Do you have health goals for this year? Defining goals and then sharing them is incredibly motivating. Yep, sticking to them is the hard part…but the first step is defining goals. Here is a few of our 2014 goals…

KAREN:
My health goal in regards to working out is to vary my workouts with HIIT, pilates, and yoga on the days I don’t go running. I’ve been finding some great workouts and health videos for free online from BLOGILATES, TONEITUP, and FITNESS BLENDER. I love these videos because I usually have sore muscles the next day, and they are challenging. I don’t like workouts that don’t make me sweat. My health goals also include continuing to eat vegetables with every meal, remembering to put some apple cider vinegar and dash of red pepper in my water more often, and every Sunday afternoon plan out my family’s meals for the week that will be nourishing to them and will make me excited to cook them. Some favorite sites of mine for recipes include GREEN KITCHEN STORIES, HOW SWEET IT IS, and THIS RAWSOME VEGAN LIFE for her desserts!

KATHLEEN:
I have several different health goals for this coming year – one of which is to make my own bread instead of buying it from the grocery store. When I finally read the ingredient list on my store-bought bread I was sad to find it contained not just sugar, but a long list of ingredients I didn’t recognize. How strange, when bread is such a simple food. However, in the past, making my own bread on a regular basis always sounded overwhelming and time consuming, but for Christmas my mother-in-law gave me a wonderful book called ARTISAN BREAD IN FIVE MINUTES and with the guidance and recipes from this book, I have been making my own bread regularly without even thinking about it for the past three weeks. It’s a wonderful and grounding practice to work with dough and the smell of freshly baked bread is nearly divine.

GRACE:
Every year I always have the same basic goals for health: exercise more, eat better, and drink more water! All of those basic goals still apply this year but I want them become a lifestyle even-more-so. I want to be more disciplined in every area and be intentional about every goal I have. I want to exercise without thinking twice and I want to enjoy it. I recently found some great workouts from TRACY ANDERSON, I actually really enjoy them. I want to try new recipes and eat clean. Less caffeine and more water. I am really trying hard to drink half of my body weight in ounces everyday!

ANDREA:

For my 2014 health resolutions I’m trying to keep it simple! I want to make sure I getting my daily-recommended 9 cups of water and a multivitamin. I want to keep logging my food diary into My Fitness Pal. This will help with my goal of not eating out or eating candy after dinnertime (candy is my biggest vice by a long shot). I’m going to eat more fruits and vegetables with meals and for snacks. I am working hard to become a good lap swimmer….and I hope to perfect the “freestyle” early this year. I want to “tone it up” by focusing on swimming, pilates, and yoga for my daily workouts. Once it gets warm I’m going to walk places with the kids (rather than drive) whenever I can to incorporate more exercise and sunshine into our daily routine.

CHAR:

I always feel best when I exercise, eat right, and get a good’s night sleep…so my health goals are simply what makes be feel good. Getting enough of sleep and exercise….is always the bugger for me. They take TIME and well, if I am tight on time these two areas suffer. :/ The reason I love to exercise is it benefits me mentally as much as physically. It clears my head, I can think better, and have better perspective. This year, me and my husband are planning to train and run the ODDYSSEY HALF MARATHON. Having a goal and accountability is key to me getting it done. I can’t wait until the weather turns warmer and we can get out there and start training….baby stroller and all.:)

A

2014…let’s make this a good one!!!