Looking for a “Fountain of Youth” for yourself? Most of us typically chase after maintaining our youth with bottles and tubes of creams, lotions, hair color, etc. The vast majority of us lament the woes of aging – aches and pains, joint stiffness, wrinkles, age spots, fatigue – just to name a few. Watching your babies grow up and away has its own pretty harsh sting. You are NOT alone, my friend! However, let’s really look at a different perspective ~ growing older means that we have lived! And hopefully, by the grace of God, we GET to continue to live – to laugh, to love, and to do so fully. YOU are in control of your own choices and habits, so YOU are actually in the proverbial drivers seat. Healthy aging IS entirely possible and accessible to you. Let’s break this down just a bit:

A tale of two photos. . .

The first is from my most recent competition, April, 2024. The bodybuilding community is absolutely amazing; these gorgeous ladies have become dear friends all thanks to bodybuilding and competing together. What I want to point out today is that all three of us are 58 years young. Yup, 58! Preparing for competitions myself, I know just what it takes to train and to prepare at this level. We have all survived all sorts of different ailments and trials; for example, sick children, chronic illnesses and injuries, menopause, heartbreaking losses of family members, etc. Throughout each adverse circumstance, healthy nutrition and consistent exercise has been an anchor of sorts. Aesthetics is actually a very small benefit compared to the emotional and mental benefits exercise gives us! The three of us have lived a healthy, fit lifestyle for many years, and are still actively and successfully competing at a Natural Pro level.

On to the next photo – a dear friend from high school suffered a horrific injury nearly eight (8) years ago. She’s endured multiple surgeries, hopeless prognoses, been bedridden and told she was and would be disabled. Being bedridden and healing from multiple surgeries is not only physically draining, but emotionally and mentally as well. Since we were friends in high school, it is no secret that she is also now in her 50’s. She refused to give up or give in, and made full use of every physical therapy and workout therapy she could. Fast forward to this month, and after working together for a few months whether she was travelling or at home, she is SOOO much better and stronger! She just recently climbed a rock wall on a cruise! She is very active and makes exercise and stretching a priority. That has drastically changed and improved her life.

I’m sharing all of this to say that it is never too late for any of us! We are all going to grow old(er), by the grace of God. He has equipped each of us with purpose, and that purpose does not end or stop just because we reach a certain age. It might change, but we all have a purpose! By prioritizing your personal health and improving or maintaining your fitness level, you improve your quality of life and your longevity. Everyone has different goals, and whether yours is to become or continue to be an athlete, or just to protect your balance, mobility, and strength, investing in your health is imperative. Even with chronic medical conditions that limit you, you can still make the most of what you have! I have seen such amazing results in my clients and in ladies in my fitness classes. The community and friendships encourage them to keep going, and they are having such a great time all while getting fit and healthy! Stay active, find a community or group of friends, and get going!

Remember that only you can decide to take charge of your health and longevity. Even though we get older, life does not end! It doesn’t really even slow down, does it?! Certainly, things change – but we can take full advantage of new opportunities! Check your perspective. Find or build a healthy, thriving community of friends and/or workout buddies. Get moving, and put yourself back in that driver’s seat. Do not just accept that aging will limit you; it simply isn’t the case. You set your own limits.

As always, if you find that you are struggling to set goals, and/or to get a plan of action in place, I am here for you! I would truly love to help you create a sustainable plan and to help you find your very best self. Please feel free to reach out to me through this site, or email me at Fitteachermom@aol.com.

I sincerely hope you have continued with your transformation journey throughout the holidays.  If so, you are in the middle of some amazing transformations. Whether you’re seeing 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!  If you stalled out over the holidays, or are just seeing this for the first time – you’re in the right place!!!  There’s no time like right now to start finding your way toward your best, healthiest self!

We’ve been through a lot together already.  Here is a quick review:  

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!

And this week’s focus ~

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. If your journey to fitness has you feeling healthier and stronger, challenge yourself by entering a 5K, obstacle course, or spartan race. If you’ve been sticking with classes at your local gym, step out and try the free weights and machines. Try a boot camp or yoga class. Shake things up a little bit!

