In case you missed it, I am doing what I like to call a “January reset.” Basically, after being sick and eating everything in site during the holidays, my mind and body needed a reset at the beginning of this month. Today I wanted to recap what I’m actually doing during this month and what I plan to continue doing after January. But first, I want to share some tips in general that make it easier to see your goals through. Starting new goals this time of the year can be a little daunting and overwhelming but I promise, it doesn’t need to be!

So first things first. When planning your goals, don’t try to do a 180 with your habits. If you weren’t working out at all, don’t try to workout 6x a week. If you were sleeping in until 10am on the weekends, don’t try to wake up at 6am to be more productive on a Saturday. I’m not saying don’t challenge yourself, but you want to be realistic. Don’t set yourself up for failure right out the gate, otherwise you’ll feel really discouraged and you’ll be less likely to follow through all together. Also, pick a few things that you really want to focus on. We don’t need 10+ habits that we are going to start incorporating or working on. Remember, this isn’t a race! We want to focus on consistency overtime and not a quick fix.

Once you have your goals set out, I find that writing them down is really helpful. When you write them down it helps set clarity and intention. You want to be as specific as you can so instead of writing “I work out more,” try “I work out 4x a week for 30 minutes each session.” I also love writing things in present tense as if they are already happening. Regarding intention, ask yourself why this goal is important to you? When you know the why behind you doing something, it makes it more likely that you will follow through with it on days that you aren’t feeling super motivated. One last tip: remember that you’ve set a goal because you want to be a certain type of person. Does that type of person make the decision to sleep in or seize the day? Does that type of person decide to go to the gym or opt for Netflix? Whenever I’m going to sleep at night, I always feel really good knowing that earlier in the day I had kept the promises that I made to myself.

So! Here are some of the personal goals I have this month: 

-No alcohol. Who else is doing a dry January?! This is something I thought about doing in November and honestly after all the holiday parties and drinks, I was welcoming this one with open arms. It’s honestly been a nice break, and has made me realize how often I drink casually and just out of habit. I mean, I’ve never been one to drink a lot. Usually when going out I’ll have 1-2 drinks max. But I think the main thing is I never realized until now how I was just always in the habit of ordering a drink. Go out to dinner? Have a drink. Go hangout with friends? Have a drink. Make dinner at home? Have a drink. So after January, I will be drinking again (I mean, I’m going to Napa on the last day of this month LOL), but in general I am definitely going to be more mindful. 

-Minimum 1L water a day. Since there is no alcohol to intake, my only options are really coffee and water! This isn’t new, but every morning when I wake up I drink about 1/2L so then I just have another 1/2 L the rest of the day. Overall I’d say I’ve been drinking more than this, but having it as a specific goal has staying hydrated on the forefront of my mind.

-Count macros 5x a week. If you’re newer around here, I consistently counted macros for about 3 years and loved it. It definitely taught me about what was in the foods I was eating and how to eat a more balanced diet (basically, it showed me how much protein I was lacking!). I really enjoyed this structure for a few years as I felt like I could still enjoy all types of food while reaching my (aesthetic) goals more quickly. I also knew that my body was getting exactly the macronutrients it needed. When I came back from Italy in May of last year though, I felt like I needed a break from the structure and switched over to more of an intuitive approach. I didn’t know how I would like it, but it honestly was great. I wasn’t preoccupied with what I was eating and really just started focusing on other things that were more of a priority at the time vs. my next meal or snack. However, after the holidays I’m craving a little more of that structure again so I am challenging myself to count macros for 5 days a week. 

Whether I’m counting or not, I am always pretty mindful of ways to get in protein since I know my body needs it, especially for muscle growth. I discovered ONE Bars at the end of 2018 and have been eating them ever since, and I love that I get to partner with them. ONE Bars are honestly the best tasting protein bar I’ve tried (which is why I was eating them way before ever working together). They taste like a treat–you don’t feel like you’re eating a protein bar. Plus, they now have their gluten-free ONE Plant bars which are plant-based and so good. The texture is a little different than their original protein bars, but they are just as delicious in their own way. Their original bars have 20g of protein and their Plant ones have 12g, so both are awesome options for an on-the-go snack and for a guilt-free indulgence. 

PS. For the month of January, ONE Bars are 20% off on Amazon  to help you reboot and reset! My current favorite flavors are Maple Glazed Doughnut, Peanut Butter Cup, Dark Chocolate Sea Salt, and Banana Nut Bread (which is part of the Plant line). Oh, and did I mention new ONE Bars & ONE Plant flavors are coming this year!? Stay tuned!

-Workouts 5x a week. I’m not giving myself a strict goal of what workouts I need to be doing, but more so that I make an effort to be active 5x a week. So that may be pure barre, weight-training, a spin class, or even taking the dogs on a long walk. Again, not trying to overload myself with a bunch of new and complex habits, but I do want to get back into a regular routine of being active! 

Overall, I’ve been feeling really good with these goals. They have been challenging me from my normal routine but not so strict that I’m not able to follow through with them. As you know, I won’t continue the dry January past this month but I will definitely be more mindful about how often I’m drinking. I’m still unsure if I’ll count macros–will keep you posted! But I do plan to continue with the water intake and the workouts 5x a week. I am reminded of how much more energy I have physically and how much clearer I am mentally when I take the time to workout.

While a lot of my goals are around health and fitness, yours don’t have to be! Some other areas that you may want to focus on:

-Listen to an audiobook/read 1 book a month.

-Listen to a personal development podcast each week. 

-Get 8 hours of sleep each night.

-Meditate for 5 minutes each day. 

-Spend 30 minutes outside each day.

I feel like most of the time just a few, small changes can make a huge difference in how you feel mentally and physically each day. If any of you set new goals or challenges for yourself, I’d love to hear them!