“There are two obstacles to vibrant health and longevity: ignorance and complacency.”  World Health Organization

How much could a partner help you achieve a goal?

No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ cares for his body, which is the church. (Eph. 5:29; NLT)

On Wednesday, some of you were with us as we announced our coming e-book and seven-part webinar course on one of our most impassioned topics — wellness!  If you were able to be with us, we thank you for being there to share our excitement — if prior commitments kept you from being with us, we recorded the session and, one last time, our link today will give you access to that recording so that you too can hear what we’ve got coming beginning next week.

To quickly review, Dr. Randy Peck, Sharon, and I gave an overview of the upcoming weekly webinar course and e-book that will lead you through the six major factors that determine a person’s wellness.  That course will begin on Wednesday, April 8, at high noon EDT.  Details on how to be a part of that course are included with the recording of Wednesday’s webinar at the link below.

As we wrap up this little mini-series discussing four of the six keys to wellness, there is one last piece to put in place.  I call this one the “magic key” because with it the probability of success sky rockets.  Without it, the probability for failure sky rockets.

That magic key is structure.  You need a structure to make all this work effectively.  By structure, I simply mean that you need someone who is going to touch base with you each week just to see how you did with your goals for the week, and to support, encourage, and hold you accountable to keep taking those very simple steps.

Let’s face it…you know you should pick the apple instead of the donut.  You know that exercise is good for you.  You know that drinking water is good for your body.  But for most of us, it can be hard to stay on track.  If I may quote from a document that came to my attention a couple of months ago, “A recent study from the Public Library of Science Medicine Journal (January 2008) found that basic healthy habits can add 14 years to your life….  They found that what stopped people from changing their behavior was not a lack of knowledge, it was a lack of practical support.  Someone to help them make a plan.  Someone to help them stick to the plan.”  You know, that’s exactly what a coach is trained to do.

Please allow me to conclude this series with an invitation.  I would like to invite you to join us as we start the weekly webinar course covering each one of the six major factors to wellness in depth.  If that option is out of the question for you right now, as a second choice, I would like to urge you to give one of us a call at 757.482.4490 and let’s talk about the kind of structure and support we can offer you.  We invite you to become an active part of the health community we are creating.  It’s a lot more fun when you’ve got a buddy.

Have a better than fantastic weekend!

Prayer Power
Father, we thank You for the privilege of sharing our passion for wellness with so many wonderful people this past week.  We pray that our messages have helped many of our hearers come to terms with some changes they need to make in order to fulfill the destiny You have created them for.

Link of the Day
Access to Recording of 4/1 Wellness Webinar

Blessings on you as you choose to become pro active regarding your health.

“Most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone. Pending strong evidence of effectiveness from randomized trials, it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements.”  The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2002;287:3127-3129

What have you heard about the need for nutritional supplements?

Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  (1 Cor. 3:16; NAS)

Yesterday, we were excited to announce our coming e-book and seven-part webinar course on one of our most impassioned topics — wellness!  If you were able to be with us, we hope you felt our excitement — if prior commitments kept you from being with us we recorded the session and our link today will give you access to that recording so that you too can feel some of the excitement that was in the air yesterday.

To quickly review, Dr. Randy Peck, Sharon, and I gave an overview of the upcoming weekly webinar course and our e-book that will lead you through the six major factors that determine a person’s wellness.  That series will begin on Wednesday, April 8, again at high noon EDT.  Details on how to be a part of that series are included with the recording of yesterday’s webinar.

Recall that on Monday I briefly discussed water as the first major factor to wellness, Tuesday I covered exercise, yesterday I covered Superfoods, and today, let’s look at the the fourth major factor to wellness, supplementation.

Yes, you do need to add supplements to your daily regimen.  Even the American Medical Association came out in 2002 and reversed their long standing position against the need for supplements.  They now admit that the nutrient value of our food supply has diminished so drastically that it is virtually impossible to get all the nutrients one needs from food alone.  You’ve probably heard that only two peaches a day would have supplied a woman’s vitamin A RDA in 1951.  Today she would have to eat more than 53 peaches to meet this same requirement.  Peaches anyone?   And peaches aren’t the only food to show a loss.

OK, so you need to supplement.  Now you may accuse me of being a little self-serving here, but I do need to let you know that all supplements are not created equal.  In fact, this problem has gotten so bad that Congress has now passed a law that requires a manufacturer to be able to prove that what is advertised to be in the container is indeed in the container.  What a novel idea!  Sarcasm aside, when buying supplements, you have to be aware that the lowest price is usually not the best value.  I’ll leave it at that.

But again, the fourth step is simply to supplement what you eat with a daily regimen of nutrients.  What nutrients you ask, and whose are good?  Bottom line, find someone with enough experience to be credible and then trust them.  Everybody has their own strong opinions about what is best.  But just like with quality food, you must expect to pay a little more for quality supplements.

