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Greetings
in Jesus!
 The
month of May marks our
First Anniversary of publishing the Fit4Jesus newsletter. To celebrate
this special occasion, as we said in last month's
newsletter, we have
renamed the
newsletter to
The
Fit Christian.
For this month's newsletter, we are
introducing a new writer, Patricia Wagner,
who is the editor of the
"A to Z Health Tips" newsletter.
I hope you enjoy her expertise.
We are working hard on building the
new Fit4Jesus Members Only website and will be sending out a survey
to all of our subscribers, "What Members Want." When this
hits your inbox, please take the time to fill it out so we can have
your input on what you would like to see in the Members Only
portion of the site. Even if you do not plan on being a member,
we would appreciate your opinion.
Get Fit4Jesus today! --Angela
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21
Days to a
Positive Attitude-Habit
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 Copyright
2004 by Patricia Wagner
This may come as a surprise... but your attitude is more
important than your aptitude in determining your success in life!
Just how critical is attitude to achievement? Well, take a look
at one of the greatest inventors of the last two hundred years -
Thomas Edison. Every time you turn on a light switch, you experience
the result of his persistence in the face of continuous failure.
Edison tried 10,000 times to get his light bulb invention to
work, but failed each time. However, he had this to say about his
lack of success. "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000
ways that won't work."
You can learn to have this kind of outlook on life, but it needs
to be purposefully installed into your daily living.
You probably know it takes about 21 days to break a habit by
replacing it with a new one. If you are plagued with persistent
negative thoughts toward life, you can replace this mindset with a
new positive-attitude habit!
Here is a 21-day five-step program
to change a negative attitude to a positive one:
1. Take charge of what you're
thinking.
This is a moment-by-moment decision that doesn't happen
overnight. It's a habit that will take some time to build.
How can you do this? Choose to think uplifting thoughts instead
of discouraging ones.
You get to decide what you think, which in turn determines how
you feel. Become aware of this and dwell on positive ideas
throughout the day.
At first you may have to force yourself to find something
positive. Consider keeping a journal and write down at least one
good thing in your life each day for three weeks. Then think about
these blessings instead of discouraging thoughts.
2. Read inspirational material.
During this 21-day training period, fill your mind with good
thoughts. The best book of all to read is that priceless diamond of
world literature - the Bible. You'll never know what wonderful
results from reading it are around the corner until you open its
covers!
3. Focus on others.
For the next 21 days make an extra effort to help other people.
Concentrating on assisting others will help you more than you
realize. If you succeed in becoming wealthy but are poor in respect
to your relationships, you will not be truly prosperous at all!
So make a special effort of focusing on others during your
21 days of building your new positive-attitude habit. This will
free you up to allow the butterfly of happiness to land on your
shoulder when you least expect it.
4. Take care of your health
needs.
It's hard to maintain a positive mindset if you've neglected your
physical needs. So during the 21 days of your attitude re-training,
make an extra effort to eat nutritious balanced meals.
Not getting enough sleep will also be a tremendous hindrance, so
make sure you're getting adequate rest. And don't forget to get
enough exercise. When you feel down, try to take a brisk 30-minute
walk. You'll feel revived!
5. Learn contentment
For the next 21 days focus on what you have and not on what you
don't have. Live in the present and enjoy your blessings.
Try to forget acquiring stuff for the purpose of keeping up with
others. That only leads to more anxiety. Be thankful for what you do
have instead.
When going through difficult experiences - remember that
adversity can be a blessing in disguise. You might learn some
important lessons during those tough times - like Thomas Edison did.
(I know I have.)
These lessons can turn into credentials that will enable you to
help others when they're going through tough times.
So don't let negativity ruin your present and future.
Instead, build a new habit of having a positive attitude. It will
take about 21 days to start seeing consistent changes in the way you
think, but it will be worth it!
Now choose the starting date for your attitude-renewal adventure
and go for it!
How about today?
Patricia Wagner offers informative tips on living
a more energetic lifestyle at http://www.a-to-z-wellness.com
and through her free "A to Z Health Tips" newsletter.
Contact Patricia at wagner.art@verizon.net
Editor's note: Be
sure to read Patricia's article "Five Keys to Better
Sleep" in June's issue of The Fit Christian.
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Five
Awesome Pilates Exercises for Your Abs
by Maia Appleby
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 What
do people ask about the most often? You got it -- they want to
know what the best abdominal exercises are!
I
disagree with most personal trainers on this topic. I've seen
people doing sit-ups, weighted crunches, leg lifts and all kinds
of things, but I haven't heard many of them say that they were
really happy with their results.
Resistance
training is great for strengthening and building muscles, to give
you sort of a boxer's build, but most people don't want their abs
to get bigger -- they want their waistline to get smaller! In my
experience, I have found that the classic abdominal exercises
don't do what we want them to do.
Pilates
moves are by far the best abdominal exercises. Where crunches work
primarily the rectus abdominus (the large "six pack" of
muscle in the center of the abdomen), Pilates works the deeper
abdominal muscles and the stabilizers that help to hold it all in.
It has also been shown to lengthen the muscles substantially,
giving a taller, leaner appearance. If you want to look smaller in
the waist, definitely try Pilates.
