Your work may or may not require a great deal of away-from-home road time, but that's no longer an excuse for eating poorly, exercising sporadically, or crumbling under stress.
"Being in top physical condition is easier now than it's ever been," says David Nieman, assistant professor of nutrition and fitness at the Loma Linda University School of Health.
"About 20 percent of the population exercise appropriately, and 40 percent more exercise somewhat. That means that a majority of people are getting exercise--it's the popular thing to do. Also, the fast-food chains have capitalized on the preoccupation with health and are offering fine salad bars, multigrain breads, and light-calorie choices."
As a pastor or church leader, you can't afford to be at the tail of the 1980s fitness parade. Your personal lifestyle, even away from home, says a great deal about the value of being fit. Add to that witness the joy of a body that feels good, looks good, and performs well, and you have great motivation for cultivating good health habits.
However, taking good care of yourself while you're on the road will not just happen. A good diet, adequate exercise, and stress control require planning, motivation, and determination.
First, think about your present road diet. Do milk shakes, fries, and grilled cheese sandwiches form its bulk (and yours)? "Unfortunately, we all tend to fall into three common traps," says Pauline Landhuis, assistant professor of medical dietetics at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "Most people have a cultivated taste for too much sugar, too much salt, and too much fat added to doctor up prepared foods."
Although a direct correlation between these diet faults and three of the most dangerous medical conditions, heart disease, obesity, and cancer, is impossible to prove, Landhuis says there is no question that salt, sugar, and fat contribute to risk factors.
Fueling your body properly is simple even away from home. "Variety is the key," says Landhuis. "Choose from the basic food groups each day. Don't consume so much food as to be overweight. Cut down on salt and fat. Fortunately, most restaurants are making that easy."
Landhuis says breakfasts are important, but traditional "breakfast foods" are not necessary. "Pizza's fine if you like it," she says. Landhuis does caution against using too many eggs because of their high cholesterol. "No more than three eggs should be eaten a week," she says, "and remember that eggs are the basis of pan cakes, waffles, and French toast. Breakfast is an ideal time for the fiber and protein of cereal, but again, don't use the sugared kinds."
Adults need a regular calcium supply, so be sure to include milk products and dark-green leafy vegetables in your daily selections.
Giving your muscles and heart regular workouts will take as much planning away from home as does eating properly. Ben Londeree, director of the Human Performance Lab at the University of Missouri at Columbia, says ideal exercise for fitness is 45 minutes three or four days a week. "The type of exercise is not as critical as the time and regularity," he says. "You need to get your heart rate and your breathing up. As a rule of thumb, exercise at the fastest pace you can go and still carry on a conversation."
Londeree says exercising for fitness doesn't mean you have to experience pain--even in the beginning. "The old saying 'No pain, no gain' simply isn't true for fitness exercise," he says.
As with food choices, variety in an exercise program is wise. "No one exercise will strengthen every part of the body," Londeree says. "Mix your exercises. Walk, jog, cycle, swim, play racquetball or tennis. Don't choose just one. That's the best way to avoid sports-specific injury. Joggers are prone to one type of injuries, walkers to another, and swimmers to another. Doing a bit of each is a good way to avoid these injuries." Londeree suggests that when you must be away from home you find someone in the town you're visiting with whom to exercise. Not only will that be more pleasant for you, but it will also be a way of sharing the good news of healthful living.
The third key to successful away-from-home living is stress management. Loma Linda's Nieman says stress management has three components: physical engineering, mental engineering, and environmental engineering.
First, keep physically fit: eat well, get adequate sleep, and exercise regularly--just what the others have been saying. "A recent study from Canada among corporate managers showed that those who were physically fit suffered much less illness from life-disrupting situations (death of a spouse, divorce, job loss, etc.) than did their less-fit counter parts," Nieman says. For some reason the catecholamines, body chemicals responsible for depression and anxiety, decrease in such people.
Second, realize that although you may not be in control of a situation, you are in control of your reactions. "We have two irrational beliefs that cause great stress when things go wrong," Nieman says. "One is that everyone must like us, and the second is that everything must go as we have planned. Neither of those is true."
When something is going wrong, consciously relax a bit. Breathe deeply. Say to yourself, "I'm still OK. I'll learn something from this situation. I'm going to take it in stride."
Environmental engineering includes such things as not overloading your schedule (that's not as impossible as it sounds), and having backup plans to cover schedule delays, equipment failures, or altered agendas. It also includes such mundane matters as choosing a car with comfortable, adjustable seats.
Diet, exercise, stress control. You knew the essentials before you read this article. The crux of it all is motivation--yours. God gave you a wonderfully designed body. The tools for its proper care have never been easier to obtain. Your spiritual life and your personal prestige are on the line. No one else can make you healthy. You've got to do it for yourself.
