More Reflections on Diet and Exercise

Which diet works? Honestly, pretty much any nutritionally balanced weight loss diet can work, if followed (assuming no health issues that complicate things, such as diabetes - if you are so situated, consult your doctor before starting some diet/exercise program or routine). If that answer is unsatisfying, the problem is with the question. It really should be, "Which diet plan will work for me?" And the correct answer to the correct question is very individual. Whatever most suits your personality and lifestyle is the one that will work best. You'll be able to look at some approaches and know right away that it won't work for you. But the rest ... you'll have to try them.

What has been working for me - nearly two years - has been MyFitnessPal.com. It's free and online. It combines food and exercise diaries, databases for common exercises and foods (including many restaurants), and a basic daily allowance planner that is based on your height, weight, and goals. Its self-accountability, self-tracking and databases suit the way my mind works. And the price is right.

Exercise is similar, finding what works for you and doing it. Finding what works for you has to do with what you are able to do that you can fit into your schedule. Doing it is part stick-to-it-iveness and part preparation. The latter can save you a lot of difficulty.

You don't have to spend a lot of money for special clothing, but you should dress appropriately. A comfortable top and pants (or shorts) that let you move freely should suffice. Don't dress too warm, because your exercise will warm you up some. You do need suitable good quality shoes. Personally, Nike Air Monarchs have done well for me - for comfort and durability.

Pay attention to the weather. Outside exercise on hot days should be limited or avoided. Heat isn't merely uncomfortable Dehydration can happen quicker and more easily. And if you exercise outside in the daytime, use sunscreen and/or appropriate protective clothing (a cap or hat is necessary for a hairstyle like mine).

Pay attention to hydration. If you're going to be exercising for more than 10 or 20 minutes, you may need to drink water. Carry a water bottle with you, if necessary. Sweating not only takes water and common salt out of your system, but other important elements and compounds as well ("electrolytes"). If you will be exercising for more than 30 or 40 minutes, drinking - during or after exercise - a product such as Gatorade or Vitamin Water can be very helpful. For longer exercise periods (e.g. running or walking a 10K, half- or full-marathon) a product like GU gel can be very helpful. This also has electrolytes and sugar (= fuel for your exercise), and should be used while drinking water. These kinds of products need to be used very carefully! They are designed for people doing strenuous work or exercise. If you aren't exercising or use too much at a time, electrolyte imbalances can occur that will not be healthy. But used properly, they will enable you to do more and better than simple water alone.

Truth Is Very Undemocratic!

Truth is not made any more or less true by being popular or believed.

Man a "Social Animal"

Sometimes I find interesting the "little" things God says, almost slips in at points in the Bible, about humans. "It is not good for man to be alone". It's almost as if God designed us or something. Seriously, it's common to think of this verse in terms of marriage, but God did not limit His comment to marriage. God designed humans to be social in general - spouses, families, friends, communities. Thus the "rugged individual" image of a man or a woman I a bit off center. Individuals are responsible for their actions or lack of action (lack of initiative). But it is a distortion of God's design for a man or woman to isolate themselves from others. In plainer terms, it is unhealthy for a man or woman to so isolate themselves, and that is the fuller meaning of what God said. Maybe, just maybe, the Creator of humans knows something about those He designed!

Reflections - Weight Loss and Exercise Walking

This is going to be a potpourri of miscellaneous thoughts - nothing particularly profound, but hopefully some helpful things. I have to leave it to any readers to know what is healthy for them and what works for them (e.g., if you're a diabetic, I'm not giving you the OK to go nuts with some carbohydrate-laden food or beverage).

Losing weight is simple on the level of concept. Over time, if you systematically burn off more calories every day that you eat, you'll lose weight. Now, your body plays tricks during that time, so the weight loss won't be a nice smooth-sloped line or curve that exactly tracks your net burn-off, but over time it will happen just as it should. The hard part is doing it, systematically, over a long time, not letting one's progress or lack of progress affect what one eats and does. It's very "simple", you just have to eat carefully and work your butt off.

Being careful how much you eat is likely to work better than trying to utter stop something you love. If you love Coca Cola or cheddar cheese, trying to cut those out entirely is likely to set you up for going nuts and giving up. Having the something you love with appropriate frequency and in appropriate amount for how much you should eat is better - in the near term, as you are less likely to go nuts or give up, and in the long term, as you are forming new habits for the rest of your life.

Potatoes are good - in proper amount a frequency. Similarly, being a potato - a couch potato - is something that should be done appropriately (Is that fitness heresy?). Make couch-potatoing something you do for occasional relaxation, not your way of life. And move …

Moving more is a euphemism for “exercise”. But pretend you didn't hear that, and don't think of what you do as the E-Word. Your moving can be a lot of different things, and the biggest thing is to do what works for you, what you can do several times a week, and won't put you in the hospital or bankruptcy. So, running, walking, kick-boxing, stationary bicycle … what works for you? I'm not young, my starting point was being very out-of-shape, and I'm not rich. And the climate where I live is fairly mild. Put those together, and walking works for me. It's almost free (do get good shoes!). I walk in the neighborhood where I live. Preparation is quick - change clothes and go out the front door. Walking time is easily changeable as I get better or have other things to do.

