Tag Archives: health

Push through the Disappointments

It’s been nearly a month since I determined to lose 16 lbs by the end of 2017. I’m happy to say that I am on track. There have been some disappointments along the way, however. On two occasions I was on target mid-week and magically picked up a pound the next day. My body doesn’t want to lose fat. It is not easy to make the transition from burning carbs to burning fat. I’ve cut both calories and carbs. I’ve increased my activity level. I’ve been working out more often. In spite of all that, there were those two disappointments.

If I see progress, it is much easier to stay motivated. When it appears that what I am doing is not helping, I am tempted to go to one of two extremes: quit or eat nothing. Either extreme is unhealthy. Fasting for a short period, even fasting a day or two per week may be healthy. However, fasting slows the metabolism and inhibits muscle growth. Yes, I did try it, and yes I will continue to include it in my regimen. There are spiritual reasons for this as well, which are contained in another article I posted here.

Whatever I do it must be sustainable. If I lose this fat, then go back to old habits, I’ll gain it right back. I know I can do this because I’ve done it before. In 2012 I got down to 7.5% body fat and stayed there for over a year. Even after that I stayed under 10% for two more years. What caused the weight gain? Disappointment. I inujured myself and couldn’t do the intense weight training I was accustomed to, so I gradually gave up. Not completely, but enough to gain 20lbs over 4 years.

I will face disappointments. I will miss a workout. I will have a day where I eat more than my allotted 1750 calories. My body will, inexplicably, gain a pound. I’ll injure myself, or be so sore that I cannot work out. What I have to do–what I have done, and will keep doing–is to persevere. Tenacity is important. I must keep moving forward, even if it appears (or feels) as though I’m not going as fast or as far as I expected or planned.

So, I pressed on toward my goal, and I’m over halfway there. My determination remains strong. I don’t want the things I did before because I have a higher prize in front of me. Saturday was a big temptation. The micro-brewery down the street from me had its anniversary with special beers. I considered taking a cheat day and going in there. However, I was 1.4 lbs away from my weekly goal as of Thursday, so I couldn’t afford to cheat. I resisted temptation. I met my goal this morning.

This all has spiritual application as well. There are many things I’m tempted to do that I resist, not because I’m afraid, but because I am pressing on toward a higher prize: becoming like Jesus in his resurrection. “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). Keeping my eyes on the ultimate prize keeps me from doing many foolish, worthless and destructive things. It keeps me from believing lies like, “Oh, that’s not so bad.” Or, “Everybody does it.” And the most damaging, “This isn’t really wrong.” Christ’s character and commandments determine what is right and wrong. If I am going to be like him in my character, and follow him in his resurrection, I must have faith first. Then I have to follow that faith with obedience. That will make me different than many people in my culture. That’s ok. A 55 year old man with less than 10% body fat is rare too. I don’t want to be obese, and I don’t want to be un-Christlike or immoral either.

So, I press on…

ZMA and Balance

I took a supplement last night that’s supposed to help people who lift weights to gain more muscle. It’s called ZMA. Nothing exotic; just zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6. Within an hour I wasn’t feeling great; in two I was miserable. It’s hard to pinpoint how I felt, except to say that my head hurt and I was jittery in a strange way. I looked at the label and the B6 dose is really high, like over 500% of the daily recommended dose. I looked up side effects of excess B6 and it can cause nerve damage. Good grief! Why in the world are companies permitted to market and sell a product purportedly to help someone get healthier, which can actually cause physical harm? Unbelievable.

The lesson I learned from this is one I should have already learned. Do the research before you start taking the supplement, or medication, or anything else you put into your body. Get the majority of your nutrition from natural food, not pills and powders. Believe it or not, I did look at the ingredients in ZMA, as I do the other supplements I take, and thought it’d be good because what it contains are natural substances that the body requires. Problem is, you can take toxic amounts of some vitamins and minerals. I think that was the case with this product.

While I was experiencing the reaction to ZMA I was praying that God would heal me. I ate a little, vomited a little, took an over the counter pain reliever, drank water, and waited. I believe God answered my prayer fairly quickly. Within an hour I felt well enough to lay down, and I eventually fell asleep. I feel great today! Thank God.

I wrote an essay about balance last week, and this is another example of the need for that practice in life. Too little vitamin B6, zinc or magnesium will cause a variety of physical problems. Too much of these essential nutrients is toxic and causes different problems. What we need it proper balance. I am in balance today and I feel healthy.

Today is leg day in my weight workout schedule. Legs are difficult because it’s such a large muscle group. I’m in the middle of a protocol known as German Volume Training or the 10 Sets Method. The idea is to do ten sets of ten repetitions of two different exercises in a superset. On leg day. I do squats, which require a lot of effort normally, but they are paired with leg curls. You do ten repetitions of squats, wait 90 seconds, then do ten reps of leg curls, wait 90 seconds and go back to squats. Back and forth I go until ten sets of both exercises are completed. It takes a lot out of you. 

I didn’t want to do that leg workout today. I started to make excuses: I don’t feel well because of last night, my legs feel tired, I feel tired. However, I went to the gym and did the workout. Actually, I did eight sets because it felt like there might actually be something amiss. Now I feel great. Balance. The body needs to be active in order to remain healthy. If I would have sat around it wouldn’t have been healthy. If I would have pushed it, it may have been too much (today). 

The Bible has something to say about discipline, which I believe applies here. “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but in the end it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11). That verse is speaking about receiving discipline from God, but it applies to self-discipline as well. In fact, if you discipline yourself by being obedient to God and doing what He says, He won’t have any reason to correct you with outside discipline.

So, eat healthy, stay active listen to God and do what he says. He speaks through Jesus Christ, the Son, and in the Bible, his written message. In this way you’ll stay in balance and be happy.