In remembering back to the spring when we watched caterpillars transform – those tiny little caterpillars traded their crawling space for those cocoons, then woke up in a bigger environment.  We released the butterflies during boot camp, and saw only one fly out immediately; the rest took a while to leave that habitat. But – they did! They left their comfort zone of the small habitat they’d shared to fly off into a great big world (full of birds!)!    

In our own way, that’s what we’re doing. Beginning a brand new year offers so many opportunities!  Have you done something this week that was completely out of your comfort zone? Maybe we challenge ourselves with yoga poses that require more balance and/or strength. Maybe we try jogging a short distance along with walking. Remember Phillipians 4:13 tells us we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us!

So, we are fully equipped! AND you’ve been training hard for months – YOU can handle something new!  You may even find something you absolutely love, and that can be life changing!  It wasn’t all that long ago that my chiropractor AND my coach recommended that I take some yoga classes.  I finally took their advice; both of them couldn’t be wrong, could they?   Once I took the first class, the rest (as they say) is history.  I loved it so, so much that I sought certification so that I could teach yoga.  Life changing!  If you’ve never taken a yoga class, give it a try.  If you’ve never taken a Spin, body pump, or dance class – give them a try!  A fantastic option for fitness and stress relief is cardio kickboxing.  It’s actually therapeutic to kick, knee and punch a bag!  Most gyms offer a free trial, either a day or a week.  So see, you really have nothing to lose except your excuses and maybe some time.  And honestly, how much time do we waste on unnecessary activities?

Let’s get out of our comfort zones this week.  Try something different.  What do we have to gain?  Let’s see:

* Finding a new activity you potentially enjoy

* Building your confidence

* Boosting your self esteem

* Adding another level of fitness into your life

* Boosting your immune system

* Increasing your stamina and strength

* Boosting your brain

* Improving your mood

* Managing stress

* Improving your anti-aging strategies

And now –  we move onto my personal favorite. . .

F – Faith!! Faith comes first. The first of the Ten Commandments tells us to put God first in our lives. You will have a much healthier mindset if Christ is your focus. Spend time daily in prayer and in His Word. Everything else will tend to fall into place with His guidance. And never forget, if you are saved, His Holy Spirit lives in YOU! Your body is His Temple – Honor Him with your choices and take the best care of His temple! 

Remember, my beautiful friends – you are daughters of The King! Divinely designed and created with great purpose! For me, Faith + Fitness = victory.

Remember our “R”? Remove negative thoughts. Let’s just give any doubt, fear, and guilt or shame to Him. God is in every, single detail! He wants you to fulfill His purpose, so rest assured that He has ALREADY EQUIPPED you for it. Yup – read that again.  

Never underestimate the importance and power of prayer. Lift it all to Him. Then straighten your crown, prep those meals, be intentional about what you feed your body, and get serious about your workouts. No one can stop you or what God has already designed to be!  

Faith is such an important part of this journey to Transform.  2023 was an incredibly busy, chaotic year for me and my family – full of SO much change and growth.  In reflecting back over this year, especially now between Christmas and New Years, I can tell you with the utmost confidence, that I saw God at work BIG time in every, single detail.  I can only imagine the same is true for each of you.  Please know that, in serving Christ and fulfilling your purpose for HIm, taking care of yourself is most certainly NOT selfish!  In order to care for others well, your personal well being is essential.  We need to be fit to serve; emotionally, mentally, and physically strong enough to endure and to shine for Him for others to see.  

Let’s continue to invest in our own health and wellness; now is not the time to grow weary and/or give up.  So many others are counting on you, and you CAN achieve the very best version of yourself!

As part of our journey to Transform, let me remind you that this transformation is about SO much more than aesthetics or looking a certain way. Of course, that’s a big goal for us. However – becoming healthier and more fit is the big goal here. For example – we had a big health scare in the spring with my precious mama and her heart.  There are four factors that contributed to her heart problem: she is 1) female 2) older/elderly (78) 3) diabetic 4) she has high blood pressure. These things combined are the perfect storm leading to AFib and potential for stroke.  

So, you see how important it is now to invest in your health! We all want to maintain our health, fitness, balance, mobility, etc., as we age.  

