written by Jeremy Hawkins
Living a Good Life
Like many, I begin each new year with resolutions or goals I hope to accomplish. My efforts this year are centered on living a good life. This is a personal mantra I recorded in one of Lynnie’s gratitude journals last August. One area I find myself particularly focused on is my physical health.
I had a birthday in October – I am working on being closer to 50 than 45. At that point, I felt pretty comfortable with what I was doing for my fitness. Unfortunately the scale wasn’t changing in the direction I had hoped it would. Perhaps you have heard the phrase that weight is lost in the kitchen and muscles are toned in the gym. I decided to test that out. I continued my fitness routine but changed my eating patterns. I stopped my practice of intermittent fasting and taking supplements. Instead, I returned to three meals a day and tried to be more mindful of what those meals consisted of.
Getting Derailed
Before I got too far into my experiment, I nearly broke my ankle. Exercise came to a screeching halt for several weeks. I stuck with my healthy eating efforts but didn’t do much physical activity. It was disappointing to have been derailed from my hard work by something beyond my control. I chose, though, to focus on the positive and do what I could.
Fast forward to mid-December. Because of a health program incentive at work, I stepped on a scale. It had been almost a year since I’d last done so. I wasn’t overly surprised to see that I weighed more than I ever had. To put that into perspective, I weigh almost 50 pounds more than I did less than ten years ago. 50 pounds!
Focusing on Blessings
The weight increase was not what I had hoped to see. But do you know what? I didn’t find myself discouraged. That was partly due to some perspective I gained last year in reading the book Heart of the Matter1 by religious leader Russell M. Nelson. Thanks to this book, I was able to look beyond discouragement. Instead I focused on the following blessings (with quotes from the chapter “Honor Your Body” to drive the point home):
I know where I stand and can track that regularly
“I have been blessed with good health, and I have been conscientious about taking care of my body. I have weighed myself every day for decades, and if I put on a pound or two, I cut back on my intake for a few days. Years of treating patients with heart maladies convinced me that the most important number to watch is one’s weight.
“As an aside, I am not advocating being model thin, going on extreme diets, or spending excessive amounts of time working out. A person’s worth is not measured by their appearance. “For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (1 Sam 16:7) I simply suggest that keeping your weight within a healthy range for your body type is important for long-term health.” (page 129)
I view my body as a temple
Jesus was the first to refer to the body as a temple (see John 2:19-21); Paul later said something similar (1 Corinthians 3:16, 17)
“The only explanation for the creation of something so magnificent as the human body is that it was created by God. The body is an unspeakable gift that allows us to work, play, love, travel, help others, and test our endurance. It allows us to learn, grow, develop talents, gain knowledge that we can retain, and communicate with each other. I agree with the Apostle Paul. Our bodies are the equivalent of a temple and should be revered.” (page 135)
Healthy living is a process contributed to by genetics and daily choices
“Now an important note: No one has a perfect body, and the relentless pursuit of a perfect body will prove superficial at best and can actually lead to illness and even death, as in the case of anorexia and bulimia. A perfect body is not required to be happy or to enjoy the richness life has to offer. Caring for our bodies, on the other hand, will pay unending dividends.” (page 136)
Practicing What I Preach
With the need to weigh less than I currently do for my long-term health, how do I operationalize these blessings? A few thoughts come to mind.
I know where I stand and can track that regularly
- This year I will utilize my scale and track what I eat. Awhile back I told someone trending toward Type II Diabetes to avoid foods that begin with the letter C. Examples include cake, candy, chips, coke (soda in general), cookies, and crackers. They found that easier said than done, but maybe it’s time that I take my advice.
My body is a temple created by God
- I believe this and therefore should also believe that God cares how I care for my body. And, He will help me “avoid self-inflicted health problems.” In late November I had a colleague pass away after a 4-year battle with breast cancer. She was a fantastic, very loved PE-teacher educator. She would commonly say, “We are all born with a desire to move – bad teaching and circumstances screw it up.“2 I will involve Him more in the process, drawing upon that innate desire to move.
Healthy living is a process
- I will be patient and kind to myself. I did not get to my current weight overnight and need to take a long-range view. I will focus on daily choices that get me to where I want to be, in time. To lose a pound a week one must burn 500 more calories per day (3500 calories a week). Is that attainable? Probably. But it is okay if that does not happen. Consistent effort – being a little bit better each day – will be key for me.
Moving Forward
What are the things you are resolving to accomplish in 2025? Some refer to this coming Friday, the second Friday in January, as Quitters Day. It has the unfortunate reputation of being the day when people are likely to give up their resolutions. Will that be you? It may help you to keep going by sharing your resolution with someone else. We would be happy to be that for you; just leave a comment below. You may also find resources like this to be helpful. As for me, my goal is to be down 50 pounds by the time I enter my 50th year. I am anxious to keep you updated on how that is going. Happy New Year!