So there you have it, four simple steps.  There’s a couple more, stress management and rest, that we will cover in the webinar course and in the e-book, but will not cover here in our DGs.  The four we’ve listed this week really are simple, aren’t they?  So simple, in fact, that they’re easy not to do.  Or like most New Year’s resolutions, easy to start with a bang and fall off the wagon a couple of weeks into the game.

The solution?  Tomorrow, I will conclude this mini-series with a discussion of the magic key to the four simple steps.  There is a way to keep you “on that wagon.”  It’s just as simple as the four steps, but at the same time, incredibly powerful.  See you tomorrow!

Prayer Power
Father, the food You provided for us and intended for us to eat is indeed perfect.  But through a number of economic-driven choices, our food supply is no longer able to sustain us as it was intended.  We thank You for giving mankind the wisdom and the ability to supplement our diets with those missing nutrients.

Link of the Day
Access to Recording of Our 4/1 Wellness Webinar  (After 10a ET)

Blessings on you as you purpose to supplement your diet with additional nutrients on a daily basis.

“If the doctor of today does not become the nutritionist of tomorrow, the nutritionist of today will become the doctor of tomorrow.”  Thomas A. Edison

How many servings of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and the like do you eat in an average day?

Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you. (Acts 27:34; NKJ)

Friday, we were excited to announce our coming e-book and seven-part webinar series on one of our most impassioned topics — wellness!  To review, Dr. Randy Peck, MD (we felt it good to have a doctor along for a wellness series), Sharon (who is a RN), and I have teamed up and will be conducting an interview-style weekly webinar to lead you through the six major factors that determine a person’s wellness.  This first webinar will be an overview of the entire series and is open to all who can attend for no charge whatsoever.  You simply need to be at your computer so you can participate in the roll out.  The big day and time is today, April 1, at high noon EDT.  Put it on your calendar and reserve the hour.  To register for the webinar, Click Here.

The third major factor to wellness is to eat more superfoods.  Superfoods?  Food with a red cape and a big “S” emblazoned on it somewhere?  No, no, no…superfood is simply nutrition-rich food.  I bet you could name most of them with out even looking.  And no, donuts are not on the list — but dark chocolate is, hallelujah!

My resident expert, Sharon, wrote a short article about superfoods as last May.  She even included a link to a list of superfoods.  Sharon likes to call them “God-foods.”  Whole books have been written on this topic.  But again, for most of us, we need to keep it simple.

The simple bottom line is eat more superfoods this week than you did last.  How many superfoods should you eat?  How many more than last week?  All up to you.  If you only eat one a day on average (and believe it or not, there are some who don’t even eat one a week), then adding one or two superfoods a day is going to begin to make a big difference.  The issue is simply “more,” not how many more.

Simple enough, right?  So see…as I predicted, a little more complex than water and exercise, but with the help of a list, it’s just as easy.  Be sure and join us today at noon to hear the rest of the factors to wellness.  See you at high noon EDT.

Prayer Power
Father, the name God-foods says it all.  If they’re God-foods, they must be good for us.  We thank You for the God-foods that are so readily available to us.  And we thank You for those who will be joining us later today for the wellness webinar.

Link of the Day
Registration link for Wellness Webinar

Blessings on you as you purpose to add one superfood to your diet this very day — of course, after you register for today’s webinar.

“When you really think about it, you’ll realize that your health is your responsibility, not your mother’s, not your spouse’s, not your insurance company’s, not the government’s…and not God’s.”  Dr. David Ajibade

How much physical activity is a part of your average day?

Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next. (1 Tim. 4:8; NLT)

Friday, we were excited to announce our coming e-book and seven-part webinar series on one of our most impassioned topics — wellness!  To review, Dr. Randy Peck, MD (we felt it good to have a doctor along for a wellness series), Sharon (who is a RN), and I have teamed up and will be conducting an interview-style weekly webinar to lead you through the six major factors that determine a person’s wellness.  This first webinar will be an overview of the entire series and is open to all who can attend for no charge whatsoever.  You simply need to be at your computer so you can participate in the roll out.  The big day and time is tomorrow, Wednesday, April 1, at high noon EDT.  Put it on your calendar and reserve the hour.  To register for the webinar, Click Here.

The second major factor to wellness is exercise, or as one of my exercise-phobic friends prefers, “activity.”  I bet you already guessed that one, didn’t you?  Yep, God designed our bodies to move.  Not to sit behind a desk only to go home at night and sit on the couch in front of the resident cyclopes.

