Tips & Motivational Verses from Witness to Fitness By Donna Richardson Joyner

Four common strongholds that keep people from moving forward:

1. Fear: Fear is the opposite of faith, and it takes faith to overcome fear.

2. Generational curses: If illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, and others are rampant in your family, go to a doctor on a regular basis and know what your health status is. Begin eating to live, not living to eat. Set an example for your children.

3. Complacency: Step out of your comfort zone and go after your dreams!

4. Hopelessness: Without hope you have no vision or drive to accomplish your goals. Think of hope as your trump card. Whenever you are facing an obstacle, remember God is bigger.

I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. - Philippians 4:13

Donna Richardson Joyner is a renowned fitness and lifestyle expert who has traveled to 50 states, 50 countries, and 7 continents motivating and empowering people to walk in the newness of good health. The only member to have served under both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama on the President’s Council for Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, she has appeared in and sold millions of fitness videos, including Buns of Steel and the number one inspirational fitness video program Body Gospel. She is a former fitness expert for the NBC Weekend Today Show and ESPN Fitness Pros, and the producer and host of Donna Richardson: Mind, Body, & Spirit. An active philanthropist, she serves as an advisory board member of the Robert Wood Johnson foundation, the LPGA Foundation, and as a consultant for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. She also serves as an ambassador to the Let’s Move initiative launched by the First Lady, Michelle Obama. Donna is the founder of Grow Green Get Fit. She has been inducted into the Fitness Hall of Fame and has been named one of the “25 most inspiring women in America” by Essence magazine.

Improve the Health and Well-Being of Children

1. Once a week schedule family date night. It’s a time for the family to move and have fun. Make a list combining each of the family members’ favorite activities. Each week choose an activity for family date night, and make it happen.

2. Grow green! Start a family garden, a Garden of Hope, or join a community garden. Your family will learn and benefit from growing, cooking, and eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

3. Plan more family meals eaten together at home. Use this quality time to talk, share, and learn. Also, get your kids involved in sports and physical activities at schools, community centers, or church.

4. Heart to heart: Every month encourage your family to volunteer to help those who are less fortunate. This kind gesture will build character and teach them to be more humble and giving.

5. Education: Educate your children about where they come from and their heritage. As early as first grade, hire a tutor or find a college student who is a volunteer tutor. Educate your children and yourself about the world. Study and learn about other people, cultures, and places.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from. – Proverbs 22:6

5 Favorite Smart Phone Fitness Apps

1. MyFitnessPal: This free app tracks your food and exercise whenever and wherever you’d like.

2. CalorieKing: This free app gives you a quick and easy access to calories, carbs, and fat content of more than 70,000 food, including meals at 260 fast-food chains and restaurants.

3. Lose It!: This free app helps you set goals and establish a daily calorie budget so you can stay on track every day by recording your food and exercise. More than 85 percent of this app’s active users have lost weight.

4. RunKeeper: This free app uses your phone’s GPS to track fitness activity, such as how far you run, the amount of time it took you, your pace, speed, calories burned, and much more.

5. AllTrails: A free app for all of you hikers and mountain bikers. It tracks your hikes with your phone’s GPS and offer topographic maps, routes, reviews, and driving directions.

Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. - Proverbs 27:17

Favorite Ways to Fit in Fitness

1. Make it a game: get the family to move with some of the popular fitness and dance games, such as Xbox’s “Michael Jackson: The Experience”; Wii’s “Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2”; or PlayStation 3’s “Everybody Dance.”

2. Sign up for a local 5K or 10K race.

3. Schedule fitness breaks throughout your day:
- Pump up the jam and dance
- Jump rope for ten minutes
- Get your Hula-hoop on
- Stretch at your desk
- Walk for lunch

4. Rise and shine: set your alarm clock ten minutes earlier and start your day with a praise and worship dance.

I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are your works; and that my soul knows right well. – Psalms 139:14

Remember

Change does not occur on the outside until it has manifested on the inside. If you change your thinking, your actions will change, because your thoughts govern your actions.

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. - Proverbs 23:7

No matter what shape or size you are, you can start doing some physical activity for ten to twenty minutes each day. Water or chair aerobics are good options to start with, since they put less stress on your joints and have a low impact on your body.

I am fearfully and wonderfully made. - Psalm 139:14

On a blank piece of paper, write the name of your stronghold. Take that piece of paper, crumple it up, and throw it into the trash. As you’re doing this very deliberate act, praise God for setting you free from that stronghold.

For nothing is impossible with God. - Luke 1:37