In your driveway sits the car of your dreams. You get in, start the engine, pull onto the road, scrape a tree, hit the curb, grind gears and leave the emergency brake on all the time. Worst of all, you fill your car with diesel fuel at the station instead of the gasoline it was designed to use.

Sound crazy? If you were willing to spend a great deal of money on a car, you would certainly protect your investment by treating the car with the greatest care. What about your body? It is the physical vessel that carries you through life. Do you treat it with as much care as you would a new car?

More often than not, we may neglect the needs of our physical bodies. We fuel them and exercise them inappropriately.

Here's the grim picture. The United States has long battled an obesity epidemic. Now other countries (including China) are also feeling the effects of excess. Eight percent of 10- to 12-year-olds in China's cities are obese and an extra 15 percent are overweight, while 18.8 percent of American children between 6 and 11 are overweight (Calum MacLeod, "Obesity of China's Kids Stun Officials," USA Today, Jan. 8, 2007).

Merging into fitness

The great thing is that the human body is incredibly complex and renewable. It can repair itself—if we give it the right fuel and tools. So are we fit or are we fat? If we are fit, great! If we aren't—it's time to make a plan.

How much we weigh and how fit we are isn't determined by one meal or one day of jogging halfheartedly out to the mailbox and back. It takes years of bad habits to make a person unhealthy and gain excess weight. Reversing the process likewise takes a good chunk of time—to reinstitute good habits and see them through until they bear the fruit of a healthy body.

An optimistic attitude is a tool to long-term change. A daily habit of positive thinking can help keep us on track to make healthy food choices and fulfill our physical activity goals. Our thoughts are the foundation of our actions, but making the shift to upbeat thinking requires motivation. There are a lot of good reasons for becoming fit, and one of them shows up in the mirror every time we look in it.

Looking good is a confidence booster, especially when meeting your peers at school or in the workplace. It is a major motivation in today's society, but sometimes it overshadows a more important concept: that we take care of what God has given us.

God created the human body, and we are granted the use of one of these amazing creations for the duration of our physical lives. God designed some very specific fuel to feed human bodies. He gave spiritual and physical guidelines for right living that are recorded in the Bible. Treating God's creation with respect is a huge motivation to developing a fit body.

Being sick or just feeling bad in general can also be great motivators to turn around. The worse we feel, the less we are able to enjoy the life God intended us to have. Under these conditions, we all want to feel better. Sometimes circumstances out of our control dictate our health, but there are many things we can do to make a difference.

Snooze, chew, move...repeat

Our daily habits have a huge impact on our overall health. They can determine how much weight we gain or lose, how well our muscles are developed, the state of our digestive system and our mental function.

An often overlooked but critical habit is sleep. Sleep is so essential that without it we would go crazy. It is the time when our bodies reconstruct and clean up to allow for growth and healing.

The endocrine system of hormone glands needs sleep in order to recover from the fast-paced, manic society in this digitized, computerized, overconnected world. Lack of sleep also interferes with the chemicals that tell our bodies when we are full.

The second important daily habit concerns what we put into our mouths. God is specific about the diet He planned for us. Rex Russell, M.D., in his book What the Bible Says About Healthy Living: Three Biblical Principles That Will Change Your Diet and Improve Your Health, developed three excellent principles of eating:

"1—Eat only substances God created for food. Avoid what is not designed for food.

"2—As much as possible, eat foods as they were created—before they are changed or converted into something humans think might be better. [In other words, avoid foods that have been overprocessed to the point that they have lost much of their nutritional value.]

"3—Avoid food addictions. Don't let any food or drink become your god" (p. 29).

Good things to eat include eggs and clean meats listed in the Bible, fresh fruits and vegetables, unrefined grains and oils, nuts, pure dairy products with natural cultures and minimally processed sweeteners like honey, maple syrup or cane juice. Eat these foods in moderate amounts to satisfy hunger, but not to excess. Believe it or not, food can become an idol if we put it before obeying God's commands to be moderate in all things and to treat the bodies He's given us with respect (1 Corinthians 9:25).

