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This week (Week 5) we’re talking about Exercise. Here’s a re-post that deals with one of the most important issues surrounding exercise – WE HAVE TO EXERCISE FOR HEALTH – NOT WEIGHT LOSS!
I know exercise might not be your favorite topic, it’s not mine either, but let’s face it: Spring is in the air and our bodies are itching to get moving, even if our minds are still glued to the couch!
My battle in this area is no secret, so fortunately I don’t have to pretend with you ladies. For many, many moons exercise in my book meant only one thing: TORTURE!
Every time I started using exercise to get rid of some unwanted rolls around my mid section, I found myself despising it with a passion. I would get up in the morning and mumble to myself “This is just not natural, nobody does this, I must be crazy…” Weekends were even worse… who would want to “spoil” a weekend with exercise?
WHEN YOU EXERCISE TO LOSE WEIGHT:
1. You might use exercise as a dangerous method to “purge” after a binge
2. It might become part of your “diet-routine”, so you only do it when you’ve gained weight but you never seem to keep it up.
HOWEVER, IF YOU EXERCISE FOR YOUR HEALTH THINGS CAN CHANGE RAPIDLY!
Come on…change with me…let’s do it to have more energy, feel healthier, have more confidence, enjoy our kids, dance with our husbands, have glowing skin and shiny hair!
Their are so many benefits to exercise. One of it is weight loss, but don’t let it be the reason you do it girl, IT IS NOT A LASTING INCENTIVE!
Think outside the box. Why settle for the ordinary? If you dig a little deeper you might find a tennis player, a swimmer, a runner, or a salsa dancer hiding in your heart.
Do it for the glory of God! Let it be your sacrifice of praise!
Moving for Christ!
Heleen
Posted 8 months, 1 week ago. 1 comment
I know exercise might not be your favorite topic, it’s not mine either, but let’s face it: Spring is in the air and our bodies are itching to get moving, even if our minds are still glued to the couch!
My battle in this area is no secret, so fortunately I don’t have to pretend with you ladies. For many, many moons exercise in my book meant only one thing: TORTURE!
Every time I started using exercise to get rid of some unwanted rolls around my mid section, I found myself despising it with a passion. I would get up in the morning and mumble to myself “This is just not natural, nobody does this, I must be crazy…” Weekends were even worse… who would want to “spoil” a weekend with exercise?
WHEN YOU EXERCISE TO LOSE WEIGHT:
1. You might use exercise as a dangerous method to “purge” after a binge
2. It might become part of your “diet-routine”, so you only do it when you’ve gained weight but you never seem to keep it up.
HOWEVER, IF YOU EXERCISE FOR YOUR HEALTH THINGS CAN CHANGE RAPIDLY!
Come on…change with me…let’s do it to have more energy, feel healthier, have more confidence, enjoy our kids, dance with our husbands, have glowing skin and shiny hair!
Their are so many benefits to exercise. One of it is weight loss, but don’t let it be the reason you do it girl, IT IS NOT A LASTING INCENTIVE!
Think outside the box. Why settle for the ordinary? If you dig a little deeper you might find a tennis player, a swimmer, a runner, or a salsa dancer hiding in your heart.
Do it for the glory of God! Let it be your sacrifice of praise!
Moving for Christ!
Heleen
PS: Why are you ladies always so quiet when I talk about exercise? Pray tell what you are doing, or I will be convinced that I’m the only one who crawls out of bed in the morning to get to the gym, and feel sorry for myself…:)
Posted 1 year, 10 months ago. 2 comments
How are you doing with exercise this time of year?
It’s brutal, I know! It’s cold, there’s shopping to be done, and exercise is probably the last thing on your mind.
A word of warning though: It might not be such a good idea to abandon your sneakers all together this time of year. Even if you just get moving a few times over the month of December, it’s MUCH BETTER THAN STOPPING! To start all over again is difficult, and I can guarantee you that January will be a much easier month, with less guilt, depression, and anxiety if you just keep moving a little now.
Resist those thoughts of “Oh it’s not worth it! I only got to go once this week. What difference does it make? I’ll try again next month.”
Most Importantly: Don’t keep God out of it! Invite Him to help you. Most ladies with food struggles have a really hard time to exercise consistently. So be encouraged that you’re NOT alone in this. Lots of other ladies are resisting the temptation to just sit in front of the TV and eat this very minute. God made our bodies to move in order for it to function at peak physical, spiritual and emotional levels. Exercise helps with everything! It curbs cravings, depression and low self esteem to only mention a few.
