… RUN FOREST…RUN!…

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In 2015 what is it that you want to accomplish?

C’mon…think realistically.

Yes, everyone wants to do the cliche “Lose weight”… “Eat healthy”…”Be more active”. Those are all great goals! But…I challenge you to be more specific.

I am not saying that you have to run a marathon.  Or complete a Tough Mudder.  But, what is it that you REALLY want to do?

I saw this question on a friends facebook status and it evoked a lot of thoughts and questions that I started to ask myself. In 2014 I accomplished every physical goal that I set for myself.  So now what do I strive for in 2015?

Losing weight

This is always a sensitive subject for me and for the clients that I work with. I try to challenge all of my clients to STOP weighing themselves.  YES STOP IT! So many people let the numbers on the scale define who they are or the type of progress they are making.  The number on the scale is NOT a true indication of your success.  There are so many other things that you can monitor and track that are more beneficial and more accurate.  Things like the inches you are losing around your waist…or your body fat percentage.  We have to recondition our minds to think of other variables as valuable tools to help us track our progress.

Setting realistic goals

I challenge all of my clients to find something to work towards.  Something that is not a number that can be traced by a scale.  Some people pick a local 5k, an obstacle race, or some other endurance event.  Some people pick things such as wanting to be able to lift a certain amount of weight, being able to jump a certain height, or being able to sustain a certain exercise for a length of time.  These are all great REALISTIC goals.  You have to find something that you want to do and something that you can continue to work towards.

Lifestyle change

Reaching your goals is about making a lifestyle change.  It is not about a 30….60….90 day challenge that you can accomplish and then go back to your old habits.  Working towards your goals should allow you to understand and adopt healthier habits that you can carry with you even after you create your goal.  These habits include things such as learning what types of meal options to pick from when you go out to eat, what types of food to purchase and keep around the house (especially when you have a sweet tooth), setting a routine that will allow you stay active.  You have to adopt a new lifestyle to reach your goals and to continue to move past them.  Nothing makes my heart cry unless I have a client that works so hard for a month or so and then they revert back to their old habits and lose all of the progress that they made.  Just because you reach your goals does not mean you stop.  KEEP GOING! Set new goals and keep crushing them! It is about consistency and moving forward.

Rewards

This is my FAVORITE part about setting goals.  Setting a reward to have when you reach those goals. Some people do not like the idea of rewarding your efforts to reach your goal. But, I do!  Why not allow yourself something you have wanted after you work 30…60…90 days towards a goal.  I actually use my fitness goals as a way to build towards my savings goal.  Each week I will also set aside a certain amount of money (you can read about it HERE).  Set aside money while you work towards your goals. When you reach your goals, you will have money to use towards your reward.  So it is a win-win situation!

Getting healthy and fit is not something that will happen over night.  You will have times where you will want to relax and not workout.  There will be days you will want to indulge in some food that is not apart of your healthy eating plan. The struggle will be to keep fighting on the days that you are wanting to give up.  The struggle will be sacrificing happy hour with your friends with time in the gym.  You do not have to give up everything but, you will have to find a balance.  Yes, YOU CAN DO IT!

…Product Review: AvalancheProtien Bar…

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Over the past few months, I have been able to come across so many new and interesting protein bars. For those of us who have busy lifestyles, it is sometimes helpful to have quick and healthy snack and meal options to have handy to help keep us on track with our health and fitness goals.

Today I would like to talk about another protein bar that is on my favorite list.  I had the pleasure of getting to try these bars for a review to share with all of you. Avalanche protein bars is a delicious, natural and nutritious protein bar that can be enjoyed by you (or any member of your family).  Avalanche nut free protein bars contain healthy ingredients: rolled oats, toasted sunflower kernels, flax seed, dried fruit, whey protein, and honey.  These bars are classified as protein bars BUT they are without tree nuts or peanuts.  So this is a great bar for those who may have a nut allergy.

Overall Comments:

I was very surprised at the flavor of these bars.  I will not lie, when I first looked at these bars I did not have a lot of expectations.  They look like typical bars that “your friends make on a Saturday night when they were bored”.  But the flavor…is something I know that me nor my friends can imitate. Blueberry vanilla was by far my favorite bar from this company.  It was packed with amazing flavor.  Not too sweet and very filling. Cranberry Pineapple came in a close 2nd place, and Caramel Espresso was in 3rd place. All of the bars were delicious but the three that I listed were my top flavors.

