It's Fitness Friday!

Today is the start of an ongoing series on my blog titled “Fitness Friday”.  I wrote a soon-to-be-republished book titled “Intentional Fitness:  Working Out Your Salvation so Others Can See Jesus.” (Old title, “Fat to Fit: Working Out Your Salvation”).  I believe the Lord calls all of us to be just as intentional about our spiritual fitness as many of us are about our physical fitness.  So each Friday I’ll be posting something about fitness.

To kick off the action, I am starting a Daniel Fast tomorrow.  Over the next 3 weeks I will be sharing about my journey and what the Lord reveals to me.  For those who aren’t familiar with a Daniel Fast, the website http://www.daniel-fast.com/aboutthefast/ does a wonderful job explaining the fast from a biblical perspective, providing guidelines, and sharing recipes.

I believe the Lord called me to this fast for many reasons, although I didn’t hear anything specific.  I remember my last fast – several years ago I did a 21-day juice fast – and I remember the amazing benefits. I lost weight, slept better than I had in years, had more energy, could think more clearly, and had more overall peace…just to name a few.

I’m expecting no less during this Daniel fast.  I am seeking the Lord for guidance and direction in my writing and in my ministry.  And I definitely need to lose weight and improve my overall health!

I’ve already made a good start in the direction of healthy eating.  Don and I reformed our eating habits starting March 1^st – we removed most bread and sugar from our diet, and began eating healthier meals and snacks. 

Results?  Don lost an awesome 30 pounds, I lost a measly 10.  Our running inside joke is the response of people when they see us for the first time in a while:

“Wow, Don, you look great!  How much weight did you lose?  You really look good!  Oh, hi Mary.”

Why did he have so much more success?  Not because I weighed so much less than Don to start with – I weighed less when we started but I weigh more than him at this moment. Not because I ate more “junk” – we ate the same meals and most of the same snacks.  And we both occasionally indulged when we went out or to someone’s house for a meal. 

From what I heard, it’s probably just the “man thing”.  Apparently it’s quite common for men to lose a whole lot more and a whole lot faster than women. But that didn't make it any less frustrating!

So yes, I’d be lying if I said I’m doing this fast primarily for “spiritual” benefits. While I am definitely doing it out of obedience to the Lord, I’m seriously hoping one of His goals is to improve my health and break some food addictions.  I’d like to have more energy and sleep better.  I’d like to lower my blood pressure and lose weight.  And I believe the Lord cares about those things too.

And yes, to be bluntly honest, I’m tired of being “oh, hi Mary”:  I want to hear “wow Mary, you’ve lost weight, you look great!  Oh, hi Don.” 

I believe that whatever the reason, obeying the Lord always means a great adventure and it’s always to our benefit.  So I’m looking forward to the next 21 days:  to what I’ll experience along the way, and to what I’ll see when I look back from day 21.

“And awaaayy we go!”

Today's Challenge:  Identify one thing you can change in your daily schedule that will help you be more healthy.