Summer was good to me. There was a lot of family bonding and as an added bonus my husband and I worked out together over the summer months. IT WAS GREAT! Did I mention that quality time is my love language? But then school started and our little workout party got broken up. I told myself that even though I lost my handsome workout partner, I was going to be ok with returning to working out by myself using these YouTube videos. After all I got the revelation that Jesus does care about my health. But I missed a couple of days because we were all getting adjusted to the back to school schedule. A couple of days turned into a few weeks and before I knew it, November was here and it had been whopping three months since I worked out consistently ( I stopped counting going up and down my stairs as suffice). I called one of my brothers the other day and he shared that he was just getting back into working out. During our conversation, I made a commitment to begin working out again. So here I am 2 weeks into getting back on track. Being one that doesn’t do well with keeping things to myself, I have decided to share with you my YouTube playlist for low impact cardio workouts. These workouts have been great! Don’t let the low impact part fool you, these workouts will have you working up a good sweat. I also love the fact that these are easier on my joints. I plan to add more videos to this playlist as I go so be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates. As it stands, I am aiming to work out for 15-20minutes at least 4 times a week. Leave me a comment and let me know if you have fallen off the workout bandwagon but plan to start up again. We can do it together!
I am so excited that a few of my readers decided to begin working out after reading this post. Way to go Koya and Lashanda. By the way Lashanda has a new single on amazon that would be great to play as you are working out. If you choose to purchase her single, please consider doing it through amazon smile and choose my church Faith Covenant Fellowship (Hoffman Estates is our given location) as your charity to support and the church will receive a donation from your purchase.
For those who would like to begin working out and need some suggestions you can visit my youtube channel. There is a playlist of exercises I do in the comfort of my own home. Some of the workouts require dumbbells. I have sets of 5 lb., 8lb., and 15 lb. weights that I purchased at walmart. Some of the workouts do not require any equipment. Happy working out!
I gave birth in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013. In between all of that I had two miscarriages, one in 2006 and another in 2008. I think it’s fair to say that my body has been through quite an adventure. After each birth, I was left with a sweet baby and some extra pounds as a souvenir of the journey. I was not one of those moms who lost all the baby weight while nursing. I would have loved for that to have been my testimony but it was not. I have found what works for MY BODY to be healthy without counting calories and spending hours working out. I follow the Paleo diet 90% of the time. I also work out five days a week in the comfort of my home for 10-20 minutes in the morning. My short workouts are better than doing nothing at all.
My body certainly doesn’t look like the girl I knew before child birth and I am learning to be ok with that. I can’t obsess about returning to what was, just work on keeping healthy what now is (not sure if that’s grammatically correct but you get the point…right?) I have tried to return to old eating habits (mainly consuming way too much sugar) and not only does it pack on the pounds but it also brings some not so pleasant side effects. After a really long morning a few weeks ago, I found myself hiding out in the pantry with my twenty month old eating just about all the caramel flavored popcorn from Costco. I was so convicted at the end of the day, not because eating caramel popcorn is a sin but because at that moment I was being gluttonous and using the sugar as my god and comforter. I was certainly not hungry at the time, just extremely irritated. Prayer should have been my recourse not sugar! I have to continue to ask God for the grace to exercise self-control to do what I know is right for my body to be healthy.
My choice to eat healthy and exercise has a trickle-down effect with both natural and spiritual implications. When I eat and exercise like I should, I have more energy to effectively fulfill my call to be the keeper of my home. My sleep is better which in turn helps me to get up feeling well rested giving me quality time in prayer and bible study. I am not as emotional and snappy. Ok…I still have my moments but they are not as frequent. I am not constantly in a brain fog because I have consumed all the wrong things.
So to answer the question, does Jesus really care about my eating habits and my overall health…yes, He absolutely does! I know from personal experiences that He directs His children in EVERY AREA. If you have not done so already ask Him what the best health plan is for you. If He has already told you what to do…OBEY! My goal to be the healthiest me for this season of life now goes beyond vanity. However I must confess that this was the initial motivation. I recognize that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and also its God’s desire for me to be healthy in body as I am strong in spirit (3 John 1:2). Hear me when I say that the goal for every woman should not be to look like the model on the magazine. We are all built differently and not everyone was intended to look the same. Instead, be driven by the desire to please God by taking care of the temple He has given you.
I don’t want you to walk away from this post feeling condemned because you struggle in maintaining healthy eating habits and are challenged with the idea of consistently working out. Instead I pray that you walk away feeling encouraged to do what you know is needed believing the Lord to extend His grace as you make up your mind to walk in obedience. Let us take this journey together, striving to be healthy so that we can be used even the more for God’s glory! Are you on board? Leave a comment below to let me know.
