Exercising

We are going to share the symbolism between exercising physically and exercising our spiritual muscles. The reason for sharing this is that for permanent weight loss to take place we need to understand the spiritual aspect of our life must also grow. We then can tap into a higher power that can help us,  we will have more faith in us successfully accomplishing our weight loss goals, and we will able to work on  those issues in our life that hinder our weight loss..

Price of Exercise
How many know it costs time, sacrifice, and energy to go the gym. It also costs time, sacrifice, and energy to grow spiritually. 

Many people will go to a gym to exercise. They go hoping that they only have to exercise once a week and they will be become physically fit. Or use an exercise video once a week and hope to shed pounds.  They try this for a few months and then give up saying it doesn’t work. The same can happen for those who want to grow spiritually. Maybe they go to church (the gym) once a week and do nothing else. Or watch some religious show once a week and they wonder why they are not growing spiritually.

Like exercising our body on a regular basis, we need to exercise our ‘spiritual muscles’ on a regular basis. Yes, to grow spiritually will require time set aside for reading, praying, and sharing your spiritual life with others. Some at times see this as a bad thing because of past experiences. Others may say that they have tried to grow spiritually in the past and it don’t work. We should not let past experiences or ‘failures’ of the past prevent us from growing spiritually any more than we should not let them interfere with us starting an exercise routine again.

Hindrances
What happens when you decide to exercise regularly and start to do it? It seems like everything comes against you. The same can happen when you attempt to grow spiritually. Those little ‘gremlins’ come to your mind and say ‘you don’t have time’, ‘you are not that spiritual’, ‘remember how bad you were last night’, ‘God does not love you’, etc. So what do you do? It is a matter of choice. You choose to do what you know is right-you make a commitment to reading the quotes in the inspirational calendar, share with others what you have learned, be open to the concept that there is a God on your side that wants you to succeed in your weight loss, post positive affirmations in your home to encourage you. In other words, you don’t let those ‘gremlins’ stop you from growing spiritually.

Doing It
The key to exercising our body is to do it every day, even if at times you can’t make to the gym―consistency. You have to make the decision to exercise. It does not happen by osmosis-laying the exercise video on your body and thinking that your stomach will get smaller. Or going to the gym and watching everybody else exercise. The same is true for us to grow spiritually. We must take positive steps towards spiritual growth. More than just watch a preacher on TV or drop by church every once in awhile. Some will say “But I don’t have to go to church to grow spiritually.” That is true, you do not have to go to a gym to exercise and lose weight-but it will help you lose weight easier and quicker. Being in relationship with others that want to grow spiritually can help you to build your spiritual muscles quicker and easier.

Variety
When a person goes to the gym they use a variety of exercise machines to work all their muscles. We need to work our spiritual muscles. In other words, we do more than just reading a Bible verse or inspirational quote. Doing only one thing, we can become stagnant or limited in our growth. That is why we should find several ways to grow spiritually like reading, prayer, guidance from a spiritual counselor or coach, and talking with others who are on the same course as us.

Exercise is Hard Work
Exercise is hard work at times. For those who have a goal to build more muscles, they must increase the weight on the weight machine on a regular basis. They also need to make sure they are getting enough repetitions of the exercise they are doing. They should feel some pain-this is a sign that they are working the muscles. To keep them safe and committed to the process, it is good for them to have a personal trainer or a coach.

The same concept should take place in our spiritual lives. We need to make sure we stay on the spiritual journey, even those times when some things get stirred in our life-seeing who we really are as a person and realizing we need help to work through some of our flaws. During those times when we rather run from the spiritual walk because it is hard, we need to have others in our life that will hold us accountable and to make sure we are not too hard on ourselves.

Muscles Built
If a person will stay with their exercise routine, listen to their coach, and be consistent, they are guaranteed to replace fat tissue with muscle. They will be able to look into the mirror, see how they improved and will feel good about themselves. They will then be excited to share their success with others.

If a person will stay on the path of spiritual growth, listen to their coach (God and others), consistently apply spiritual principles in their life, they are guaranteed to become spiritually mature. They will be able to look into the mirror and like the person they see. They will be excited to share their success with others.

Good News
The good news is that if you apply what has been shared in this report regarding both physical and spiritual exercise, you will be on the path to being Thin for Life.

Many weight loss programs encourage exercising your body, but miss the whole concept of growing spiritually. For permanent weight loss to occur we need to make sure that we take care of all aspects of our life. So, how about after reading this report, doing something right now to exercise your spiritual muscles? Do you need some guidance and help to start ‘exercising’? Then ask God to help you, contact Thin for Life, and reach out to other members who are on a spiritual journey.

Thin for Life is a weight loss program that believes in the whole-person approach to weight loss which includes growing spiritually. Thin for Life is not a Christian weight loss program. A person does not have to be a Christian to be a member of Thin for Life. However, Thin for Life does believe in Biblical principles and applies these principles in its approach to weight loss.