Thursday, March 15, 2018

Hey Fletch … This one is rather personal. Your column is a safe place for me to ask it. I have been gaining weight. Often I am at breakfast and lunch meetings, then want to have quality time with my family at dinner. All I do is eat … and it is showing!

DRF—I hear you on this. Ministry makes good weight control harder for the reasons that you gave. John Reed, the former head of the D.Min. Department at Dallas Seminary once said, “I lost weight by not going back for seconds and limiting desserts.” Get an app for your phone and track everything that you eat for a month. By tracking the calories that you consume, it may motivate you to eat less.

Let me ask another question, are you exercising? Pastors are in a stress-filled environment. Exercise will reduce your stress and burn those calories. Get your heart rate above 100 beats per minute for 30 minutes a day—watch television while you exercise! Get a FitBit or Apple Watch as a tool to measure your exercise. You may want to talk to your doctor before beginning an exercise program … do it today.