Wisdom for My Health

My sister in Christ uses the word "fatdemon" to describe her battle with weight over the years. As I've gotten older, I find myself in the same battle. In the past, I would start exercising and trying to eat healthy because I miss fitting into my size 4s. The first 10-15 lbs are always easy but then I get discouraged because the next pounds seem to take forever to come off.  Then I give up and go back to unhealthy eating habits and very little exercise. However, this time, eating healthy and exercising are more important because of health reasons.

In the latter part of last year, I had blood work that came back with some less than favorable results. High cholesterol and inflammation around my heart were my high risk factors and with high blood pressure, aneurysms, and heart issues running rampant in the women in my family, I don't need to play when it comes to my health. So when I visited with my doctor to go over the results, his suggested remedy to bring down the Cholesterol values and CRP levels is aerobic exercise three times a week, for 45 minutes per session, in addition to changing my diet to foods lower in cholesterol. So that's another goal I've set for myself in 2015...

God wants us to make wise decisions. I believe having wisdom is choosing to do now what we will be happy with later. ~Joyce Meyer

I choose to do now what I will be happy with later. I want to see my grandkids grandkids, you know? So here are some steps I'm taking as I use wisdom for my health.

• Drink 8 - 8 oz glasses of water daily. I should've been doing this all along! I have 16 oz glasses and I drink four of these or more daily. I drink one first thing in the morning when I wake up. I drink another around 2pm, another around 6pm, and the last before I go to sleep at night.
• Exercise Regularly. I'm building up to 45 minutes of exercise daily at least 3 days a week. So far, I use the treadmill for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes of aerobics in the afternoon. I'm going to try to get up to 20 minutes on the treadmill and 25-30 minutes of aerobics in the afternoon.
• Lose Weight. Right now, I'm ashamed to say, the scale says I weigh 162,8 lbs. That is the most I've ever weighed in my life. My husband, who is 5'9" weighs 165 lbs. I don't want to weigh as much as my husband! So, my goal is to lose 40-45 lbs.
• More fruits and veggies. I'm going to eat more apples, bears, carrots, and broccoli. Of course, I'll also be eating more salad, without a lot of dressing.
• Less meat. Now, I love me some bacon. We ate the last of it this morning. But I'm going to try to cut out a lot of red meat and pork in my diet and eat more chicken, turkey, and fish. I'm also going to eat more peanut butter to curb my appetite.

These are the steps I'm starting with to lead a more healthy lifestyle. Of course, I'm no expert on dieting and nutrition, but I think this is a good start for me based upon some things I've been reading. The good thing about the medical center that did my blood work is they gave me a booklet with a load of information to help me along the way as well. As much as I love to read, I need to really delve into what they've given me.

Part of having wisdom is taking the information you've been given and applying it consistently! I believe keeping my body healthy is also my way of honoring the Lord by taking care of the life and He has given me. Just as I strive to be a good financial steward by tithing regularly, I need to take care of it and manage it wisely.

Oh, and I'm using the Fitness Pal app to help me along the way! Care to join me for encouragement?