Let’s face it as youth ministers we only work 3 months out of the year (wink, wink, wink). In youth ministry it can be very difficult to follow any kind of consistent diet, but this is especially true during the summer.
I have always used the summer as an excuse to get away from eating healthy, falling into bad habits and gaining weight. It is impossible to stay in shape during the summer for a youth ministry, right? Wrong, it is nothing more than an excuse. I am great at making excuses, but not so great at honoring promises I have made to myself. I decided this summer would be different. This summer I am not going to make excuses and I am going to honor myself by sticking with my goals.
This is making me plan and prepare ahead of schedule. This week we are at Arlington Work Camp. Typically this is a week I would just say I can’t stay on track. I will have donuts at church, burgers or pizza for lunch, there is no way to avoid it. This week I am not giving in to the excuses. I have stuck to my diet all week so far. I have gotten up early and fixed my breakfast, I have taken my lunch box with Shakeology, lunch and an afternoon snack. Cami has helped out by cooking a healthy dinner. I have even given our interns a heads up and asked them to help keep me accountable.
I am in week 5 of the Insanity workout, which is a Recovery week. It just so happen to fall on a perfect week. I have switched out the Cardio Recovery program with P90X One On One “Fountain of Youth.” It is a Yoga workout and I am finding it great at the end of a long work day. So far I am down 16 pounds and I want to keep moving in the right direction. This summer is about me not making excuses. I can’t control what others are doing but I can control what I do. When I get tired and hungry I want junk food. When I eat junk food I have less energy, I am more irritable and moody. When I am tired it is more important than ever to eat right and exercise. You can follow my health and fitness journey this summer at www.garyalbrittonfitness.com
garyalbritton 