How to Set Goals for 2018

The new year is upon us, and in just two days we will enter the freshness and newness of 2018. I don't know about you, but I LOVE anything that has to do with a fresh start, and the fact that January 1st is on a Monday?? It's my OCD-type A personality-perfectionist DREAM COME TRUE!

I love setting goals and intentions at the beginning on each month, and naturally each year too. But this year, I'm doing things a little differently. I'm following Zig Ziglar's "Wheel of Life" method to set goals for different areas of my life. The idea here is that our life is like a wheel, and all sides of the wheel need to be balanced for our life to "roll" properly. Here are the different areas illustrated in the Wheel of Life, and these are the areas I'll be setting goals for in 2018!

Now, I've heard from a lot of my blog readers and social media followers that they have a hard time setting goals. They don't understand what to shoot for or how to organize their goals, so I think this wheel will do the trick for those who want help narrowing down certain areas of their lives and setting specific goals for health, finances, personal life, spiritual life, etc.

Are you a big goal setter or does it overwhelm you? I hope this tool helps and I'd love to hear what your goals are for these areas of your life! My husband and I are planning on sitting down and chatting about our goals for 2018 over the weekend, and I'll be sharing some of them with you on the blog next week! Feel free to share some of your goals in the comments below, or contact me above and we can set some together!

And as always if you need help with your health and wellness goals, I am one click away! My 2018 Your BEST Year nutrition package sales end TODAY. That's right, TODAY. If you want to make me your personal dietitian for 8 or 16 weeks, email daily, and get a meal plan and sessions with me to make sure you stay on track with your goals, these packages are perfect for you!! And as a heads up, I am planning on keeping these packages going year round, but the prices WILL go up after today, so if you want to snag them at their discounted rate, do so now and we can book your first session and get you on track to make 2018 your BEST year yet!

A Mindful October

It's FALL y'all!!!! I know it started a couple weeks ago, but it's finally October and it just feels more Fall-y...ya know? The beginning of a new month is always a time of excitement for the fresh month ahead, as well as a reflective time on the month that just ended. I love looking back and seeing if I achieved what I set out to do, and how to make my life more purposeful, organized, and productive. I've always been into setting goals, making lists, and accomplishing what I've set out to do. I am a huge overachiever and love to aim high with my dreams. 

As it is the beginning of October, the first Monday of the month, my heart and mind are craving some goal setting! But, this month, my goals are going to be more mindful and focused on what is more important to me. There are so many studies out nowadays, in the nutrition world and psychology in general, about how important mindfulness is in your daily life, healthy habits, and personal goals. 

Mindfulness is being aware of your current state or situation and accepting it. Being mindful means you are aware of your values, how you feel about a certain situation, and what makes YOU feel good health-wise. This can apply SO much to our healthy eating behaviors and goals, and can actually increase our chances to sticking to our new habits for the long-haul. 

Listen, getting healthy is hard. Losing weight is hard. Being more active is hard. Choosing the apple over the brownie...is HARD! Mindfulness helps us accept the fact that this journey is a tricky one, full of 3 steps forward and 2 steps back. But, it helps us be more forgiving with ourselves, accepting of our tendencies, and helps us gain a better grasp of what we want, why we want it, and how to get there. And in turn, mindfulness techniques actually improve our outcomes with our healthy living journeys and help us reach our goals in a healthier and more motivated way. I plan on starting to use mindfulness techniques with my clients, especially in this busy season of the year, to help them gain a fresh perspective of what they are desiring while trying to "lose X amount of lbs" or "eat X amount of calories." For example, some of my mindful October goals include: 

1. Writing from my heart with this blog (instead of "blog X amount of days/week") 

2. Nourish my body and listen to it in regards to what it NEEDS (instead of "cut out all sweets and junk food")

3. Take evening walks with my husband and enjoy the outdoors more (instead of "burn X amount of calories every day)

4. Brainstorming a NEW Holiday Accountability group (stay tuned!!!)

This mindset helps me shift my focus from the outcomes of my goals to why I am setting them in the first place. I want to write more genuine, heartfelt posts centered around nutrition, health, and overall well-being, so that's what I am going to do! I want to be more active while enjoying quality time with my husband. I want to nourish myself and feel free in my food choices. I love hosting accountability groups to help people stay on track with their goals while having a community to back them up, so that's what makes this goal super important to me. These are all personal values to me (quality time with my hubby, genuineness, feeling healthy and well-fed, and being a light to others) so they all have a part in my goals for the month. This doesn't mean I won't be doing intense workouts, won't be tightening up my nutrition, or won't be writing for hours trying to get a post published. It just means that I will always keep the WHY behind my goals at the forefront of my mind! These goals truly MEAN something to me, instead of just a haphazard list of rigid rules that I hope to follow during the month ahead. 

It is so refreshing and motivating to make these goals for the month with a clear head and a happy heart, knowing that I am striving to do things that match my personal values and that will make me happier and healthier in the long run! If you want to begin working on your health in a more mindful way, I would love to chat with you! I love working with clients and helping them reach their goals and grow in the areas of their health that are important to them! Email me at tveen.verano@gmail.com and we can get started! 

Have a happy first Monday of October everyone! 

The 5 Daily Habits Challenge!

Hi all! I hope you are having a great week. It's finally Wednesday which means only a couple more days until the weekend! That's cause for a celebration, no? 

I've had this topic on my heart for a while, so I wanted to write out some thoughts about the idea of daily habits. I'm reading through a book titled "The Slight Edge" by Jeff Olson. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to be more disciplined with their life, reach their goals, and develop daily habits that will encourage growth in their lives. 

