Being IN Christ


In Christ — What Does It Really Mean?


Reading Colossians 2:6–23, one phrase keeps appearing again and again:
“In him.”
“In Christ.”


Paul uses it constantly — because it’s at the very heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. It’s about our position and our privileges. We aren’t just following Christ from a distance; we’re actually in Him. Connected. Secure. Alive.


But what does that really mean? Here are a few ways to picture it.


1. The Plane


If I want to get to Italy, I need a relationship with the aeroplane.


I could stand under it, follow behind it, or admire it from a distance — but none of those will get me to my destination.
The only way is to be in the plane.


Once I’m in, what’s true of the plane becomes true of me.
If the plane goes up, I go up.
If the plane lands safely, I land safely.


Paul says we’ve been buried with Christ and raised with Him.


What’s true of Jesus is now true of us — because we’re in Him.


2. The Roots


Verse 7 says we are rooted in Him.


Think of a plant in soil — all its strength, nourishment, and stability come from where it’s planted.


If you pull the plant out of the soil, it dies.


Christ is our soil — the one who feeds us, grounds us, and keeps us standing firm.


When we’re rooted in Him, we grow.


3. The Ark


In the story of Noah, everyone inside the ark was safe.
Everyone outside was not.
Jesus is like that ark.


Verses 13–15 remind us of the security we have in Christ — forgiven, made alive, and protected by His victory on the cross.


If we’re in Him, we’re safe.


4. The Clothing


To be “clothed in Christ” is like wearing a bright yellow hi-vis jacket.


People assume you know something about what’s going on!


When we’re clothed in Jesus, the Father looks at us and sees His Son.


Jesus becomes our identity — our “uniform.”


We are in Him.


Don’t Add to What Jesus Has Done


Paul’s writing to correct some “wonky” ideas in Colossae.
People were being drawn away by hollow philosophies and human traditions.
They were turning discipline and self-denial into gods.
Even spiritual gifts — good things — had become ultimate things.


The same can happen today.
We can turn noble causes, politics, or personal convictions into our main thing — and lose sight of the main thing: Jesus.


We can’t add anything to what He did on the cross.


When we try, we only take away from it.


Stay Connected to the Head

Paul says some had “lost connection with the Head” (v19).


In 1 Corinthians 12, he also calls Christ the Head of the body — the source of life and direction.


Without the Head, the body can’t function.


We’re called to stay connected to Him.


That’s where real growth happens — because He is the one doing the building (v19).

A New Status


Because of the cross, we now live in the victory Christ won for us.


It’s like having a new passport — we’re citizens of heaven!
Our status has changed, even though our location hasn’t.
We’re no longer defined by our past, but by who we are in Him.


So What Now?


If we’re in the plane, should we just sit back and enjoy the flight?


Paul would say no — and Romans 6 makes that clear.
We don’t live passively or carelessly; we live gratefully.

I don’t read my Bible because I have to — I read it because I get to.


I pray because I want to know Christ more.


Nothing I do can change my relationship status before God — but spending time with Him helps me live out that reality.


So let’s get in the plane.
Let’s stay connected to the Head.


Let’s remain rooted in the soil of His love.


Let’s trust the One who carries us.


Don’t imitate Jesus from a distance — be in Him and stay there.

My current food plan


Sometimes people ask me what my food plan is or what diet it is that I'm following.  It's just my own plan that I've been tweaking as I've learned more about nutrition and how my own body is working.  I've not always been very disciplined with food and definitely not always been the most healthy but these days I'm finding I'm eating well and enjoying a plan I can actually stick to.  Along with my training and climbing I'm able to eat what feels to me like LOADS, it's healthy and I love the food I get to eat too. YUM!


My workouts are 90 minutes each morning...

You can see my current training split here.


My food is:

  • Hitting 200g protein daily
  • Eating around 2500 calories (eating better whole food carbs now, cake only once a week and feeling great!)
  • Average daily deficit -500 calories (based on maintenance of 2390) 
 

So here's what I'm eating on a typical week at the moment in more detail.  A lot of it might seem boring but I love it and there's enough variation for me personally to enjoy it.

