SMART GOALS for 2022

Happy 2022. Can you believe we are entering our 3rd year of this crazy alternative universe, aka the Covid Pandemic? Many of us have made adaptations to our “new” way of living and learned a lot about ourselves, what makes us happy, what fulfills us, what our priorities are. The beginning of a new year always makes me reflective of the past year and entertain the possibilities of the new year. While I am not a person who makes resolutions, I do LOVE goals. I spent my little “staycation” these past three days setting my goals for this year. I have a few on my list, like running the NYC Half Marathon with my daughter in March and beginning to clean out the boxes and boxes of photos that I have stored away, organizing and tossing out bad or duplicate pictures. I have my training plan in place for the race and I have a goal of 1/2 a box every weekend from now until the end of April. Do you have any goals for this new year? I know you know this already, but when setting goals, make sure that they are SMART.

Our last half marathon, 3 years ago!

Specific.  Specific refers to what you are going to do.  Use action words such as exercise, eat, and coordinate.  Think about why you are choosing this particular goal.  A good idea of a SPECIFIC goal is: I am going to walk 3 miles in 45 minutes by March 1st.

Measurable.  If you can measure it, you can’t manage it.  Choose a goal with measurable progress.  You may have a long-term goal, but have smaller measurable steps along the way.  For example, if you want to run a 6-mile race in the spring, you should set your training program to build your mileage each week.  

Achievable.  Set goals that are achievable for YOU and you only.  Your friend may want to run a marathon in May.  This may not be important or attainable for you.  You may need to set a goal of running a 5k in September!

Realistic.  This does not mean easy.  It means Do-able.  Set the bar high enough to feel satisfied when you attain your goal, but not so high that the thought of your goal is overwhelming.  For example, rather than setting a goal not to eat sweets all month, it may be more realistic to set a goal to eat only one sweet per week.

Timely.  Set a time frame for your goal.  Next week, next month, by spring.  Putting a clear target in front of you gives you something to work toward and allows you start on it right away.  Remember though, if your time is more than a few weeks in the distance, set interim goals to get you there.

 I would love to hear from you about your goals for YOU in 2022. Good luck and let us know how we can help.

Is September is the New January?

Recently I was reading a blog post by one of my favorite authors and self help gurus, Gretchen Rubin. She discusses September as another January, a clean slate on which we can write new possibilities. To many of us, September IS like January. Through years of schooling we have been conditioned to think of September as a chance for renewal. Our vacations are over, a new season is upon us. Is this September different? Our lives have been upended for six months now. I know I have gone through peaks and valleys of my mood, my eating and my exercise motivation. Last year at this time I was training for the Gulf Coast Half Marathon with my daughter, feeling lean and fit and strong. Now it feels like every run is LONG enough. But while September will more than likely not return us to the life we knew before quarantine, I BELIEVE we can use it as a beginning. To begin to refocus on some of the things we may have let fall to the wayside as we began to suffer from quarantine fatigue. September FEELS like a good time to make a RESET. Perhaps with the change of temperature, we can get outdoors and exercise more, maybe meet a friend for a social distancing exercise session. With the onset of autumn vegetables, maybe we can be motivated to try new, healthy recipes and focus on the weight we wanted to lose when the change of habits in quarantine interrupted us. Perhaps we can add the virtual workout that we have lacked the motivation to find the time and space for, whether it is a class or a private session. Whatever the change you want to make now that we have seen the summer go by, in the words of Gretchen Rubin, “ September gives the same feeling of an empty calendar and a clean slate”. The air seems charged with possibility and renewal.” I am going to challenge myself, and I encourage you to challenge yourself, to add something to make your life healthier and happier. And, as always, I am here to help you in any way you need. Think about it.

Link to the original post by Gretchen Rubin:

https://www.betterapp.us/posts/7882769?notification_id=888754193&utm_campaign=notification_space_post_create_notify_all&utm_medium=email&utm_source=transactional_emails

It's Never Too Late!

This morning a client sent me this quote from F Scott Fitzgerald (although there is some debate who actually said this originally). This quote struck me as so relevant to the times we are living in. Having been working with many of you over the past 18 weeks of “quarantine life” I know that many people have felt as if their life has been put on hold. Many people have been waiting for the gyms to open to get their healthy lifestyles back. They are waiting for the time to be right to focus on their nutrition, waiting until covid-19 is under control to quit drinking, quit smoking, get to bed earlier, start meditating, etc. Well, it does not look like our lives will be quite normal for the foreseeable future! So if you have been “WAITING” for the time to be RIGHT, now may be the RIGHT time for you to make a positive change in your life for your health’s sake. While APF is not open for IN PERSON training, we are still taking on clients virtually for training or coaching . Health coaching is a great benefit for those of you who may be having a hard time staying motivated and sticking to your plan on your own. Paulo & I still do not know when we will feel comfortable opening the doors to our gym given that we cannot even get our kids in school here in Virginia but we are working daily to make our clients lives healthier and happier. Let us know if we can help you.

Life is Good in Your 50s!

As 2018 rolled in, I began to reflect on how good life can be when you are in your 50’s and 60’s!  We as women generally have more time to devote to our personal care.  If you have had children and are not an emptynester, (and I am not!) chances are your children are old enough to do most of their self-care, drive to their sport or music practices and help out with chores around the house.  That opens up time that we had spent earlier in our life, caring for pre-school and elementary school children.  Even if you work a full time job (and I do!) you can take more time before and after work to do the things you could not do when you were getting children up and fixing their meals.  If you have never had children, chances are your career is established and you can negotiate time for self-care.  The 50’s and 60’s truly ARE the decade to dedicate time to ourselves.  We are wiser, have more free time and ready to prioritize ourselves.

For this New Year, my list of goals hasn't changed much, but I am making them more specific. I am still going to focus on my distance running by picking two half marathons to train for. I will focus on strength training 3-4 days per week with a four-week program set out each month.  I am going to set aside time to practice my meditation and mindfulness daily.  And I am going to continue to grow my knowledge in our plant based eating through reading, research and following the example of several leaders in this field. 

I would love to have you join me in this challenge for 2018.  Remember to make SMART GOALS:

Specific.  Specific refers to what you are going to do.  Use action words such as exercise, eat, and coordinate.  Think about why you are choosing this particular goal.  A good idea of a SPECIFIC goal is: I am going to walk 3 miles in 45 minutes by March 1st.

Measurable.  If you can measure it, you can’t manage it.  Choose a goal with measurable progress.  You may have a long-term goal, but have smaller measurable steps along the way.  For example, if you want to run a 6-mile race in the spring, you should set your training program to build your mileage each week.  

Achievable.  Set goals that are achievable for YOU and you only.  Your friend may want to run a marathon in May.  This may not be important or attainable for you.  You may need to set a goal of running a 5k in March.

Realistic.  This does not mean easy.  It means Do-able.  Set the bar high enough to feel satisfied when you attain your goal, but not so high that the thought of your goal is overwhelming.  For example, rather than setting a goal not to eat sweets all month, it may be more realistic to set a goal to eat only one sweet per week.

Timely.  Set a time frame for your goal.  Next week, next month, by spring.  Putting a clear target in front of you gives you something to work toward and allows you start on it right away.  Remember though, if your time is more than a few weeks in the distance, set interim goals to get you there.

 I would love to hear from you about your goals for YOU in 2018. Good luck and let me know how I can help.