Let's Get Physical

Remember this song? I'd have to say early 80's maybe later was when Olivia Newton John belted out this memorable (if not disturbing) tune. Interestingly enough, the title ties perfectly with next installment of the "Daniel Fast" Diaries....hey, that's not bad, I'll have to remember that.

Now you would think that going on a fast would lead someone to feell extremely weak and tired. Possibly losing strength at each passing day just longing to eat that next burger from Wendy's only to survive. To you I say, Au Contraire (I did take a semester of French. That word is french right?) . Now don't get me wrong, the Daniel fast is not exactly an enjoyable experience at first. Eliminating meat, dairy, sugars and seasonings from my diet was like 90% of my nutritional intake some days. But I made it through and interesting enough, I actually began to enjoy it.

Over the course of the 21 days, I physically began to feel better. I slept extremely peacefully despite a 7 month old that insisted on waking up every night. However, this was a perfect opportunity to spend some time feeding her and in prayer. Each morning I felt well rested and ready to begin the next day. It was as if I didn't need as much sleep as I first thought. However , now that the fast has ended I seem to be needing more sleep again. This is probably not coincidental.

In addition to the sleep, I noticed no major change in physical performance. My workouts continued to go well and I experienced no major drop off in strength or endurance during the 3 weeks. Speaking of dropping off, I did manage to lose about 15-17 pounds during the 3 week fast. A bit much and not what my intentions of the fast were, however I have begun to wonder about the possibility of a Daniel Diet. Just kidding...or am I?

Anyway, all in all, physically the fast was tremendous. I will admit that I couldn't wait to add meat back into my diet, but besides that have stayed pretty true to the Daniel fast lifestyle. (Except for the occiassional pancake and hot chocolate. I love hot chocolate.)

However, in hindsight, why should we be surprised that this is what happens physically on this fast. In the book of Daniel 1:15-16 At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the rich foods and wines. Seriously, I think it just did what it was supposed to.

New Workout

Thought It might be time to post a new workout. Give this one a shot and let me know what you think. It's a great "hybrid" workout combining dumbbells and bodyweight exercises. Move through it as quickly as possible resting only as needed for the following sets.

Monday - 2 sets of 15 reps
Wednesday - 3 sets of 10 reps
Friday - 4 sets of 6 reps



Remember why you are working out....you are preparing your body to better be used for the service and purposes laid before you. With each rep remember you are glorifying God with your body!

fasting4Service

I promised I'd recap my fasting experience. Hopefully by now, you've checked into the Daniel Fast just to get a better idea of what I was eating or not eating. However, although my mind was originally focused on the "P" part of the fast, it quickly became an IES event.

As you know, in a spiritual fast, the idea is to spend time reading and praying for certain things. I decided to take my 21 days and pray for several different topics but the main ones being a financial breakthrough for my training facility, (I own a personal training studio that is going through some ups and downs....on a side note, the studio's site is being converted to a ning.site so I hope you all will join that one as well), a final resolution to my anxiety issues, and finally my family. (Obviously I prayed for other things like friends, fit4service members, our country, but you get the picture)

Without delay, my prayers seemed to come alive. I was barely into the fast when it seemed no matter what I read in the Bible, or show I watched on television, God was shouting out his promises to me. I was being lifted out of the "pit" and onto the mountaintop. I experienced many emotions of spiritual joy/sadness, overwhelming humbleness/worthlessness, unbelievable boldness/power. These mountaintop feelings seemed to continue day in and day out as long as I was seeking Him and his word. Never have I experienced such a daily refreshing as I did during this fast. God truly rewarded my sacrifice by meeting me day in and day out.

Interestingly enough, my current conditions haven't changed much. There hasn't been a multitude of people rushing into the gym....yet (although we have seen some nice growth since the fast) I still must make a concious decision to choose peace over fear. So in our human eyes, was the fast a waste?

Not a chance, in the midst of the turmoil, I can still hear the promises shouted to me on the mountaintop. I can still sense the peace that I experienced during the 21 days. Now don't get me wrong, when the bills come up at the gym and that feeling of anxiety begins to grip me, I have to make that decision to Be His and not mine. I have to return to the verses that jumped off the page to me only days before. I have to get on my knees and seek a refilling of His Presence. But yet at the end of the day, He always comes through. He always gives me that "manna" for today. No more (unfortunately) but no less either (thankfully). If I've learned anything from the spiritual part of this journey, it's that I really have no idea how God is going to work....I just know that He is. And maybe, that's all I need to know

fit4tubing!

I went snow tubing today. Have you ever done it? It is a BLAST! I went for two primary reasons...most importantly because my youngest daughter asked me to... and also simply because I can!

