How to STOP binge eating

Binge eating is something that more people struggle with than we think! I have personally struggled for years and have become more vocal about it lately because I truly don’t want ANYONE to feel alone in this struggle. It is something that can be hard to overcome, and the journey is up and down, but here are some steps I took to stop binge eating. They are steps I work on with my clients as well as helping them find their sweet spot of living a nourished life and enjoying food freedom all at once!

1. I started EATING MORE. Yep. I started eating MORE food. I ate more nourishing, real, whole foods and felt energized and satisfied daily. A big trigger for binge eating is hunger and deprivation. So I stopped letting myself go hungry or depriving myself of food. I ensured that each and every meal and snack had staying power and filled up my body.

2. I stopped feeling guilty. Another big trigger for binge eating, even more than hunger, is GUILT. If I did have a cookie or two, I refused to feel guilty and I moved on. If I let guilt set in, that would inevitably get me to feel like a failure. I’d convince myself that I already messed up so why not keep eating more? Stopping the guilt it its tracks stopped the possible binge. And that was the most freeing thing of all!

3. I stopped the excuses. I stopped telling myself that I deserved to binge on pizza because of a rough day. Because guess what? I don’t deserve large amounts of junk entering my body. I don’t deserve the food coma and nausea. I don’t deserve feeling sluggish when my babies want to play. I deserve energy, joy, and presence with those around me. I stopped excusing my behavior because of emotions or a bad day. I started giving myself what I TRULY deserved: health, joy, and energy for life. 

These steps take work and practice. They take TIME and grace. They take a lot of hit or miss food experiences that will ultimately get you to your place of living nourished and free. Nourished and Free is a method that teaches you how to truly nourish your body with real, whole foods, and also treat yourself and live in food freedom. It teaches you how to say YES and how to say NO to certain foods. And ultimately, it gives you the confidence to live as the healthy version of yourself that you are craving.

And bonus? As a mom to two girls, I want to teach them that their bodies are incredible. I want to teach them how to honor themselves and honor God through how they care for themselves. And I want them to trust themselves and have the confidence I desperately lacked when in the depths of binge eating. Being a mom is tough, but their little eyes are watching, and I want to be a present mommy instead of one who numbs out her stress with food.

These simple steps transformed my mind, body, and life, and I hope they do the same for you! Comment below if you are going to implement any of these steps and any other questions you may have! I love hearing from you all! And if you want to take your health a step further and work with me 1:1 to reach your goals for your health and mindset, fill out this application and I will get back to you to see if my mentorship is a good fit for us!

Living in the Middle

Extremes can be so tempting for some of us. Extreme ways of living can make us feel secure with their rules and restrictions. And while I do believe rules and restrictions are healthy for us (my personality type is a rule-follower, type A, safe with routine type of person) I also think that living in the middle of extremes can actually be the healthiest thing for us.

Being a dietitian that has worked with many clients, and has been on her own personal journey with food, I have found the most success with my health and my client’s health when we actually get a little LESS strict with our food rules. So instead of focusing on a 100% clean diet, which ultimately can lead to the binge-restrict extremes,  living in that 80% zone helps us stay balanced in the long term.

For example, let’s say you eat perfect meals for 3 weeks straight. You portion everything out, use your calorie counting app, and feel totally in control. You lose 10 lbs and you feel amazing, but you are missing some of your favorite foods, going out with friends, and the freedom to eat what you crave. You then decide to “give in a little” to a craving, go nuts, and binge for 5 days straight. You gain back 12 lbs, feel fluffy and bloated, and basically feel like a failure. This cycle continues, and you go up and down 10-12 lbs every couple months.

For me, this cycle had me going up and down 20-25 lbs every couple months! I had two sets of clothes depending on what weight I was at, and I was so TIRED of living such an inconsistent, extreme life between binging and restricting.

Isn’t it better to live a little less perfectly for the long term, versus living in extremes that leave our body feeling tired, going up and down in weight, and feeling like a failure time and time again?

I finally decided that I’d rather live as a healthy and balanced X lbs instead of living at either X +/- 20 lbs, forcing my body through the never ending and incredible unhealthy rollercoaster.

Let’s let go of these extreme lifestyles and focus on healthy habits that we can implement into our everyday life. For example, some healthy habits I encourage my clients to live by are working out daily, having a vegetable with each meal, and having a salad with dinner every night. These are habits we can ADD to our day, and they will not only nourish us more, but will help us establish a healthier foundation for the long term.

Extremes can be tempting because they promise results and success, but I’d personally rather live a lifestyle of health that includes salads AND pizza, kale AND cookies, and a little bit of middle ground when it comes to our food choices. I believe in living a nourishing LIFE so that you can have the freedom of sweets and treats, while trusting your body to take care of the rest BECAUSE of that heathy foundation you have set. 

This is what I teach my clients with my Nourished & Free Method.  If you want to live a life of nourishment while living in food freedom, click here to learn more about how we can start working together to make this happen.

