HIIT and Run Workout #1

yoga for runners

Add, Don't Subtract

The other day, while pinteresting (the act, nay art, of perusing and re-pinning on pinterest), I stumbled across an article boasting "67 Ways to Lose Weight". Of course, I had to read it. The article basically consisted of a number of small changes that one could make to their diet that could aide in weight loss. While I scanned the article, picking and choosing which points to fully read, I came across one point that deserved my full attention. Number 45. "Add, Don't Subtract." I will let you read it for yourself...

45. Add, don’t subtract
Instead of fixating on cutting out cookies, cake, pizza, and all that heavy cream in your morning coffee, focus instead on adding healthy foods to your menu. Ditching all the “bad” stuff can be a daunting task, one that’s easier to stick to by focusing on one habit at a time (science says it takes anywhere from 18-254 days to form a habit). Add in as many healthy habits as you’d like — drink more water, stock up on fresh fruits and veggies — and slowly wean off of the not-so-good-for-you goodies

I liked this idea. Rather than focusing on cutting out "bad" habits, shift your focus to adding in more "good" habits. Instead of cutting out soda, chocolate, carbs and salt, opt for adding more water, veggies, protein and fiber. Eat more. I can do that!

The brilliance of this principle is that if you successfully add the right things; protein, water, fiber... they will fill you up. If you are adding protein and fiber to every meal, you won't be hungry again in an hour or so. If you are constantly drinking water, your craving for soda will diminish. If you are snacking on veggies throughout the day, you won't be snacking on chips or cookies. Adding "good" things will naturally begin to subtract the "bad" things. The more good things that you consume, the fewer "bad" things you will have room for. The more you allow yourself to be filled with healthy things, the less you desire to snack on the unhealthy things.

John 3:30 reads, "He must increase, I must decrease." As Jesus increases, I must decrease. It happens automatically. It is not possible to be completely filled by two different things. If one of the two is increasing, there is not enough room for other. It must decrease.

The more good things I fill up on, the less room I have for the bad things. The more I am filled with God's truth, the less room I have for the lies of this world. The more I am filled with biblical wisdom, the less room I have for worldly ignorance. The more I am filled with God's direction, the less room I have for selfish ambition. The more I am filled with godly fellowship, the less room I have for unhealthy, ungodly relationships. The more I am filled with Holy Spirit, the less room I have for my selfish, sinful, sorry, self.

Although I became a Christian at an early age, I did a pitiful job of truly living a life that was pleasing to God until I was about halfway through college. At this time, the Lord began changing my heart, stirring and prompting me to make changes... to ADD things to my daily life. He prompted me to begin attending a local church, to take part in a campus ministry, to join a Bible study, and to read scripture. He created in me a desire to add these things to my life. And I did.

The ironic part, however, was that there were many habits that I was still practicing that were far from godly. bad habits. bad choices. bad relationships. But at this point in time, I felt no conviction whatsoever to subtract any of these things from my daily life.

I think often times people feel that before they can be spiritually healthy, they must work on ridding themselves of all of their bad habits. We believe that we cannot attend church or bible study while we are still frequenting bars and clubs. We feel that we can't start studying scripture until we have stopped looking at pornography. We think that we cannot begin to fill ourselves with Christ until we have been completely purged of our sin. Well, guess what? we can.

It is not necessary, nor possible, to empty oneself of sin in order to make room to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In fact, it is quite the opposite. God seeks to pour His truth and life and power and love into us while we are still full of sin, so that as we begin to be filled by Him, our sinful desires are forced out. As He increases, we will decrease.

When Jesus got a hold of me, he did not prompt me to cut out all of the bad things in my life, He challenged me to add more good things. more godly things. God knows that as we fill up with His truth, His love, His purpose, we will soon be so full that we will not have the desire, nor the room, to fill up on the sinful things that we once did. And while it may have seemed odd, even wrong, to others who saw me leave a bar on Saturday night and enter a church on Sunday morning, it looked just right to God. He knew what he was doing. He still knows what He's doing. He knew that the more of Him I had, the less of everything else I would have room for. He knew that as He increased, I would decrease. And I did. I still am.



To read the full article mentioned above go to http://greatist.com/health/tips-lose-weight/

Senior Strength Training

power yoga workout #3

power yoga workout #2

Doomed to be Dehydrated

I have this purple water bottle that I carry with me everywhere. At the gym, at church, at home, in the car... I tote that sucker with me wherever I go. That way, I am constantly drinking water. Well, it's more like 70% water and 30% lemon juice. Anyway, the other day when I came home from work, I forgot to take my purple water bottle out of the car, which Danny then drove to work, leaving me water bottle-less (and thirsty) ALL day!

Now, while it seems an easy enough solution to just pour a glass of water and drink it, let me assure you, it is not that simple. My water bottle can go anywhere. On the floor, the couch, the swing set. It can't spill or break and it doesn't need a coaster. It is just much harder to tote a glass of water around all day when I am chasing little crazies all over the place.

With all of that being said, my POINT is that without my purple water bottle by my side, I did not drink water all day. I may have had a glass with lunch and dinner, but it was nothing compared to my usual continuous consumption when "old Violet" is around. I was dehydrated.

Despite my dehydration, Danny and I left for our routine weekly run. Within the first few minutes I could tell this was going to be a rough one. My feet felt heavy, my breathing was already labored, and before we even finished the first mile, my muscles were beginning to ache.

