Week 5 A
EXERCISE
Dear friend,
Would you be so kind as to check off the following things that we previously dealt with, in order for you to get an idea of how you’re doing. If you have not made any progress in this area it might be a good idea to ask for some prayer by sending me an email or posting on our Members Forum. You might also look into some counseling, or support from a friend or pastor to speed up your healing.
- Are you still going strong with your 40 days?
If not, don’t feel bad, just pick it right up again. Remember, it’s not about doing it perfectly. It’s about being aware of the spiritual realm so that you can stay alert and see the attacks against you for what they are. If you are busy breaking free from dangerous methods, you will need this more than ever. Be sure to surround yourself with prayer. Don’t let pride stop you from asking people to pray for you, it is crucial right now.
- Are you stopping and making time to be alone with God and His Word?
Have you experienced the enemy’s daily strategies to keep you from God?
- Did you pour out your heart before God about your past fad diets and dangerous methods?
- Are you starting to let go of these, if only a little?
- Are you asking for support to get you through this tough time?
- Did you find a food program that fits you and that you can do consistently?
- Have you signed up or are you looking into signing up for this program soon?
- How about menus and shopping lists?
- Are you ready to get started by drawing up your first menu for this week and saving it?
Why, oh why, is it so hard for us to do exercise?
We know we need it to stay healthy and we know we will probably shed a pound or two – but most of us HATE it! WHY?
For someone with an Eating Disorder exercise can be another dangerous method of weight control
- People suffering from Anorexia and Bulimia sometimes use exercise as a form of purging. After binging or just eating what they perceive as “too much”, they might exercise for hours on end to get rid of the unwanted calories.
- In the case of Binge Eating Disorder exercise can be despised but “used” along the same lines as fad diets. In other words: When the binging is going on people with Binge Eating Disorder will usually not exercise at all, but during the “panic times”, before some event or important occasion, they would start an exercise routine together with the fad diet. This exercise, just like the fad diet, can not last, because it exhausts the already depleted body and can even cause serious injuries.
So should someone with an eating disorder avoid exercise?
The answer is NO – Exercise is very important and it can play a huge role in your recovery if you do it right.
Exercise too, as with eating, needs to become CONSISTENT in your life and you need to do it for the sole purpose of having a healthy body.
Just like with eating, if you’re exercising mainly for weight loss you will always have a short-term mindset, so there is no commitment and no consistency.
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So how do you exercise consistently? You slowly introduce exercise, little at a time, so your body can get use to it and keep at it, not for the sake of weight loss, but just for the sake of health, to do it forever. One of the biggest mistakes people make is to look at exercise as “punishment” and then “punish” themselves with too much too soon, and to top it off they pick an exercise they don’t even care for at all. |
WHY DO WE HAVE TO EXERCISE?
Here are just a few of the amazing benefits of exercise:
1. Exercise helps with depression: It’s a medical fact that when you exercise your brain releases endorphins, a feel good chemical, that helps with depression. It can also help you get rid of stress and anxiety. Just try it, it’s amazing! God made our bodies to move a little.
2. Exercise is very beneficial in helping a person with binge eating disorder get out of the negative downward spiral. If you exercise you are much more motivated to take care of your body and to eat healthy. Exercise actually gives you an appetite for healthy foods!
3. Aerobic exercises are known to keep your heart healthy, which is obviously a good thing, a stronger heart can pump blood more efficiently, which is good news for your whole body.
4. Exercise can reduces the risk of :
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Type 2 diabetes
Stroke
Obesity
Breast cancer
Colon cancer
5. Aerobic exercise activates your immune system, making you less susceptible to viral illnesses such as colds and flu.
6. Aerobic exercise is also known to help with a lack of energy and fatigue. Although it might not feel so at first, it will increase your energy over time if you keep doing it consistently.
7. Incorporating weights with your aerobic exercise can reduce your risk of osteoporosis.
8. Exercise build and maintain healthy muscles, bones and joints.
9. Exercise help you to work better, play better and become better at sports, because it makes you more agile and it increases your strength and stamina.
10. Exercise can help you reduce or maintain body weight (of course not if used for purging or as a quick fix)
11. Exercise increases your self esteem, because it improves the shape of you body by toning and firming your muscles.
12. Exercise actually improves digestion.
13. Exercise can enhance your quality of sleep, providing you don’t exercise right before bedtime.
14. Incorporating weights with your aerobic exercise can reduce your risk of osteoporosis.
How do I get started?
Find out what makes your “Exercise Clock” tick
1. If you’re a night owl and you try and run with the early birds – you’re toast! Don’t do that, it will frustrate you and keep you passive forever. Gyms are open late, hey some never close! So get on a treadmill next to another night owl and you might change your tune.
Of course the opposite is true as well, if you’re an early riser, you will probably fall asleep on the workout bench at night, and be frustrated with your own lack of energy and motivation.
2. If you’re a routine person, don’t try and “spice it up” even if the trainer insist you do. It will frustrate you and keep you from going to the gym. Rather, work out your own routine and stick to it. If you know exactly what’s coming, you might not be so reluctant to go.
3. If music is your thing, then it would be worth your while to invest in an iPod. Listening to your favorite CD might just be the thing to get you out of bed or the motivator you need to go the extra mile.
4. If you are inspired and energized by other people, then you simply have to find a friend to join you on a walk or join a exercise group where you can make new friends to sweat with.