You CAN build an incredible foundation of health that will allow you more freedom than you know! 

4 Steps towards Food Freedom

Finding food freedom while still trying to live a healthy lifestyle is a delicate balance of nourishing your body with whole, nutrient-rich foods, but also allowing yourself to eat treats, sweets, and other foods that may not be as nourishing to your body, but more nourishing to your mind and soul. A couple of years ago, I developed a style of eating that truly made me feel nourished AND free. I had never felt so free in my food choices, but so healthy at the same time. Unfortunately, this past year, I got sucked back into diet culture, food rules, and found myself in a whirlwind of anxiety and confusion when it came to my food choices. God shook me out of it pretty abruptly and brought me back to a place of freedom with food that I am forever grateful for. My anxiety has been at an all-time low, while feeling the healthiest I have ever felt! I want to bring this nourished and free concept to you all, which is why I started my Nourished & Free community where I counsel and educate clients in a private group and show them ways to develop health habits, not restrict, and find their sweet spot of feeling nourished and free in their own healthy living journey!

If you have a similar story to me and you are sick of the diet, restrict, binge cycle that seems to plague most of us, read on. Here are my four basic steps to starting on your journey with food freedom. I hope they help and inspire you!

Let go of the diet rules, the good and bad foods, or any other labels you’ve put on yourself.

The best way to get started on your journey is to let go of your mental list of “good” or “bad” foods. Yes, some foods have more health benefits than others, and some foods will be more nourishing to your body, but no ONE food or one food experience is going to make or break your health. The stress caused by confusing food decisions will cause more damage to your health than the slice of pizza or side of fries! Unless you have a diagnosed allergy or celiac disease or a food that really affects your health poorly (and that’s not just in your head, more on that later), the best first step towards food freedom is to allow all foods into your lifestyle.

Find a healthy form of movement you enjoy.

The next step would be to find a form of exercise or movement you enjoy. The only way I can get up so early in the morning to workout is because I actually look forward to my morning routine. Remember, our bodies were MADE to move, so we can all find a form of movement that we enjoy. Try out your local yoga or barre studio, join a gym, get some home workouts, or start training for a race. Whatever it is, I truly believe that we can all find a form of movement that we can enjoy a few times a week. I also think it is important to note that exercise alone does not cause weight loss, so we have to find other motivations to workout and move our bodies. Use exercise as self-care, to decrease your anxiety, and to increase your energy and motivation for a day. This will help you stick to a workout routine for reasons other than to see the number on the scale go down.

Add vegetables to your meals and snacks as often as you can.

Vegetables are nutritional powerhouses because of a myriad of reasons. They are full of fiber and water, which help fill you up during your meal. They are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, which help protect your body against disease and energize you. They also can be prepared in SO many ways that there is no excuse anymore to not eat your veggies! I love to add veggies in wherever I can. You can add them to omelets in the morning, snack on carrots or cucumbers at work, always add a side salad to your lunch, and roast up some of your favorite vegetables for dinner. This way, you still feel like you are eating a lot of food (any other volume eaters out there?) but you are also nourishing your body with whole, nutrient-rich foods.

Learn food freedom by incorporating some of your favorite foods and evaluating how they make you FEEL.

Lastly, the best way to start living out food freedom is to start incorporating some “forbidden” foods into your day, and then evaluate how you really feel. Does dairy really cause you to breakout? Does bread really cause you to bloat? A lot of these symptoms are caused by other factors such as stress, lack of sleep, etc. Did you know stress can actually make you feel blaoted too? I started testing this out a few weeks ago and its changed my entire mindset. For example, I decided to start enjoying the free food that work offered, and I realized that I was just as sleepy in the afternoon after having my homemade, paleo free lunch vs. the pizza and salad that work provided. Maybe I was just tired in the afternoon because I am PREGNANT, and not necessarily because of gluten, sugar, etc. While I do believe there is a time and place to make nutritional recommendations and changes based on symptoms, I found that I was overanalyzing every food decision I made and thinking all of my symptoms (anxiety, sleepless nights, a breakout) had to do with the food I was eating. I reality, there is SO much more to health than just our food choices. Sleep, stress, activity levels, financial issues, a life event….ALL of these factors play a role in how you feel as well. I don’t want to undervalue your symptoms, because trust me, they feel very real, and I’ve been there not too long ago. But if you want to experience true freedom with food, know that research is very blurry when it comes to food sensitivities, and there is no real way to prove that a certain food is causing an issue for you because most of us are also under stress, feel sleep deprived, and have other factors contributing to our symptoms. Become an investigator of your own body, and evaluate non-food stressors as well that could be impacting your health.