I usually love to run. I run between 3 and 6 miles at least 3 days a week and Danny and I run between 5 and 10 miles together once a week on our "date night run". Normally, I feel great when I run. It energizes me. It relaxes me. It makes me feel strong. But not tonight. Tonight I felt weak. Sore. Tired. Tight. Hot. Weary. Defeated. Thirsty.

I needed water. Dehydration has powerful effects on our bodies. Water is essential in order for our bodies to function properly. Without water, we literally cannot survive. Water is critical for maintaining functionality of our brains, heart, lungs, kidneys and muscles. Even a slight drop in our body's water level (2%) and we begin experiencing fatigue, headaches, cramps, decreased concentration, reduced muscular strength and endurance and impaired balance and coordination. Our bodies are made of mostly water and therefore cannot operate without it. We cannot deprive our bodies of their main source of power and expect to be able to function normally.

When we are properly hydrated we are able to thrive and function as we were designed to. We experience a marked increase in our energy level as well as our metabolism. It also improves our memory, digestion, circulation and increases concentration, flexibility, muscle tone and lean muscle mass. Drinking enough water also improves our complexion, builds stronger teeth and bones, decreases fluid retention and suppresses appetite, which can result in weight loss.

It is estimated that 75% of Americans experience mild, chronic dehydration. In fact, we have gotten so accustomed to dehydration, many people are unable to recognize our body's natural thirst cues and often mistake thirst signals for hunger. This results in overeating, which leads to excess weight gain, all the while never addressing the original underlying problem of dehydration. We have become so accustomed to dehydration that we don't even recognize our own body's cries for water! We are attempting to solve the wrong problem. We are consuming the wrong substance. We are worsening our dehydration and allowing our bodies to suffer the consequences because we are ignorant of our own needs.

In John chapter 4, Jesus addresses the Samaritan woman at the well...

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

The woman at the well was thirsty. She was thirty in a way that she herself did not even realize. But Jesus sees her thirst. He sees her symptoms of dehydration. He sees her failed attempts at solving the problem. This woman has been married five times and is now living with another man to whom she is not even married. She is attempting to satisfy her thirst with these relationships. She is consuming the wrong substance. Attempting to solve the wrong problem. She is worsening her dehydration because she is ignorant of her own needs.

She is thirsty. For purpose. For fulfillment. For truth. For love. But not just ANY old love will do. Not the love of a husband. or five. She is thirsty for the love of a SAVIOR. She is in desperate need of living water.

I would venture to say that far more than 75% of Americans suffer from spiritual dehydration. Christians and non-Christians alike, we all experience the tell-tale signs that indicate our desperate need for a drink of living water. Anxiety. Frustration. Entitlement. Anger. Ungratefulness. Unforgiveness. Selfishness. Emptiness. Pride. These are all signs of spiritual dehydration.

We have grown so accustomed to living with these symptoms that we fail to recognize them for what they truly are. We are ignorant to the REAL problem. We often see these things in our lives and misinterpret them as something else. HUNGER. We think we can feed these symptoms and cure them. So we eat. We feed on revenge, bitterness and jealousy. We seek satisfaction from sex, relationships, work, appearances, money and other indulgences. But at the end of the day, we are still thirsty. We cannot quench our thirst if we do not recognize that we are thirsty. We cannot solve a problem that we do not realize exists. And so our souls continue to ache, to cry out. Our hearts cease to be satisfied and continue to thirst.

We are thirsty for a Savior. We were made by God, in His image (Gen. 1:27), filled with His breath at our creation. He literally breathed life into us (Gen. 2:7). We were made by God, created from God and intended for God and therefore cannot thrive without Him. We cannot expect to deprive our souls of their main source of power and still function normally. There is one thing and one thing only that we quench our thirst. One thing that will fill us and allow us never to thirst again. Jesus.

As a Christian, I have been filled with God's Spirit. The Holy Spirit Himself dwells within me. My power source. My spring of water welling up into eternal life. I have a constant flowing source of strength surging inside of me. I should have no need to return to ANY well ever again. And yet I do. I fail to recognize my thirst. I confuse my symptoms for something else and feed off the wrong substance. I continue to go to wells. Wells filled with material things, physical appearance, the approval of others. I consume and yet I continue to suffer the symptoms of entitlement, frustration, ungratefulness, bitterness, jealousy and anxiety.

I am thirsty. Thirsty for purpose. For fulfillment. For truth. For love. But not just ANY old love will do. Not the love of money. or things. or even my husband. Only the love of Christ will do. It is the ONLY remedy to quench the thirst of a dehydrated soul. The Holy Spirit is the ONLY water that will satisfy my needs and subdue my symptoms.

Everyday I need to hydrate. Not just a glass of prayer with lunch and a sip of a sermon on Sundays. No. That won't do. I need a purple water bottle of Holy Spirit to tote alongside me throughout my day. A slurp each time my children test my patience. A swig when I feel anxious about our finances. A chug or two when my ungrateful, entitled heart begins to rear its ugly head. In order to prevent dehydration, I need to be drinking in the Spirit all day long. Praying without ceasing, reading my Bible, studying scripture and relying on the Holy Spirit to fill me up.

We are all thirsty. Until we acknowledge our thirst and recognize the only water that can quench it, our needs will continue to go unmet. Our souls will continue to suffer the symptoms. Our minds will seek to feed the wrong problem. Unless we are drinking daily, hourly, continually from our purple water bottles of living water, we are all doomed to be dehydrated.