Many people wouldn’t know this, but Huntsville is becoming a national “mecca” of endurance sports. People have actually moved here because of the active running community – especially the ultramarathon community. So, it’s no surprise to see the beginning runner’s community growing also.

I just finished a week of “Fat Loss BootCamp”, an idea concocted by Graeme Street, a nutritionist and cycling trainer on his website, www.Cyclo-Club.com. It was a difficult week (a few of you heard me complaining about it mid-week!), but the results have come. My cycling jerseys are noticeably looser after just 7 days. Some of the new theory of exercise that’s out there is incredibly good stuff, combining nutrition and exercise to meet specific goals. The crux of this week was to decrease carbohydrate intake by specific amounts, while performing workouts geared at depleting muscle glycogen stores. This type of training/nutrition plan is supposed to improve your body’s ability to use stored fat during exercise. The fun thing about it is that many times a week of being very hard on yourself nutritionally can lead to more healthy eating habits - but, as I’ve said before, we have to be careful not to get into the “diet” mentality.

The below is a memo I created for my family’s company, Oral Arts Dental Laboratories. This memo was inspired from a local C12 Group meeting. C12, www.c12group.com , is an organization dedicated to the training and development of Christian CEO’s in the marketplace. I have been a member of C12 for only 2 months but involved for over one year and i recommend it to any business owner reading this who is interested in growing professionally and personally in glorification of Christ.

At this special time of year, when many people become a little more introspective than usual, I thought it fitting to write a note to all of you expressing some of my personal thoughts.

As we enjoy all of our Christmas parties (and goodies at the office!), I know that in the back of many of our minds is, “at the beginning of the year, I’m going to get back to the gym and go on a diet!” Below are some tips for beginning your exercise program from my experience through the years as a physical therapist and avid exerciser, with mistakes that many people make:

1. Get the word “diet” out of your vocabulary once and for all! (yes, that is my number one tip!) Concentrate on healthy, wholesome food. As a confirmed fat-o-holic (I love fatty foods!), I can truthfully tell you that the past few months have been a revelation to me in eating healthy. While recovering from my bike accident, I could not eat all the things I normally eat. I began to eat more healthy food, and I experienced a new phenomenon for me: I don’t crave the fatty food as much anymore! Changing your eating habits really can make a difference, and “dieting” only messes with your metabolism, causing it to slow down and not burn as many of the calories that you are desperately trying to cut from your diet. Talk to me about this sometime face to face (or e-mail me!) for further info.

Last week, my wife and I celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary. God has blessed us with a wonderful marriage that is still just as physically exciting now (and even more in some ways!) that when we first married.

In our day and age, it is important that the church present an effective witness to the Biblical perspective on human sexuality; otherwise, cultural and secular secular views will prevail. Unfortunately, the church in contemporary America has not generally done a good job in this arena during the last half of the 20th century, and into the 21st century. Consider what the understanding of a typical youth in America will be on human sexuality, if his/her parents are silent and they hear nothing from the church:

Well, here I am writing a health and wellness blog. What’s the point?, I ask and so may you. Well my goal would be that someone, just one person, would read this and make one significant life improving step towards a healthier, happier life (yes being healthy does make you happy).

I am sure many of you realize I’m an athlete, and no, this blog is not to turn you into an athlete. Being an athlete and being a healthy, fit person are two very different things. The dedication and discipline required to be a good athlete are not needed to be a healthy fit person, however many of the same lifestyle changes and thought patterns must be shared by both.

Since my bicycle accident 2 weeks ago, during which I landed flat on my face, God’s been up to some pretty cool stuff in my life that I think is so important in the life of our church. I’ve discovered how hard it is for me to allow myself to be served by others. I mean, theres certainly a reason for this independence in my life I live by myself, and out of necessity have had to learn how to do most things for myself. I am a self-diagnosed independent woman, and proud of it!!! But there are several ways that this independence can be a problem.

The first problem that independence causes is in my relationship with God. God created us to be dependent on Him, and to me there’s no better example of this than in our bodies. One of the most amazing things I learned during my medical training is how incredibly small, insignificant problems in the chemistry of our bodies can lead to serious health issues, or even death! This is just one small example of how dependent we are on God to keep us ticking. In my independence, I don’t intentionally snub God, but I tend to go around doing things, making my own decisions, and, because of my independence, end up doing many things without involving Him at all. I am dependent on Him whether I realize it or not, and whether I acknowledge it or not in practical ways in my life. Living in dependence on Him is the way God created us to live, and life is much more full (John 10:10) when we live it that way.