You can lose weight by eating more carefully. Or you can lose weight by moving more. You'll do better by doing both. And it's important to realize and remember that this is not just something you do for a few weeks or months. You should be forming new habits - eating and “moving”, because you don't want to go back to where you were. Develop the proper balance of enjoying what you eat while being careful of how much. Develop new interests – sports, working out, doing things with friends, whatever works and interests you. I've gone from walking as something I can do 20 or 30 minutes at a time 3-5 days a week to much longer walks and walking in “runs” as long as a 10K or a half-marathon.

Boast or Declaration of Dependence?

Maybe it's just me, but I've usually thought Psalms like Psalm 27 were David boasting, "God is on my side!" Maybe there is a little of that (or maybe not), but David didn't address his Psalms to the Philistines, Ammonites or other nations that were Israel's enemies. Rather, David's Psalms were at once personal reflections - David speaking to himself - and addressing his own people, Israel.

David was reminding Israel and himself of two intertwined facts. First, Israel and its king were dependent on God. Whatever strength and skill they might have had, those alone were not sufficient to be victorious over Israel's enemies. Second - something which David acknowledged and praised - God had shown Himself strong and reliable.

In the same way, we Christians must constantly remind ourselves and each other that we cannot rely on and be guided by our own wisdom and strength. Neither are sufficient. And we must remember - it is so easy to forget in the face of difficulty - that God is wise, strong, sufficient and reliable. We must rely on God.

Being Too Comfortable Isn't Good

I'll say it blunt and up front. Human beings just don't do well when they are comfortable. I'm not saying that abject poverty or utter misery are good things. What I am saying is that good times seem to bring out undesirable things in people.

The Book of Judges shows this over and over. It chronicles multiple cycles of Israel getting comfortable, turning away from God, coming under judgment, and then repenting and being delivered. It's tempting to ask why they never learned, but each cycle played out over 2 or 3 generations. The lessons learned the hard way by one generation just didn't get passed on to the next generation or to the one after that.

In one sense, the Book of Judges is one of the more depressing books in the Bible. In others, though, Judges shows us, mirror-like, important things to know - things about ourselves, things about God. As I said above, we humans tend to handle comfort and prosperity poorly. We think we accomplished it. We think we are control of our corner of the world. When we do what is “right in our own eyes”, we show very clearly how poor our moral eyesight is (putting it nicely). When we get into such a state, God allows – or even brings into our lives – things that remind us, unpleasantly, that we are not gods – our power is puny, we are not in control of much of anything, and we receive the consequences of our moral blindness. Like I said, none of that is pleasant. But, God also loves us. And when we turn in repentance to Him, He accepts us and brings restoration.

As frustrating and depressing as the Book of Judges is, I sure am glad it gives us that knowledge about God's character and how He acts!

Theism Is Incomplete

Briefly thinking on ideas of how the universe began, life began, and how humans came to be …

Materialism can't explain how the universe came into being. As appealing as the Big Bang theory might be, the physics of it don't work (in fact, the singularity that supposedly produced the Big Bang is a state in which laws of physics don't exist/apply) and it can't explain why the physics of the universe are suited for life. Nor can the laws of physics and chemistry of this universe explain how life began or how it evolved from "simple" single cells to humans. In fact, Physics and Chemistry (what we know of them) are quite hostile to life as we know it coming into being by chance and to life evolving, unaided, from “simple” to more complex. For that matter, the single-celled animals humans tend to regard as “simple” - may have been taught to be “simple” - are in fact extremely complex, highly adapted to their niche in nature, and often highly adaptable.

Theism can explain the origin of the universe and how life began. God "spoke" and everything was there; God's words were the true “Big Bang”. The complexity and intricacies of the universe proclaim that the universe was designed and created! The problem hypothetical Theism has is the classic Problem of Pain - evil, catastrophes and disease. The Problem with Pain may be stated as a question: Why would an omnipotent, good, God create and tolerate a universe in which pain exists? This is a good question, one for which mere Theism is not sufficient to answer. Theism is what can be inferred from observing creation. We can observe the fact of evil, catastrophes and disease, but we cannot observe how those might be consistent with the existence of a Creator. That leaves two possible answers to the Problem with Pain question. One, that God does not exist, the answer toward which the askers often are leading doesn't work either (as pointed out above). The other answer is of a kind that humans tend to find unsatisfying and frustrating: “I don't know.”

Christianity goes beyond simple Theism. Christianity's God has spoken to mankind. God has “spoken” in nature - letting those willing to recognize and acknowledge it know God exists and created nature. Christian theologians refer to this as “General revelation”, as it is generally observable. This is the revelation on which Theism is based. God has also spoken more directly - and at some length - in what Christianity calls the Bible. Christianity's God informs mankind that the universe was created good, but was changed. Mankind was created with the ability to choose good or evil - to obey or disobey the Creator - and was given stewardship of the world. Mankind chose evil, thereby letting evil into the universe. Some evil is inflicted by people on people - usually others, but sometimes on themselves. Humans still have considerable freedom to act for evil or for good; monsters like Stalin or Hitler illustrate the fact that this freedom can be enormous. Less well understood is that the universe is no longer good, and therefore catastrophes and disease happen. God has not revealed what limitations He may place on human evil nor natural “evil”, nor on what basis He might intervene. As unsatisfying as that might be for some, Christianity does provide an explanation the existence of evil (pain). The explanation may not make some people very happy – who likes knowing that they are tainted to the core of their being with evil? Human history bears out – ad nauseum, almost ad infinitum – the accuracy of that Divine diagnosis. As for what we don't know about how/why God acts when evil, could it be that our Creator wants us to trust Him when we experience evil? To remember and rely on Him that He is with us as we go through it?