of the day, but not going is not an option unless there is a REAL emergency.

Let’s go to WORK on our weight and fitness! No more excuses.

Next up: Can we apply the same strategies to our spiritual life?

That topic is obesity. Recent reports put South Carolina in the number 8 position of the most obese states in the country. Nearly all of the southeast is in the top fifteen. If you add the overweight and obese categories together, most states have at least one out of every two people covered. It is killing us and yet I see very few people who seem to care enough to take action. As I have stated in an earlier entry, in the south we call overweight “healthy” and lean and fit “sickly”.

I take my health and fitness serious. I think since the Word tells us that our bodies are the temple of God, we should take care of the temple. There are some things I cannot control. I can’t control my genes, the fact that accidents happen, and I cannot control every aspect of my health. But I can control my weight and you can too! It is simply an act of the will. It requires discipline, sweat, and a priority system to life. Let me give you a look at my week to hopefully spur you on to excellence in your fitness and to hopefully get many of you to start your journey toward a leaner and healthier you.

To control your weight you have to make sure that calories burned are equal to calories taken in. To lose weight, you must burn more than you ingest. It is very simple math. The problem is that most of us have no clue how much we are eating and therefore have no idea how much we have to burn off.

Weight tip #1 – Monitor your caloric intake.

There are some very good tools out there today to help you. If you eat out (try and limit this) make sure you are paying attention to the nutrition info at the restaurant. There are apps for your phone, websites, and brochures at the restaurants to help you with this. If you are ignorant in today’s culture about nutritional facts on the food you eat, it is because you are choosing to be that way. Here is what my daily intake looks like.

Breakfast -

Protein shake (190 calories)

Coffee – black with artificial sweetener (o calories)

12-15 almonds – healthy fat with more protein (100 calories)

Breakfast Total – roughly 300 calories

Lunch  – I try and keep lunch under 750 calories. If I have a lunch appt. I simply try and make smart decisions when I order. If I am on my own for lunch, I generally eat a protein bar, some fruit, or a low fat/low calorie sandwich (grilled chicken, subway under 7 fat gram, etc). I try to avoid fried food and avoid high calorie items.

Dinner – I worry about dinner the least. My wonderful wife is great about cooking healthy. We eat a lot of veggies and a lot of lean meats, chicken, and fish. But don’t misunderstand because I also have the occasional steak, burger, fries, pizza, etc. I do not get deprived. I also usually have a small dessert each evening. I am a sucker for ice cream and love love love my wife’s cakes, pies, and fruit cobblers. I splurge a LITTLE at night because I have worked hard during the day to manage my caloric intake, but I still do not go crazy!

Snacks – I try to avoid them, but I do keep a few things in my office and in my small office fridge to allow me the healthy alternative in snack foods.

Water – I drink between a half gallon and a gallon of water a day. It keeps me feeling full most of the time, and I have learned to really like water. I simply refill my Nalgene several times a day while I work.

What I avoid like the plague ? – Sweetened Drinks. They are a waste of calories.

There is a look at a daily eating routine. If you are overweight or obese (using the BMI calculator, not southern speak), see if you can start altering your eating patterns to find a manageable eating plan for yourself. My plan will not work for you, but you can find a system that you can get comfortable with if there is a desire and some discipline. It will not be easy and there will be a lot of overweight and obese people trying to derail you, but push ahead and you will be surprised how fast you can make the adjustment.

Tomorrow I will look at the fitness side of the equation.

I am going to do my best to get back on a writing routine that is fun and informative for you and not a burden for me. I will write when I can, probably 2-3 times a week, and then add to that a few tweets every now and then when I see something funny, absurd, or thought provoking. For those who might like to follow on Twitter, I am @shandonteve.

For now, it should be easy to get started again since I have had plenty of time to gather some rants, funny stories, and new information I think you will find helpful as you travel the road of life.

See you tomorrow as we start again,

steve

I promised some fitness tips last week so here comes a few. Use the ones that work for you and throw away the ones that don’t!

1. Get in a workout routine – Find a schedule that you can stick to with your workouts. What works best for you? Is it mornings, afternoons, a combo of the two. Try to workout a minimum of 3 days and even better if you can get in 5. Shoot for a minimum of 45 minutes each workout.

2. Mix cardio with strength training – The treadmill, bike, and eliptical are great, but much is to be gained by lifting weights as well. You can do strength training at the gym or with things at home like resistance bands, or exercises like push-ups that use your own weight as the resistance.

