I recently picked up a book called The Six Eating Habits of Skinny People.
The title made me laugh, but then I kept reading it. I don’t always read health books, but I also don’t mind getting good ideas and tips here and there.
I think most people want to be a little healthier, but then schedules get busy, ministry gets hectic and if we’re not careful, the first thing to go (or in some cases, never get started) is a healthy lifestyle. One key ingredient is habit, another is attitude and a third is a discipline.
This book just added it’s own take and here are four highlights:
Plan Ahead:
Don’t wait until it’s time to eat to figure out what you will eat. If you’re going out, view the online menu and decide ahead of time what you will order. Plan out your special times of when you will be having a treat or dessert. Plan meals in advance so you can choose better options before you’re hungry.
Overcome Boredom:
Increase your activities, schedule and hobbies to include things to keep your mind occupied. When a person is bored or participating in non-activity (like watching videos), the likelihood of eating recreationally increases.
Get Enough Sleep:
When you are rested, you make better decisions, eat better, have more energy to keep active and are mentally sharp. Good, disciplined rest is a key for a healthy mindset. In some ways it’s a huge cycle: the better you sleep, the more focused you are, which leads to better decisions about food choices, which provides more energy, which will increase activity, which makes you sleep better at night!
Change Your Mindset:
Once you start on the path to eating healthier, there will be times when you slip up, have a treat or binge. If that happens, just get past it, and start back on your routine. A one-time thing is nothing really, just keep going with your plan. Most people have a mindset of failure and weakness – thinking “they just can’t be healthy” and as a result, they aren’t. Everyone has the potential to be healthy, strong and disciplined. You are capable of it.
How does health play into the effectiveness of your life and ministry?