It’s time to enjoy some of the amazing beauty of northern Thailand while we are on vacation. When most people think of Thailand and “beauty”, they think of the beaches of Koh Samui. But Alissa and I are both mountain people. We LOVE the mountains, and we’d rather be hiking in the mountains ANY day of the week!

On top of that, we want to go somewhere simple. Northern Thailand is mountainous and laid back, and while the rest of the country is developing fairly quickly, northern Thailand is much, much simpler than the rest. And Alissa and I LIKE simple very, very much.

And, yes, we’ll be going to the place pictured below. 

While we’re there, we are going to be shooting some video for the Fit For Jesus transformation project, as well as finishing up the FREE Spiritual 7 Movement Guide. So, be sure to signup on the upper right side of the website for your free copy of the Spiritual 7 Movements. It will take a few weeks after we get back from Thailand to get the video and website ready for the downloads, so be patient… we want it to be valuable for you!

I’ll work on getting another post or two up before we go, but in the meantime, leave me a comment below.

Comment!  Answer the following question:  How would simplifying your life help you become more Fit For Jesus?

Related posts:

1. Welcome to Fit for Jesus!
2. The Fit For Jesus Daily Prayer Post

The Fit For Jesus philosophy is massively different, but more importantly, it works.  Today, I thought I would take some time and tell you the story of how the Fit For Jesus process and mindset came to be.  The change from worldly to heavenly has made a huge difference!

NELMS Fitness vs. Fit For Jesus

It all started with NELMS Fitness.  I was having a little fun with our last name, and suddenly it clicked.

N – Nutrition

E – Exercise

L – Lifestyle

M – Mindset

S – Success!

Eventually, whether I was presenting to an audience or a single client, I explained that it was “Nutrition, Exercise, Lifestyle, and Mindset for Success!”

The philosophy actually worked really well and addressed much more than what the world normally talks about.  To most “experts”, it’s all about diet OR workout.  But the reality is that it is both… AND the proper lifestyle AND the proper mindset.  Teaching clients about the additional factors allowed us to get much better results that were much more permanent.

But, even though we brought to light additional, highly important factors for effective fat loss, it still just wasn’t enough.  We still had too many clients that couldn’t make the switch and make it happen.

And so, as hard as it was to admit, especially because NELMS Fitness was helping people see much more of the big picture than most weight loss programs, we learned that the saying wasn’t entirely true…

Sometimes Nutrition, Exercise, Lifestyle, and Mindset does NOT equal Success.

And so we realized that it wasn’t enough. We had to make a paradigm shift, if we truly wanted to help our clients achieve lifelong, permanent health and weight loss success.  Of course, it didn’t take long to realize what was missing.

Or, technically, WHO was missing.  Because at some point, every Christian who is trying to make a serious change in any area of their life will come to the realization that it will not happen without Jesus Christ.  And with that truth in our hearts, we knew that NELMS Fitness could no longer be our focus.

It was time to reinvent.

The first thing we tackled was the acronym.  Obviously, the NELMS acronym would no longer apply.  As we played around with it, we soon noticed that keeping all the letters would be a great way to teach a lesson.

You see, the world teaches that Nutrition is the solution.  And to be fair, it is a major factor in the weight loss equation.  But although it plays a major role, any competent fitness professional will tell you that you can’t start there.  And since we had learned our lesson that the old NELMS fitness acronym wasn’t going to work, we knew we couldn’t continue to start their, either.

But what about the S?

S for Success… the worldly view.  S for Spirituality – the Fit For Jesus Solution!

After analyzing the situation, we knew that S needed to stand for “Spirituality”.  Simply stated, Jesus is needed in our life.  The Holy Spirit needs to be the leader of our efforts.  So, now we are looking at Nutrition, Exercise, Lifestyle, Mindset, and Spirituality, right?