3. Set goals – I  have talked about this before but it will be very helpful if you set goals along the way. Journal your progress. An example might be run 10 miles this week on the treadmill at a 12 minute pace, or do 3 sets of 10 reps on the bench press machine at 40 pounds 3 times this week. Every couple of weeks increase your goals.

4. Invest in good shoes – You will be surprised how much better you will do (especially if you are running), if you invest in proper fitting shoes. Yes, they will cost more, but they will be worth every penny.

5. Hydrate – Your muscles need water so drink plenty of it.

6. Energize – Your body needs fuel to burn when you exercise and protein to build muscle. Look for the right nutrients to maximize your workout.

7. Make yourself sweat! – It is called a WORKout for a reason. If your routine amounts to a lazy stroll in the gym, you are not doing enough. Get your heart rate up for at least 20 minutes, and push your muscles to exhaustion. Anything less and you are cheating yourself.

Have a great week getting fit! It all starts by getting out there and going for it on a consistent basis.

gotta run,

steve

1. Water – This is number one on the list. Make sure you stay well hydrated. You should be getting a minimum of 64 ounces a day. Here are some of the reasons. It helps you feel full, meaning you do not eat as much. It keeps your muscles hydrated so you can push them farther. Water is good for the skin. It keeps your digestion flowing smoothly. Water is your friend! Stay away from sugar water. Sugary drinks such as sweet tea (i know this is sad), soft drinks, sugary coffee drinks, and even overuse of sports drinks, are just empty calories and not near as helpful as water. Learn to drink it and drink it often.

2. Fresh Fruits and Vegetables – Tis the season to eat out of the garden. Eat them often. There are tons of nutrients in these staples of summer. Also, because it is fresh we eliminate some of that evil sodium. Try eating them even if you are not a fan. I kind of like blueberries but I discovered that I love eating them frozen. I probably eat double the amount of blueberries now that I have discovered the frozen secret. Find your local farmer’s marker and get going!

3. Low fat proteins – When you workout you need protein to build muscle. Lean muscle burns more calories. You can find lean protein in grilled chicken, some cuts of meat, fish, beans, and even yogurt. I also supplement my diet with lean protein shakes and protein bars, and have discovered Gatorade Recover drinks which give you 16 grams of protein for only 130 calories.

4. Whole Grains – I love bread, which is generally not a good thing because of the sugars in bread products, but you do need whole grains in your diet. The key is to make sure you are eating WHOLE GRAINS. There are a lot of misleading labels about grains. Read them closely. For instance, I only buy whole grain loaves of bread for sandwiches. Now, they will be a little more expensive but they also will generally keep longer before going bad. I can usually find a loaf of whole grain bread at the store with a two week shelf life. Whole grains are a great source for fiber.

5. Nuts – Many nuts, in moderation, help you keep your good cholesterol going in the right direction. A small handful of almonds, walnuts, etc is a great healthy snack. Try to go with the unsalted variety or if that does not work, try mixing some salted with some unsalted to at least cut that sodium in half.

There you go. As you look at your diet this week, make sure and take note of the things I have mentioned today and see if they are in your food mix each week.

Tomorrow I will share a few workout tricks I have learned along the way that keep me on the fitness path!

gotta run,

steve

A lot of times at the gym I run on a treadmill that faces the parking lot. I have been quite amused lately at the number of people who get out of their car to come work out, who are carrying fast food bags to throw in the trash on their way in. It makes me wonder how many people are killing the effects of their exercise by terrible eating habits. Let me give you some thoughts on the nutrition side of healthy living.

If you are trying to lose weight you must burn more calories than you eat. If you are trying to tone or build muscle, you must put the right calories into your body. If you are trying to avoid health issues you need to limit certain things you eat while consuming more of other things. Today let’s talk about some things you need to limit in your diet.

Fats – Do you ever look at the fat content of your foods? Fatty food will carry more calories and will also be worse for your cholesterol levels. There are some good fats, especially those found in many nuts, but even those you need to consume in moderation. For instance walnuts and almonds are great for your “good cholesterol” number, but you need to only eat about 12-15 a day. Look for lower fat alternatives to foods and try reducing your fat intake in total.

Sugar – Sugar is one of your biggest enemies toward health and fitness. They create energy spikes and crashes and they create cravings for more sugar. Also, as you pare down fats, understand that many foods try to cover for lower fats with increased sugar. That is not a helpful trade-off.

