I learned through my experience doing Gals with Goals that I am more successful in achieving goals and I’m happier overall when I set monthly goals vs. one resolution for the year.  As I work through My Monthly Goals for 2018 I’ve decided to do a mid-month update and an end-of-month update on how that month’s goal is going.

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My goal this month:  Eat clean and workout at least 30 minutes per day

How it’s going:  Excellent!  I give myself an A at this point in the month.

Things that have helped:  After 15 days of this goal, here are the things that have kept me going so far . . .

*I donated my scale.  I realized that I always felt great, I was in my best shape, and I generally felt good in my clothes during the years I didn’t have a scale at home.  Once I bought a scale, I would work really hard for 3-4 days and then weigh myself.  When I realized 3-4 days only resulted in 1 or 2 lbs lost then I’d get discouraged and get off track and think “why am I even trying?!”  Without the scale — I just keep going.  I tell myself I’m making great progress and I begin feeling better in my clothes and then I keep going.  I don’t even have the option to let some number discourage me.

*I plan by the week.  Instead of looking at all 31 days and getting overwhelmed by how I will keep this up, I sit down for about 30 minutes each Sunday to plan for what will work that week and only that week.

*I started using an Ink+Volt planner that is structured to help you accomplish weekly, monthly, and yearly goals.  This is what I use to write down all my meals and workouts for the week and then I check them off each night before I go to bed.

*I go strict through the week and looser on the weekends.  I decided I’d do 5 days of lifting and cardio on Monday-Friday as well as tracking my food, and then on weekends if I workout I’ll do yoga on Sunday and I do not track my food but rather keep it overall healthy with one cheat item.

*I plan weekly rewards.  I write in my journal “When I accomplish my goals this week, I will . . . ” and I end the sentence with a reward.  This ranges from buying myself a necklace to scheduling a massage.  I like rewards so this works for me!  Ha!

*I went back to my roots.  I decided to stop cutting corners on my workouts and actually lift + cardio each workout.

*I have prepped my food.  Food prep — ugh, I’m tired of hearing about it, I’m tired of seeing people’s photos from it, I’m just like “yeah, yeah, okay, food prep.”  But, I have prepped my food for the week each Sunday night and it’s made a world of difference.  I haven’t overdone it with a ton of stuff I have to cook, but have made sure I have enough of what I need like greek yogurt, fruit, etc. and made sure I had my lunches cooked and ready.

*I made some sub-goals.  I decided to sprinkle in a few other things to keep me on track — like choosing not to go to Starbucks this month.  Starbucks coffee itself isn’t a big deal, but I’m prone to adding on treats.  This also has given me a fair amount of time back in my day by not waiting in the Starbucks drive thru line.

*I scheduled my workouts.  I have scheduled my workouts in my day from 4-5 p.m. where I’m able to (sometimes I have meetings at that time so I have to shift it) — so I workout at the gym at work and then I go back to my desk from 5-6 p.m. and finish up emails and pending items.  I miss traffic, I feel ahead on work, and I get my workout in.

*I decided to make things non-negotiable.  I decided this wasn’t an option anymore.  I’m treating my food and workouts like a must/requirement.  When I’ve had a day like last week when I forgot my tennis shoes and had to drive home and go back out in the snow to go to the gym I just looked at it like a requirement and didn’t entertain the idea of skipping it.

*I bought wireless headphones.  I wasn’t down for spending $300+ on new headphones and ear buds typically won’t stay in my ears unless they are petite size, so I found Photive HF1 Rose Gold Bluetooth Headphones for $49 on Amazon and they’ve made all the difference in my workouts.  I not only don’t fight with my cord, but I can set my phone down when I’m lifting and this helps fight distractions of text messages and work email notifications.  It’s so freeing!

This is where I stand mid-month.  I feel happier, I’m pretty worn out by Fridays, and a pair of my jeans fit slightly better last week.  Stay tuned for my month-end update on this goal.