Here again, I’m not saying you have to exercise so many times a week for so many minutes doing such and such exercise.  No, I’m just saying move more this week than you did last week.  For some of you, you didn’t move much last week, so a little improvement will be a fantastic breakthrough.  For others of you, the situation is entirely different.  Again, it’s your call to decide how much more is reasonable.  Better a little more that you do consistently, than a lot more that you find excuses to avoid doing.

Bottom line, folks, exercise is not optional!  If you want to get the expert view, check out Sharon’s 10/11/07 DG entitled, “You Knew It Was Coming.”  Don’t let yourself get intimidated, though…just move more this week than you did last.  Pretty simple, isn’t it?

Lest you get spoiled, the third simple factor is a little more challenging than the first two, but I believe when you hear it, you will agree that it is pretty simple as well.  See you on tomorrow.  Oh yes, before you head out for a little exercise, don’t forget to register for tomorrow’s Webinar at the link below.

Prayer Power
Father, we thank You for the ability to move and be active.  We thank You too for the technology that will allow us to share all six of the major wellness factors with all who tune in to our wellness webinar tomorrow.  Bring us those who are eager to learn how to attain wellness.

Link of the Day
Registration link for Wellness Webinar

Blessings on you as you purpose to move a little more today than you did yesterday and also as you register for tomorrow’s Webinar.

“We have made the mistake of assuming that because water is freely available and costs nothing, the body cannot possibly fall short of it. I believe that most physical pains are signals that the body needs rehydrating-and that we ignore these signals at our peril.”  Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj

How much water do you drink on an average day?

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.  (Proverbs 18:21; NKJ)

Friday, we were excited to announce our coming e-book and seven-part webinar series on one of our most impassioned topics — wellness!  To review, Dr. Randy Peck, MD (we felt it good to have a doctor along for a wellness series), Sharon (who is a RN), and I have teamed up and will be conducting an interview-style weekly webinar to lead you through the six major factors that determine a person’s wellness.  This first webinar will be an overview of the entire series and is open to all who can attend for no charge whatsoever.  You simply need to be at your computer so you can participate in the roll out.  The big day and time is next Wednesday, April 1, at high noon EDT.  Put it on your calendar and reserve the hour.  To register for the webinar, Click Here.

The first major factor to wellness is to drink more water than you already do.  How’s that for simple?  Notice that I didn’t say how many glasses or ounces of water you need to drink every day, although there are some guidelines that the experts suggest.  But we’re into simple here.  And to keep it simple, just drink more.  Drink more this week than you did last week.  I didn’t even say how much more.  You decide.  It’s really up to you how fast you want to reach your desired wellness goal.

So, if you’re only drinking one glass of water a day on average, make it two this week-or even one and a half.  I’ll guarantee you that’s a step in the right direction.  Just keep doing those little steps on a consistent basis, and before you know it, they will have added up to a giant step or two.

Why water?  Well, if you really want to know, go read Sharon’s 11/1/07 DG entitled, “Elixir of Life! and then read the link.  And for further reinforcement, read her 11/8 DG and associated link.  It’s all good information, but to simplify all that great advice, just drink a little more water than you did last week and you’ll be on your way to great health.

The second major factor?  Tune in tomorrow.  See you then.  In the meantime, have a drink on me (of water that is).  And don’t forget to register for the Wellness Webinar at the link below.

Prayer Power
Father, we’re truly excited about the webinar that is now just two days away.  We pray that those who will register to come are the very ones who will be most excited about wellness and are actively seeking answers.

Link of the Day
Registration link for Wellness Webinar

Blessings as you reach for another glass of water today while you register for our Webinar.

“The way we live is directly attributable to the sky rocketing costs of health care.”  From a recent RAND study

What would you like your health to be like in six months?

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.  (Rom. 12:1; NIV)

Yesterday, we were excited to announce our coming e-book and seven-part webinar series on one of our most impassioned topics — wellness!  We promised you additional details today that would allow you to register for the overview webinar to which you are invited to attend at no charge.

To review, Dr. Randy Peck, MD (we felt it good to have a doctor along for a wellness series), Sharon (who is a RN), and I have teamed up and will be conducting an interview-style weekly webinar to lead you through the six major factors that determine a person’s wellness.  This first webinar will be an overview of the entire series and is open to all who can attend for no charge whatsoever.  You simply need to be at your computer so you can participate in the roll out.  The big day and time is next Wednesday, April 1, at high noon EDT.  Put it on your calendar and reserve the hour.  To register for the webinar, click Register Here.

Thinking about wellness is not something many people do…unless they are sick.  Even then, they aren’t really focused on wellness.  In fact, they are actually focusing on how to make their illness go away so that they can forget about their health once again.  Begins to remind me of that oft quoted definition of insanity.