 

Monday (Shake day)

BREAKFAST - Eggwhites and Toast 

  • 7.5 eggwhites and 3 eggs mixed in
  • 2 slices brown bread

SNACK - Oatshake

  • 1 scoop protein shake made with water
  • 50g oats blended in

LUNCH - Tuna & Chicken Sandwich 

  • 2 slices brown bread
  • 1 tin of tuna with 1 tbs light mayo
  • 100g cooked chicken breast

SNACK - Oatshake

  • Same as morning snack

DINNER - Beef Burger with Egg 

  • 2 slices brown bread
  • 125g extra lean beef burger
  • 1 egg
  • 150g boiled potatoes 

PUDDING - Protein Yogurt Mix 

  • 150g low fat Fage natural yogurt
  • 1 scoop protein shake mixed in 
  • 50g oats mixed in (to fuel climbing this evening) 

 

Tuesday (Bar day)

BREAKFAST - Eggwhites and Toast with Oatshake 

  • 7.5 eggwhites and 1 egg mixed in
  • 2 slices brown bread
  • Oatshake (1 scoop shake with 50g oats) 

SNACK - Protein Bar

LUNCH - Tuna & Chicken Sandwich 

  • 2 slices brown bread
  • 1 tin of tuna with 1 tbs light mayo
  • 100g cooked chicken breast

SNACK - Protein Bar

DINNER - Beef Burger with Egg 

  • 2 slices brown bread
  • 125g extra lean beef burger
  • 1 egg
  • 150g boiled potatoes 

PUDDING - Protein Yogurt Mix 

  • 150g low fat Fage natural yogurt
  • 1 scoop protein shake mixed in 

  

Wednesday (Shake day)

BREAKFAST - Eggwhites and Toast 

  • 7.5 eggwhites and 1 egg mixed in
  • 2 slices brown bread

SNACK - Oatshake

  • 1 scoop protein shake made with water
  • 50g oats blended in

LUNCH - Tuna & Chicken Sandwich 

  • 2 slices brown bread
  • 1 tin of tuna with 1 tbs light mayo
  • 100g cooked chicken breast

SNACK - Oatshake

  • Same as morning snack

DINNER - Beef Burger with Egg 

  • 2 slices brown bread
  • 125g extra lean beef burger
  • 1 egg
  • 300g boiled potatoes 

PUDDING - Protein Yogurt Mix 

  • 150g low fat Fage natural yogurt
  • 1 scoop protein shake mixed in 

 

Thursday (weigh-in day, treat day too!)

BREAKFAST - Eggwhites and Toast 

  • 7.5 eggwhites and 1 egg mixed in
  • 2 slices brown bread
  • Oatshake (1 scoop shake with 50g oats) 

SNACK - Big Cake (500 calories-ish)

LUNCH - Tuna & Chicken Sandwich 

  • 2 slices brown bread
  • 1 tin of tuna with 1 tbs light mayo
  • 100g cooked chicken breast

SNACK - Protein Bar

SNACK - 150g boiled potatoes 

DINNER - Beef Burger with Egg 

  • 2 slices brown bread
  • 125g extra lean beef burger
  • 1 egg
  • 150g boiled potatoes 

PUDDING - Protein Yogurt Mix 

  • 150g low fat Fage natural yogurt
  • 1 scoop protein shake mixed in
  • 50g oats mixed in (climbing tonight) 

 

Friday (Shake day and Curry!!)

BREAKFAST - Eggwhites and Toast 

  • 7.5 eggwhites and 1 egg mixed in
  • 2 slices brown bread

SNACK - Oatshake

  • 1 scoop protein shake made with water
  • 50g oats blended in

LUNCH - Tuna & Chicken Sandwich 

  • 2 slices brown bread
  • 1 tin of tuna with 1 tbs light mayo
  • 100g cooked chicken breast

SNACK - Oatshake

  • Same as morning snack

DINNER - Curry!! 

  • 1 whole tin Chicken Jalfrezi
  • 2 slices brown bread
  • 150g boiled potatoes stirred in 

PUDDING - Protein Yogurt Mix 

  • 150g low fat Fage natural yogurt
  • 1 scoop protein shake mixed in

 

Saturday (Bar day)

BREAKFAST - Eggwhites and Toast, Oatshake 

  • 7.5 eggwhites and 1 egg mixed in
  • 2 slices brown bread
  • Oatshake (1 scoop shake with 50g oats) 

SNACK - Protein Bar (bigger cookie one)

LUNCH - Tuna & Chicken Sandwich 

  • 2 slices brown bread
  • 1 tin of tuna with 1 tbs light mayo
  • 100g cooked chicken breast

SNACK - Protein Bar

DINNER - Beef Burger with Egg 

  • 2 slices brown bread
  • 125g extra lean beef burger
  • 1 egg
  • 150g boiled potatoes 

PUDDING - Protein Yogurt Mix 

  • 150g low fat Fage natural yogurt
  • 1 scoop protein shake mixed in 

 