Salt – This is the silent killer! The amount of sodium that we eat as Americans is crazy, and it is primarily because we eat so much prepackaged foods. Salt is linked to increased blood pressure. There are probably very few of us that would not benefit from some salt reduction.

Here is something I want you to do this week. Start to research the things you are eating. Keep a journal of what you eat this week and try to get the nutrition info on those items. See how far, or how close you are to the suggested per day totals on calories, fat, protein, sugar, sodium. Remember, it is impossible to improve on the things you do not know. If you eat out, get the restaurant’s nutrition info online or on-site. Look at the labels of the snacks you eat and the grocery items that make up your meals.

If you are trying to get fit with your weight, try to start backing down your calories, fats, sugars, and salt. Just take a first step this week in this regard. Giant leaps are only for the super disciplined people and most people cannot stay with a hyper regimented diet. Remember that health and fitness are lifestyle changes and not “programs” that end when we get to the goal.

Tomorrow, I will talk a little about the things you need to add to your diet!

gotta run,

steve

Itunes – By creating a workout playlist, you can go faster and farther! Get the mind pumping to some great tunes and the body will follow.

Runkeeper or Nike+GPS – Both of these apps allow you to use your iphone as a GPS running device. They also log your runs and workouts and sync with websites that track your progress. You can also manually enter workout data. I have used Runkeeper for over a year now and love it. Nike is newer to the party, but people rave about this app. Both are free so try them both and figure out which one is best for you.

Fooducate – A new App, Fooducate gives you great health data about things you might buy at the grocery. This app is a real eye opener and will help you greatly in adjusting what you buy and what you eat. It is also FREE!

C25K (Couch to 5K) – Want help getting started on a running program. Look no further than C25K. It will get you to a 5k faster than you can imagine and will help you establish some good progress discipline in your workout routine.

Calorie Tracker or Calorie Counter PRO – Both of these are excellent for keeping diaries for both food intake and calorie burns through exercise. Pick the one that best fits for you.

Well there you go! Make your smart phone work for you as you get healthy and fit. If you have some other apps that are helping you in your quest, let me know what they are and how they help you, I would love to hear what you are using.

gotta run,

steve

1. Find out where you are and record it somewhere. Get on some scales and face up to the truth no matter how it might hurt. Record your weight and BMI at a minimum. I would add resting heart rate and blood pressure, and if you can get them your cholesterol numbers.

2. Set a target goal and a target date to get to that goal. You have to know where you are going if you hope to get there. Once again, write it down. Here is an example. By Aug 1 I want to be at _____ pounds, logged _______ miles/hours in fitness training, and have my resting heart rate at ______ .

3. Create a fitness routine that you will commit to for the long haul – What is a schedule of activity that you can reproduce a minimum of 3-4 times a week. It needs to be at least 45 minutes long and it needs to have some cardio and some strength training. The key here is to schedule it just like you would any appointment. You only miss it in an emergency.

4. Drink water, lots and lots of water. – I used to hate water, but I knew I had to change that habit so I just started drinking it. I adapted quite quickly. I went from 2-3 diet cokes a day to maybe 1 a week. I drink around 1/2 gallon to a gallon of water a day. Go buy a good water bottle and just refill it several times a day. If you live in Columbia, you get the added bonus of having one of the best tasting tap waters in the country according to taste tests. Don’t waste money on bottled water.

5. Know what you are eating. – Start to read the nutrition labels on things from the grocery and on things you eat out. Now, be warned that at first it will scare you to death, but it will also cause you to rethink that third Krispy Kreme when you realize each one represents two hard miles on the treadmill. Did you know that some popular fast food meals are more than your entire suggested calorie intake for the day?

6. Log your progress – It is important to monitor your steps along the way. Get you a notebook and start logging what you eat, how much you workout, etc. I log my workouts with an iphone app (more info later), but find a tool that you can use to keep up with where you are going.

7. Don’t obsess but be disciplined. This is a fine line to walk. I would probably tell you to lean toward too much discipline at first because let’s face it, we are a pretty lazy, undisciplined culture. Our top of the western world obesity rate was earned by carefree living.

There you go. Seven initial steps to get going toward a fit and healthy future. I think I am going to keep this track going for at least one more week so stay tuned as I dig down deeper on each of these topics. Tomorrow, how your smart phone can help you get to where you want to go.

gotta run,

steve

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