Keep in mind that Faith and Fitness go hand in hand. Jesus needs us fit to serve!

We’re moving on to the letter S this week. S is for Shape.

It was at this point in our Transformation journey back in the spring that we released the butterflies after boot camp one Saturday morning! Just because we won’t be able to watch them anymore didn’t mean their journey was over. This was just part of their Transformation. Very similar to us! Where are you in your Transformation? I sincerely hope you’re journaling and/or tracking your progress. You’ll love being able to look back & see how far you’ve come!

 I hope you’re all having a wonderful holiday season so far.  Every phase of any transformation is part of the journey! We don’t start at “ground zero” and just “arrive”. . . there are so many experiences, lessons, and victories that are every bit as important as where we end up!

T – Time

R – Remove

A – Add

N – Nutrition

     ALL of these things have been experiences, lessons, and victores (sometimes failures that become lessons) that have been our first steps of this transformation journey. Moving right along –

S – Shape: Shape your body by changing its composition. Building lean muscle gives you a firm and healthier appearance. Your clothes will fit better, and you’ll feel better. Resistance training is key here! No amount of steady state cardio truly builds muscle. Walking is a great way to fight stress, soak up fresh air and vitamin D, and is much healthier than sitting in front of a phone or tv. However, it doesn’t engage all of your muscles. Your joints as well as your muscles will reward you for strength training!

  I completely understand that many of you are not seeing the outer changes fast enough. So we have two things on our plates here: 1) Look at what we can tweak in our daily routines. Can we drink more water? Add more protein? Add more weight and intensity in our workouts? Add in more HIIT circuits for fat-burning? Cut something(s) in our diets? 2) Go back to your journal. Think back on previous workouts and interaction with other people. Look for those non-scale victories. Are you sleeping better? Are you lifting heavier weight weekly? Do your clothes fit a little differently? Have you gotten improved blood work results or doctors’ visits? Maybe you’ve received random compliments from co-workers or friends? THAT is PROGRESS!! So remember to take the progress pictures. Write down those measurements, and journal things weekly about your workouts, your nutrition, your sleep. This is the best way to track your progress. We see ourselves in the mirror every single day, so small change really doesn’t stand out. But comparing pictures every four to six weeks speaks volumes!

Here we are. . . 5 weeks into our transformation journey!  Please keep the things we’ve seen and learned in your heart! Not only to remember just how INCREDIBLY AWESOME our God is, but that all these things hold even more true for each of us than the caterpillars/butterflies.  

Let’s recap:

T – Time ~ True transformation takes TIME. We have to trust the process, keep grinding while making the most of the time we’re given. Time management is a huge component to success!

R – Remove~ We’ve talked about removing bad habits and foods, as well as negative thoughts. They simply are NOT helpful, and they are definitely not productive.

A – Add ~ Add in positive thoughts, good habits, and clean healthy foods. We not only talked about replacing sodas with more water, sugary foods with healthy foods and snacks, but we also talked about replacing time-wasting activities with productive ones such as meal prep, and creating/using night time and morning routines.

N – Nutrition ~ Healthy nutrition is 100% crucial to any transformation. Creating healthy eating habits will not only aid with losing body fat, it also heals our bodies from the inside out! Stress management, digestive issues, energy levels, and decreases chronic inflammation.

S – Shape ~ Sooo many things wrapped up in this one word! The shape of our bodies IS changing. Even if we don’t see it happening fast enough. . . remember all the change happening inside those cocoons that we can’t see? YOUR body composition is changing. 

Remember, if you’ve noticed that you’re lifting heavier weights, moving faster, some workouts are a little easier, that means your muscles are growing, and your body is a fat-burning machine. (Take the progress pictures! I promise you’ll see changes when you compare them) As always, I am here to help you with nutrition and/or workouts.  If you find that you’ve hit a plateau, or just don’t really know where to start and/or what to do, I would love to help you!  Feel free to email me at Fitteachermom@aol.com or click on the “Contact Me” tab!.