So when you talk to God, don’t forget to mention exercise. Ask Him to help you connect with your body again. Ask Him what you can do to get active. Ask Him how, when, and where. You will be surprised how practical our God is. He knows you. He knows about all your excuses, and more importantly, He knows how to help you bust those excuses so that you can get healthy. You need an exercise for the long haul, not one you can use only as a temporary solution.
Here’s a few suggestions of how to bring God into this area of your life:
- Drag your stationary bike over to the TV and watch a praise and worship DVD while you exercise
- Why not peddle that bike while Beth or Joyce is on TV early in the morning ? (talk about a double blessing:)
- Make exercise-time your prayer-time! Prayer is the one thing you can do anywhere!
- Take your note cards for a hike and read the Word out loud while you walk, it can turn into a praise and worship session for sure!
- Put that ipod/iphone on your Christmas list and listen to worship music or audio books at the gym (how about listening to one of your favorite Bible teachers?)
You know it my friend: EVERYTHING WE SURRENDER TO GOD BECOMES SO MUCH BETTER AND SO MUCH EASIER.
So why not surrender your physical wellness as well?
Please share your favorite “God-Exercise-Combo” with us on here or on the Forum!
Loving God and Life!
Heleen
Posted 2 years, 1 month ago. 2 comments
Nowhere else do I get so much resistance! I’m serious! When it comes to exercise, I have to fight the enemy off with a stick. Of course it confirms that it’s REALLY IMPORTANT, but knowing this doesn’t exactly help with the fact that it’s really difficult !
Yesterday, on labor day, I had one of those famous fights with my own flesh, my family, the enemy, and of course; negative thoughts.
I slept in a little because it was a holiday, I wanted to eat pancakes, because it was a holiday and I didn’t want to exercise, you know it…because it was a holiday.
On top of that, my husband didn’t want to watch the little kids so I could go to the gym, because it was a holiday, and nobody wanted to give me a hand with the laundry, because it was a holiday… GOOD TIMES!
Now on holidays or special occasions these things merely come under the spotlight, but truth be told; it’s a daily battle. Every morning, from the moment I commit to exercise, the enemy will try every trick in the book, and use all the people I know to block me. Seriously; my family, my friends, and even acquaintances! If this doesn’t work he will throw in finances, crisis, sickness, weather, celebrations, discouragement, the list goes on…
The worst part: I don’t even need all of the above excuses to take off my sneakers and quit. No, most mornings I already have a fight going on in my head, and just a little push can make me quit on the spot.
Maybe you don’t have such a big battle when it comes to exercise, but I tell you, as soon as I open my eyes in the morning, I know that I DO NOT WANT TO EXERCISE! Even in my car on the way to the gym I have to grip the steering wheel very tightly, and focus on not turning left to Safeway instead. Even once I’m on that treadmill or bicycle I’m still telling myself that I don’t need to do more than 10 minutes today because I can go for a walk with the kids later (knowing very well that it’s going to rain). I’m not kidding, even after 35 minutes of sweating on the elliptic machine, I will still try and talk myself out of the last five minutes!
Now don’t give up on me just yet: I know that it’s a mind thing, because I NEVER regret the exercise afterward, but I ALWAYS regret it if I don’t go!!
Also, even though I have gone through the whole spectrum of figuring out which exercise I enjoy the most, what time of day is the best for me, and how I can work my exercise time around most of my family’s emergencies and needs, I still have the negative thoughts.
This is proof to me that there’s a very real battle going on every time I try to be consistent in this area. The reason: Consistent exercise and time with God plays a HUGE ROLE in overcoming food struggles and staying free!
So PLEASE don’t give up when spending time with God becomes challenging or exercise seems excruciating. It’s only so very difficult, because it’s so very important. The good news: In James 4:7 the Bible says that if we surrender to God and resist the enemy He WILL FLEE FROM US. He will of course not give up the first time you surrender, but if you keep surrendering and keep resisting, I will promise you that he will back off. It will get easier to just sit down with your Bible, or lace up those running shoes.
Of course there will be other temptations and attacks on your freedom, but every time you flex that “resistance-muscle” you will grow stronger and it will grow easier (both physical and spiritual actually:)
Come on girl, fight the battle with me, it is so worth it. Next time you don’t feel like getting up to go to the gym, or resist getting on that treadmill in the basement, or want to give up when the kids interrupt your exercise video, or think it’s too cold to go for a run, or want to call your friend to cancel your afternoon game of tennis, remember that you are most definitely NOT ALONE. In that very moment when you are having that fight with your flesh, the enemy, and people, know for sure that other ladies are fighting off the same stuff, and you too CAN BE VICTORIOUS.
I will be thinking of you next time I fight for my freedom. Please remember to shoot up a little prayer for me as well:)
Love you ladies!
