"People with goals succeed because they know where they are going."- February goals 2014.

February has already come and gone, but if you live in Indiana... you probably aren't too upset about! I know I can't wait for Spring and am ready to have a little warmer weather in my future. If you haven't read my 2014 goals, go ahead and read that first (2014 Goals) as this blog will be a review of how I did reaching my 2014 goals in February :)

Career goals.

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

Yesterday marked my 90 days with NIFS! I had my 90 day review with my supervisor and she had nothing but positive remarks about my performance so far! Many of the managers had given her positive feedback along with several members of different sites I have been at so far! We set a couple professional goals over the next year and I'm excited to get to work on those including 4 blog posts of a topic of my choice (that should be easy enough as I love to blog!) and creating an incentive program for a site of my choosing. I am excited to continue to grow in this position and love what I do everyday.

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

This goal wasn't (yet) achieved. On the positive side, our business is at a solid Silver level (which pays on average $1,000 a month) We are consistently hitting this level every two weeks in our business nearly effortlessly. An amazing part of Advocare is that you are paid for work you may have done yesterday, last month, or last year! Although we aren't at the level we want to be, I'm not quitting and will get there by helping more families reach success! 

Wifey Goals.

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

I nailed this goal in February! I meal prepped every Sunday all our lunches for the week along with 4 dinners. We have eaten very healthy the past month and Barry and I can both tell a big difference in how we feel. Eating healthy is a lot easier if you have your meals prepped and ready to go, along with prepared snacks for every 2-3 hours to stay on top of hunger. My goal in March is to get more creative with our meals.. you can only eat so much brown rice, chicken, and broccoli :)

                        

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

As cute and as proud as I am of my weekly cleaning schedule, this goal wasn't a huge success in February. When the week gets going and we both are busy, the daily cleaning schedule goes right out the window! My goal is to have all our cleaning and laundry done before Saturday evening so we don't have anything to do on Sundays, but lately that is pretty much all we have done! (fail) After I cleaned the house and Barry finished all laundry this Sunday, I am back on our plan this week! In March, my goal is to do 20-30 minutes of daily cleaning everyday (Wish me luck!) 

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

Since starting our Total Money Makeover in November 2013, we have used the envelope system which has dramatically helped us reduce our spending. Have you ever thought about how much money you spend each month eating out? What about on random trips to grab a coffee or snack? (Yikes! I challenge you to add it up)  When we realized we wanted to be Debt Free, we knew we would have to make many sacrifices to get to this goal. We now tell our money where to go instead of wondering where it went. Since going to Aldi's and Costco more, I haven't had to clip coupons either! Win Win!

I needed my envelopes to be cute this month! Makes budgeting more fun :)

Fitness Goals:

I made great strides in my fitness goals during February.  (there wasn't much else to do in this freezing cold weather! LOL) I worked out consistently, (5-6 days a week for 45 min to an hour) ate very healthy, and drank at least a gallon of water nearly everyday this month. My progress is mainly in my body fat percentage as my weight is nearly the same it was a year ago! (Get off that scale and check your body fat percentage instead!)

My body fat is around 16%-17% which is my goal.

 I could care less what the scale says when I see results like this picture below!

February 2013 on left vs March 1st, 2014 on right

My fitness goals in March are to continue to maintain these results while increasing muscle definition, especially in my arms! I have increased my weights, reduced my cardio, and been consistent taking my performance elite products from Advocare!

I'd love to hear back from you all! What goals are you rocking in 2014 and which ones are you struggling with? Let me know in the comments below and we can motivate each other!

Look for Part Two later this week :) 

XOXO- Sarah 

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!