What if the ONE thing you measured was how deeply and consistently you relax?

What if you let go of counting calories and macros, minutes of exercise, and numbers on the scale and just focused on giving yourself consistent time to rest and relax?

What if you did this daily, and maybe even multiple times a day?

I went from 220 pounds in July of 2024 to 146 pounds in January of 2025.

That was after years of trying to let go of weight, with not much success.

I was moving a lot around our ranch, eating big plates of vegetables for breakfast, and yet the number on the scale would not budge.

During the time when the weight flew off, I did not count calories, didn’t exercise much outside of walking and doing stuff around the ranch, and did not weigh myself at all for months.

I thought the scale might be broken when it said 146 lbs in January! The number I was shooting for was 160.

The one thing I really showed up for, day after day was deep relaxation.

I showed up for this at least once a day, and often multiple times a day.

Guided relaxation is my strategy. This helps me to relax quickly and deeply.

That’s why I offer this modality at all the live sessions we do. I know it can work really well.

But many strategies can work…walking in nature, taking time to drink tea, dancing joyfully and ecstatically, spending time in prayer, engaging in creative pursuits, or even just taking a few moments to breathe consciously throughout the day.

And yes, I did intermittent fasting during this time, and ate lots and lots of vegetables. I still do :)

The time I spent in daily relaxation helped me to show up for fasting, and for making healthy food choices, mindfully and consistently.

What does consistent rest and relaxation do?

Can reduce blood pressure and improve concentration and mood

Settles our nervous system, connects us with the parasympathetic nervous system. That’s the system responsible for RESt and Digest.

Connecting with the Parasympathetic nervous system helps us digest our food well, and allows the body to heal and cleanse.

The body does not heal, cleanse, or digest well when we are consistently stressed and anxious. It’s easy to get stressed and anxious in this modern day of technology and lots to do!

Helps balance and decrease levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Lots of cortisol puts us in fight or flight mode.

Fight or flight mode makes the body hang onto fat and excess weight for dear life. We might need the extra fat, things are stressful and unsettled. Our bodies respond by clinging tightly to all of our extra fat reserves.

When we connect with the parasympathetic nervous system consistently and daily, and release cortisol efficiently, the body can start to feel truly safe and finally ready to burn through our fat reserves and release excess weight.

Taking time to rest and relax consistently, throughout the day, is key.

There are many other benefits of taking time to consistently rest and relax, these are just a few to get our wheels turning.

If you need some help with specific ideas for ways to relax deeply, you can check out this article.

What is one way you can rest and relax starting TODAY, fellow Thriver?

What difference do you notice in yourself when you take more time to rest and relax?

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