Biggest road blocks for Believers with Health, fitness, weight loss

[AdamC]

Hi guys, thanks for letting me join the forum.

I love training and keeping fit and I'm really enjoying recently training with other Believers. This has made us start talking about:

What do you feel are the biggest issues or roadblocks we face as Believers when it comes to our health & fitness goals?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts,
Adam

 

[Lost Witness]

Welcome to CF, Brother.

 

[timewerx]

Hi guys, thanks for letting me join the forum.

I love training and keeping fit and I'm really enjoying recently training with other Believers. This has made us start talking about:

What do you feel are the biggest issues or roadblocks we face as Believers when it comes to our health & fitness goals?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts,
Adam

I think the biggest problem I see around here is over-eating. Gluttony, if I may be so blunt.

So even exercise isn't helping to lose weight. Some would exercise but over-compensate with eating. Even if they're on healthy low sugar, low glycemic Index diet like vegetarian diet which is great but even healthy foods can lead to gaining weight if you're eating too much.

Sometimes I think we pay far too much attention trying to make our foods as delicious and pleasurable to eat as possible even if they may be incredibly healthy types of foods which leads to over-eating. Even too much of a good thing is bad.

We're becoming very pleasure-centric culture which is contradictory to a Christian lifestyle of self-denial.

 

[Chaleb]

What do you feel are the biggest issues or roadblocks we face as Believers when it comes to our health & fitness goals?

Waiting too long to decide to go to the gym is THE issue.
So, basically its always the same issue.....

DAY !

You start.

There is the issue., as starting is actually more difficult then continuing, because you have no conditioning on Day 1, regarding most people.
So, get past that first day in the gym, and by the 3rd week you'll be thinking....."why didnt i do this 10 yrs ago, 20".

In a month you feel more energetic all the time and you are sleeping better.
Life is easier to deal with , when your body is in shape and you have some strength.......Thats a fact.
In 3 months you'll feel like you were alway going to the gym...It just becomes a part of your life....very naturally.

 

[bèlla]

I remember gatherings with a lot of food. Pasta, sweets and comfort items were common. You didn't see lighter fare unless the organizer had that bend. I'm not big on potlucks or buffets. Food is fuel. Not a recipe for excess. My appetite has gotten smaller over the years because the quality of food is better. I don't need as much to be sated.

For the most part I think the impediment is largely mindset. You won't do the right thing without a reason. If the buy-in isn't strong its hard to maintain. It's become socially acceptable to carry more and no one says a word. We ignore it.

The solution begins with God. What does He have to say on the subject? And follows with much needed scrutiny. What's the payoff? What are we avoiding, trying to silence or forget through its continuance? Moderation is a must and we relinquish something every year. I used to love ice cream, chips, Starbucks and soda long ago. But I rarely have the others and gave up soda and Starbucks completely.

I lost my desire for the bad stuff. It wasn't good for me. And I stopped filling my cupboards with things like that. When I want a treat I make it. I consume my meals in one sitting. I don't snack or graze all day. There's order to my consumption. I'm not ruled by my belly.

I reached a point where certain things weren't acceptable. And there was no wiggle room. That changed everything. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy a cup of coffee. But it's only 6 ounces and I don't have a second. When I make a batch of cookies I put them in the freezer and bake them in pairs. I don't need a dozen.

I drink water throughout the day and a glass of tea at times. I don't buy juice and avoid processed food. I forced myself to make freezer meals for healthy options instead of takeout. It's a lifestyle now. I'm able to enjoy my indulgences without concern. I don't have to count calories, go low fat, try a diet or rely on fasting.

My food is homemade. It's good to and good for me and I respect it. I didn't get there overnight. I kept showing up and after awhile it was all I knew. When you've truly had enough that's when the journey begins.

~bella

 

[FireDragon76]

In general, alot of Americans seem to think you need to go to a gymn to stay physically fit. Gymns cost money and they take alot of time, so people don't exercise. And in reality, alot of gymn exercises (like leg press machines, hip abductor and adductors, etc.) are potentially less healthy (at least for beginners) for your joints and tendons than exercises you can do at home, with only body weight or a few simple items like resistance bands and dumbells.

 

[YorkieGal]

Believing that the Standard American Diet is actually healthy and/or there for health in mind.

 

[Larniavc]

Hi guys, thanks for letting me join the forum.

I love training and keeping fit and I'm really enjoying recently training with other Believers. This has made us start talking about:

What do you feel are the biggest issues or roadblocks we face as Believers when it comes to our health & fitness goals?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts,
Adam

Not a believer here so you may not be interested but my take would be a weakening in the belief that YOU have to be the one who makes lifestyle changes to improve health and fitness.

No one can do that for you.