Actually most people find it much easier to exercise consistently if they do it with a friend who keeps them motivated and accountable
5. Coupling certain things together might take the exercise load right off your shoulders. If you love reading or watching TV, you might want to couple that with working out on a stationary bike or treadmill. This can take your mind off the “pain” and it makes time fly.
6. Prayer walking is another coupling of two very important things for both your body and spirit, especially if you’re breaking free from an eating disorder. This could also be something that takes your mind of the “agony” when you first start exercising. If you think about it, being motivated to exercise by the Holy Spirit’s power is a pretty good idea.
7. If you are a nature lover, please don’t try and exercise indoors, this will depress you beyond measure. Get out there, come rain or sunshine, you will be thrilled anyway. If nature does it for you, you probably love to connect with God through nature, so these hikes might just turn into your own personal worship sessions. Or grab someone that shares your passion and explore the wonder of nature together. This can cause the miles to slip by unnoticed, and before you know it your body is healthy and in great shape.
8. Naturally the opposite has to be noted as well: Did you know there are people who walk the mall for exercise? Oh you better believe it sister, I can so see myself doing just that!
What do you like to do?
Try expanding your horizon when it comes to exercise.
For most people the word exercise is just pure evil.
They can not get away from the sweaty-people-running-like-maniacs picture in their heads, and they can not picture themselves ever being one of “those”.
Don’t get stuck in that rut, open up your mind, look outside the box.
What would you love (or at least like) to do when it comes to exercise?
The possibilities are endless. Here’s just a few to get you started:
AEROBIC EXERCISE
Walking: inside, outside, trails, malls
Dancing (Get hubby or a friend in on it)
Biking: Mountain, street, station, spinning (What about a tandem?)
Exercise videos (It’s like having your own private instructor in your living room but you can wear your pajamas if you want!)
Kayaking
Swimming
Organized sports
Dance Dance Revolution (A popular dance-game where you step on the arrows that appear on the screen, all while keeping to the beat of the music. Do it with your kids, it’s a hoot!)
Aerobic or step classes
Belly dancing (Why not?)
Running marathons
Skiing, Cross country skiing or Snowboarding (yeah right!)
Rollerblading, inline or ice skating
Skipping jump rope
One-on-one basketball
Kickboxing
Working with a personal trainer
STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY
Weight training
Yoga
Pilates
Exercise videos
Working with a personal trainer
Did you know these count as exercise too?
Walk the dog, or better yet, let the dog walk you
Skip the elevator and take the stairs
Mow the lawn (ladies can do it too you know!)
Weed the garden and plant something pretty 
Shovel snow
Clean out the garage
Wash your car
Skip driving: Walk to the store, to a friends house or to church (you’ll save gas too)
Did you know? Making love with your husband can be good exercise and a mood booster as well
NOW: How do I change my attitude about it so that I will actually do it?
There’s no other way: You just have to get up from the couch and DO IT!
Yes, you will not want get up at all and…
Yes, you will be trying to talk yourself out of it like crazy and…
Yes you will plug your eyebrows, clean the toilets and change the cat litter instead and…
Yes you will procrastinate until it’s too late, too cold, too hot or too ANYTHING!
but there’s no other way to break the cycle – YOU HAVE TO START!
Believe me you have all my sympathy. You can read all about my own agony in the next section of this week.
The truth of the matter is just that we never just CHANGE our attitude towards exercise. As soon as you start DOING some exercise, your body’s dopamine and energy levels start to rise and you start to feel better about it and MIGHT even begin to like it.
What’s in your heart?
Getting fit, playing with your kids, running a marathon, feeling healthy and positive – you might have had these or similar heart’s desires for a long time
Remember: You have an enemy and he goes after your time with God and the desires and dreams God has put in your heart. This is something very important to remember when you feel that you simply hate exercise and the minute you get ready to go, you feel totally down and overwhelmed. At this point you might be looking for an excuse to not go and you will have no trouble finding one.
But isn’t is just our own weak flesh?
The Bible says that our flesh is weak and that we are tempted by our own evil desires (James 1:14).
So, yes, it is true, our flesh is weak, and we need to train it to get an appetite for God’s presence, healthy food and exercise.
However, the Bible also warns us to be cautious, seeing that we have an enemy and he is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8)
Who is the enemy looking for?
- Maybe someone weak?
- Maybe someone trying to break free form her bonds?
- Maybe someone making an effort to care for the body God gave her?
The enemy will not let a chance like this pass by to whisper something negative in your ear, to present a valid excuse, or to bring about something to distract or upset you.
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So here’s what I suggest:
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Procrastinate?
We will speak more about this when we talk about Perfectionism. People who want to do things perfectly tend to procrastinate until they have it “all figured out” or because they are afraid that they will never do it perfectly.
Procrastination and Excuses go hand in hand:
The enemy can use these to keep you in bondage for the rest of your life!
Excuses, Excuses, Excuses…
Every time you utter an excuse:
- Consider the fact that it’s just procrastination
- Consider the fact that it doesn’t have to be perfect, just consistent
- Consider the fact that you don’t even have to be good at it at all
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Consider the fact that your enemy just handed you this excuse…
Then resist, get up, and just do it sister! YOU WILL NEVER BE SORRY!
Click here to go to the next section:”How this helped me”
PS: Please help me improve the quality of our members area by using the comment box below to let me know if you pick up on any technical errors, spelling errors, or typos. Testimonies are always welcome as well:) Thank you
