Category: Goals

12 Small Changes to see Big Results in your Health

These changes apply to everyone whether you are close to your goal weight and want to drop those last 5-10 pounds, or whether you are just getting started on a new health Journey…!

If you want to see big improvements in your health, try implementing small changes and keep them in place for the long term.  You may be surprised what you see as a result!

QUOTE

  1.  Replace all white and enriched products with whole grains, avoid sugary snacks and foods….  White and enriched products are processed, have had all nutrition stripped from them, and have a high glycemic index.  This means they make your blood sugar peak too fast causing fat to accumulate in the body.
  2. Change all soda (yes, even diet!)  or pre-bottled drinks for water or green tea and save a ton of calories each day.   Artificial ingredients, flavors, sugars all affect our body’s metabolism and hormone balance.  Avoid them!  Drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water each day.  Example 150 pound person needs 75 oz water each day.
  3. As you achieve benchmarks and goals along the way in life, reward yourself with clothing or fitness clothes or equipment instead of FOOD!
  4. Increase your vegetable intake daily and fill your plate in a healthy way (more clean proteins and veggies).  When our bodies are well fed with nutritious food, our body will be healthier, more satisfied and be willing to let go of those fat stores!  It is recommended to have 5-6 small meals per day since our bodies break down small frequent meals more efficiently than the old way of having 3 larger meals per day.
  5. Aim for 10,000 steps per day.  (try using a pedometer or fitbit…its fun!)…Especially if you have a sedentary job, take frequent exercise breaks or go for a walk on your lunch break.
  6. Use healthier fats…for example, use olive oil instead of butter!  Also when making a sandwich, use avocado instead of butter or mayo.
  7. Sign up for an event or some kind of competition to keep yourself motivated to train or be in shape for.   Make your training a social event…get together with friends to exercise instead of eat!
  8. When it comes to condiments, have mustard, hot sauce or salsa instead of ketchup, mayo and sour cream!
  9. Eat SLOWLY…it takes your body 20 minutes to signal your brain that you are full!
  10. Be sure to get adequate sleep (see blog post www.athleticgrandma.com/  )
  11. Take the Stairs instead of the elevator and park further from the doorway of the mall, doctors office and workplace.
  12. If you are watching TV or a movie, do pushups, crunches, squats or stretches during commercials or breaks.  Walk on the treadmill while watching your favorite show.  Work at being generally more active in your life with less sitting time.

For questions or to participate in free health challenges, Contact Me

9 Tips for Goal Achievement

‘One person with a commitment is worth a hundred who only have an interest.’                                                                                                                    Zig Ziglar

When a person takes the time to plan carefully, you will be more likely to have success with your effort. While its true that we may not fully meet every expectation we have of ourselves, we can give ourselves a better chance by implementing the tips below. Its important to recognize the exceptional qualities within ourselves that we often forget or fail to see.

These tips hold true no matter what your goals are:
Taking some courses, advancing in the workplace, weight loss, financial freedom, saving money for something special, running 10 km, training for a triathlon and completing it, building muscles, spending more time with family and friends… You will have a higher chance of achieving that goal if you plan and prepare properly for it…and be happy doing it!

See the 9 tips below to get into the right frame of mind to plan and prepare for 2016 goals!

1. Made a decision and a commitment

Its critical to make up your mind and make clear decisions about what your goals will be.  Be sure they are something that is specific enough that it can be measured in some way otherwise if it is too wishy-washy, motivation will be lost as you will have no way of knowing when the goal is reached.

Wishing and dreaming do not work, but writing them down and consciously deciding on goals and committing to them is what we need to do first.

2. Have a good foundation for YOU

If you work at being a good person, being an honest, loving and loyal person. Having a good character and integrity is critical to set the foundation as a person prior to moving towards your goals.

3. Break bigger goals into small parts and visualize them

Take time to think about goals which will take a longer period of time to achieve.  Break these down into smaller bite size pieces that you can achieve over a shorter time.

Take time to visualize yourself achieving your goal.   Imagine how you will look and feel once that goal is achieved.  Imagine how you will feel getting the certificate of course completion, or paying off that debt.  Imagine how you will look in the mirror wearing your favourite outfit if you achieve your weight loss goal.   To achieve our goals, if we mentally reach for them and see them, they become possible in our mind.

4.  Be accountable to your decision

Be focused every day on what your goals are.  Keep track each day of what you are doing to work towards those goals.  Self-discipline is the key to reaching those goals.  Each evening, plan a few short activities for the following day that will move you towards your goals.

5.   Share your goals with others

Work towards common goals with other people if you can.  Camaraderie is a great motivational tool!!  Also, tell others about your goals so that you are more likely to be accountable and to have support from others.

6. Be willing to move outside your comfort zone.

To stay where we are at now and not move outside our current situation or comfort zone, then our 2016 achievements aren’t likely to look much different than 2015.  Once you have made your decision to change something, you need to be willing to commit to doing things different each day and choosing different paths than you are used to!

It takes more work to stay on your new path, than it would be to slide back to old habits…don’t let that happen!

7.  Put pen to paper

By documenting each day or keeping a journal with your key goals written inside, you can track once you have reached even the small steps of your goals (see small steps tip 3).  After you accomplish those steps, reward yourself to boost confidence, motivation and energy to keep moving forward.  There is no bigger reward than seeing your list of goals come to life and the slow steps towards achieving them also happening in black and white before your eyes!

8.  Enjoy your life!

This is a critical part of goal setting success.  We need to enjoy the journey towards our goals and not have the “I will be happy when…” mindset.  Be happy NOW and be grateful about what you have and celebrating the small goal achievements along the way can just be the icing on the cake!

9.  Help other people and be happier

There is something about giving of yourself and your time with NO expectations in return that creates positive feelings, improved confidence and self-worth and helps people in your surroundings at the same time. Even just small things that only take a few minutes like holding a door or helping others carry items to their car.  Bringing a co-worker a cup of coffee.  These small gestures are great to boost your happiness and that of those around you.

Remember, we cannot wait to be happy AFTER achieving our goals…we need to be happy on the journey as well!  Celebrate the positive achievements and the better person you are becoming as you work on those goals

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