One Quick Tip: Basic Body Stewardship

Dear Lissy,


:Every 24 Hours: 

30 Minutes Brisk Walk 

+

12 Consecutive Hours Fasting 

(usually from after dinner to breakfast the following day)

+

        7-8 Hours Sleep       

= Basic Good Health

Nope, these habits won't undo a 6 hour a day screen habit, decaying teeth, or a 4000 calorie diet, BUT they will give you a shot of discipline that helps you tackle the underlying spiritual and emotional problems that caused the screen and sugar habit.

These three changes won't turn you into an athlete or reduce your age by 10 years, either.  They are BASIC MAINTENANCE.  At some point in your life you'll probably want to add in strength, stamina, balance, and flexibility exercises.  Optimal nutrition for your body can dramatically change your energy and immunity levels, too.  The hundreds of tweaks available to your health and fitness do add up, but they don't make much difference if you aren't taking care of the basics first.

As believers, we have a responsibility to steward our body.  God may ask more of us than these simple disciplines entail, but he will not ask less while we have the freedom to perform them.  If He chooses to place us where we cannot accomplish basic maintenance tasks for our bodies, He will also give the grace to accept the limitations.

 Love you to the moon and back,
 Momma

P.S.  Some basic sources for the three parts of the equation.  Most Americans are woefully undereducated on fasting.  Because fasting doesn't create income for pharmas or food companies, it gets swept out of the way as hoo-hoo witchdoctor level medicine.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  If I had to pick just one consistent health practice for the rest of my life it would be fasting.  I've successfully treated hypertension, fibroid tumors, sciatica and cubital tunnel syndrome, and even a systemic yeast infection with fasting.  Very few people would debate the benefits of a 30 minute daily walk, but most wouldn't think it was "enough."  Sleep -- well, we all pretty much know how much we need to function, but that doesn't mean we make it a priority ever night like we should.

12 Hour Eating/Fasting cycle, also referred to as intermittent fasting or eating window. Dozens of variations exist, from an 18/6 to a 12/5/5.  Extended  mutli-day fasts can heal issues that even our current pharmas and surgery cannot.  A 12 hour window is the minimum fast that had measurable results.  The No S diet we followed all through your adolescent years is a variation on the 12/5/5.
New York Times
Mercola
Healthy Living


30 Minute Walk
Tesco: 10 Health Benefits of a Daily Walk
Mark's Daily Apple  Mark is known for extreme fitness, but still recommends walking (and fasting...)
Everyday Health
American Heart Association:  Walking briskly provides the same benefits as running.

7-8 Hours Sleep
Ironically, this was the most heavily debated of the basic maintenance tasks when I wrote this.  Every source agreed on at least a 12 hour fasting window and a minimum of 30 minutes of brisk walking, but sleep times varied greatly.  Best current advice?  Go to bed at a time that allows you to wake naturally without an alarm.  Newer research even indicates sleeping a split shift might be healthier.
Wall Street Journal
Today