This guest post is by basketball coach and fitness expert Kathy Corbett. In addition to her passion for fitness, Kathy is raising awareness and funds to serve and elevate underprivileged women and children in Uganda. Take a look at her full bio at the end of the article to get to know Kathy!
Picture this…It’s time to replace that worn out old car. You don’t want to spend the money, but you find a great deal and it’s in like-new condition! In fact, you buy the vehicle you’ve been dreaming about since you were a teenager.
Picture yourself driving your new car home, smiling ear to ear because you don’t hear that rattle anymore and there’s no strange odor coming from the back seat! Your first drive. What would you do? Would you drive it carefully, avoiding pot holes and going slow over speed bumps? Would you proudly show it to your friends? I expect you would plan to meet all the required maintenance on it and take good care of it, right? A car is much too expensive an item not to take care of! We all know that if we don’t change the oil or do the required maintenance on our cars they will not perform optimally and will eventually break down and lead to very costly repairs.
Now, think of how you take care of yourself. Maybe go take a look at yourself in the mirror. Surely we would not take better care of our cars than our own body, yet …
80% of all Americans do not get the recommended amount of maintenance – Exercise.
Last year linked physical inactivity to more than Five Million deaths worldwide.
68.5% of adults in the U.S. are overweight.
31.8% of children in the U.S. are overweight. 1
How much more valuable is our human body, our life than any automobile?! It is ludicrous even to compare the two. The price that was paid for our lives is more costly than we could pay back in ten lifetimes. Do you, like most Americans, take better care of your automobile than your body?
It is time to make some changes.
1. Get some exercise. Make a plan to get at least two and a half hours/week of moderate aerobic activity, and two days a week of anaerobic activity (muscle strengthening activities).
2. Feed your body. Eat a diet rich in whole foods, low in cholesterol and saturated fats and high in fiber. Eat a minimum of four to five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
3. Get some rest. Plan to get the recommended seven to eight hours per day of sleep. It is a lot easier to exercise and make healthy food choices when you are well rested.
So take care of that new dream car, but first take care of what you hope to keep sitting in it and enjoy a long life of feeling good! Remember, if your car breaks down you can get a new one. You only get one body, one life on this earth. Make the necessary changes to make your body strong, fit, and healthy. You can do it!!!
Reference: Ogden C. L. Carroll M. D, Kit,B.K., & Flegal K. M. (2014) Prevalence of childhood & adult obesity in the United States, 2011-2012 Journal of American Medical Association, 806-814.
Share your health and fitness goals by commenting below! What one thing can you start doing for your health today?
About Kathy Corbett: As a former college basketball player and college basketball coach with a masters degree in health and exercise science, Kathy has a long time passion for fitness and health. For the past nine years she has been a stay-at-home mother of three very active boys. She has adapted a fitness plan that keeps her fit, strong and healthy, with only a small amount of time for exercise and no expensive gym membership. And she loves helping others do the same!
In addition to her passion for fitness, she is passionate about helping the less fortunate. She is currently involved with a project called Hands of Love, a non-profit charity that “nurtures, educates and empowers Uganda’s destitute children to become strong Christian leaders.” As part of a team, Kathy is raising awareness and money to put on a women’s empowerment conference for the women and young girls of Uganda. These desperately poor and abused women will travel great distances, some over 200 miles by foot, to attend this conference in an attempt to gain some hope in their destitute lives. It costs only ten dollars for each woman to attend this three day, life-changing conference, which includes their meals and lodging. Check out http://www.handsofloveusa.org/ for more information or to get involved!