Heleen
Posted 2 years, 4 months ago. Add a comment
Last week things were pretty crazy at the Woest home to say the least! Not only did we launch my ebook (finally) but Tony and I also transferred the Membership Area to a better program with much more bells and whistles (all for you ladies:)
We switched everything at about 10 pm on Thursday night, and what was suppose to be a “wow!” moment turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. Nothing worked! The ladies here in the US were sound asleep and unaware of the fact that they could not access ANYTHING, but around the world some of you ladies were waking up, and I was freaking out! It felt like being back in math class: I had to go through a long equation to figure out where I’ve made a mistake that brought me to the wrong answer!
Fortunately we got it all figured out (as you’ve probably noticed) but not until 3am Friday morning!
After a week of late nights I was beyond the point of exhaustion when my little girl woke me the next morning at 6am with a “Mommy, I need breakfast!”
Now if this is not the perfect excuse to not show up for exercise, and not spend time with God I don’t know what is! My dilemma though: I’ve made a commitment to show up, no matter what!
So of course I did the right thing…NOT!!
Sorry to disappoint you, but this girl is very much flesh and blood and I caved! I stayed home, watched Dora the Explorer with Christie and ate toast and jam. I didn’t feel to bad though. It was just one day, I deserved it, I worked so hard…
One tiny problem: Saturday morning came and I felt the same way… I now had other excuses…
I was still tired plus I had a headache. This time however, the Holy Spirit wouldn’t let me off the hook: I was reminded that I promised to show up! So I “showed-up” but with the attitude of a rebellious teenager and the face of a stubborn two year old. I was mad and felt very, very sorry for myself.
I know you’re waiting for this story to turn the corner, but not quite.
I was half walking, half hanging onto the treadmill, trying my best not to fall off. My time with God afterward didn’t go any better. I was laying on the couch, half asleep. I couldn’t focus on anything! I was thinking to myself “Well this is just a bunch of baloney, who am I kidding, I’m wasting my time!”
The rest of the weekend had the same rhythm to it: Me showing up; no fireworks, no revelations, no calories burned, nothing…
Only this morning did energy and hope return to my life and while I was lacing up my running shoes I remembered… there was a reason why I just had to show up! It was not because I didn’t deserve the rest, or because the exercise would magically revive me, or because I was about to get some great revelation. No, it was all about showing up to keep the momentum going (never mind how pathetic the effort)
Of course this happened before. I would go to the gym, just because I promised God and myself that I would, even though I barely did anything. Other times I would lay on my face before God, or stare at my Bible, feeling nothings, hearing nothing and wondering what exactly I was waiting for. But there is a lesson and a test in all of this. The Bible says that we will only reap a harvest if we do not give up! (Gal 6:9)
I can promise you that if you keep showing up at that gym or tennis court or wherever it is that you go, come rain or sunshine, sickness or health, PMS or not, you will eventually want to do more. One day you might just decide “I can lift that weight” or you might look at the older and rounder bodies around you who are jogging their hearts out and decide “I can do that”
If you keep showing up in God’s presence the same will happen. The Bible that’s now just lying open in your lap might one day come alive before your very eyes, reaching into your heart and bring healing to those very broken places. If you keep laying on that carpet morning after morning, surrendering your life to Him, you might just see Him take the wheel of your life in the most amazing way. Even better yet, you might just see His face, and never be the same again!
Just show up, dear sister. Always expect a miracle, but please don’t give up if it doesn’t happen on your time table. We don’t see the whole picture, but if we just keep showing up, God will show us His glory and change us (2 Cor 3:18)
Don’t believe the enemy when he tells you that your efforts to get active are pathetic, or you can’t feel God anyway, or the Bible is boring. Refuse to listen to him!
Let my words ring in your ears “Just show up… just show up…just show up” (Think Dori in Finding Nemo “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…)
If you have been showing up for a while, it might be time to step up though. Listen to what God wants to do. It might be time for a new Bible study, or you might be ready to read a book on exercise that can get you moving or help you spice up your workout (See my Suggested Reading List)
Never mind where you’re at though, the moment you stop showing up, trouble is knocking at your door. The good news: You can start showing up again today!
I’m sure you have funny stories to tell about “just showing up” yourselves. Let’s hear some of them!
Oh and thanks so much for all your prayers last week, God is doing a good thing!
Lots of love,
Heleen
Posted 2 years, 5 months ago. 2 comments
I know exercise might not be your favorite topic, it’s not mine either, but let’s face it: Spring is in the air and our bodies are itching to get moving, even if our minds are still glued to the couch!
