FEARFUL AND WONDERFUL SYNERGY.

I am fearfully and wonderfully made; […] I know that full well.

We are all fearfully, wonderfully and naturally made.

Every cell in your body is connected to nature’s God.  Every cell is crying out to be exercised, worked, used, fed, regenerated and given thanks for.  Every existing cell in your body will be replaced with a new one within 5-7 years. Will the NEW cells be added to a foundation of muck and mush and created from nutritionless "food?" Will your health and wellness be a house of cards set up to collapse under the weight of not having prepared for the future by preparing your finances, family and faith?

Or will the new cells - the new YOU - be constantly built and rebuilt on a foundation that is stronger and stronger?  A foundation of holistic bricks that addresses all areas of your life.  You are NOT engineered to fade away and weaken until the day you take your last breath. You ARE engineered to keep a strong metabolism and outlook until the day you are called home.  GIVE YOUR NEW CELLS A REASON TO LIVE and your life will change.

Every cell in the lining of your GI tract is regenerated every 48 HOURS! If things "hang around in there" by not eating enough healthy foods and fibers, the likelihood that it will poison you from the inside out IS NOT A LIKELIHOOD, IT IS A DEFINITE CERTAINTY!

Truly, quite literally and figuratively, you are not the same person you were 5 years ago. New cells are there to replace the old. New experiences come to pass to bring wisdom and insight. Even the delicate valleys and crests in the shape of YOUR brain are unique as YOUR thoughts and experiences cause the shape of your "grey matter" to change over time.

The farther you go from man-made, chemical laden, artificially colored / flavored / sweetened waters, drinks, foods and personal care products, the closer you will grow to strength and success.  Everyone’s target for personal best health is different, but it doesn’t have to be a moving target.

As you train, you have probably noticed that you've had good days and bad days. I would wager that you could trace some of your bad days to poor "fuel" - an order of fries snuck here and there, too little water being consumed, too few vegetables in your diet, etc. I know that I can notice a clear difference in my own performance when I do those things.

I began changing my cheat day from Sunday to Saturday because I was noticing a HUGE lag in my body responding during my Monday workouts after having eaten not as well as usual on a Sunday. So when my cheat day was on Saturday, I've had another full day (Sunday) to replenish my body with good things so that I don't miss a beat when Monday / early week workouts come.  Nowadays, I don’t have a cheat day necessarily, it is oftentimes just a cheat meal, which makes even less of an impact on my workouts, but I digress.

Of course we all need our down time to relax our eating habits for a bit, but remember how you perform with both good and bad foods and plan for it. Remember the old saying "garbage in, garbage out." You will be amazing for your exercise or for events in which you may be competing if you put good things in. And your outcome will be amazing even when compared only to yourself.  It doesn't matter what times others log, it only matters that you compare yourself to… yourself.  A race begun -- for someone who has never taken this step before -- is already a race won.

As you change your body, you WILL change your life. THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION.  It is a universal truth. Adversity will come, but you will be stronger because of it.

Be well and give thanks for every step and breath you take for they are the best gifts.

Have a strong day.