A record number of Americans are obese. Is it time for YOU to get fit?

For the first time, more than 40 percent of American adults are obese, according to new data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (you can read more about the new report by clicking here).

We’ve known for a long time that obesity in America is a significant problem, but it continues to be a growing problem.

A serious one.

According to the CDC, people who have obesity, compared to those with a normal or healthy weight, are at increased risk for many serious diseases and health conditions, including the following:

• • • All-causes of death (mortality).
    • High blood pressure (hypertension).
    • High LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, or high levels of triglycerides (dyslipidemia).
    • Type 2 diabetes.
    • Coronary heart disease.
    • Stroke.
    • Gallbladder disease.
    • Osteoarthritis (a breakdown of cartilage and bone within a joint).
    • Sleep apnea and breathing problems.
    • Many types of cancer.
    • Low quality of life.
    • Mental illness such as clinical depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders.
    • Body pain and difficulty with physical functioning.

If you are battling with obesity or being overweight, making a serious commitment to get physically fit and healthy is important for your overall well-being. To help you do that, here are five beginning steps to help you start on a journey toward improving your physical fitness and health:

1. Understand that both physical and mental health is first a battle for your mind. It’s important to fully grasp this fact, which is why I have previously written a short blog post on this specific point, which you can find by clicking here.

2. Taking care of your body is also a spiritual matter. One of the greatest gifts God will ever give you is the physical body He has supplied you with for experiencing and navigating this lifetime. Taking proper care of your body, then, is a stewardship of a precious gift from God. That isn’t something we hear very often, which might be a contributing reason why we rarely think of caring for our physical bodies as being a stewardship. But one commentator noted, “There are hundreds if not more reasons that could be noted for taking care of your body. How often, though, do you stop to think about the fact that you’re not your own? That your life was purchased with a price and you, if you are a professing Christian, are to glorify God in all you do – including what you do with your body? Caring for your body glorifies God, it demonstrates a good testimony to others, and it gives you the energy that you need to do God’s will, spreading the Gospel.”

The Bible instructs us as follows, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body,” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

When we approach the care of our bodies as a stewardship of a God-given gift, we’re better motivated to do what it takes to get and stay fit and healthy.

3. Educate yourself. Overcoming obesity or struggles with weight management isn’t easy, and will likely be something you fail at if you don’t first get the knowledge you need about what you need to do and how to do it. But adequately educating yourself about how to get fit and healthy isn’t difficult. First, start with your doctor. Your personal physician knows your current physical condition and what you’re capable of doing now regarding necessary steps for getting and staying healthy. With guidance from your physician, you can then gain the knowledge you need about nutrition and exercise to pursue your fitness and health objectives. You can find a plethora of information about nutrition and exercise on the internet and a wide range of books and magazines. If needed, you can also get additional professional help by hiring a Certified Personal Trainer and/or working with a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. Some people may benefit from including time with a clinical therapist to address any mental and behavioral issues that might be an underlying problem in getting fit and healthy. You may not currently have the knowledge you need to go from your current fitness and health condition to the level of fitness and health you need or want to achieve, but there are multiple avenues for educating yourself, you just have to exercise the self-discipline to do what is necessary to learn what you need to know and understand.

4. Make a plan and commit to it. You will never lose and manage your weight, or attain and maintain an appropriate level of fitness and physical health, by just wishing for it. After adequately educating yourself, you must make a specific plan of action and then fully execute it until you achieve the needed/desired outcome. Being serious about making a plan includes scheduling all the work you’ll need to do (appointment with doctor, daily/weekly exercise, working with other professionals, etc.) and making the financial commitment that might be needed to get fit and healthy (e.g, hiring a Personal Trainer, getting a gym membership, buying some exercise equipment for your home, purchasing helpful books, etc.).

5. Get the support you need. Some people are so self-disciplined and self-motivated they can accomplish everything mentioned above without any (or much) temptation to deviate from their plan. Others need some level of support to stay motivated and accountable to their commitment and their plan. If that is you, be bold about enlisting the support of family members, friends, and even people from your church family in your journey to better fitness and health. If needed, don’t hesitate to invest in the services of a Certified Personal Trainer or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist or any other professional services you might need to support you in achieving your health and fitness goals.

Finally, if you think this is the time for you to get serious about getting and staying fit, you might want to check out my small but helpful book titled, “Getting & Staying Fit …” (you can find out more about the book by clicking here).

Scotty