On Christmas Eve a friend asked me if I had any resolutions for the new year. I was stumped. I did not have any resolutions, but my mind began to churn. Throughout the last week I began talking with Dan about what we should tackle for the new year as a TEAM.
Last night on the way home from a wedding we set out our resolutions. We decided to have a tangible goal for different areas of our life and to set the goal for only a month. We will then revisit and adjust what we do at the end of the month and make different goals for the next month.
Eating Habits:
Over the summer as we began our running program, I came across an article that talked about how what you eat can help you overcome the "wall" many people hit while running. The article talked about an eating program called Whole 30. After doing some research on the program we did a "Whole 30." This was 30 days of essentially eating whole foods. Meats and vegetables made up most of the diet, then some fruits, certain nuts (did you know peanuts are legume, not a nut?), and good fats (avocados, coconut oil, ghee). So there is no eating grains in any form, no sugar (you can't even have sausage that has sugar added (that is really hard to find; we did not find any), no beans, no dairy, no alcohol, no processed or packaged food. You can't even make treats that use all "approved" foods.
We did the program at the end of the summer/start of the school year and felt great by the end of it. But then our 30 days was done. For the most part during the week we ate this way, but the weekends we started to bring in non-compliant foods. Then the weekend started stretching out to multiple days during the week. Then the holidays hit. Oh my, last night after over a week of eating tons of processed sugar filled food we both felt as if we were going to pop.
So for January 2014 we are going to do a Whole 31! After 31 days we will decide what food we still won't eat and what foods we may add back in for February, but for now we are doing a Whole 31.
Physical Activity:
This past semester has been our best with regards to working out when compared to other school years. Clearly during the summer is always our best, but what we were able to do during last semester was good for us, going forward we want to keep up the momentum we have built.
So for January 2014 we want to exercise at least 4 days a week. One day will be a training day, one day a swimming day, one day a running day (3-5 miles along the beach), and then the last day could be Pilates, a hike, or a bike ride.
Finances:
I think it was our 4th anniversary, we received the on-line class of Financial Peace from my Dad and Step-mom. We were not the most excited about it, so it took us over 6 months to do it, but we are so glad we did. Through doing the program we paid off all of our debts (our 2 cars and all of Dan's student loans), began using cash for all our groceries and restructured our budget so that we were planning ahead for things like Christmas presents, July when we do not get paid, car maintenance and other things like that. At first we were really strict with how we used our money, but soon we started to use our plastic way more than cash. We ate out a lot. We bought lots of Starbucks. By no means were we going into debt, but we were having to take money out of the accounts that we set up for things like Christmas Presents or going to the gym.
So for January 2014, aside from gas, we will pay for EVRYTHING using cash.
Professional Growth:
Dan's ultimate goal would be to turn his temporary contract from this year into a full contract for next year. I would like to continue to grow in my leadership ability from the classroom. So how do we increase our professional presence? A year and a half ago I cam across the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People so slowly began reading it. Last summer I made it through the introduction and thought this would be a perfect book to read and apply together. So I had Dan read the introduction as well. Then school started and that idea flew out the window.
So for January 2014 we will read the book together for an hour every Tuesday night.
Here's to a great 2014 to you all. Stayed tuned for how January went and our goals for February!
No comments:
Post a Comment