Just a few short years ago, I would have been in NO condition...physically, intellectually, emotionally or even spiritually...to have EVER considered doing what we did today.

I very easliy would have come up with 5, 10, 15 reasons why I should NOT honor my daughter's request.

"I'm too busy with work today", "I have too many things to get done around here", "I'm too old for that kind of nonsense", "I'm liable to break my neck"...are just a few of the rationale that would have been employed to avoid sliding down a snow covered hill at breathtakingly speedy speeds!

That was before I better understood what "complete living for total giving" really means. Every last excuse I would have handed to my daughter would have resulted in a very disappointed young lady. Please note that none of the excuses that would have been advanced by me were focused where they should have been...on her wish to spend time with her dad.

"I", I'm", "I'll"...me, me, me would have been all that I could have come up with...never considering the opportunities that would be missed by that kind of self-centered thinking.

Don't get me wrong...some of the reasons for not doing it may have been valid. My work is very demanding. I do have a ton of responsibility. Speaking as the senior member of fit4service... I am old and I could break my neck!

But I now better understand that being fit to serve my family means always trying to do the things that keep me in shape and ready to serve. It means always trying to take better care of my health, always trying to manage my time better, always striving to live a more balanced life and always praising God for keeping my eyes, mind and heart open to the value of His blessings in my life.

A life in service to others is very demanding. It's hard work. It takes commitment and focus. It is not for the feint of heart. But it is always worthwhile.

Sometimes it means swallowing your pride. Sometimes it means facing the unknown. Sometimes it means skipping the dessert. Sometimes it means doing the lunges when you really don't want to do the lunges...ever!

All so that you may be fit to serve. Whether you're staying up all night with a newborn or comforting a grieving friend or giving it your all in a new business venture or careening down a huge hill hanging out all over the sides of an overblown innertube just to make your daughter laugh her head off when she sees her old man wipeout with a face full of snow...being fit4service is always worthwhile!

Everfasting Life

Back in college, my friends and I would play this game where you make a word up that kind of describes a situation but might not quite be a word. For example:
1. If it was 32 degrees out, it would be like Nat King Cold outside
2. If I was really tired, I would be like Little Bo Sleep
3. If someone needed a shower, they were like Dirt and Eernie

You get the point. We had so much fun with that game. Little did I know it was preparing me to come up with future blog titles....The Everfasting Life would be a great name for a book though.

Anyway, as you know, 3 weeks ago, I started the Daniel Fast. This is my second time on a fast like this and have had an amazing time on them both.

It's called a Daniel Fast because 3 times in the book of Daniel, he talks about choosing to neglect certain foods for a period of times. In Daniel 10, he fasts for 3 weeks of meat, any seasoning, alcohol etc. In Daniel 1, he requests to only eat fruits and veggies for 10 days and ends up being in better condition than his Egyptian peers that were eating the fat of the land. Another time in Daniel, he full fasts for 3 days. (Haven't done this one yet)

Anyway, there are lots of great resources in our World Wide Web about the Daniel Fast but it basically breaks down to not eating meat, dairy, anything sugary or processed, alcohol, and anything of seasoning etc. You can eat however, fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and whole grains like oatmeal, brown rice and whole grain pasta. it is by no means a very strict fast and some people actually live this way. However removing meat, dairy and seasonings for me proved to be quite a challenge.

Both times that I've done this fast, 10 days and most recently 21 days, I felt like garbage for the first 2 days as my body rid itself of the toxins and addictions of my "normal" diet. My mother experienced a headache for 36 hours when she did it. However, without fail, in a few short days....everything started to change. I'll write more on that tomorrow. The lions in my den are growling...I need something to eat! (that's a reference to daniel in the lions den for those of you who might not get me yet)

Snap Back to Reality

I know I was going to blog about my experiences on the Daniel Fast these last 21 days, but first I wanted to comment on what happened with me today.

As you know, I'm back to eating a little bit more normal and today added in some processed foods that I haven't eaten in the last 3 weeks. What an interesting day. I could literally feel myself getting tired. In addition to the fatigue i also experienced an edginess and anxiety that I haven't felt in weeks and to top it off I wasn't definitely a bit scatter brained today as I seemed to have trouble focusing on a task and was all over the map today accomplishing very little.

Crazy! Now call it coincidence if you want, but adding in some non-natural foods has definitely made a huge difference in my ability to be fit4service. Even more scary is the realization that I actually lived that way day in and day out. It's kind of like having a dull headache. You forget what it's like to feel normal because you are so used to having that headache. That's the way we live. I am now convinced more then ever that nutrition is the cornerstone of living a physically healthy life.