Healthy and Strong

I am very guilty of not having this next quality I wish to talk about! Those of you who know me know that I'm the LAST person who should be giving this advice...but the advice I give isn't coming from me, but from God's word. I just insert little thoughts I have on God's advice...take God's words as truth...take mine as human reasoning with possible errors...and that goes for all my posts, not just this one!  Proverbs 31: 17 says that the virtuous woman "girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms." What!? She exercises!? lol...There's a reason we exercise (and eat healthy)...It makes us healthy, and believe it or not, happier, too!

Mayo Clinic (stated here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ01676) says "No matter what your current weight, being active boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol and decreases unhealthy triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly, which decreases your risk of cardiovascular diseases. In fact, regular physical activity can help you prevent or manage a wide range of health problems and concerns, including stroke, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, depression, certain types of cancer, arthritis and falls." They also stated, "Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed. You may also feel better about your appearance and yourself when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem."

Some verses that have really helped me when I'm struggling with not being active enough of eating poorly:
1 Corinthians 10:31 "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
Romans 14:17 "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."
Micah 6:8 "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
I Cor. 6:19-20 "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

Sometimes the reason I want to eat is just to make me feel better or fill up my time or keep my hands busy or whatever, but if instead I turn to God to make me feel better or read His word to fill up time or keep my hands busy for HIM....that will help that a lot...when I want to eat something that's not good for me I need to remind myself "My body is a gift from God, do I want to ruin a gift from God by clogging my arteries or putting on weight which makes it hard for me to do things that I need to do for Him?"

Here's some websites I found that help me:
http://www.caloriesperhour.com/ -tells you how many calories you should eat in a day to obtain your goal...
http://www.mybodygallery.com/index.html - shows you what REAL people look like at your weight and height and shape and stuff...I used it (and the site below) to see the difference between my weight now and my goal weight....which after looking I determined to be about 155...
http://howmuchshouldiweigh.org/ - tells you your ideal healthy weight...and gives you a good range that's considered still healthy.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ - a network for weight loss support and tools such as calorie counting.

So what if you fail one day? Start again the next! II Cor. 4:16 says,  "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

Is it hard? YES! very much so sometimes, but I can do it, with Christ's help and trying to remember that yes in a way I'm doing this for me, but mainly I'm doing it for God so I can be better used for Him!