The only negative thing I have to say about these bars is that they do not have as much protein as I would like.  The bars have about 10 g of protein and about 35+ g of carbs.  This is not terrible but I do with that there was more protein in these bars. There is about 10+ g of fat, which is not bad but still a little higher than I would like.  If you track your own macronutriens, you will have to make sure to account for these values when planning your meals for the day.

Quality for price:

You can purchase these bars for $2.50 a bar or $14 for a box  of 6 bars.  This price for the quality of protein bar is very comparable to other bars that are on the market.  Most bars that I regularly purchase range in price from $1.75 to $3.00.  This is a great price for the size (82g) protein bar.

Smell/Taste:

Like stated previously, the taste of these bars was pretty amazing.  It was full of flavor.  They did not leave a stale or undesirable after taste.  They were not overly sweet.  They provided enough flavor to leave you satisfied once you were done consuming the bar.

Ranking Scale: (on a scale from 1-5)

Price: 4.3

Overall Taste: 4.0

Quality for Price: 4.5

Overall Ranking: 4.3

If you are looking for a great bar to add to your health plan, this is a great option.  Great price, great taste, and well worth every penny you spend.  I would have to say I am a big fan of this bar and look forward to purchasing more!

…Non-Fitness Challenge: 52 week Money saving challenge…

52weekSaveMoneyChallenge2014 for me was filled with trips to 9 different states, great memories with new friends, and a strict budget that allowed me to do all of those things.

When I decided I wanted to travel more extensively, I had to come up with a plan to ensure that I would be able to do all of the things that I wanted to do.  With a bulk of my trips being towards the end of the year it only made sense for me to start planning financially at the start of the years (this time of year to be exact).

I highly suggest something like this for those of you who always think or say “I just do not have enough money to go on a trip”. Or…”I would really love to go to…”.  I feel that saving up for a trip is always the hardest part.  We get so caught up in the things that we have to pay for (such as bills and living essentials) that we forget to plan fun things to do outside of our normal routine. We also get caught up in the things that we want to buy (like shoes…clothes…etc.).  Creating a budget and sticking with it can allow you to still enjoy the things that you need and want.  It also lets you plan for things such as vacations.  You can even create this type of savings jar to save up for something big that you want (like a down payment for a new car or new TV for your home).  You have to create a plan! That is the key.

What I did was I got a BIG jar.  I found this big mason jar at a 2nd hand store for $5.  I then printed this following image that I found on the internet:

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And once I had these two items, I just started saving.  I would actually try to follow the chart BUT I would also put MORE money in the jar if I had it.  I would find that each week I would clean out my purse with the extra change and loose dollars that I had collected. Each week I would add the suggested amount and then cross it off of the list. To ensure that I did not get tempted to use this money (and to keep it out of sight just in case I had guest over) I placed the jar in the BACK of my closet.  Each week I would just reach in, open the lid, and drop the money in.  I would not even look to see how much was collected.

I knew that the bulk of my trips were at the end of the year so I tried to add extra earlier in this process because as the year progresses you are supposed to add more money each week.  Some weeks I was not able to add the full $50 or $40.  But, since I knew I had added an extra $10…$15 earlier in the year it offset the weeks that I was not able to put the full amount in.

Here is the end result of my savings jar…

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After only being able to save for 48 weeks, when I went to the bank to cash my jar in I was happily surprised to find $1,091 saved up.

I was able use this saved money to help pay for things while I was on my trips.  I was able to enjoy being in the new cities, eating good meals, visiting amazing monuments and just doing what I wanted without the worry of not being able to afford it.  I even had money left over after my trips that I was able to use some of the saved money for traveling home for Christmas and to use for Christmas gift.

Saving a little each week can yield a nice sum of money for you to use when you need it. It is never too late to start something like this! I have already started adding a new collection of coins and cash in my jar for big trips that I hope to have at the end of this year.

If you want to do something bad enough you will do what it takes to make it happen.  Even if it takes a little time, you can always accomplish and do ANYTHING that you want.  It just takes time, persistence, and patience!