Plans for 2013

As with every New Year we go through the process of thinking about what resolutions we want to set for ourselves. I’m no different and starting thinking about it in mid-December. So I started to make a list and realized it’s pretty much the same things as it is every year:

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And the more I thought about it, the more I realized it just isn’t for me. By this past March I couldn’t even remember what my 2012 goals were.

Yes, there are specific tasks and projects that I want to accomplish like:

1. Take a Photoshop class
2. Learn to breathe on both sides when swimming
3. Write more Yelp reviews

But there are also non-tangible lifestyle changes that I want to make.

Some of my goals won’t be easy so I decided that this year, instead of setting ominous resolutions that I’ll forget in eight weeks, I’m going to do things incrementally and attempt to do 30-day challenges each month and see how it works out for me.

To start off the year, I’ve set two challenges for January:

1. Stop Eating Refined Sugars

I would ultimately like to cutout processed foods altogether. I did it once five years ago and only lasted three months. It’s really, really hard to do so I figured I’d start with refined sugars first.

I’m sure you can guess that this one came as a result of holiday treats. Having adopted a gluten-free lifestyle made it really easy to say no to a lot of Christmas cookies. But pies, well that’s just my weakness, and visits to Zest, the local gluten-free bakery didn’t help either. Needless to say that over the course of my vacation week I ate all but one piece of the Cranberry Apple pie. I felt like I needed a detox – stat!

I researched sugar detox programs and most of them were very strict. I’m not interested in cutting out fruits so I decided to just eliminate refined sugars. As of January 1st, no more pies, cookies, frozen yogurts (my other weakness), etc.

I’ve always wondered how my body would respond if I eliminated refined sugars completely so I’m intrigued to see what happens and more importantly how I’ll feel.

(realistically, I hope I make it 7 days…)

2. Practice Pilates or Yoga for 20-minutes daily

Also during vacation my cousin Jenna and I did 20-minute Winsor Pilates and Jillian Michaels’ workouts. I realized what a great workout you can get in just 20-minutes! I also know how much my body needs (and enjoys Pilates) so I’m going to attempt to spend 20-minutes doing it (or yoga) every day for a month.

I got burnt out on yoga but I do realize how desperately I need it so perhaps doing 20-minute Video On Demand workouts vs. 60-90 minute classes will rejuvenate my desire to practice it again.

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It’s my hope that by focusing on just 1-2 things each month I can achieve these challenges and adopt the lifestyle changes that I’m aiming for.

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What lifestyle changes are you planning to make?

Tagged as: 30-Day Challenges, Goals, LIfe