Press on Toward the Goal.

Lets suppose that you are going to drive from Raleigh, NC to Hollywood, CA and were only going to drive at night. The trip would be a total of 2,557 miles and take a driving time of 38 hours. When you get into your car in Raleigh and turn your headlights on you can only see 100 feet ahead of you. This leaves you with 13,606,460 feet you have yet to see and drive before you get to your destination in Hollywood. You turn on the navigation system and start your journey. You can’t see Hollywood from Raleigh but know that you will get there. All you see are those 100 feet that your headlights shine, but you keep on course. You would never find your way without the course the navigation system charts out for you in your travels. You never doubt it, always trust it, and know that you will get to Hollywood.

Now lets suppose you are getting ready to start making changes to develop a healthier lifestyle. You want to start eating healthy and exercising more regularly so that you can better care for your body. You have a long way to go and can’t really see the light at the end of the tunnel, but do you need to? All you need to see is each little step that you take. Don’t overwhelm yourself with the distance of your journey. Only focus on those 100 feet that you can see. Do your best each day by making healthier choices and being more active for that day. If you continue to move those 100 feet at a time you will soon find yourself where you were not able to see before. That’s called faith! “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1.

I know you may be thinking that making changes is not easy and can be a little daunting, but remember that you are not alone. You have been given a chance to have your own personal navigation system that guides you in life. God created each one of us to have a love relationship with him. God showed his love for us through his Son, Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16.  Understand that God wants what is best for you because he loves you and will help you through all things, even in developing a healthier lifestyle. Besides, as believers in Christ, the Holy Spirit resides within us, so God wants to have a strong and healthy dwelling place for himself within each of us (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). If we can trust in a navigation system to get us from Raleigh to Hollywood, how much more can we trust God, who spoke all things into existence, in helping us on our journey to a healthier lifestyle.

In short, when making changes to improve on your health or in any other area of your life one should: Have faith, take one step at a time, and trust God every step of the way.

Related posts:

1. For a Successful Healthy Lifestyle, Throw out the Junk Food
2. To Have a Healthy Mindset, Stop Focusing on the Problem
3. Extraordinary Wellness

Don't focus on the problem, just focus on the solution.

There was once a young lady who stepped on a small piece of glass. The small chard of glass became imbedded into her foot. She said to herself “that really hurts” and she kept walking. The next day she got up in the morning and said “this hurts even worse” and looked down at her foot, it was very sore, red, and swollen around the piece of glass. As she was going through her day she couldn’t get her mind off of the pain. She said to herself “I hope this does not turn into anything serious because it keeps hurting more.”

Weeks passed and the pain was persistent. One evening at home she noticed   that her foot began to bleed and the pain became unbearable. She spent the entire night sleepless worrying about how she may lose her foot if it got any worse. She went to work the next day and her friend notice that she could barely walk and looked extremely tired and distressed. He asked her what was wrong. She said “I stepped on a piece of glass and it hurts so bad…and keeps hurting worse…and I might lose my foot if it gets to bad…and I just can’t take it anymore!” He asked her to take her shoe off and she did. Her friend asked her if she had tried to take it out. She said “well no…it really hurts!” He gave her a pair of tweezers and she pulled it out. The pain soon subsided.

Focusing on your problems and worrying yourself sick about them will not change a thing. It will just make it hurt even more. Here’s what the Bible says: “And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one inch to his stature or to the span of his life.” Mathew 6:27. We must learn to trust God and reach for Him even when the pain is unbearable. He is the only one that can give us the strength we need to face our problems. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13. We may feel that the task at hand is daunting but to God it’s as simple as a pair of tweezers. All we need to do is trust in Him and take a step of action. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;” Proverbs 3:5.

Related posts:

1. How to Have a Healthy Mindset for Achieving Goals
2. Set Your Course to a Healthier Lifestyle
3. For a Successful Healthy Lifestyle, Throw out the Junk Food

Throw away the junk food!

This may seem obvious, but a smart way to stay on top of your healthy lifestyle is to throw away junk foods and beverages that are not on your plan. Just like watching TV instead of exercising, having unhealthy food and beverages in the house that work against your plan (especially those items that you often crave) can be tempting enough to lead you down the wrong path. The same could be said for someone battling addictions of any kind. It is wise to put yourself in less tempting and safe surroundings if you hope to beat the addiction. So, if you want to have a healthy lifestyle, and reach your weight loss or fitness goals, rid the house of tempting food and beverages.