Yes, but NELMS is all out of order.  And using NELMS is both worldly and has a hint of pride to it, since it is my last name.  NELMS Fitness can be no more, which is great, since “He must become greater.  I must become less.”  (John 3:30)

We look to Jesus, who said,  “So the last will be first…”

(The rest of the verse, of course, says “and the first will be last”.  But, I honestly can’t say that Nutrition is last on the priority list, so we just won’t be able to use that part.)

“So the last will be first…” puts us at Spirituality, Nutrition, Exercise, Lifestyle, and Mindset (SNELM) but there is still one more issue that I’ll bet over 98% of weight loss coaches and personal trainers are getting wrong.

Most trainers don’t even address it.  The issue is Mindset.  Sure, some trainers talk about goals, but the reality is that it is the mind that has to change the most and involves much more that just goals.   In order for the mind to change, we need Jesus and true, sincere Spirituality.  There is much, much more to this than will fit here in a single blog post, so we’ll leave it at that for now.

And that is how the new acronym, Spirituality, Mindset, Nutrition, Exercise, and Lifestyle (SMNEL) used in Fit For Jesus came to be.

Goodbye, NELMS Fitness.  Hello, Fit For JESUS!

“He must become greater.  I must become less.”  (John 3:30)

Related posts:

1. Where Does Nutrition Fit In With Christian Weight Loss?
2. The Power of a Positive Mindset for Christian Weight Loss
3. The Spiritual Goals of Fit For Jesus

Well, it has been nearly a year. I’ve been able to squeeze in a Facebook update, every now and then, but that has been about it. I know that some of you have been patiently waiting and actually looking forward to Fit For Jesus to ramp up to speed again. We appreciate that very much, and I feel like you deserve an explanation.

In the grand scheme of things, nothing horrible has happened. We have an amazing relationship with God. We have an unbelievable relationship with each other. Seriously… our marriage is incredible and still causes us to shake our head in wonder (and with deep gratitude to God).

So, for many reasons, we are extremely thankful, happy, and blessed.

The bad news, however, is that we lost everything financially in 2008 and 2009. And, unfortunately, we mean everything. Rather than go into a ton of detail (that you’ve already heard over and over about, since hundreds of thousands of other people were and still are in similar and worse situations), we’ll share our blessings, instead.

1) Wow… having nothing opened the doors for God to show how much He loves and cares for us. Time and time again, when we didn’t know how we would make it, money came from somewhere. And we are talking about completely unexpected income from completely unexpected sources. God is good, and God is real. It’s just that simple.

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:31-34

2) Alissa and I are already simple people. This taught us to live even more simply. It’s amazing what (and who) is truly important in your life. It’s also very revealing to discern what is truly valuable and a priority.

And, praise God, it is quite liberating to know that money isn’t even close to being the source of happiness, even when you don’t have any.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

3) There are good people in the world. At any given time, we knew with 100% certainty that we could have picked up the phone and gone to stay with 4-5 different people, with less than 24 hours notice. And this is in a town that we had just moved to less than 4 months previously.

At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.”

II Corinthians 8:14-15

So, with all that said, we want to take time to publically praise and thank God for His absolutely marvelous love, brought to earth physically in His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the source of all that is good and pure and wonderful. And we thank the people who loved us and allowed us to be open when things were tough.

And now, it is time for a new chapter. We are excited that, by being here, you have chosen to be a part of it.

God bless each of you richly,

Jeremy and Alissa Nelms

No related posts.

Energy is awesome.  Feeling energetic… even better!

As a Christian, the personal benefits of feeling energetic are numerous.  But not only are they plentiful, the benefits of feeling great are powerful and even potentially eternal!

Consider these benefits and advantages:

• Feeling physical energy makes you happier.  When you are happier, you will naturally smile more and laugh more.  Smiles and laughter are attractive and contagious (no matter what your worldly appearance may be).
• Being energetic helps you be more active.  Believe it or not, more activity creates more energy.  It’s a powerful, positive cycle that becomes self-motivating.  And, of course, more activity equals better health!
• Your mind thinks more clearly and intelligently when you experience high energy.  When your mind is clear and intelligent, you are more productive, positive, and naturally lift more people’s spirits.
• Greater energy equals greater confidence!  Confidence helps you achieve more (even with small, daily activities), speak more, reach out and influence more.  Again, confidence attracts people who need strength and support, which leads to opportunities to be a shining example of Jesus Christ to the world.