So this week is dedicated to N – Nutrition:

  ~ First, and most important – EAT!  Please do not ever skip meals, or just give in and eat “crap” simply because it’s convenient.  I completely understand that  we are officially in the holiday season and some days life throws major curve balls, and we just have to go with what we have at the moment.  However, if you’ve intentionally thought out your meals for the week, purchased the groceries needed, and prepped the meals then you’re ahead of the game and so ready for whatever life throws at you! 

~  When planning out your meals, be sure that you include protein in each meal and snack.  Even if it’s only 15 to 20 grams, you’re doing great.  Protein is the building block for muscle.  Firm muscle is what gives that toned look, AND muscle mass aids in burning body fat.  You definitely want to build and feed that muscle!

There are SO many protein-packed foods out there, that can be “dressed up.”  Kodiak and Pamcakes are fantastic pancake/waffle batter mixes you can use.  Simply add Greek yogurt and/or eggs when you mix the batter, and the protein numbers get even better!  You can use natural peanut butter, honey, and/or whipped cream to top these.

Please remember that carbs ARE GOOD!  In fact, complex carbohydrates are necessary.  Our bodies need fiber, and complex carbs give us energy, sustained energy.  These are regular baking potatoes, sweet potatoes, brown/wild rice, jasmine rice, oatmeal – etc.  This does not mean that breads are out forever; however, it does mean you should replace white processed/refined breads with Killer Dave’s grain bread or Ezekiel breads.

Just like those caterpillars we watched form their cocoons way back in the spring, they emerged with transformed bodies and beautiful wings.  Those wings were brand new, and they had to learn how to carry and use them!  Each part of your transformation will bring challenges and surprises on your way to a better, healthier you.

So, carrying on with our transformation journey, let’s keep talking about nutrition.  We’ve covered protein, carbohydrates.  Now it’s time to talk about the fats!   We’ve all seen the low fat foods; keep in mind that these aren’t necessarily healthy.  There are healthy fats, and we need those!  These include avocados, almonds, natural peanut butter, extra virgin olive oil.  These healthy fats are actually essential!  So make sure you’re getting the right amount of these, rather than saturated fats.

We defnintely need a balance in our macronutrients!  Lean protein (at least 20 grams in each meal), complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.  Whether you’re a fan of vegetables or not, we all really need at least two to three servings of green veggies each day.  I know this isn’t always going to happen. . . so that’s why taking a quality multi-vitamin is so important!

And – finally, tracking meals will be exceptionally helpful!  Be sure you log what you eat so you can track the macros you’re actually getting!  Let’s be intentional with getting in enough of the right foods each day.

We’ve got this!!!! And remember that reclaiming and maintaining your fitness and health is essential, and, without a single doubt, an important investment. If you seem to be struggling – maybe you’re unsure how and where to start, need accountability and/or a balanced plan, or maybe even reached a plateau – please consider enlisting the help of a professional certified trainer to get you heading on the right track. I’m absolutely here to help you any time! (From now until Christmas, you can schedule a consultation with me at no charge! I would love to discuss your goals with you to see if we can work together.)

Feel free to click on the Contact Me link on this site, or email me at Fitteachermom@aol.com.

When talking about true transformation, watching the caterpillars were the very best example for my clients and boot campers.  Within the first three (3) weeks, all six (6) of our caterpillars had transitioned into their cocoons.  First we talked about time – trusting the process & managing our time better.   We surely saw this with the caterpillars; of course, their lives are far less complicated than human lives.  But maybe we tend to make the simplest things complicated.  The lesson here is to trust the process and NOT overthink things!!!

While our first week was all about time and time management, last week we talked about removing things:  negative thoughts, sugary foods, excuses & time wasters.

This week we’re adding!  Add more ounces of water in place of the cokes and sweet teas.  Add more fruits & veggies instead of chips & sweets.  Add more complex carbs (fiber- sweet potatoes, oatmeal, brown rice) instead of starchy ones (donuts, white breads, enriched pasta).  Add more lean protein!!  At. Every. Meal.

Here’s today’s special addition – supplements!  Add in a quality multivitamin, a probiotic, and maybe glucosamine or turmeric for inflammation.

