Achievable New Year's Resolutions

Written with love, by Kim Riegel

Happy 2015! Another year has come and gone. Now it's time for fresh starts and making resolutions for things to change in the new year. Whether it is that goal to lose 10 pounds, work out more, eat better, or not to get too stressed out when planning your wedding, this is that time of the year to set goal for yourself!

Setting a goal is wonderful. The problem is how many years go by and those goals are never achieved for one reason or the next. While the intentions are good, the actions may never properly follow through to fully achieve that goal. Maybe the goal is too broad, or too big, or the timeframe is too small, and what is needed to achieve the long-term goal is to set up small, achievable little goals! If you are getting married this year, maybe a goal you have set for yourself is to lose weight and tone up for the wedding. While that all sounds great, that is a broad goal. The best way to achieve a big goal is to achieve small ones along the way.

Broad Goals are A BIG No-No

Instead of wanting to lose weight and tone up, a specific goal would be to lose 10 pounds in six months and lift weights two times a week. Now you have something tangible to work with. In fact, you can even break it down more and set tiny goals such as losing 2 pounds a month and lifting weights eight days a month. Now you have set a very achievable, realistic small goal that could help you achieve the overall final resolution.

Hold Yourself Accountable

By holding yourself accountable and achieving small specific goals, this will show you are able to move on the path towards the big goal with the motivation to continue on.  You see that dress on the hanger and are motivated to look and feel your best on that wedding day. Make small achievable goals! The wedding day is the big goal, the final outcome where all of your hard work will pay off! Write your big resolution down. Track your small achievable goals. Make the small goals set in a reasonable time frame so when you achieve them you will feel motivated to continue on!

A lot of people fail on their quest to fulfill resolutions because they don't know how to realistically get there or just give up. People give up when they don't see results. Results are achieved by hard work and holding yourself accountable. You can achieve anything you set your mind to!

So go ahead and make that wedding day resolution for 2015! Set up your monthly goals. Track all of your hard work. Keep motivated and reward yourself for your monthly goals. Before you know it, you will be there.

Happy goal making!

Rice Noodle Vegetable Salad Recipe

Written with love, by Rebecca Fisher

Can you believe it? It's that time of year again where everyone has to have a resolution.

Have you figured out what yours is? Is it the same as last year? Is it getting your best body back but for real this time, because of that all-important-big-day?  Well here's a thought for you...why not ReNew You in a whole new way?!  

First things first, be courageous and do a personal review. An assessment of sorts. Think about how you were in 2014 and what worked well for you and what didn't. How did you approach your personal approach to fitness? How about your self-care? What was your typical diet? If you could ReInvent yourself and raise the level of all of those things, how would you do it? It's your life, these are all of your decisions to make. 

What I know is that I make the decision to wake up every day feeling amazing and I know that has to start with Me! And in this case, YOU! 

So take control of the things you actually have control of. No more stressing about the wedding planning! Decide to feed your body wonderful, healthy food that revitalizes and makes you feel like you took care of yourself. Take responsibility for your health! Cut back on the toxic sugar and increase your water intake! Start experimenting with things like Kefir! It will be a positive step in claiming a new level of health. Kefir will give you renewed energy by eliminating bacteria in your digestive tract and up your immunity. Google it! You can make your own (yes there are recipes online, or schedule an online or phone appointment with yours truly  for a nutrition consultation and design a New You for 2015!)

You're getting married, right? Why not bring the very best you on every level to your spouse on a daily basis, as a measure of your love and commitment?! 

I'm going to start you off on the right foot in this amazing new beginning of 2015!  As my gift to you, I'm sharing one of my favorite "Clean -Eating" recipes! 

"Clean Eating" means keeping your food in it's most natural form, cooking it or eating it preservative free, without heavy, fat laden sauces that cover up the fresh, natural flavors of the ingredients!

Here's a twist on one of my favorite Thai salad recipes, full of texture and flavor! Add, chicken, salmon or your favorite protein, or simply leave it as is...vegetarian! It's easy to double the recipe and enjoy throughout the week! 

Rice Noodle Vegetable Salad with Edamame

Ingredients

Makes 5 servings, 2 cups each.

• 1 10- to 12-ounce package frozen shelled edamame
• 8 ounces thin rice noodles or rice sticks (see tip)
• 3/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tablespoons light olive oil 
• 2 tablespoons sugar or agave
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 tsp fish sauce (optional)
• Dash of red bell pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion or green onion (your preference)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 cup lightly salted peanuts, chopped, divided
• I tsp Eden Organic Seaweed, Sesame seed and Sea Salt spice blend (Gomasio)

**Tip: Dried thin rice noodles (or rice sticks) are also called “mai fun,” “bun” or “vermicelli-style” rice noodles. Look for them in the Asian section of well-stocked supermarkets or an Asian-foods market.