Sunday (Bar day)

BREAKFAST - Eggwhites and Toast, Oatshake 

  • 7.5 eggwhites and 1 egg mixed in
  • 2 slices brown bread
  • Oatshake (1 scoop shake with 50g oats) 

SNACK - Protein Bar

LUNCH - Tuna & Chicken Sandwich 

  • 2 slices brown bread
  • 1 tin of tuna with 1 tbs light mayo
  • 100g cooked chicken breast

SNACK - Protein Bar

DINNER - Beef Burger with Egg 

  • 2 slices brown bread
  • 125g extra lean beef burger
  • 1 egg
  • 150g boiled potatoes 

PUDDING - Protein Yogurt Mix 

  • 150g low fat Fage natural yogurt
  • 1 scoop protein shake mixed in
  • 50g oats mixed in 

 

And right now I'm also loving swapping my pudding for the following...

 

Microwave Protein Cake!!

  • 1 egg in a bowl
  • Stir in 1 scoop of protein shake powder and a smidge of baking powder (add a splash of cold water too)
  • Then add a handful of blueberries
  • Stir well and flatten in the bowl
  • Bung in microwave for 2 mins
  • CAKE!!
  • Add a dollop of low fat yogurt 

My current training split


For quite a while now I've settled into an upper/lower body training split with extra cardio added in. I went to this split because I wanted to train upper body 3 times a week and legs just twice because I was taking longer to recover after leg days than upper body stuff and all the best advice says that frequency should depend on your recovery times.  This is what works for me.

I'm also really enjoying it because 90-minute workouts 7 days a week means I can eat more!  Plus, the cardio time gives me time for watching stuff or getting through audiobooks, which helps pass the time but also makes me feel like I'm achieving other things as well as a physical workout.

My goals are to maintain muscle and good fitness, maybe build more muscle if I can, whilst keeping low body fat (currently around 15%).  I'm feeling lean, fit, strong and enjoying bouldering so being strong and light helps with that too.  I'm happy to gain weight but ideally muscle rather than fat. This plan seems to be working well for my goals at the moment.  I'm sticking to the workouts and finding it easy these days to be up at 4.30am for the time to myself at the gym before the busy day kicks off!  This does mean I go to bed anywhere between 8.30 and 10pm latest but that's good for me too and seems to be sustainable.

My food is:

  • Hitting 200g protein daily
  • Eating around 2500 calories (eating better whole food carbs now, cake only once a week and feeling great!)
  • Average daily deficit -500 calories (based on maintenance of 2390)  

See here for my current food plan in detail 

For the lifting part of my workouts, I've been using a HIIT timer to try and not waste any time having longer rests than I need.  I set the app as follows:

  • 40 seconds work - for a set (usually 12-15 reps depending on exercise and weight)
  • 45 seconds rest
  • For 4 sets then 60 seconds rest between exercises 
  • 5 exercises like this gives me 28m45s, so just under 30 minutes 

If I'm working out for an hour I'll hit GO again on this and do another 5 exercises.

For the cardio I'm doing 1-1 intervals for fitness. 

 

So here's my split:

 

Mondays - 60 minutes Upper Body, 30 minutes cardio

Exercises:
1. Chest press (usually machine)
2. Chest flies (machine)
3. Shrugs (cables)
4. Shoulder press (usually machine)
5. Lateral raises (cables/dumbbells)
6. Lat pulldowns (machine)
7. Seated rows (machine)
8. Bicep curls (dumbbells/cables)
9. Tricep extensions (cables usually)
10. Decline situps/leg raises

Then 30 minutes intervals on the bike usually

 

Tuesdays - 30 minutes Legs, 60 minutes cardio 

Exercises:
1. Seated squats, wide stance and super deep (machine)
2. Seated squats, narrower stance, heavier, hit quads (machine)
3. Calf raises (on seated squat machine too)
4. Leg extension machine
5. Leg curl machine for hamstrings

Then 60 minutes cardio - mix of machines

 

Wednesdays - 60 minutes Upper Body, 30 minutes cardio 

Same as Monday 

 

Thursdays - 90 minutes cardio 

A mix of machines but often it's:
15 minutes on stairs
30 mninutes variable depth cross-trainer
30 minutes bike
15 minutes standard cross-trainer
 
Always 1-1 intervals to push myself

 

Fridays - 60 minutes Upper Body, 30 minutes cardio   

Same as Monday 

 

Saturdays - 30 minutes Legs, 60 minutes cardio 

Same as Tuesday

 

Sundays - 90 minutes cardio 

Same as Thursday