“I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” (1 Cor. 9:27 NIV)
Galatians chapter five tells us that one of the nine fruits of the spirit is self-control. You can have self-control of your body. i.e. your physical fitness – healthy, fat, thin, weak, strong.
God gives each of us a body and He says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor. 6:19)
Of course, we do have a moral obligation to keep our bodies from committing sin. We should also be concerned with its health.
Take good care of your body
The verse at the top says, “I take care of my body and make it my slave.” This means you control your body, you do not become a slave to it. You can’t keep yourself from getting older. But, you can, however, do something about being healthy and strong, no matter what age you are.
My confession
I let myself get out of shape until I was beginning to have severe health issues because of it. My desk job kept me sitting for too long, and I did not exercise or eat wisely. So, I was seriously overweight, and pre-diabetic, as well as other issues I’m not going to bore you with.
What I did
First, I did a personal evaluation based on my doctor’s tests, and came up with a plan. I decided not to do anything knee-jerk, like crash diets, or bouts at the gym, because they wouldn’t be sustainable over a long period of time. Instead, I would have a doable lifestyle change. I realized that I hadn’t gotten into my problem overnight and wouldn’t get out of it overnight.
My 3-phase plan started a year and a half ago
Phase one
I set a timer to go off every hour. When it did, I got up from my desk and walked around the block. Just doing that amount was more than I was used to. I did that for weeks and eventually it grew into a routine and got easy.
I cut back on how much I was eating. I didn’t change what I was eating at first, just reduced the amount I put onto my plate and I took longer eating; chewed slower and paused between bites.
I started drinking more water. I discovered if I drank a large glass of water with my meals, it filled up “the empty spot” I was used to putting food into. So, I felt as full as before with less food.
It paid off, I started to slowly lose some weight!
Phase two
I started counting my steps and mileage. I got a smart watch, and with help from my son, Mark, programmed it with some goals. Now my watch started reminding me to get up, to move around, and to walk. I discovered that there are about 2,000 steps in one of my typical miles, so I began by walking two miles a day. That seemed challenging for me at first and I had to work to reach it. It meant walking more than my usual walk around the block. But, I did it. Oh, and I upped my pace a bit. I started walking like I was late for something.
I started to eat healthier. I was now starting to feel better and so I cut back on sweets, between meal snacks, and I added more fruit and vegetables to my diet. The healthier my diet was, the less I missed the junk food.
Phase three
I began increasing the number of steps I was walking per day. I found it easier and easier to walk more miles per day and kept feeling better as I did. I found myself walking three miles a day easily, and then four, and then five and then eight! I was surprised that I could now do it so easily.
I started to run. It kind of came on gradually. As I was walking one day, I just felt like running a bit, so I did. I would walk normally until I came to a street and then I’d run across the street. Then I found I could easily run around the block. It was amazing to realize that I could barely walk around that same block a few months earlier, and now I can easily run around it!
The results
• Lost 56 lbs – Weight went from 225 to 169
• Waist size, from 38” to 33” – lost 5 inches from waist.
• No longer pre-diabetic – blood work now normal.
• I feel great and have amazing energy that still surprises me.