While we don’t see the daily changes in the cocoons the same as we did with the caterpillars growth, we KNOW that they are transforming into butterflies.  This makes me think of how we view our plateaus – those little ruts in our progress where nothing seems to change.   We can’t see the internal changes – exactly the same as not being able to see inside those cocoons.  So what do we ADD here?  Ohhhh boy am I glad you asked!

Add:

1.  Faith ~ trust the process.  Do not give up; it’s happening.  Stick with your program. 

2.  Food – YES, I said that!  These plateaus are NOT the time to cut calories or restrict your meals.  Add more protein.  Add an extra meal if you’ve only eaten two or three meals any given day.

3.  Add more water.  If you’re drinking 64 ounces each day, drink more!  You can get in over a gallon each day, and your body actually works better!

4.  Add more lifting!  Maybe add heavier weights, or add another day of training.  Remember, we’re adding additional ab reps, and an additional half mile into our April habits. 

5.  Add in more journaling and tracking.  Make note of where you are today, tomorrow, two weeks from now, etc.  This makes those non-scale victories more obvious.  Focus on those, because these are SURE signs that you’re making progress!

 The thought of adding gives us SO much hope, right?!  Let’s get EXCITED about this journey.  God is in every single detail, and you can count on that.  Let’s talk about adding health self-care habits.  What can we remove and ADD in it’s place?  Get in a yoga scrolling social media or binge watching a tv show.  Add in time to journal and/or track meals and workouts.  Don’t forget to track your water intake as well!  Maybe purchasing a pretty journal and “fancy” pens will be the incentive you need. If your budget and time allow, schedule for yourself a good deep-tissue, or neuromuscular massage and/or chiropractic care.   This can ben extremely beneficial every 4 to 6 weeks.  

Your beautiful wings are loading, my beautiful friends.

While waiting for our cocoons to open, I couldn’t help but think about how important rest is.   The caterpillars  were resting up while those beautiful wings developed.  How about you?  Are you adding in any recovery and self care weekly?  I LOVE that you push yourself and are working hard managing your time, trusting this process, and removing all the things that do not serve you.  I truly want you to ADD in the things that benefit your health, your workouts, and your overall wellness.  Make sure that you’re adding multi-vitamins, a probiotic, maybe Fish Oil, Glucosamine, or Turmeric into your daily regimen.  Be intentional with your workouts, adding in extra reps, heavier weights, a little longer distance or time with your runs/walks.  And definitely be intentional with adding in some form of self care for YOU! 

Remember that if you feel that you would benefit from a balanced plan and accountability, I’m here to help!  I would be honored to partner with you to coach you on to become the healthiest version of you!  FTM Wellness has Black Friday training deals for a limited time, so click on the tab above to see those details.  From now until Thanksgiving, one of the perks is a free consultation! 

Here we go into Week 2 of Transform!! T was last week, and we touched on all things time related.  Remember, true transformation takes time, and we can all improve on time management. This week we will focus on R – Removing bad habits! The first thing we are going to remove is negative self talk (you just knew I was going to say something food related, didn’t you?). We all do it. . . and we all need to give ourselves a break. STOP looking for the worst in yourself! We ALL have things we want to improve, and that is what we’ll be working on during this transformation. From the inside out. But negative thoughts are never productive, and are definitely self-defeating. So let’s work on that, ok?  First things first ~ make sure your evening routine is complete before bed each evening, and that you are all ready for a successful new day.    Invest in some self care before going to bed – YOU ARE WORTH IT. 

Moving on to the “R” – removing unhealthy negative self talk. Get out of your head with the what ifs, should haves, if onlys. . . That is never helpful. It’s always easier to find something negative about yourself, which leads to giving up and making unhealthy choices. So, SNAP OUT OF IT! You are SO much better than that, and you deserve so much more. YOU are the daughter of THE KING. I’m certain that most of  you would never speak to each other the way you speak to yourself. Right? So as you are encouraging others, save some positive, encouraging vibes for yourself. Remove any negative thoughts and doubts about yourself the instant they pop up; they are from the pit of hell. If you’re unsure about something that maybe you’ve been convicted of, maybe during Bible study or the message at church, pray over it. Ask God Himself to guide you. I’m not saying that any of us are perfect, and that we’re “there.” We ALL can do better at some things. We ALL can grow and improve. Honestly, that’s a positive attribute when we recognize areas we can improve, right? Beating yourself up over a mistake or not being where we need to be spiritually, physically, fiscally, or professionally will not bring about the growth we want. Recognize any need, pray over it for His discernment and guidance, then move FORWARD. You’ve got this!!!

