Indulge Now, Pay Later...

I spent last week in sunny Tampa FL (80 degrees!!!) on business and decided to conduct a little experiment.  Many of you are well aware that for the past year I’ve been watching what I eat and working out hardcore M-F.  However, I was very curious to see  what would happen if I went an entire week indulging in whatever I wanted to eat and not working out. Well, after a few nights of enjoying Capital Grille’s porcini rubbed Delmonico steak with 12-year aged balsamic (BTW…this is the BEST steak I’ve ever had) and their lobster mac ‘n’ cheese (the BEST!!!!), Texas De’ Brazil’s unlimited meat extravaganza, Selmon’s (the late Lee Roy Selmon’s restaurant who played for the Bucs), the Wood Fire Grill’s delicious hand-made veggie pizza, and every carrot cake and crème brulee I could find; I returned to Sterling Va. tipping the scales at 185.7 lbs (note: I left Sterling weighing 180lbs). During the week in Tampa I only hit the gym once and was simply content with sleeping-in instead of getting my a.m. exercise on.

In the end, it came as no great surprise that I would have gained a little weight during this experiment, but 6 lbs in four days!!!  Besides the additional heft, another thing attempted to follow me home from Tampa and that was laziness.  However, after I dropped my daughter Landon off at the bus stop, Monday morning, it was back to the gym and back to watching what I ate.  Today as I type these very words, the scale has once again returned to normal in just four short days. However, if I had listened to that lazy spirit that tried to convince me to continue my Tampa gluttony, I would be writing an entirely different commentary today.

So what’s keeping you from getting back on the wagon? Why did you fall off? Was it football season? Pressure on the job? Stress at home? No longer can we simply eat whatever we want and refuse to exercise.  There is indeed a price to pay for our gluttony. Unfortunately, the price is often obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease.  As long as you are still on this side of Zion, you have a choice.  Please choose HEALTH!

About the Author: James Hackley earned a B.S. degree in Physics from Longwood College and an M.S. degree in Engineering from the University of Virginia.  He faithfully attends Holy & Whole Life Changing Ministries International in Lansdowne, Va., and his latest book, Body, Mind & Spirit: The Awakening can be purchased by visiting him at www.jameshackley.com , www.Amazon.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com.