We all love dreaming about making a great transformation, don’t we?  Did you start on a transformation journey back in January?  Have you been following along with the Transform series here?  Once you get rolling, whether you see change and growth in your health & bloodwork numbers, grades in college courses, endurance and strength improvements in workouts, better sleep, fitting into smaller clothes sizes – you ARE transforming!

Here are the steps we’ve discussed so far:

T – Time; true transformation takes time.  Trust the process and make the best use of the time you have.

R – Remove; remove all negative thoughts, unhealthy foods, and time wasting activities that prevent you from being your most productive

A – Add; Add in more water, healthier foods, more rest, more workouts, lift heavier weights, run/walk a little farther.

N – Nutrition; Fuel your body for these workouts, better sleep, and burning body fat by being intentional with your food choices!

S – Shape; Building muscle improves your shape.  Eating healthier meals, making the most of your workouts, being consistent, sticking to morning and evening routines shape your habits!

F – Faith; our bodies were Divinely designed!  God has gifted each of us with gifts, talents, and purpose.  Improving and maintaining our health and fitness levels ensure we are FIT to serve!

O – out; get out of your comfort zone!  Challenge yourself, and you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.  If you don’t change anything, you can count on staying the same.  

And now we’ve moving our focus to~

R – REST; remember the caterpillar works really hard making that cocoon but then he rests.  Staying active and keeping up with your workouts is definitely important.  Just don’t overlook the importance of rest!  Your body and your mind need to shut down, recover and rest in order to become healthier and stronger.  Keep in mind that God Himself created the world in 6 days, then He rested.  He’s set the standard for us.

When we think about transforming, we typically think of all the work we have to do, right?  The workouts.  The meal prep.  Switching unhealthy habits for healthy ones.  We get so caught up in looking at the scale, and making sure we’re doing all the things that we all tend to overlook one of the most important puzzle pieces.  REST!    

One of the healthy habits we talked about adding was self care.  If you have created an evening and/or morning routine, I really hope that you included some self care and down time for yourself.  These lead to more productive rest and more sound sleep.

First things first – get that bloodwork done.  Get the mammogram.  Get the check up.

Then schedule the “body work” ~ routine chiropractic adjustments, neuromuscular massages, and yes, even pedicures.  Get those nails done.  Get your hair done.  Sit outside in the sun.  Read the book.  Dive into a Bible study.  Take a long, relaxing soak in a hot bath.  Go to lunch or dinner with a friend or relative;  it’s a great idea to make that a routine thing! Healthy relationships are like medicine!

You’re working your cardiovascular system and your muscles with the workouts, and you’re working every other system with daily life at work and with family.  Give yourself time to rest!  I guarantee that overtraining and failing to get adequate rest will sabotage your progress, AND your health.  Take care of YOU!!  Rest is most definitely as important as getting your workouts in and eating healthy meals!

And yes, of course, sleep is most definitely a huge part of getting rest. Our bodies NEED good, quality sleep, and there are SO many crucial benefits. It’s important to keep in mind the very real harm lack of quality sleep does to our overall health and wellness, even above and beyond our fitness journey. In order to truly be successful in any weight-loss, muscle-building, health improvement plan, we all need to follow this formula: Clean nutrition + Exercise + Rest/Self Care = Success

Here are just a few of the benefits you reap with seven to nine hours of quality sleep per night:

• Our brains process and store information from the day while our bodies are “shut down.” This process is crucial for long-term memory storage
• As we sleep, our brains release growth hormones and other chemicals that aid in repairing organs, muscles, and cells.
• Quality rest allow the immune cells to work harder, which in turn aids our cells in fighting germs.
• Quality sleep strengthens our hearts
• Quality sleep increases exercise stamina and strength
• Proper rest aids our bodies in not only losing body fat, but can also help to prevent weight gain
• Quality sleep aids in decreasing inflammation
• Aids in reducing stress levels

We have almost completed the breakdown to true TRANSFORM-ation success! All of these things will truly help improve you overall health and wellness, maintain a comfortable, healthy body weight, and boost your confidence and mood as you crush your very own transformation journey. As always, if you feel that a little accountability, guidance, and/or a balanced plan from a personal trainer or fitness coach is the missing piece for you, I am here for you! Please feel free to reach out to me through this site, or to email me at Fitteachermom@aol.com for more information. I genuinely would love to discuss your goals and obstacles with you!