Motivation

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Philippians 4:13

There are so many reasons to begin prioritizing your health – from losing excess weight, healing or preventing metabolic disease, being able to set a good example for your kids or even just being around long enough to watch them grow up. However, the one obstacle that trips people up more than anything else is that old, dreaded.. lack of motivation.

The Solution to a Lack of Motivation

I have found the best solution to maintaining consistency even with waxing and waning motivation is joining yourself to deeper, stable reasons for wanting to change your health beyond losing 5 pounds or looking a little better.

Though, hey, I’m not against these goals in principle, they often will not sustain you through the difficult times. You will likely find yourself yo-yoing between making progress when you feel good and motivated and then swinging back in the opposition direction time and time again once things get harder. (Anyone else been there before? I have, many times, and so have many of the people I’ve worked with. That’s how I know it doesn’t work.)

However, once you can get a hold of your deeper, REAL reasons for wanting to be healthier, you will be unstoppable! Even if at times you feel like you’re making progress at more of a snail’s pace than a hare, you’ll be motivated to keep going. After all, that’s what this thing called a ‘health journey’ is all about.

What is Your Reason?

To Honor God and Be a Greater Witness

As Christians, we incorporate and embrace boundaries and standards for all aspects related to how we live our daily lives. Why should our health be any different? After all, the Bible tells us we are temples of God’s spirit that dwells within us. It also tells us to glorify God in our bodies and to exercise discipline in our daily choices. By taking care of our health we are honoring this relationship and enhancing our witness to others. This also opens the door for others around us to make changes to improve their health, impacting our families and community.

I also believe that while God is the ultimate healer, oftentimes He has already given us, in many circumstances, what we need to heal ourselves. We should recognize when it comes to many metabolic diseases, much of the responsibility is still on us to make good choices. I don’t believe God is going to come down from heaven and smack the junk food out of any of our hands (though wouldn’t that be nice sometimes?) but I do believe if we make the right choices He has designed our bodies to heal and thrive.

To Heal or Prevent Chronic Disease

Chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer are some of the leading causes of death in the world for both men and women. It is estimated that over 60% of Americans have one chronic disease and 40% have two or more. It has also been shown that one overwhelmingly leading preventable cause of death in modern society is being overweight or obese. What is perhaps the most disturbing is the fastest growing sector of the population that deals with obesity is children. Each person dealing with these diseases is a person in a health crisis, and it impacts that person’s physical health, mental health, family and community.

The good news is these conditions are often highly preventable and treatable through consistent exercise, a healthy diet, and overall healthier lifestyle. In fact, living a healthy lifestyle with regular exercise and following a healthy, nutrient-rich diet has been linked to…

Achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight and body composition
Extending life expectancy
Reducing the likelihood of developing or prematurely dying from heart disease
Reducing the risk of cardiac events, including heart attacks, in those already diagnosed with a heart condition
Significantly helping reduce high blood pressure (hypertension)
Reducing total elevated cholesterol (dyslipidemia)
Helping improve blood glucose management and quality of life for people with type 1 diabetes
Successfully preventing and treating type 2 diabetes
Preventing an estimated 30-35% of specific cancers and reducing the overall risk of cancer in general
Improving management of symptoms and quality of life for individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Improving mood
Increasing self-esteem
Increasing positive body image
Getting better sleep
Controlling and reducing stress
Controlling and reducing anxiety
Controlling and reducing depression
Controlling and reducing PTSD
Increasing self confidence, autonomy, self efficacy and well being

For Your Children and Family

For children, parents or guardians are the single most significant influence for determining what lifestyle habits they develop. Social evidence has shown that children are much more likely to mimic and adopt the habits they physically see and experience themselves, rather than those they only hear or learn about. By modeling healthy habits for your children, you are putting them at an advantage to maintain their physical and mental health throughout both their young and adult lives.

For most middle aged adults, one of the biggest influences in their lives for whether or not they practice healthy habits is whether or not their spouse does. For older adults, support from family is also particularly important to ensure they are remaining healthy. Across all age groups, community influence has also been shown to be incredibly impactful when it comes to many factors of healthy living. This means no matter who you are, you have an impact on those around you, and by choosing to adopt and embrace a healthier way of living, you can be the positive example your spouse, child, parent, sibling, friend or church needs.

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