Healthy Living Goal Monthly Calendars #2016goals

Each year seems to come and go so quickly anymore. Each year of New Years resolutions go in one year and out the other...mostly because I haven't held myself accountable at all. So this year, instead of making a flat goal for the whole year, I'm taking it all on in chunks -- by month. I'm not necessarily looking to lose weight specifically, but I'm looking to improve my overall health.

To help in these goals, I created healthy living goal monthly calendars. Each month I will set 6 goals for myself to help improve my overall health -- physically, emotionally, and mentally.

 

This month's goals are pretty basic and very achievable, as long as I stay motivated. :)

1. Drink 3 bottles of water per day. (Maybe a few less sodas.) I have Camelbak water bottles and absolutely LOVE them. Not sure why - maybe the straw - but I tend to drink more water when it's in one of these water bottles.
2. Increase steps per day during the week. I bought a FitBit Charge HR in November and have challenged myself over the last month to increase my steps every day (during the work week). Being a teacher, you'd think I'd naturally have a lot of steps each day. Well, I'm sure most teachers do, but I majorly #FAIL at it. So if by the end of the day I haven't surpassed the previous day's step number, I go to my teammate's classroom and just walk basically in circles while we plan and chat. She thinks I'm ridiculous, but it's better than sitting and talking. ;)
3. 8+ hours of sleep each night. My FitBit helps me track this automatically. This is one of my favorite features about the new FitBit -- I don't have to remember to put it into sleep mode anymore.
4. Feel the gratitude. Last year my overall focus was gratitude. This year I'm going to continue to focus on gratitude, but I need to start feeling it more. Not just writing it in my gratitude notebook. Not just saying that I'm grateful for things. Actually feeling it inside me.
5. Meditate daily. This is a totally new thing for me. I downloaded the Calm app on my smartphone and have been taking a short meditation break each day over the last week. My biggest goal in doing this is to unplug for a hot minute, focus on myself, and just let it all go.
6. Stop biting my nails. 28 years of biting my nails has to be absolutely nasty in that stomach of mine. (Okay, I'm sure it's more like 23 years...who knows when it started.) I've had this goal far too many times. But maybe if I track it by day, I can motivate myself to stop.

Want to join in on making 2016 a healthier year? I have a free sample of my 2016 healthy living goal calendars {for the month of January} for you to download!

To get the complete set of calendars for 2016, visit my Etsy store.

Happy goal setting and conquering!

Friday Favorite: Graze.com

I was recently introduced to Graze.com by a fellow teacher at my school. I'm so happy I decided to try it out for myself!

Graze is a subscription service {with no commitment} that specializes in healthy, portion controlled snacks. I'm always cautious with subscription services because I don't want to be "locked in" to something that I potentially won't like. Because I signed up through my friend, I received my first box free - no strings attached. I loved it so much that I decided to stay subscribed. It's just $6 a box with free shipping.

Once you're subscribed you can go into your account and customize your box. I'm able to rate the items I receive so they get to know my taste and can send things similar to those that I rate "like" and "love". I just received my second box this week and love everything I've tried so far.

Each nibble and calorie counter box comes with 4 snacks. {I get the nibble box.} You also get to choose how often you want to receive your Graze boxes - every week or every 2 weeks. Also, if you decide you want to cancel, you can easily do so online, but because they prepare boxes in advance, it has to be at least a week before your next shipment.

Interested in trying it Graze? If you sign up with my promo code, you can get your 1st and 5th box free! The code is: QDV7G25RP

If you decide to try Graze, let me know what you think! If you already have tried it, I'd love your feedback, too. :)

Lose Weight/Get Healthy – #gethealthy {Sponsored by eMeals}

Next week we begin a new year. With every new year comes resolutions. There are generally 3 major areas most of us choose to focus on each year - losing weight/getting healthy, becoming organized, and/or saving money. I admit, I jump on that wagon each year, too. I didn't last long in 2012 - it was a rough year all around. I'm choosing a different approach this year, which you will hear all about over the next month.

eMeals has teamed up with me again for 2013, and has tips that go along with those 3 general goal areas. Today we focus on losing weight/getting healthy.

With so many people wanting to lose weight and eat healthy this new year, we should know what our calorie intake needs to be based on age and activity level. Check out the chart below to become knowledgeable about your family's calorie needs.

{Please know that eMeals and I are not promoting that children need to lose weight and count calories by any means with this chart. The point of this post is also being healthy. Part of being healthy is ensuring you're eating enough calories each day as well. This is something that is important for growing children.}

How do you actually lose weight? Cutting 500 calories from your daily calorie intake will help you achieve their goal. Sounds easy, right? Okay, maybe not. The graphic below is true though - it takes a plan in order to achieve this. I, personally, have tried counting my calories several times in the past. It's too much work for me. I honestly do better with cutting calories when I'm not counting them and using a meal plan. This helps me because I know ahead of time what I'm eating. I can make the changes prior to cooking to make meals low-fat or sugar-free.

To lose weight, a simple chart for tracking your daily calorie count goal vs actual intake will help you stick to a plan. You have to have some kind of accountability - and if recording this info does it for you, then go for it.

I have blogged before about losing weight and while everything I've written in the past still holds true, things have changed for me. My goal this year is not to lose weight. My goal is to be healthy - to be conscious of what I'm putting inside of my body each time I eat.

I have a one year membership to eMeals {which I received as compensation for being part of their blogging network}. We're looking to cut food costs in 2013 so we can start tackling our student loan debt. A meal plan definitely helps accomplish this. While I've been meal planning for years, eMeals automatically chooses meals for me that match with the weekly sales at my grocery store - saving me money each week. I was able to select that our family size is just two, so the meal sizes are smaller {less waste}. We're using the classic meal style right now - but I may later switch to the low fat plan. The recipes are quick and simple to make - which is a must for me with my busy schedule. Even Chris has no problem whipping up dinner with the simplicity of each recipe. =]

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by eMeals. Graphics in this post have been provided by eMeals.
eMeals is a meal planning service that creates budget friendly menus for you, based on your family's needs - this includes eating style, family size, and favorite grocery store. Each week, your meal plan is emailed to you, complete with simple and creative family-friendly recipes. Each entree includes a suggested side dish as well. Along with your meal plan, you receive a detailed grocery list, organized by section and coordinated with the weekly sales at selected stores.
eMeals is also recommended by Dave Ramsey. 
Save 15% on an eMeals subscription with coupon code newyear.