Is Your Temple Crumbling?

By Dottie Drake, RN, Senior Exercise Specialist, Owner of Miracles Fitness
I believe in God. I believe He created us all. I believe He created perfection. The problem is what we have done to both His creation and our own temples – our bodies – with bad choices.
How is your temple? Is it overweight, full of sickness and disease, and responding to the fallacy that our age determines its health? Do you sit around feeling sorry for yourself, thinking it is too late?
I know from firsthand experience that if you neglect your own body it will deteriorate. I have been a registered nurse for over 42 years now. The sad part is, nurses care for others and not themselves. God said in His word, “Love your neighbor as you love yourselves.” Do you love yourself enough to take action to get healthy so that God can use you to help others?
Before starting Miracles Fitness, I believed I heard from God’s word when he said, “My people perish because of lack of knowledge.” I certainly was perishing and had no idea that I was doing it to myself. I was obese, eating too much and exercising too little. My joints were severely damaged because of carrying around too much weight.  I ignored my body, so consequently, I had both knees replaced. At that time 20 years ago, I also took medicine for diabetes, arthritis, blood pressure, anxiety, pain and sleeping. Then I realized that God wanted me healthy. I went on a mission to help myself and others regain their health.
It is never too late to get better; one small step is all it takes. Today, at almost 67, I take no medications except thyroid and vitamins. If I can do it, so can you. Here’s some information to help you on your journey.
Food is not your enemy; it is your best medicine. If you believe that God created you, as I do, then start eating foods that the creator made for you. Many of the foods God created actually look like the body part that they will improve. If you slice a carrot, it looks like an eye and guess what? Carrots are great for improving eye health. Celery helps bone health. Sweet potatoes are great for your pancreas. Grapes are great for your heart, and a cluster of grapes looks like a heart. A walnut improves brain function. Tomatoes are red and have four chambers, and so does your heart. Here’s the best diet: Eat only what God made. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, berries, fish, poultry, eggs, meats, seafood, dairy, seasonings and spices.  With this simple diet, your health will improve without starving yourself. Ask, “Did God make this?” before putting it in your mouth.
Stay away from all manmade foods. If the food you are eating raises your blood sugar, it will have a detrimental effect on your health. Eating sugary foods causes blood sugar to rise, which causes insulin to be released, which stores fat. These choices set you up for diabetes. Imagine you’re in the kitchen making bread. You mix the yeast with warm water, but instead of adding a tablespoon of sugar, you accidentally add two cups. You have yeast everywhere, growing like crazy. Now imagine this happening inside your intestines. We all have a small amount of Candida (yeast) inside our intestines to help our bodies decompose at death. But this yeast feeds on sugar. We are so addicted to sugar that this yeast overflows outside of the intestines and then becomes fungus. It attaches to muscles, joints and all other tissue, causing inflammation and pain. No wonder we feel so bad after eating lots of sugar.
The first part of health restoration is healthy eating, and I certainly cannot ignore the second part: Move your body as God intended it to move. Do you remember actually getting up to change the TV channel, answer the phone or open up the garage door by hand? This push button world we live in is not helping us to stay active. Inactivity causes muscle and bone loss from non-weight bearing activity. You must make an effort to move every day.
We have lots for you to do at Miracles Fitness, including classes for all ability levels. Join today and we can put you in a program designed just for you. Or, stop by just to take a class without joining. We have senior specific classes for the “new to exercise” people.
God bless you on your journey to restore your temple. Remember, just one step is all it takes.
Hope to see you at Miracles Fitness! For more information, call (609) 886-7070 or visit www.miraclesfitness.com.