Back in January I decided to try something different in 2016 when it comes to healthy living goals. Instead of making a big lofty goal, I thought I would try mini-goals for each month.
This year I want to focus on one healthy habit each month. I hope that by focusing intensely on one thing for a month, I will turn it into a habit that sticks with me throughout the year. Here are my:
Healthy Habits for a Healthy Year
January: Drink 8 Glasses of Water Each Day
February: Eliminate Snacking
March: Exercise 4 Days a Week
April: Eat a Big Salad for Lunch Each Day
May: Only Two Desserts a Week
June: Stretch Each Day
July: Walk 10,000 Steps per Day
August: Eat Fruits and Vegetables at Every Meal
September: Sleep at Least 8 Hours a Night
October: Observe One Sabbath a Week
November: Write in a Gratitude Journal Each Day
December: Spend 10 Minutes Outside Every Day
February’s Recap
In February I focused on eliminating snacking in my daily routine. After reading French Kids Eat Everything and French Women Don’t Get Fat, I am convinced that most snacking is unnecessary. While I agree with this in theory, I found it harder to implement in practice this month! I did really well at not snacking during the day; however, I found myself snacking at night sometimes.
There seemed to be so many occasions where snacking was required–the Super Bowl, a party, and watching episodes of Downton Abbey with my husband. 🙂 Overall, I was able NOT to snack about 65% of the days in February. That is definitely an improvement! I also lost one pound in February.
March’s Challenge: Exercise 4 Days a Week
This month I am switching gears to focus on exercising habits instead of eating habits. I want to exercise 4 days a week to improve my overall fitness, energy level, and mental health. Last year I started running and surprised myself by actually enjoying it. I want to continue that, as well as take up Pilates again. I have done Pilates at various points in the past and always loved it. On the days that I can’t run, I hope to do a Pilates workout.
My Plan
I know that goals without specific action steps are doomed to failure, so here is my plan for the month:
- Sign up for a 5K and an 8K race. I tend to exercise more when I have a tangible goal in front of me. By signing up for a race I am more likely to run–even on days that I don’t feel like it!
- Run on Mondays, Fridays, and some Saturdays. Mondays and Fridays I do not have any meetings or tutoring after school. So, I will bring my running clothes to school and take off after the kids leave. Saturdays are a bit trickier because of my husband’s schedule. However, on the days when it works out, I will go for a run on Saturdays.
- Download some new podcasts. I know that I will run more and run longer if I have interesting things to listen to. For me this means podcasts. I’ll be downloading several new episodes of my favorite podcasts this month.
- Purchase a yoga mat. Our living room floor is hardwood, which makes it difficult to do Pilates without slipping. This Saturday I will go to Target and purchase an inexpensive yoga mat to solve that problem.
- Do Pilates on Wednesday and some Saturdays. Finally, I will supplement my runs with Pilates. I have a great DVD that I use (Pilates for Weight Loss). I’m looking forward to getting back into Pilates on a regular basis!
I want to encourage you to think about your health and fitness goals for 2016. What will you do to take care of the body God gave you? How will you focus on your health so that you can love and serve others? I challenge you today to take the time to create a few goals for yourself. You are welcome to join me and focus on one habit a month.
Here’s to a healthy you!
What is your favorite workout routine? What types of exercising do you enjoy?
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This is a hard one! I’ trying to walk/hike 2 times per week…not much, but I need to start somewhere! 🙂
Congrats on getting healthier!
~Karina
We will see how it goes! Good luck on your goal as well!
I was a sporadic exerciser for years but last February I got serious about it and for an entire year now I have worked out 4-6 times a week. I run some (depends if there’s a local 5k coming up- my parents and sister are runners, so local 5ks are a family event!) But what I really love are the Beachbody programs! I have completed several of them, but my favorite is PiYo (it’s a combo of pilates and yoga). Anyway, at age 36 I’m seeing firsthand how quickly you can lose muscle mass and flexibility and I am determined to age well so I can be an active grandparent one day, plus we have an autistic son who will probably always live with us and I would like to care for him as long as possible 🙂 I have found that if you want it badly enough, you’ll find the time to make it work. Great job on setting those exercise goals!
Wow, Melinda! I am so impressed with your exercising consistency, motivation, and goals. I hadn’t heard of PiYo before, but it sounds right up my alley. Thanks!
Hey lady! I really like your mini goal for each month idea! It definitely makes things more doable.. =) I certainly need to up my working out game! All I have been doing is 20 minutes of Yoga 4-5 times a week. I find after about 15 minutes, Eli is climbing all over me and all of a sudden, my yoga practice loses all relaxing attributes! Haha 😉
Things definitely change when you are doing them with a toddler! Sometimes I look back on the days before kids and wonder what in the world I did with all my time. 🙂