Energy is powerful.  And because of the natural opportunities that being energetic attracts, possessing high levels of energy can have eternal rewards.  Now, obviously as Christians, we have to respond to this higher energy appropriately when God places opportunities in front of us, but we are going to assume, for this article, that your heart is filled with the desire to be like Christ in everything you can do.

So… possessing high levels of energy is important for our health and potentially for the eternal future of someone God places in our path.  The question, therefore, is this:  what can we do to get it?

Consistent, high quality energy comes from 3 sources:

1. God, through Him, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit
2. Temple Fuel
3. Activity

So that this article doesn’t turn into a literal book, you can get a quick overview of the first and third source in the article “Spirituality and Weight Loss Made Simple“.

For now, though, let’s look at the second source:  Temple Fuel.

I can hear some of you now:  What in the world is “temple fuel”?  Well, temple fuel is food!

Since our bodies are the temple for the Holy Spirit within us, we must look at food in a whole new light.  The food that we put into our mouths is literally fueling the temple of the Holy Spirit.  When you truly stop and think about that concept, and if you can even begin to fully realize the gift that has been given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through His sacrifice and resurrection, the impact of the concept of “Temple Fuel” can be nothing short of absolutely powerful.

In fact, it should be life-changing.

Our nutrition has a tremendous impact on our energy levels.  And while books and books have been written about the topic, the idea of nutrition changes when we look at its potential impact on eternity.  When you look at nutrition in the light of heaven, you realize the importance of steady, consistent energy levels.  The status and priority of nutrition is elevated when you take into account the impact that both your daily actions and your longevity have on your experience in eternity.

Nutrition just became a whole lot more important to you, didn’t it?

Now that you are truly aware of the benefits of healthy Temple Fuel, here are 7 tips for creating consistent, high-level energy.

1. Eat your breakfast!  Time and time again, real-world experience and scientific research proves that people who eat a healthy breakfast have more energy, burn more calories during the day, achieve and maintain weight loss, and are simply healthier.
2. Eat protein at each meal.  Protein revs up your metabolism in 2 ways.  First, it actually takes more calories to digest protein than it does to digest carbohydrates or fats.  In addition, protein helps maintain and repair your muscles, which are responsible for the vast majority of our daily metabolism.
3. Eat fibrous vegetables at each meal.  Fibrous vegetables all have a few things in common.  First, they all have high levels of vitamins, minerals, and/or antioxidants.  Next, because they have a higher fiber content, they excel at making sure you have a nice, slow, steady release of energy from your meal!
4. Fuel your workouts with carbohydrates.  Eat most of your carbohydrates around your workouts.  They will provide Temple Fuel for a high-energy, productive workout, and they will also help refill your carbohydrate stores after a workout.  If your carbohydrate stores in your muscles are at least moderately filled, you should have no problem providing enough fuel to your brain, as well, so that you feel energetic all day long!
5. Avoid simple carbohydrates.  Simple carbohydrates like flour and sugar cause a sudden rush of energy… followed by a drastic LOW in energy.  All those simple carbs cause a surge in insulin levels, which initially helps refill carbohydrate stores.  But, it happens so fast that TOO much carbohydrate is pulled from the blood stream (and either stored as glycogen or fat), and we experience lower blood sugar levels.  Our brain will respond to low blood sugar with feelings of lethargy, laziness, and our ability to concentrate and be positive and productive suffers.
6. Eat healthy fats.  Healthy fats are tremendously important for our energy levels.  Since we are avoiding simple carbohydrates and timing our healthy carbohydrates around our workouts, the balance of our calories should come from healthy, energy-creating fats.  Fats also have a dramatically important role in proper hormone production, which, when factored in with our calorie-burning furnaces of muscle, combine to directly influence the amount of calories we use and energy we “feel”.
7. Drink a gallon of water throughout the day.  Water is essential to every system and chemical reaction in our body, either directly or indirectly.  When our bodies are running optimally, we have and experience the feelings of being energetic.  When our bodies are missing ingredients like water, calories, vitamins, minerals, and more, we are tired, depressed, dull, and down.  Water is a HUGE factor in your energy levels

Look at the concept of nutrition in a new, heavenly light.  In fact, from this moment onward, it would be best for you to acknowledge nutrition for what it truly is:  Temple Fuel.