The third crucial habit is physical activity. Exercise conditions the muscles in our bodies to work efficiently. It also keeps our internal organs fit and helps stabilize moods! There are thousands of types of exercise from speed walking to team sports. Exercises like calisthenics and weight training also develop greater strength. The most critical element of exercise is doing it on a regular basis.

Compel yourself to be physically active by making an appointment with a friend or family member to walk/jog/run/swim or do something several times a week. Or sign up and pay for an exercise class. You'll be motivated to go so you won't waste your money.

Above all, pick an activity you enjoy. If sumo wrestling isn't your thing, you won't be doing it often. Set a reasonable goal. Achieving it builds confidence along with increased fitness and keeps you focused.

Plan and action

Getting support and direction for your plan to become fit will lead to success. When we want to be truly motivated to make changes in our physical health, we need to call on God. After all, He designed our bodies, so He knows how they work best. We can pray to Him for guidance to find the right resources.

Search for information. Glean it from books, friends and family, the Internet, professional nutrition counselors, athletic coaches and even school. Compile your information and be wise. Toss the ideas that sound goofy and keep the good stuff. Focus on the small changes you can make daily. Get enough sleep, eat the right food and get the best physical activity. Start small, pick three changes and stick to them. Maintain a positive attitude and seek God's help to see you through.

Remember: It may take a while to get fit, but you can eventually turn your health around. You can look and feel better than ever before. Take care of your car and your body! VT

Online Addition...
Fitness, Fatness and Food

How can we make food our friend and not the enemy? We all know we should eat more vegetables and fruit and less fried or "junk" foods. Produce (fruit and vegetables) is low in calories to help fight the bulge and full of the vitamins and minerals that make our bodies healthy, not just slimmer. It sounds so easy but how do we fit fruit and vegetables into our lives? After all, chips are much more convenient to grab than a nice big salad.

What are other ways to get control of your diet? It helps to have a plan:

• Plan your meals so that you don't "impulse eat." If buying meals at school or on campus, decide before you get in line to make the healthiest choice possible. Try the grilled chicken sandwich, side salad and water instead of the double cheeseburger combo.

If you are living on your own, buy the ingredients to make simple, healthy meals such as fruit smoothies, entrée salads and baked fish. Many grocery stores have salad bars that can make a convenient, fresh alternative to fast food.

• Plan to surround yourself with healthy choices to make the odds better that you'll choose them over the "junk" food. If living at home, ask your parents to buy healthy foods such as fruit instead of sweets. Leave it on the counter in plain sight and eat it before it goes bad. Premade vegetable trays and ready-to-eat salad mix eliminate prep time. If in a dorm room or your own apartment, put produce such as apples, grape tomatoes and baby carrots on your shopping list.

• Plan to eat a fruit or vegetable with every meal, and eat it first. When I was young, I told my parents I was "too full" to eat my salad at dinner. They solved that problem by having us all eat our salad before the rest of dinner. I was never "too full" again, and I filled up on lower-calorie, healthy foods first. You can do the same with an orange at breakfast, celery sticks at lunch or steamed broccoli at dinner.

In my training as a registered dietitian, I learned that my parents were right about the importance of vegetables. That's why I recommend that people eat them with every meal.

• Plan to eat your calories instead of drinking them. Sodas, juice and coffee are a hidden source of calories for many people. How quickly can we down 12 ounces to get 150 calories from soda or juice, or 300 calories from a latte? These liquids don't stay in our stomachs to keep us full, but they stay on our waist! So save the calories for food and drink some water!

• Plan to eat at least three meals every day. Many people think they will eat less if they just skip a meal, but the reality is that most will binge later and more than make up for the calories. Besides, skipping meals also lowers your metabolism and possibly your grades. Studies have shown a correlation between eating breakfast and better school performance.

—Kamie Stoner, R.D., L.D.