Here
are five exercises that tone the abs. There are many more, and
Pilates is meant to be done in one smooth-flowing sequence, but to
get the feel for it, you can work on these. Most of the pictures
below are of Mari Winsor giving individual instruction. She has
worked with many, many stars, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Daisy
Fuentes and Patrick Swayze, and they adore her. I highly recommend
her book The
Pilates Powerhouse.
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The
Hundred
-- Lie
on your back with your knees above your chest and extend
your arms at your sides. Now lift your chin and chest
slightly, so you're up on your shoulder blades and raise
your legs upward. Lift your arms 6 inches and quickly
pump them up and down five times while exhaling . Now
inhale, pumping your arms five times. Repeat 10 times to
make 100 pumps. Sound easy? Just try it!
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The
Roll-Up
-- I prefer to call this the "roll-DOWN", since
that's the important part of this exercise. Sit with your
legs straight and your arms in front of you (see photo).
Holding your abs in, slowly roll all the way down, feeling
each vertebra press into the mat. until you're lying flat,
being careful not to let your feet pop up. Now raise your
arms above your chest and slowly roll your torso up and
forward, tightening your stomach, until you're back to the
starting position. Reach your fingers out beyond your toes
(or as far as you can) and roll down again. Do
five to ten
of these.
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Rolling
Like a Ball
-- Fun AND effective! Sit up and pull your ankles in
toward your buttocks, wrapping your hands around them.
Bring your head toward your knees and lift your feet off
the mat so that you're balancing on your tailbone. Tighten
your tummy and slowly roll backward just until your
shoulders touch the mat -- be careful not to roll on your
neck. Immediately roll back up -- like a ball!. Do five of
these.
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The
Teaser
-- Lie flat on your back with your legs straight out and
arms on the mat, stretched straight up over your head.
Lift your legs up while raising both arms overhead until
your fingers are pointing at your toes (see photo). Exhale
and slowly roll back down, feeling each vertebra press
into the mat, back to the starting position. Repeat three
times. This is HARD at first.
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Brooke
Siler is doing the Open Leg Rocker on the cover of this
great book "The Pilates Body".
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Crisscrosses
-- With your head slightly raised, bring your knees to
your chest and place your hands gently behind your head
(don't interlace your fingers). Inhale and slowly twist to
the right, bringing your left elbow to your right knee
while extending your right leg (see photo). Hold this long
enough to exhale. Now inhale and return to the starting
position. Repeat, bringing your right elbow to your left
knee. Do five sets (ten crisscrosses total).
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New
Recipe
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Chicken-Stuffed
Tomato Salad
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Ingredients:
1
1/2 C Chicken, chopped
1
Stalk Celery, finely chopped
2
Green Onions, finely sliced
3
Eggs, hard-boiled, chopped
2
TB Dill Pickle Relish
1/2
C Low-Fat Mayonnaise
2
tsp Mustard
1tsp
Dill weed
1/8
tsp Pepper
4
Tomatoes, medium sized
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Instructions:
Combine
all ingredients except tomatoes. Set aside. Cut thin slice
of top of each tomato where the stem is. Scoop out the
insides of each tomato and add to mixture, mix together.
Stuff tomatoes with mixture.
Serves 4
One Stuffed
Tomato = One serving of Salad
 Submit
your recipes to Fit4Jesus, and if it's healthy, you just
might see it on our website or highlighted in our
newsletter.
More
Healthy Recipes ...
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Scripture
and Reflection by
Angela J. Perez
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 A
scripture to help you focus on Christian life.
Meditate and pray on this verse in the Bible and see how
it applies to you and your life or how you should apply
it. Ask the Lord for revelation and understanding on the
scriptures and he will grant your request.
"Finally,
brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy--think about such things." Phillipians 4:8 TNIV
With
this month's feature article speaking on having a positive
attitude, this verse goes right along with that.
Concentrate, meditate, on the good and positive things in
your life.
Do
as the Bible says in this scripture, it will help you
overcome the attacks of the devil. When you continually
think on all the negative things in your life, whether it
be your bills, your weight, or anything you are struggling
with, you are giving a foothold to the devil. Meditation
is when you think on something over and over. When you
constantly think on the negative, you a meditating
on the negative. Stop that! Don't meditate on the
negative, meditate on JESUS. Think on all the good He has
done and is GOING to do for you in your life.
You
are a new creature because of Him, if you can't find
anything else positive to think on, think on that one!
Here's another thing to think on: Because of Jesus, you
are saved from ALL of your sins, not just some of them,
ALL of them.
What
do you think on every day? Do
you meditate on the negative things in your life?
What are you expecting the Lord to do for you today? Are
you drawing your strength from the Holy Spirit? What does
this scripture mean for you?
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A
Call4Submissions
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 We
are always looking for articles, recipes, photographs,
suggestions, book reviews, and new ideas for the Fit4Jesus
newsletter and website. Please feel free to submit yours
to the editor by following the link below.
Please
feel free to forward this publication in whole by email.
Copyright
2004 Fit4Jesus.
Juneau
,
Alaska
USA
All Rights Reserved. No part of this newsletter may be
copied or reprinted without the express written permission
of the editor. Please contact the editor for reprint
requests.
Contact
the Editor...
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Fit Quick Links ...
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