Take care, and God bless,

Jeremy and Alissa Nelms

Related posts:

1. Temple Fuel – The Foundation of Christian Nutrition
2. Spirituality and Weight Loss Made Simple
3. The Simplicity of Nutrition for Christians

Today will be the first day for the Fit For Jesus metabolism booster on Twitter!

What is a metabolism booster?  It’s anything that provides a boost to help speed up your metabolism.  It may be a quick 20-30 second bout of exercise.  It may be a quick stretch to get you out of your seat.  It may be a suggestion to go get a glass of iced green tea.

Whatever it is, it is designed to do one thing: rev your metabolism!

But here’s what will be REALLY cool:  with each Fit For Jesus metabolism booster, we’ll also suggest that you say a quick prayer, specifically for someone or something.  For example, we might Tweet “FFJ Booster! Stand up, reach up, and touch your toes 10 times.  Be sure to breathe, and pray for a co-worker.  Please Retweet!”

So, in this case, you’ll just stand up and follow the directions, but you will also get the spiritual “booster” of having the opportunity to pray for a co-worker!  Everyone wins! 

It’s easy to follow us on Twitter.  Just go to www.Twitter.com/FitForJesus and click the Follow button.  If you aren’t signed up for Twitter, yet, it will help you do so!

Enjoy, and get ready for your Fit For Jesus Metabolism Booster Tweets!

Take care, and God bless you today!

Jeremy and Alissa Nelms

Related posts:

1. Fit For Jesus Metabolism Booster #1
2. Fit For Jesus Metabolism Booster #4
3. Fit For Jesus Metabolism Booster #2

We have a lot planned for the Fit For Jesus website.  For now, we are going to start sharing some of the Biblical principles behind having a fit, healthy body.  And in case you’re wondering, it goes WAY beyond 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20, which says,

Powerful motivation, isn’t it?  But this is truly just the tip of the iceberg, and we will spend a lot of time digging deeply into… scripture and the promised rewards of a healthy body… all with a focus on Jesus Christ!

In addition to scripture and discussion, we will also have videos, workouts, recipes, and more!  But, truly, that honestly isn’t even the best part of the Fit For Jesus website.

In the background, Alissa and I are working with and finalizing an absolutely amazing piece of software that is going to bring the best features of MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter… all into one package.

• Your own personal profile page, so you can let people know what is going on in your life and receive support.
• Ability to follow friends, so you can keep up with them and provide encouragement.
• Ability to upload videos, pictures, and music, so others can give suggestions on your exercise form (or you can simply upload some positive, inspirational messages for others!).
• An easy-to-use, categorized forum for interaction, so that your discussions can help thousands of others.
• Your own blog and journal, so you can provide week by week, or even daily updates on your progress with your fitness or personal spiritual efforts.
• Ability to create your own groups (perfect for churches, small groups, fitness groups, etc.) and even a private group forum!
• Live chat
• If you are interested, there is even a place where you can submit articles that you feel will benefit the Fit For Jesus community!

It’s an exciting time, for sure!

So, here is the best thing to do for now, while we finish up the social networking side of Fit For Jesus.

1. Put your name and email in the form below, which will make sure that you are notified as SOON as the social networking site goes live.
2. Become a fan of Fit For Jesus on Facebook.
3. Start following Fit For Jesus on Twitter.
4. Send an email to your friends about the site.
5. Leave a comment below, and tell us what you’re looking forward to the most! 

Enjoy, and you will hear from us again soon!

Sincerely,

Jeremy and Alissa Nelms

No related posts.