January Goals...How did I do? ((Part 1))

January.. A New Year, fresh start! Such a great time of reflection, resolutions, and goal setting! This January, I started off the year with very specific goals. Each month in 2014 I want to do a "Month in Review" to see how I did. What are the highlights of each month and how can I do better in the following month. It's easy to set goals, but sticking to them daily, weekly, and monthly is a whole different story.

 Let's start with my career goals...

1. Master my new position as a Health Fitness Specialist in Coverage with NIFS.

Almost two months into my new career from commercial fitness to corporate fitness, I am loving the change. I have five years of full-time experience as a Personal Trainer, yet had zero experience in any other aspect of the fitness industry. I started to worry that I would be a 45 year old trainer, working 12 hour days, for mainly all commission. (No thanks!) Corporate fitness is a lot less stressful than my previous jobs. I have zero sales requirements and I'm paid a salary. (for the first time in my life) I have paid days off, sick days, vacation days, etc! I was even paid for the two days we had the Blizzard of 2014, just a couple weeks ago. I am working to continue learning more group fitness classes and becoming more comfortable in this new setting.

2. Build my Advocare business to the Gold level by February 2014. 

"Oh, you're halfway there!" Our team has exploded in January! We are halfway to Gold, which on average, pays more than my full-time salary! Hitting this level means so much for our family. It gives us choices. I will have the choice to quit my job, pay off our debt even sooner, and raise our future baby bears while still contributing to our household income. Advocare was first about us, but now about how many families we can impact and help them to reach their goals.!

Wifey Goals:

1. Prep all 10 of our lunches for the week every Sunday and plan out our week

We are about 50/50 on this one! We had a long weekend trip to Columbus, OH for Success School the weekend of the 18th and we didn't sit down to relax until 7pm Sunday evening. There were no pre-prepped meals that week which always results in poorer eating habits and increased spending. This past Sunday I prepped all 10 lunches for Barry and I and have our dinners planned (& it only took me 1 hour) BOOM!

this is not my actual prep lol- mine isn't this pretty ;)

2. Have a house cleaning schedule and perform 20-25 min of daily cleaning

Just yesterday I finally created our daily cleaning schedule! I'm so proud of it :) When I follow this, I keep a clean(er) house and don't spend all weekend doing loads of laundry..(ok Barry isn't doing loads of laundry all weekend) and cleaning! I'm excited to get back into this routine.

3. Reduce our spending (ex. coupons, sales, etc)

I've completely slacked in this goal. I don't even have a good excuse! We did hit our grocery budget goal with a whooping $4 left (WIN!) and I didn't use a single coupon. We buy our meat/bigger items at Costco and the basic essential at Kroger. Most coupons are for name brand items, but we typically buy the cheaper no-name brand (that is cheaper than using a coupon). This is one of my goals in February... get better at planning out grocery shopping, coupons in hand, and ready to save $$

Fitness Goals:

This is obviously one of my favorite topics.. and could ramble on all day about my goals in fitness, but since trying to make a small human has taken priority, my fitness goals aren't super exciting. I thought about training again for the Mini Marathon and running that for my 3rd time this May, but assummed I would be pregnant (5-6 months along) and wouldn't want to risk tripping and falling. (My mother has called me Grace for many years for a reason) I read a couple articles stating that optimal body fat is 20% for conceiving... I maybe allowed it to get to 21-22% before I couldn't handle it and started an Advocare 10 day Cleanse post Holidays to rid me of this extra weight. My doctor said my body fat and weight are perfectly healthy, so until I hear otherwise I would like to maintain a weight of 125-128 and 18% body fat. I am not quite there as of today, but that is my goal by the end of February.

What are your goals for 2014? How do you keep yourself on track? Do you have a friend/spouse/co-worker that is an accountability partner? I'd love to hear tips from you all :) Until next time!