‘No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.’  – 1 Corinthians 10:13

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3. To Have a Healthy Mindset, Stop Focusing on the Problem

Yes…Michael Phelps is a phenom. Yes. Michael Phelps has recently made Olympic History by winning an unprecedented 8 Gold Medals. Go U-S-A! As a health & fitness professional, I can appreciate the performance feats, but I also appreciate regard for long-term health and wellness. And, from our last blog on Phelps’ diet, most can clearly see a lot of food and calories, but a real lack of quality. We dared to ask the question, ‘Could he possibly perform any better than he did if he had eaten better foods?’

We believe so! We also dared to compare the feats of Michael Phelps with an individual that has had an equally remarkable performance record, yet has also been able to keep himself at peak health and inspire millions for decades.

“Who is this amazing person?,” you ask. He certainly needs no introduction…

Jack LaLanne – Amazing!

Jack LaLanne is America’s Number 1 Physical Fitness Expert and Guru, and is often called the “Godfather of Fitness”. The 93-year-old LaLanne admits it was not always this way. “As a kid,” he flatly states, “I was a sugarholic and a junk food junkie! It made me weak and it made me mean. It made me so sick I had boils, pimples and suffered from nearsightedness. Little girls used to beat me up. My mom prayed… the Church prayed.”

It was at the age of 15, when he heard pioneer nutritionist Paul Bragg speak at the Oakland City Women’s Club in San Francisco Bay Area, Jack finally realized that he was addicted to sugar. Bragg promised Jack if he would exercise and eat a proper diet he could regain good health. Jack listened attentively and was fiercely determined to walk away from that lecture ready to build a totally new Jack LaLanne.

Age is no limitation for Jack LaLanne . . .

For those of you that may initially scoff that LaLanne’s performance achievements in comparison to Phelps’, lets take a look at his laundry list of accomplishments while noting his corresponding age:

1954 Age 40:

Swam the length of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge underwater with 140 pounds of equipment, including two air tanks… an undisputed world record.

1955 Age 41:

Swam, handcuffed, from Alcatraz to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, CA.

1956 Age 42:

Set a world record of 1,033 pushups in 23 minutes on “You Asked for It, a TV Show with Art Baker.

1957 Age 43:

Swam the treacherous Golden Gate Channel, towing a 2,500-pound cabin cruiser. This involved fighting the cold, swift ocean currents that made the 1 mile swim a 6 ½ mile test of strength and endurance.

1958 Age 44:

Maneuvered a paddleboard 30 miles, 9-½ hours non-stop from Farallon Islands to the San Francisco shore.

1959 Age 45:

Completed 1,000 pushups and 1,000 chin-ups in 1 hours and 22 minutes. “Happy” is born and The Jack LaLanne Show goes nationwide.

1974 Age 60:

Swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf, for a second time handcuffed, shackled and towing a 1,000-pound boat.

1975 Age 61:

Swam the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, underwater, for a second time handcuffed, shackled and towing a 1,000-pound boat.

1976 Age 62:

Commemorating the “Spirit of ’76″, swam 1 mile in Long Beach Harbor, handcuffed, shackled and towing 13 boats (representing the 13 original colonies) containing 76 people.

1979 Age 65:

Towed 65 boats filled with 6,500-pounds of Lousiana Pacific wood pulp while handcuffed and shackled in Lake Ashinoko, near Tokyo, Japan.

1980 Age 66:

Towed 10 boats in North Miami, Florida filled with 77 people for over a mile in less than 1 hour.

1984 Age 70:

Handcuffed, shackled and fighting strong winds and currents, towed 70 boats with 70 people from the Queen’s Way Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary, 1 ½ miles.

Jack LaLanne believes in daily, vigorous, systematic exercise and proper diet. “My top priority in life is my workout each day.” Jack exercises 2 hours each day: 1 hour of strength training, followed by 1 hour of swimming. He lives by what he says to others, and has been doing it for over 75 years. Much of what Jack LaLanne has advocated through his teaching and beliefs has become common knowledge today. Today’s doctors and fitness experts all acknowledge daily systematic and proper diet as the principle keys to a longer healthier life.

In our next blog, we discuss how we “ordinary mortals” can learn, benefit and apply Jack’s healthy life practices, eating and exercise to our own.

Read Part 1 of this article.

Read Part 3 of this article.

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1. Should We Eat Like Michael Phelps?
2. Jack LaLanne’s Take on Healthy Diet & Exercise
3. Eat Whole Foods in Their Natural State