What are your current health and fitness goals in 2017? In September of 2016, I stopped logging my food and working out to due to busyness at home. Then with the holidays, it was just too hard to pick it back up. So for 2017, I plan on picking up where I left off on my weight loss journey and wanted to start walking again. Since school started last fall, it has been hard to get to the gym in the evenings with my husband since the kids have to be in bed. Then at the end of November, I started physical therapy which included a massage to work on some of my soft tissue injuries at least once a week. It was incredible and can’t wait to start that up again too.
Then, we moved over New Year’s weekend, and things have been a bit crazy around here. I feel like I did pretty well over the holidays for the most part. During the week, it is easier to stay on track but then on the weekends not so much. I haven’t hopped on the scale in a few weeks and the last time I weighed myself was before Christmas. At that point, I was staying within a few pounds of my last weigh in. I am hopping on the scale first thing in the morning and will start updating my journey again. Today, I wanted to share my own health and fitness goals in 2017.
Do make sure that you see your doctor or health care provider before starting a new fitness routine or weight loss plan. Your doctor will help you determine what is before for you and your health conditions. I am not a doctor, health care provider, or health expert. All information that I provide, it based upon my use or research.
WALK MORE
I moved to a new community that gives me access to a small fitness center. Also within the next year, they are planning on adding several walking trails nearby too. It will make walking outside enjoyable unless it is way too cold or hot. Plus, there will be stores/shops coming soon too. Hopefully, they won’t open on of my favorite restaurants. However, I would be thrilled to have a Smoothie King closer to the house. In our last community, we didn’t have sidewalks, so if I wanted to go walking, I would either have to go to
In our last community, we didn’t have sidewalks so if I wanted to go walking, I would either have to go to gym with my husband after he got home from work, go to the closest walking trail, or brave walking on the street. I got a new fitness tracker for Christmas to help hold myself accountable (my phone worked great, but I didn’t always have it in my pocket) and I’ve set a very modest goal. My fitness tracker is currently set up to encourage me to walk a minimum of 6,000 steps a day. As I start walking more, I can up my goal. Since it has been a while, I plan on starting slowly on the treadmill or outside depending on the weather and work my way up to longer walks. Plus, Buddy, our Yorkie has to be walked on a leash now, so he will help encourage me to get up and moving too.
Since it has been a while, I plan on starting slowly on the treadmill or outside depending on the weather and work my way up to longer walks. Plus, Buddy, our Yorkie has to be walked on a leash now, so he will help encourage me to get up and moving too.
It is super important that I do my best to stay active. Walking is fairly easy on my joints, and it is doable even if I have to walk slowly.
USE MYFITNESS PAL
In September, I stopped logging my food intake in MyFitness pal. I plan to pick back up on Monday so that I am once again to logging everything that I eat and drink. Last year, I was able to lose around 40 pounds by using MyFitness pal. It is a great app, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in losing weight. It holds you accountable and makes achieving your goals easier. Plus, you don’t have to limit the food that you can eat, and it has a huge database for tracking meals even Smoothie King.
CHANGE A MEAL
I love sweets, and they are my downfall when it comes to eating healthy. Instead, of skipping sugar or treats altogether, I just make simple swaps. I grab a smoothie from Smoothie King to help satisfy my sweet tooth while keeping my health and fitness goals in 2017 in mind. I don’t have to worry about eating an unhealthy meal or blowing my calories on sweets.
Did you know that Smoothie King has over 20 filling meal replacement smoothies all under 400? I spent most of my day doing laundry on Saturday and cleaning up around the house. As I mentioned earlier, we moved over New Year’s weekend, and we are still getting settled into our new home. My husband was busy running a few errands to get his office space up and running so that he had a place to work. When he got home, we loaded up into the car and headed to our favorite Smoothie King for a late lunch. It was our very first time stopping for smoothies for lunch. We were impressed with the large selection of smoothies which made it even harder to determine what we wanted to try. It was worth the wait to figure out what we wanted because we were all satisfied with our smoothie choices.
I picked a small Greek Yogurt with Strawberries and Blueberries. I love that Smoothie King uses real fruit in their smoothies. Here are the Ingredients: Nonfat Greek Yogurt, Strawberries, Blueberry Juice Blend, Non-fat Milk, Vanilla Protein Blend, Electrolyte Mix, Fiber Blend. The small 20 oz smoothie was under 400 calories, and it kept me full until dinner time.
My husband got a small Angel Food™ smoothie. He was also very impressed. He said he would have to remember this as an option for a healthy lunch while on the go. His smoothie was also under 400 calories.
My boys each got a smoothie too. My oldest son got the Peanut Power Plus Chocolate. He said he liked it and offered to let me try it. It tasted like a Reese Peanut Butter Cup to me. Of course, it isn’t on the list of smoothies that are under 400 calories. However, it would be the perfect meal replacement after an intense workout or marathon. My older son has a super high metabolism and struggles with gaining weight at times.
My youngest son got the Lil Angel™ smoothie. He enjoyed it too.
Do you know what impressed me the most? We all had a healthy lunch for under $20.00. Guys this is cheaper than the average total bill for the meals that we get when we go to McDonald’s. Most people tend to think that eating healthy is expensive, especially while on the go.
KEEP THE HOUSE DECLUTTERED
We downsized when we moved last weekend. I have done my best as I was unpacking to put things in their “place”. There is still a bit more unpacking/organizing left to do still. When we moved, we all vowed to do our best to put things where they go and to follow the “one touch” rule. It does take a bit of practice to get into a new habit. But with persistance you can change your bad habits.
Before we moved, we had to purge so much stuff. It is crazy to think about how much crap that you end up collecting over the years. I don’t even remember how many black trash bags full of “junk” that we threw away. You don’t always realize that the crap adds up over the years especially if you don’t throw away or get rid of things on a regular basis. I read an article a few months ago, that if you bring home a new shirt to toss an old worn out one away in the process. This will help eliminate the clutter and keep your stuff from overflowing your home.
GET ENOUGH SLEEP
Since school started, I have had a more consistent sleep schedule. I have made a vow to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night. Both rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia can cause sleep problems from insomnia to daytime fatigue. There are some days where I feel like I got enough sleep. But then an hour or two into my day, all of sudden I will feel so drained. You know the feeling that you get after running an intenser race, playing a soccer game, etc.
It is often difficult to fight the urge to nap during the day and have been trying to make a huge effort to stay awake so that I don’t disrupt my sleep schedule. Just before Christmas, I saw my PCP and told her that I was all of a sudden feeling super fatigued despite my attempts to get 8 or more hours of sleep at night. She ran some blood work and discovered that I had some additional issues that she addressed.
Most of the changes that I plan on making this year are small; however, those changes do add up and count towards your ultimate goal. Smoothie King wants to challenge you to make small changes towards a New Year, New You resolution. They have asked their guests to see how much weight that you can lose when you change just one meal a day. Try with one of over 20 delicious Meal Replacement Smoothies, all under 400 calories in place of eating a regular meal. Then set your goal and go for it. You can do it!
Post your challenge photos using #changeameal through March 26, 2017, to enter to win up to $500 in Smoothie King gift cards, a Fitbit or a brand new bike. The more you post, the more you could win!