 

[FireDragon76]

Believing that the Standard American Diet is actually healthy and/or there for health in mind.

I've seen this at a few churches I go to. At my old Lutheran church, people would mostly bring junk food to coffee hour. I guess junk food is almost like soul food for that demographic. It got so bad, it contributed to walking away from the church. It really hurt the credibility of the religion for me in some ways. Beautiful worship, good preaching, but it didn't seem to pan out in any practical way as an ethic except middle class conformity and bourgeois morality. Every other person was on some kind of pharmaceutical drug or had some kind of serious health problem that was clearly related to lifestyle.

What was really shocking was how many young people at the church were on psychiatric drugs, and/or no longer attended services. You could really see how there's alot of quiet despair going on under the surface, not much of a hint of abundant life in the Johanine sense. The people were conventionally pleasant, kind, and civil, but the spirit of conformism kept that lamp under a bushel. In the end, I just felt that, along with other things I encountered, was like an oppressive spiritual "neuroleptic", a kind of religious haldol or thorazine. If I had been more socially connected, I would have tried to make a difference. But as it was, I decided to move on, a decision for which I still feel some sadness from time to time.

My new church I go to (Congregationalist) is a little healthier, but I think that's mostly because it's more ethnically diverse and socially liberal.

 

[YorkieGal]

I've seen this at a few churches I go to. At my old Lutheran church, people would mostly bring junk food to coffee hour. I guess junk food is almost like soul food for that demographic. It got so bad, it contributed to walking away from the church. It really hurt the credibility of the religion for me in some ways. Beautiful worship, good preaching, but it didn't seem to pan out in any practical way as an ethic except middle class conformity and bourgeois morality. Every other person was on some kind of pharmaceutical drug or had some kind of serious health problem that was clearly related to lifestyle.

What was really shocking was how many young people at the church were on psychiatric drugs, and/or no longer attended services. You could really see how there's alot of quiet despair going on under the surface, not much of a hint of abundant life in the Johanine sense. The people were conventionally pleasant, kind, and civil, but the spirit of conformism kept that lamp under a bushel. In the end, I just felt that, along with other things I encountered, was like an oppressive spiritual "neuroleptic", a kind of religious haldol or thorazine. If I had been more socially connected, I would have tried to make a difference. But as it was, I decided to move on, a decision for which I still feel some sadness from time to time.

My new church I go to (Congregationalist) is a little healthier, but I think that's mostly because it's more ethnically diverse and socially liberal.

Interesting! Thanks for sharing because that is a very different experience than mine.

I notice all the working class I know, or am related to, eat mainly fast food, sugary coffees etc.

On the other hand, the upper class, middle class (higher earners/education) tend to stay away from fast food, medication as well as pop (soda). Obviously, there are exceptions to this, but less exceptions here than the demographic above. I know a good deal of upper class/middle class people who eat healthily with just a few exceptions.

I don't know anyone from a working class background who has a healthy diet and is, in fact, the epitome of unhealthy. They are all on at least 5 medications and, like you, I realize they are all due to lifestyle. This is a particularly sensitive subject between me and my mom. We got into a disagreement about it, recently, so I have just left it alone in the interest of our relationship.

Working class people I speak to often view my diet as something only achievable by higher earners which is not even close to the truth. But, the perception is there and, despite me giving examples of the foods I eat, the cost differential etc, they stigma of rich vs poor remains and so they continue to eat unhealthy thinking that there is no health implications to change other than 'acting fancy'!

 

[FireDragon76]

Interesting! Thanks for sharing because that is a very different experience than mine.

What's noteworthy is that German-Americans brought gymn culture to the US (or "physical culture" as it was called). There were alot of great German physical educators, bodybuilders, strongmen, and health enthusiasts. However, I don't think that is reflected in Evangelical Lutheranism in the US so much. Gymn and fitness culture in Germany was influenced alot by an interest in classical education following the Reformation, not necessarily religion. Many of the ELCA's demographics are rural midwestern and mid-atlantic descendents of German and Scandinavian immigrants, people that grew up on farms and got plenty of hard manual labor, not city-dwellers. They tend to eat that way too, lots of grain and fat, even though most are no longer farmers.

 

[timewerx]

On the other hand, the upper class, middle class (higher earners/education) tend to stay away from fast food, medication as well as pop (soda). Obviously, there are exceptions to this, but less exceptions here than the demographic above. I know a good deal of upper class/middle class people who eat healthily with just a few exceptions.

I do the same but my diet is far less sophisticated and vastly cheaper than those of the upper middle class.

For example, the food I eat amounts to less than $1 a day (pork, rice, carrots, beans, milk, and oatmeal). It's even vastly cheaper than if you ate fast food and soda pop often.

My "poison" is sweetened oatmeal with decaf coffee for flavor.