Another part of Removing Bad Habits is. . . yup, you guessed it. On to the nutrition! Have you been tracking your meals? Do you see changes you can make to your daily nutrition cleaner? Remove your excuses about being too busy. Remember our first work was all about time. It takes time for a true transformation. Invest some of that time in setting yourself up with productive, time saving habits! Go back to your evening and morning routines. Go back to the meal prepping. Build a healthy menu for yourself. Build a grocery list from that, then prep those meals ahead of time. Store the meals in serving size containers in your fridge so all you have to do is pack those lunch bags, grab and go in the morning. You CAN do this! Once you get started, stick with it. It will quickly become a habit.

One quick note – REMOVE processed, refined foods. Most of these are the really “sugary” foods that none of us need. That comfort food thing is also a lie: Sugar feeds inflammation and suppresses our immune systems. Don’t fall for it! You deserve better!!!

Even though we can’t see changes happening within ourselves as easily as we can in watching caterpillars building their coccoons, it’s still happening. Can you feel it? Are you sleeping better? Feeling a little more energy? Are your workouts becoming a little too easy so you’ve had to go up in the amount of weight you lift? Are your clothes fitting a little more loosely? Are you looking forward to those workouts a little more than you used to? Are you getting more water in than you were a couple of weeks ago? How about chronic issues such as headaches, inflammation, digestive issues, joint pain? Are these easing up? Have you noticed you are a little stronger? That your balance and/or flexibility has improved? Any of these non-scale victories are just the beginning!

So remember, REMOVE all of the negative thoughts. They absolutely will not serve you, nor will they lead you forward. Leave them behind, along with processed, sugary foods. Cut out coca colas, and limit sweet tea. I promise you will feel better!  

Finally, one other thing we need to Remove is our excuses. Other than illness or injury – don’t skip your workouts. Remove any excuses for not getting enough clean, nutritious meals in. What can you remove here? For me, it’s time wasters like scrolling on my phone or watching tv. If you can remove 30 minutes on your phone, that’s 30 minutes of meal prep, yoga, lifting, walking, or heck – even dancing, that you can do! If your household chores are piling up – the last thing you need is to spend that time scrolling on your phone. Get busy, and get that stuff knocked out! Remove procrastination along with your excuses. I would imagine that sometimes, they go hand-in-hand. Make sure you carve out time for your own self care as well! If that means removing 30 to 45 minutes of watching tv to soak in your tub or get some yoga in, it’s MORE than worth it! I’m preaching to the choir here, so I definitely know sometimes this seems harder to do. I promise, though, removing bad habits and being productive can result in building better habits and a happier, healthier lifestyle!

When my boot campers and training clients were watching the caterpillars transform into their cocoons, the key takeaway for us was: they are transforming on their own timeline, not all exactly the same!   While one or two caterpillars were in cocoons, the others were still crawling around or just beginning to build their cocoons.  Each of us is just different enough to have our own timeline, and our own genetic “blueprint.”

So remember that every transformation takes time. Be patient, trust the process, and enjoy each part of the journey. Manage your time wisely!

R – Remove ~ Get rid of the negative things! Negative thoughts, time-wasting habits, and sugary, unhealthy foods do NOT serve you or your goals. Remove them!

The end of 2023 is literally just around the corner! Have you accomplished any of the goals you set for yourself this year? Have you given any thought to the things you would like to change in the new year? Why wait?!

We’ve all desired a change in our lives – some form of improvement.  Whether it is to improve our health, fight aging, get in shape, become faster or stronger, we all set goals.  Deep down, we all believe that by reaching that goal, our lives will change for the better.  Of course, this requires a lifestyle change – not just temporary adjustments.  

It can certainly seem overwhelming.  Depending on your goal and where you believe yourself to be at the beginning, it may seem impossible.  So the key is to keep it simple.  Break it down into smaller, more attainable goals.  These will add up to huge steps forward!  And keep in mind that the journey itself will see incredible changes.  Don’t underestimate the importance of every single step along the way!  