In his book, Olson states that our daily habits often determine how successful we are at reaching our goals. He also discusses how these habits are usually very easy to do, but also very easy NOT to do. This statement blew. my. mind. I know of some habits that I want to do every day (for example, exercise, sleeping at a decent time, saving a few extra bucks a month, reading 10 pages a day of a book that will help me grow, etc.) but I often miss the mark on these habits. I've convinced myself that these daily habits and goals are just too harddddd, and that's why I can't keep up with them. But reading this book and reflecting on his view of habits has completely changed my way of thinking and has helped me reexamine just how hard these habits actually are. 

1. Waking up 30 minutes earlier to workout is pretty easy. Ignoring my alarm is pretty easy too. 

2. Going to bed early so I CAN fit in that workout is easy. But continuing on the Netflix binge and just watching "one more episode" is pretty easy too. *Side note, my husband and I are working our way through Breaking Bad right now...and OH MY GOSH...it's been so easy to stay up late watching episode after episode.

3. Putting away $50 a week is pretty easy. But, buying that super duper cute top that I just have to have is pretty easy too. 

4. Reading 10 pages of a book will probably take me 10 minutes, which is pretty easy to fit into my day. Spending time on Facebook or Instagram for 10 minutes instead of reading is pretty easy too.  

So you see, these habits are easy to do, and just as easy NOT to do. It's that simple. And this realization has totally changed the way I've been viewing my goals and the daily habits I want to develop. 

I am going to stop viewing these disciplines as "hard" and give them the credit they deserve, which is not that much! Doing the things that I want to do is not that difficult. It's not like I want to build a house every day, buy a car every day, or lose 20 lbs in one day. Those big goals come around by implementing these small, seemingly insignificant, but oh so simple daily goals. 

So I am committing to 5 daily habits that will help me reach my greater goals in due time. By putting the work in now, we ensure that we will reach our goals later in life. Would you like to join me? I'd love that! Leave a comment and share the 5 daily habits that you will start doing TODAY! Let's see how long we last. Here are my daily habits! 

1. Spend time with Jesus every morning. Whether it's reading a devotional, praying, journaling, or having an extended quiet time with the Lord, this time is precious to and vital for me. 

2. Workout/drink my Shakeology. 

- Workout because my job is sickeningly sedentary and I NEED to move my body every day. I'm doing the 21 day fix (started another round yesterday) and LOVE it! 

-Shakeology because it is my nutritional powerhouse drink that gives me all the nutrients I need in a day. I haven't been sick once since drinking it, my digestion is pretty perfect (tmi sorry), and my skin is getting clearer by the day! 

** if health and fitness are a difficult area for you, please contact me! Healthy living is a passion of mine and I'd love to be a part of your journey to reach your goals!

3. Read 10 pages a day of a book that will help me grow. I love reading for fun, but I also want to read more on how to grow as a person, how to be financially smart, and how to be a better person overall. 

4. Save $10/day. This could go a long longgggg way! :) 

5. Go to bed by 9:30/10pm on weekdays (and preferably weekends too!) Sleep is so important for our overall health, energy, mood, and quality of life. I am just a miserable person when I don't sleep enough, and I want to give my body the rest it deserves!

Leave a comment with some of the daily habits you would like to commit to! And thank you so much for reading! ;) have a happy day! 

 

Food & Fitness Plan: 12/15-12/21

Good morning everyone and Happy Monday!!! I just love the beginning of the new week; it is filled with freshness and possibility. No matter was has happened, Monday is a chance to start brand new. Leave it all behind and move forward with this new week ahead. I know that is what I need to do! I had a great weekend sprinkled with some not so great moments. But God is good and His mercies are new every morning. EVERY SINGLE MORNING! How awesome is that. Thank you, Jesus. Food Plan:

I did some heavy duty meal prep yesterday, so I am very excited about my meals this week!! I have leftover kebab for today, but tonight, I get to enjoy my Eggplant Spaghetti Squash Lasagna (recipe coming soon!)

I also made a huge batch of Parmesan sweet potatoes (I use the white sweet potatoes because they aren't as sweet as yams, while still having high amounts of vitamin A and other nutrients!)

Here are my meal options for the week:

Pre workout: - Gluten free seeded bread w/nut butter - Hard boiled egg with nuts - Banana with nuts or nut butter - Pumpkin protein bread (if I have time to bake!)

Breakfast: - Scrambles w/veggies and avocado - Protein waffles/pancakes - Quest bar (if rushed, like today!)

Lunch/Dinner - Eggplant Spaghetti Squash Lasagna - Chicken meatballs w/sweet taters - Salads - Tuna w/plantain chips

Snacks: - Carrots w/hummus or guacamole - Nuts - Larabar - Quest bar (I want to slowly step away from these, as I feel that they may be causing some digestive discomfort! I may just use up what we have and phase them out haha stay tuned)

Fitness:

Here is my plan for the week! My 10K training is embedded in here as well:

Monday: I ran 2 miles at my "fast" speed (18:48) which wasn't as fast as I wanted, but I'm tired and it's Monday. Then I had my personal training session, working on chest, triceps, and shoulders. Tonight, I have circuits with my friend Hanna!

Tuesday: 5 mile long run + abs

Wednesday: 2 miles elliptical, plyometrics, logbook leg workout from trainer

Thursday: 4 mile run (moderate speed), personal training (probably back and biceps), Hanna workout

Friday: 3 mile run moderate, plyometrics

Saturday: TIU workout + abs

Sunday: easy elliptical, toning

I'm so ready for the week! I'm feeling super motivated this morning and have a set of goals for myself apart from food and fitness to work on as well:

1. Work on special project 2. Sketch 3. Play piano 4. Take make up off every night (this may sound silly, but I am so horrible at skin care, and need to get on top of this ASAP!)

I am hoping for a productive, fun, and restful week! Have you set your goals yet? Make a plan and try your best to stick to it...you'll be happy you did!