I suppose it’s human nature, but we don’t think much about our toes, unless one or more of them is sore.  We don’t think about how much we need and use our thumb, unless it is sore.  Then it sticks out like a….  So I guess it’s natural to not think about being healthy, until we’re not.  That’s really tragic, though.  It is really so simple to dramatically improve our health if we would just practice a few (six actually) simple steps.  But more about that later.

Have you ever thought about the value (i.e., payback) of good health or wellness?  Probably not…for all the same reasons as above.  We’ve all got more important things to think about, right?  Well, I would like to propose that health adds value or brings benefits to every moment of our lives.  Beside to ourselves, health adds value to our families, to our friends, to our work, to our community, and to our country.  Overstatement?  Hype?  To answer that, turn the thought over and ask what are the consequences of not having good health? How about the consequences to your family?  To your friends.  To your work?  To your community?  And finally, to your country?  Something tells me that the consequences would feel far more significant if we were not so used to living with them on a daily basis.

First of all, what is wellness to you?  It’s probably different for you than it is for me.  A great coaching question is to ask yourself, “What would I like my health to be like in six months?”  To be valid, your answer must describe what you want to be or do…not what you want to be free from.  For some it might be to run a marathon.  For someone else, it might be to be able to walk to the mailbox to get the mail without getting winded.  There are probably as many short-term health goals as there are people to ask.

Then ask yourself, “What would I like my health to be 20 years down the road?”  Think about how old you’ll be in 20 years and what would you like to be able to do when you’re that age.  Here again, everybody’s answer is going to be different, although there is likely to be some commonality, such as energy, stamina, mental acuity, flexibility, etc.

Register for the webinar on April 1 at noon EDT and we’ll begin to discuss this and a lot more.

Prayer Power
Father, we thank You for the technology that will allow readers from all over the globe to be with us as we introduce our e-book and webinar series.  It absolutely boggles the imagination to think about.  Guide us to use this amazing gift in a responsible manner and in a way that glorifies You.

Link of the Day
Registration link for Wellness Webinar

Blessings on you as you adjust your schedule to be with us as we roll out our wellness e-book and webinar series.

“Let us be about setting high standards for life, love, creativity, and wisdom. If our expectations in these areas are low, we are not likely to experience wellness. Setting high standards makes every day and every decade worth looking forward to.”  Greg Anderson

What value do you place on wellness?

He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.  (Psa. 103:3; NLT)

We’re finally going to do it!!!  This is the first public announcement of our new e-book and seven-part webinar series on one of our most impassioned topics — wellness!  More details will be available in tomorrow’s DG (yes, we know it’s a Saturday), and through the beginning of next week.

Bottom line, Dr. Randy Peck, MD (good to have a doctor along for a wellness series, don’t you think?), Sharon (who is a RN), and I have teamed up and will be conducting an interview-style weekly webinar to lead you through the six major factors that determine a person’s wellness.  The three of us are so excited to finally be doing this.  We’ve been talking about doing something like this for almost two years and we’re finally about to give birth to the idea.  The big day and time is next Wednesday, April 1, at high noon EDT.  Put it on your calendar and reserve the hour.  Again, more details will be forthcoming tomorrow.

Wellness!  What’s all this fuss about wellness?  What is wellness anyway?  If I’m not sick, I’m well, right?  What’s the big deal?

Great questions.  Wellness is quite a broad term, and unfortunately, most people probably have never really experienced wellness in their lifetime — or if they have, it was so long ago that they’ve long since forgotten what it feels like to be well.  And no, just being “not sick” does not mean you’re well.

World-renowned economist, Paul Zane Pilzer, writes in The New Wellness Revolution (Second Edition), “Modern medicine tells them [us] to accept headaches, stomach distress, body pain, fatigue, arthritis, and thousands of other common [emphasis mine] ailments as inevitable symptoms that afflict an aging population.”

Wellness is a pretty far-reaching term.  Wellness includes issues such as:

• mental clarity, focus, alertness, and memory
• consistent energy, endurance, and stamina
• overall sense of well-being
• positive mental outlook, i.e., better attitude
• body weight/shape/lean-to-fat ratio
• active libido without performance limitations
• good sleep, awakening refreshed
• flexibility, agility, freedom from joint/muscle pain
• problem free digestion and regular elimination
• unrestricted breathing, greater endurance, and rapid recovery

Come be well with us.  Remember, this is all about “coaching you to care for the only body you will ever have.”  Watch for the details tomorrow.

Prayer Power
Father, we are so excited to announce the imminent birth of a dream and vision You placed within us years ago.  We pray that the information that will come from this webinar series and e-book will lead multitudes to pursue new levels of wellness.

Link of the Day
Wikipedia’s View of Wellness

Blessings on you as you ponder the significance of wellness to the fulfillment of your destiny.