You are Uniquely You!

Today's Nutrition and Fitness Challenges are going to set us up for future success! Please continue instilling the habits of the last 2 days into your daily routines... Small steps make huge changes overtime!

"Know what's weird? Day by day, nothing seems to change. But pretty soon, everything is different." (Bill Watterson, American Author)

Nutrition Challenge:
As with the other challenges so far, this is to be ongoing. No, you do not have to do it everyday for the rest of your life, but I would recommend at the very minimum to keep it going for a month. But, as we continue to make small changes, I feel you will want to continue it for much longer than that.
Get a notebook, a word document, a scrap sheet of paper-- anything you want to write on-- and start a log of everything you consume today. Make sure you put the time, the item consumed and the amount consumed. Be honest with yourself-- it is for your eyes and will greatly help you put a visual on things that we can change in the future. It is NOT to make you feel bad about what you eat-- simply to let you see, written out, what some areas of improvement might be.
If you would like, and if you have questions about your personal nutrition journal (or anything else), please always feel free to email me at: betteru4life@yahoo.com.
Whatever method is best for you, please start a nutrition log. You can use notebooks, computer software, smart phone apps or anything else... as long as you have a visual!

Fitness Challenge:
Walk and stretch again today... Increase your walking time and/or distance.
In addition to that, I want you to look up gyms in your area... if you have no interest in going to a gym, that's fine... look up parks and walking trails. It is going to be important to be able to do a variety of activities... and a lot of times, having a change of scenery will help! After we get into a routine of basic physical activity, we will start to switch things up!
As with the nutrition heading, if you have any questions specific to you, please feel free to email me at: betteru4life@yahoo.com

Out of Your Comfort Zone:
Okay, I LOVE music... all kinds of music. And I am the old-fashioned one who prefers the radio over the iPod in the car (iPods are great at the gym, but I enjoy the variety on the radio-- and if a station plays a song too much, you can always switch to another station). In my preset of radio stations you will find: 1 Christian Station, 2 Country Stations, 1 Classic Station (mainly because they play MJ all the time), 1 Rap/Hip-Hop Station and 1 Top 40 Station. As you can see, I enjoy a huge variety of music!
For the past few weeks, with the exception of a brief MJ jam session (Man in the Mirror), I have kept my radio tuned into the Christian station at all times. At first, there were only a few songs that I knew the lyrics to; but now, they are the songs that play in my head all day. The reason I am calling this, "Out of Your Comfort Zone," is because it is always challenging to do something unfamiliar-- even if it is simply changing the radio station.
It is AMAZING how much a day can improve when you have uplifting words circulating in your head... No disrespect to any musician or genre of music-- but inspiring lyrics really do improve your day!
So, today, the challenge is to find an inspiring station and listen to it every time you are in your car. If you are in the Charlotte area, I listen to, "His Radio," at 96.5. At the office, we keep the radio on, "New Life 91.9." Out of the Charlotte area, I apologize, I do not have any suggestions. If you can't find anything, pull out that smartphone and listen to a live stream! There are always options! Google is a great website to find anything you are looking for-- so search for a Christian station in your area!

"I'm starting with the man in the mirror. I'm asking him to change his ways. And no message could have been any clearer; if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change." (Michael Jackson-- Man in the Mirror)

Change Your Thinking:
Okay, I will let music be the theme today.
If you know me personally, you probably know that I would love to be a famous musician. Setback, I have possibly the most unpleasing singing voice of all time. Solution, I have my own personal concerts in my car when I am alone (or when I am with one of the lucky ones who have to suffer through my voice-- Chad, Mom, Dad, Lindsey, Steffi, Keshia, Kelly... thanks for dealing with me).
The point is, I will never be on stage singing for fans-- but I can still do something that I enjoy, which is singing! But, for a more practical challenge...
We are all given different abilities and different ways to have an impact-- find what yours is and embrace it! I am good at motivating people and I care about making a difference in someone's life-- so God blessed me with an outgoing personality and communications skills. EVERYONE has SOMETHING they are good at; and it is their special gift and contribution to the world... find yours and embrace it!
And, for the things you aren't especially good at--if you still enjoy it, do it for yourself!

"Each one of us should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 4:10-11 (NIV)