“Health,” is often compartmentalized rather than seen as a unified, meshed reality of the accumulated, compound effect of choices.
ALL choices.
Choices such as the type of foods consumed, working out or living sedentary, thinking positively or negatively, practicing faith or not, releasing unhealthy emotions or keeping them trapped in every cell of your body, sleeping well or keeping late hours, stressing or letting things go and so on and so forth. Yes, the list is long and goes on. But, for the sake of this article, let’s focus on the fitness aspect of being Visually Fit in mind, body, and spirit.
Redefining Fitness: From “F” Word to Forgiveness
Fitness doesn’t have to feel like the “F” word in which it’s often associated. Take that sentence however you would like, but might I encourage you to think of that “F” word in a new and Godly way?
Think FORGIVENESS!
Seem odd?
Well, forgive means to stop feeling angry or resentful toward (someone) for an offense, flaw, or mistake. That means even forgiving YOURSELF for not taking good care of yourself in the past or devaluing fitness in your life. Forgiveness can bring fitness to the forefront as a loving habit.
Fitness is an act of health and wellness. It’s the part of the equation that is often left out due to “lack of time” or the “too busy” mantra. But, that’s an excuse. It’s not about time. It’s about reshuffling priorities and values. Seriously! What is valued most gets tended to.
Where are you putting your energy? And are you inserting your health into the equation?
Fitness is much more than throwing on running shoes and taking a quick selfie for social media. It’s an opportunity to take massive action and express love for yourself and your Creator.
How? By taking time to care for the gift you’ve been given – the gift of life and the body in which you’re living it.
When fitness is incorporated as a daily routine it helps to reduce inflammation, enhance energy, confidence, strength, creativity and clarity of mind (mainly to due the increase of BDNF. BDNF are brain derived neurotrophic factors, which increase new brain cell development and connection of neurons.)
Hormones (such as serotonin and dopamine) are also released in the body when fitness is brought into the mix. This is vital for the stabilization of all hormones and to keep one “happy.” I’m sure you’ve heard of dopamine’s nickname; the happy hormone. Truly. It lives up to its name.
Serotonin is actually created in the gut and not the brain, therefore, fitness affects the gut microbiome as well. Yes, your gut health is begging you for a workout.
Speaking of gut health, this leads us to food. I’m a big proponent of a whole-food, plant-based approach as it has proven to enhance the way the body performs and recovers from exercise. It’s true for any age group, sex, race and any level of fitness, beginner to expert.
But, in my practice, the majority of my patients/clients are women between the age of 45-65 and are in a mental place of being sick and tired of being sick and tired. They’ve “tried” (key word there) just about every diet and workout activity around and have got on and off the wagon so many times that they are now frustrated, angry and depressed.
The combination of eating a whole-food, plant-based diet along with practicing simple.
Visibly Fit or body weight exercise techniques throughout the day have offered hope to many women and results that they’ve never experienced in the past. But, they had to begin with the “F” word process before the other ever took shape.
Forgiveness is the key to health and fitness. Prevention is critical. Recovery is vital.
Intentional walking is another simple form of exercise that I highly recommend. It removes inflammation, releases endorphins, “scrubs” the brain of excess plague, and keeps the body from atrophying (which begins to occur merely after 20 minutes of not moving against gravity in some form or fashion, according to Dr. Joan Vernikos, former NASA Director of Life Sciences who worked directly with astronauts.)
Sheila, a young wife and mom of two, struggling with anxiety and depression, called me one bitter-cold Minnesota afternoon. So depressed that she hadn’t been to work in two weeks, her marriage was on the rocks, didn’t have the energy or attitude to parent, couldn’t cook, clean, or get to the grocery store. All she could do was lie in bed. She felt hopeless.
When we talked, it was evident there were some emotions and mindsets that needed to be dealt with – forgiveness was one of them. Fear was another. I asked if I could pray with her and then gave a simple prescription. I advised her to put on her winter attire and go for a walk around the block and to call me immediately following.
It might seem strange to ask someone to step outside when they haven’t been anywhere for two weeks, but it was the very thing that could help. She needed to change her state of being, thoughts and shift her hormones. Remember, the “happy hormone” I mentioned earlier. Well, after she returned from her walk she went from massively depressed to giggling. The “dark cloud” had been lifted and she was back in the game of life knowing her purpose and how much God loves her.
Sometimes, we just need that certain someone in our life that is willing to coach us to new thinking and actions, even when they are difficult or don’t make sense at the time.
Let me ask you…are you stuck? Feel trapped? Do you believe that you are too old or too far along to get healthy? If so, you aren’t alone, but you can change the way you see your circumstances and take new actions right now. Just decide and do it. And if you just need a loving nudge, like Sheila, take action by completing this form and scheduling a call with me. We can possibly get you into our next 7-week intensive coaching group. Your best days are ahead of you.
