Motivation Monday: Rest.

Work Hard. Play Hard. That's always been my motto. I'll put in the sweat, the hours and all that goes into working hard only to enjoy something completely relaxing to balance it all out. A massage, pedicure, bath, tropical vacation, or just reading a book by the fire are what I consider relaxation at it's finest. Our bodies need to be nurtured. This would include a balance between stress (working so hard we are dripping with sweat) and sweetness (absolutely nothing).

Think a lot about creating your balance between work and relaxation. If weight loss is the goal, try to put in 4 days of exercise combined with an intense focus of mindful eating. It's easy to focus on too much exercise and not enough rest and nutrition. I promise if this balance isn't achieved the end result is usually no real results and frustration. Because we put in so much time on the treadmill, sweat and intensity in exercise when nothing changes on the scale we feel defeated. Killing yourself day in and day out won't last long. It's not good for your body and it's not any fun either. Let's be real about it, smart about it and long-term about it.

Lastly, and I can't stress this enough, the rest/rebuild cycle on the cellular level is so important in combination with getting the proper nutrients that will actually aid in repair.