Guest blog: Former journalist Nancy Gavilanes was called by God to leave her promising career…
Day 2: Support from your mate and family
I admit, I do have an advantage. Two of my sons are coaches, and one is a Performance Enhancement Coach for Div 1 University so he has all kinds of credentials and wisdom (I feel I got my money’s worth on his education!) And my youngest is also a college athlete. All of our family (daughters in laws too) are athletes and we enjoy an active lifestyle—so I actually LOVE to work out and do sports!)
However, as I wrote in 10 Secrets to Living Smart, Savvy and Strong, during my kids teen years I found myself driving them to all kinds of sports competitions and I would sit in the car, then sit on the bench. . . and this packed on some weight so in my mid forties, I needed to learn to PLAY again! Some of my favorite solo activities are swimming, dancing, beach walks, Praise Moves (Christian Alternative to Yoga) and Body and Soul classes (aerobics to Christian music). Often my family will be good sports and do some of these with me too.
But nothing is more vital than having your spouse buy into the healthy lifestyle. Bill has actually been ahead of me on this—he is quite a runner and loves to lift weights. However, over the past six years, Bill and I have gone out of our way to develop an even more active lifestyle: we bought bikes, we have a gym membership (where we lift weights, take all kinds of classes from Zumba to line dancing), swim, kayak, snow shoe, jet ski, hike, play tennis, ball room dance, stroll the nearby beaches, and if all else fails—we go for a 20 minute prayer walk in our neighborhood together!
In our book, Red Hot Monogamy, we have a list of “recreation” ideas for couples (did you know couples that work out and exercise have MORE Red Hot Monogamy [SEX] than other couples? And Red Hot Monogamy burns calories! And Red Hot Monogamy releases endorphins (that make you a happier person!) Yep- it’s true! (order Red Hot Monogamy and use the code “friend2” for a discount.)
Here’s is a part of the long list of fun recreational activities from Red Hot Monogamy—pick one of the ideas out and DO IT today!