Preparation

1.     Whisk vinegar, oil, sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and salt in a large bowl.

2. Add the edamame, rice noodles, seaweed seasoning, carrots, bell pepper, red bell pepper flakes, onion, cilantro, mint and 1/4 cup peanuts.

3. Toss well to combine.

4. Serve sprinkled with the remaining peanuts.

5. Make ahead, cover and refrigerate and eat within 2-3 days if possible.       

Rock Your Resolution

Written with love, by Leah Bahrencu

The biggest eating holidays are over.  Now what?  It’s time to get back on track.  Did you know only 8% of people that set a resolution actually achieve their goals?  92% of people have good intentions but just abandon them after a few weeks or so.  Well that will not be you, not this time - the year 2015 is the year to ROCK your RESOLUTION and to ROCK that wedding dress.

So here are some ways to achieve your goals in 2015.

Keep your goals simple. 

Typically people like to make elaborate goals or bucket lists. It doesn’t mean you can’t dream big, but setting smaller more attainable goals more frequently allows you to see progress and to actually achieve them.

Set SMART goals.

SPECIFIC // Be as specific as possible.  DO NOT just say, "I want to lose 20 lbs" or "I want to look good in my wedding dress."  Write down something with meaning and write it as if you have already achieved it.

        Example: "I look and feel amazing in my wedding dress. I even had to get it altered to fit properly."

MEASURABLE // This needs to be numerical.  You need to be able to measure your success.  Someone should be able to evaluate whether or not you achieved your goal.  So for health and fitness you can set an example of how many days a week you will work out, or how many hours of sleep you will get a night. 

ACHIEVABLE // Make sure it’s achievable. Do not set yourself up for failure when it comes to this. Say your wedding is in 2 months and you want to lose 30lbs, well honestly that might not be as achievable as you expect. It isn’t impossible, but it is very unrealistic and unsafe. Make sure your goals are safe and consistent with your priorities. 

REWARDING // What are the rewards correlated to your goals?

        Example: Since I’m working out 5 days a week, I will be stronger and more confident.

TIME BASED // You should set specific deadlines or dates in which to achieve these goals.  This will help you stay focused on your goals.

POSTED // Post your goals somewhere you will see them daily!  Stick them on your fridge or your bathroom mirror.  The constant reminder will keep the goals on top of your mind and anyone else in your household can see them and help you stay accountable.

Make health and fitness part of your lifestyle, not just your resolution.

Oftentimes couples focus so much on getting fit for the wedding that once the big day has passed, all their goals and hard work go out the window. 

When you merge your lives together, you change your lifestyle.  There may be more eating out, making lavish meals for your significant other, eating the same amount of food as your new hubby, or working out isn’t as much of a priority as it used to be.  Your mindset is that you accomplished your goal of looking good for the big day, but you didn’t think about all the days after and didn’t set any goals for that.

So just like you did in pre-married life, set goals together as a family.  Meal plan, plan your workouts, be mindful of your eating out trips. Don’t forget ladies, men are built differently than us. They may be able to eat more than us and can have many bad habits and not be affected (visually) by it, so don’t allow that to sway you away from your progress.

INVEST in your health

I completely understand budgeting for a wedding, paying your everyday bills and paying for fitness classes or a trainer is not always feasible.  However, I do know that the more you invest in your health and fitness, the more you will stick to it. This could be anything from buying a mat, stability ball and some weights, joining a gym, hiring a personal trainer, or purchasing a home workout program. No matter what it may be and depending on what works for you, invest in your health and fitness.

Start a dollar jar: Put $1 in for every scheduled workout you complete.  This is a great way to save up some money and use it to reward yourself with a new workout outfit, workout gear, mani/pedi, etc. for staying on top of your goals.

ACCOUNTABILITY

This is the BIGGEST key to success.  Before I started my health and fitness journey, I did not have accountability and I failed miserably. I am not saying everyone fails, but typically most people do if no one is holding you accountable. So I joined an accountability group and since that day, I have not looked back. Having a group of people to hold you accountable can be a game changer.  You don’t want to let them down by not sticking to what you committed.  So find an accountability partner or a group of fit friends.  You DO NOT have to do this alone. 

Every month, I host fitness accountability groups.  They focus on fitness, nutrition and support. I share recipes, fit/nutrition tips, and motivation during your journey.  If you are interested in one of the groups please fill out this application to join my current group and to get a FREE 5 day Meal Plan.