Do you love God? Do you love yourself? Do wish to obey God in all His commands? Then stop being lazy and get off the couch and start eating right. That means working out 3-4 times a week and not eating crap. When I say eating right, I mean eating clean not eating a frozen Lean Cuisine or a box of mac n cheese made with 2% milk. It means actually preparing food that is good for your body. Baked potato chips is still crap.
1 Corinthian 6:19 plainly states that our bodies are the temples for the Holy Spirit, a gift from God. So why then do we abuse our bodies by feeding it nasty unhealthy things. Why do we let our bodies go to waste by just sitting and getting fat? The Bible speaks over and over about laziness. He speaks very bluntly about it in Proverbs 6:4,6 and 9.
Proverbs 6:4 Give not unnecessary sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids. This does not mean to try and run on four hours of sleep a night. This means to get in adequate amounts of sleep, 6-8 hours for most, not 12-14 hours.
Proverbs 6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways and be wise! We've all heard how hard ants work. Well, if you want a healthy, whole body you have to work for it and that means MOVE!
Proverbs 6:9 How long will you sleep, O sluggard? When will you arise out of your sleep? Again, He is saying to get up and get busy.
I could list more and more verses from the Bible speaking against being lazy and idol. I know, I know. Some of you work and some of you have children. The thought of coming home and working out after being at work for 8 or 10 hours is the last thing you want to do or being a stay at home mom and chasing kids all day to you is enough of a work out. Looking at it that way is so WRONG on so many levels. You have to get into the mind set that this isn't a chore or another thing that needs doing. This is just like eating. It's comforting and stress reducing. It 's healing and its OBEYING GOD! Do you want to live in a nasty rundown home filled with junk? Well, neither does the Holy Spirit. So clean up God's temple!
Here are some things that you can do to help you get in the mind set of taking care of yourself.
1. Work-out early in the morning. If you're like me and hate mornings then do it in the afternoons. I would always come straight in from work and immediately change clothes and workout. I knew that if I sat down even for a second I would most likely not get up to exercise. It's only 60 minutes and everything else can wait 60 minutes for you to do something great for yourself.
2. If you're saying but I have to make dinner. You can cock-pot it 3 days a week sister! I did it and still do.
3. Give yourself a 4 week goal. Just 4 weeks of eating better and working out and see if you don't start to feel and look amazing. That alone will keep you going past that 4 week goal.
4. Clean up your kitchen. I'm not talking about doing the dishes. I mean clean out the crap and junk you call food. Throw away the Oatmeal Creme Pies, the soda (including diet), the frozen meals and replace them with fresh veggies, lean meats, fruits and a little whole grains.
5. DRINK WATER!
6. But I don't have time to cook every meal. Plan ahead and freeze. I can't stress this enough. Again, use your crock-pot and cook batches of homemade soups, stews, chili, or roast meats and then portion out and freeze. I try to do major cooking one day week and freeze. That way I have things on hand and it keeps me from taking the lazy way out and ordering a pizza. Even if its just one or two of you, make lots and freeze! It'll make your life so much easier. Trust me.
7. I don't know what to eat. Sigh... come on! There are way too many articles, blogs, magazines and now Pinterest with thousands upon thousands of clean eating recipes and tips. You can read can't you? Okay then. Read and learn!
8. Start small. Just making small changes like switching from white pasta to a whole grain or gluten free pasta & breads or from cow's milk to Almond or coconut milk will make a huge difference. Adding in fresh veggies at every meal and cut out sugar as much as possible in the beginning will show you amazing results.
9. Give your body time to adapt and & grieve. I am not going lie. You will feel the effects of cutting out the crap. Your body will throw one holy temper tantrum I even felt fluish. You have to stay strong and dig in and it will pass. Eventually, you want have those cravings.
10. Allow yourself a cheat day. Life is short and meant to be enjoyed. I eat clean 6 days a week and allow myself one day a week to eat whatever I want. It works for me. Some only have a cheat meal once a month. Those people are beasts and are way stronger than me (mentally). I know that if I have my cheat day to look forward to then I can do the other 6 days without a problem. My cheat day is my reward for kicking my butt as hard as I can the other days.
If you just stick with it for 4 weeks, you'll see a change in yourself that is so gratifying and rewarding. You'll sleep better, have more energy and don't forget you'll look fabulous too. When you have those days, we all do, where you just don't "feel" like exercising, do it anyway. Afterwards you'll feel better. Even if you can't give it 100% that day, anything is better than nothing. Ask God for strength to get through it and He will provide. After all, you're doing this for Him first and yourself second. Your body belongs to Him, not you. Keep that in mind when you feel like quitting.
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