Get Off the Couch , livre ebook

PRAISE FOR Get Off the Couch
If you struggle with your weight or have health-related issues, or know someone who does, this is the book for you! Pastor Steve has written a uniquely practical and scripturally sound tool to help you take care of the body God has given you. As a man who has walked the talk, Steve has packed this book with lots of encouragement and great manly advice to win the battle.
Dave Brown
Chairman, Foundation for Manhood
Director, Washington Area Coalition of Men’s Ministries
Steve Reynolds has been an inspiration in the pulpit for many years as he has shared the truth of the gospel. Now, Steve is an inspiration at the refrigerator and the couch as he guides us in maintaining healthy lifestyles. There is no question that one of the most difficult things to do is eat healthy and exercise. Steve, through his own life experience, gives us great wisdom as to how we can make this a priority . . . and a reality in our own lives. Read this book— your health depends on it.
Jonathan Falwell
Pastor, Thomas Road Baptist Church
Steve Reynolds has a passion for men to lose weight, get fit and be all they can be. Women will flock to buy this book for the man they love, and men are going to appreciate Steve’s no-nonsense approach to health and total wellness.
Carole Lewis
National Director, First Place 4 Health
Author, Live Life Right Here, Right Now
I’ve known Steve since the 1970s, when we were football teammates at Liberty University. As a running back, I depended on Steve to open big holes for me—and he was absolutely big enough to open gaping holes! Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of training more than 1,300 NFL players and some of the greatest athletes in the NBA, MLB, MLS, NHL, PGA and in professional tennis, and I stress to my pros that total fitness means being physically, mentally and spiritually fit. No matter what your current level of fitness, Get Off the Couch will motivate you to get up and move! We all need to be the most fit Kingdom players possible.
Chip Smith
Author, Football Training Like the Pros
I believe you must be able to lead yourself before you can properly lead others. One area of importance is physical fitness. If you do not get adequate exercise, eat the right fuel, and get enough sleep, you limit your effectiveness. Get Off the Couch shows how to experience personal renewal and maximize your energy. Steve Reynolds lays out a clear plan for getting the most out of your body and making the greatest impact for God.
Steve Stroope
Lead Pastor, Lake Pointe Church
Author, Tribal Church
Being an NFL agent, most people think I spend a lot of time on the couch watching sports. It is true I love sports and closely follow it, but I still make time for regular exercise. Get Off the Couch is my kind of book, and I highly recommend it. It shows men how to spend time in their man cave watching some sports and still take care of their health. So, let’s get off the couch!
Robert B. Walker
President and CEO, Unlimited Success Sports Management, Inc.

© 2012 Steve Reynolds
Co-authored by M. G. Ellis.
Published by Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.revellbooks.com
Revell edition published 2014
ISBN 978-1-4412-2562-7
Previously published by Regal Books
Ebook edition originally created 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the New King James Version . Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982.
Other versions used are:
THE MESSAGE —Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE . Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
KJV —Authorized King James Version .
Note: The information contained in this book is intended to be solely for informational and educational purposes. Please consult a medical or health professional before beginning this or any other weight-loss or physical fitness program.
This book is dedicated to my dad, Alfred Dean Reynolds .

I love this picture of you and me completing the Losing to Live 5K run together. At 81 years old, you are still living a full and active life, including walking every day. You are an inspiration to me and to our family. Thank you for making God the center of our home and for passing on to our family the godly values that were instilled in you by your parents. I love you, Dad .

He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit .
PROVERBS 17:27
Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword: Be the Man God Created You to Be! ( by Nelson Searcy )
Preface: In Sickness and in Health ( by Debbie Reynolds )
Introduction: A Man’s A.C.T.I.O.N. Plan
Aware
1. Get in the Game
2. Your Body Matters to God
Commit
3. You Gotta Play by the Playbook
4. Winning Over Temptation
Transform
5. Get Your Head in the Game
6. Progress, Not Perfection
Incorporate
7. Get Buff, Not Buffeted
8. No Pain, No Gain!
Organize
9. Stronger Together
10. Drafting Your Team
Navigate
11. Make Your Dash Count
12. Your Game Plan for Health
A Final Word from Steve Reynolds
My Get Off the Couch Contract Form
My A.C.T.I.O.N. Plan
Appendix A: My Progress Report
Appendix B: The Top Five Health Numbers to Know
Appendix C: How to Find a Personal Trainer
Appendix D: How to Set Up A Losing to Live Competition
Appendix E: Get Off the Couch Key Bible Verses
Endnotes
Acknowledgments
This was a TEAM project. I greatly appreciate the group of people who helped me develop this book, including:
My family, for always supporting me. I love you all very much.
My church family, members and staff of Capital Baptist Church in Annandale, Virginia, for your loyal support. It is truly an honor to serve as your pastor.
My friends Gary, Jana, Jaden and Josalyn Moritz, for your major contribution in creating this book. It would have never happened without your help. I love you all very much.
My writing assistant, Gwen Ellis, for your contributions to the book.
My friend Randy Miller, Graduate Research Assistance Librarian at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, for providing valuable research for this book.
My photographer, Randy Ritter, who took most of the pictures in this book.
My men’s focus group, who reviewed this book and provided valuable input.
My Reflection and Discussion Question team, who helped create and shape that section of the book.
My group of men who contributed testimonies and were willing to be transparent and share their journey.
My partners in the Losing to Live weight-loss program, who are with me on the front lines of the fight against obesity.
My publisher, Regal Books, and especially Bill Greig III, Stan Jantz, Kim Bangs and Mark Weising, for your guidance in producing a quality book.
My readers—you honor me for taking time out of your busy lives to read this book.
Foreword
Be the Man God Created You to Be!
by Nelson Searcy
I can relate to the journey that led Steve to creating the Get off the Couch A.C.T.I.O.N. plan. A few years ago, I ranked among the millions of men in America who desperately need to dropkick the sedentary lifestyle and get moving toward a healthier life. As a church leader, I had spent my entire career building God’s kingdom, but I had let His temple—my body—fall into disrepair. My physical health just wasn’t of much concern to me, even though I had read Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 many times:
Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Like most people, I connected these verses with sexual sin—and sexual sin only — though they have a much wider implication. Through some in-depth study and lots of prayer, I began to take hold of the weighty reality that my body was the living, breathing and walking-around temple of God’s Spirit. So is yours. Our bodies are the dwelling place of the Alpha and Omega. Our skin, bones and fleshy guts are home to the Most High. That’s a humbling thought, isn’t it?
As they say, the truth will set you free. Thanks to my new perspective on God’s plan for my body, I began to shift my entire mindset toward physical health. I started thinking, If God has entrusted me with this earthly vessel— not to mention all the work and plans He has for me while living in it—where do I get off trashing it by eating what I want and letting it atrophy? Where do you? How can we stomach treating ourselves so poorly that we can’t fully engage in God’s purposes for us?

Of course, we come up with a lot of excuses to defend against these types of questions. We’ve been conditioned to think we have a family history of hearty eaters and big bellies, or we’re just “big-boned,” or we don’t have time to exercise. On and on it goes as we build our case. All of these excuses—and the hundreds of others we create in a desperate attempt to stay within our carefully constructed comfort zone—keep us from embracing the truth that God wants us to live full and active lives and accomplish the things He put us here to do. We have a responsibility in cooperating with Him to make that happen.
In Steve’s first book Bod4God (which I also highly recommend), he breaks down many of our health excuses by detailing exactly what the Bible has to say about how we should treat our bodies and what we should eat to keep them effectively fueled. With Get off the Couch , Steve tackles the other half of the equation we all w