Maybe thinking of the caterpillar to butterfly transformation will help us.  Let’s break it down and keep it simple, right?

My clients and Boot Camp group went on a nine (9)-week transformation challenge together this spring. Having a community with similar goals is definitely a bonus, and we crushed quite a few goals!

With exactly nine (9) weeks from today until January 1, why not get a jump on making a transformation beginning right now? Let’s break each week down into weekly “bite-size” portions. Building in small, reachable goals makes any larger goal seem more attainable.

Time is the first topic for TRANSFORM.   Time passes so quickly, even when we’re not-so-patiently waiting for results.  But those changes are happening, & the results are there!  Back in the spring, I ordered tiny caterpillars for us to watch as they transformed. In only the first five (5) days, the tiny little caterpillars nearly doubled in size!  Just stay busy, and put in the work you know you need to do.  Whether it’s at work, in school, in your walk with the Lord, and/or in the gym – your effort and time is NOT wasted!!!  You are growing, learning, and transforming!

Time Management is crucial.  Are you maximizing your time, or do you feel disorganized, like you’re spinning your wheels?  Maybe nailing down an evening routine and/or a morning routine will help!  

For example – 1)  prep your meals, pack them & healthy snacks in a bag in the fridge before you go to bed.  

2)  Prepare your breakfast (overnight oats, egg bites, protein coffee or shake) before bed.  Just grab & go in the morning!

Be sure, whether it’s morning or night, to add in Bible & prayer time, household chores, and self-care activities.

Invest the time once or twice each week to prepare your meals.  

If you’re like me, sometimes I just forget to take my vitamins,  probiotics, etc.  Or, my lack of planning ahead had me rushing out the door with no time to get meals & supplements to take with me.

There are solutions!  And gadgets that help!  Who doesn’t love to Amazon shop for cool gadgets?  Find a “pill sorter” or management system for your vitamins.   Remember – they are really important!  They fill in those nutritional gaps.  Probiotics are also important and aid in digestion.    

Take the time to track your meals!  It really matters!  Tracking each meal you eat is a little “in your face” dose of reality. . .be intentional with logging what you eat each day. Even if a meal or two aren’t ideal.  Any real lifestyle change only happens when we’re completely honest with ourselves.   So – track your meals.  Track your workouts.  Keep a journal, use an app.  If you’re my training client,  the Trainerize app is the perfect place to track workouts AND meals.  It syncs with My Fitness Pal and Fitbit.  

In watching the caterpillars grow each day, we could see that they were all different and grew at different rates; some were bigger, some were smaller, and some were more active.  Just like these tiny creatures, we have our own Divine genetic blueprint.  None of us will transform exactly the same; but rest assured that change WILL happen!

This week we’ll be concentrating on Time in our journey to Transform.  To recap, let’s remember that any true transformation takes time.  No major changes happen overnight, and true transformation should be complete transformation, right?  Caterpillars are busy being caterpillars – doing caterpillar things – until time to build their cocoons.  When their time comes to become butterflies, they are all-in, full-fledged, and forever butterflies.  So be patient with yourself!  Be intentional about your choices and habits.  Build productive evening and morning routines into your daily schedules.  Take the time to track your meals, workouts, and progress.  You can use a journal (old school pen & paper), or any number of apps.  MyFitnessPal and FitBit are great tracking apps that I’ve used personally.  I’m sure that Apple watches do the same.  Remember if you’re a client, we track your workouts and measurements in Trainerize!  

 * Let’s look at a sample evening routine.  Here are some things you can add into every evening to insure your morning starts organized!

 1. Charge all the things!  Ear buds, watches, phones

 2. Be sure each of your meals from the day are entered into a journal or app

 3. Be sure your workout from the day is entered into a journal or app

 4. Prep your breakfast, lunch, and any snacks needed

Spend this week studying your daily habits. How can you improve your daily routines, and make the most of time management? Use any of the tips here, and feel free to message or email me with any questions! Don’t forget to come right back here next week to find out all the things we can Remove in order to transform into our best, healthiest selves!