I hope these simple tips can get you started in your own food freedom journey. Know that life is worth living, and is about so much more than your food rules or what you do or do not eat. You do not have to live in two extremes: being deprived one week and then binging the next. There can be true freedom when it comes to nourishing your body, and if you want to dive into that further, I highly recommend you joining my Nourished & Free community!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Move your body, eat some delicious food, and love on/be present with those around you!

Addition Nutrition

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all had a great week, and a great summer so far. It's been a busy summer for our family, full of vacations, exciting projects, and down time with my little family. Overall though, I am so ready to be out of this crazy California heat that we have been experiencing and can't wait to get into the Fall spirit! Anyone else??

A topic that I’ve been chatting about recently with my Nourished & Free clients is Addition Nutrition. Nowadays, with all the diets out there, the majority of these plans focus on eliminating certain foods and food groups in order to reach your weight loss or health goals. These diets recommend cutting out meat, bread, fruit, fat, and so many other foods that leave many feeling deprived and reaching for junk food on day 3.

Been there, done that.

But, what I have learned lately in my own journey, as well as what I practice with clients, is the idea of addition nutrition. What can we ADD to our plate, our pantry, and our meals to feel healthier and fuel our bodies better? Can we eat more vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, wholesome carbs, and good quality proteins? Can we drink more water, add a salad to each meal, and snack on some vegetables in the afternoon?

OF COURSE WE CAN. It's all about your mindset and how you view healthy living. If you just follow a diet or plan that is a list of "no" foods, you won't be staying on that for very long.

What I try to do to keep my mind right is focus on the abundance of nutritious and satisfying foods that make me feel my best. Then I go buy those things, prepare those meals, and look forward to all the food that I have on my meal plan. I enjoy my meals because I am not coming from a place of deprivation. Rather, I am looking at all the foods I can ADD to my day that nourish me and fill me up.

When we focus on what we CAN have instead of what we CAN’T have, that is where the JOY and freedom lies in a healthy lifestyle. That is when you actually stick to your goals, your meal plan, and finally follow through on your decision to get healthy. What a great mindset to make changes with!

My challenge to you this week is to make a list of all the healthy and nutritious foods you want to start ADDING to your meal plan. Then go to the store and stock up on these foods. Prepare some meals in advance if you can, and approach this new week with excitement and an abundance mindset towards healthy living. I promise you, it'll make all the difference!

Gluten-free does not equal healthy

I got a wonderful and thoughtful question from a blog reader last week, and I thought I’d answer it in a post because I am sure there are a handful of people that are confused about the same thing.

I know there has been a lot of confusion over the past couple years about gluten free diets and whether or not they are healthy. Let me start by saying I have had my own experience eating gluten free and eating normally over the past few years, and have discovered that, for me, gluten free/paleo-ish is the healthiest way for me to eat for my health, digestion, and mental wellness. BUT, that does not mean that when we eat gluten-free, our diet is automatically healthier.

One of my blog readers sent me a message last week stating that she saw that I eat gluten free, and that she tried going gluten free herself a few years ago but found that the gluten free breads, pastas, and mixes were all high in carbohydrates from rice and potato flours, and that they weren’t actually healthier. She wanted to know if she was right in thinking this and basically, what the deal is with gluten-free!

I’ll start by saying that this reader is SO smart to pick up on the fact that gluten free products are not healthier than their wheat flour counterparts. Just because a product is labeled gluten free does not mean it is healthier or a better alternative. And frankly, most of the time, it is higher in carbohydrates and sugar than the regular products. All foods are a mix of carbohydrates, protein, fat, and vitamins and minerals, so whether or not it has gluten in it does not change this fact.

Gluten is simply the protein found in wheat, and when people have allergies, they are typically reacting to the protein in a certain food. Gluten free products are substituted (most of the time) with rice flour or potato starch, plus are found to have even more sugar in them to make them taste good. They are still just has high (or higher) in carbohydrates, are often times devoid of fiber, and are still a treat. Gluten free cookies are still cookies, and gluten free pancakes are still pancakes.

My favorite paleo cookie recipe from Against all Grain! And I still treat them just like regular cookies; a TREAT to be consumed sometimes. 

Now, that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy these foods. I love gluten free toast from Trader Joe’s and Pamela’s gluten free pancake and baking mix! But these gluten free treats should still be treated as TREATS. They should be eaten just as often as you would eat a regular pancake or regular cookie. Not an everyday food, but a sometimes food.

So be a savvy shopper. Just because something is labeled gluten free doesn’t mean that we can have bowls and bowls of gluten free pasta and still think that’s a “healthy” food choice.

And if you want to go gluten free, the best thing to do is replace your usual breads, pastas, or cookies, with plants. THAT is the healthiest way to go gluten free. So instead of having a hamburger, have a lettuce wrap with an additional side salad. Instead of having a cookie with your salad, have some more vegetables on the side or some fruit.

And most importantly, if you don’t have negative symptoms from eating gluten, there is no reason for you to go gluten free. Yes, gluten is inflammatory over all, and I don’t think there is any harm in cutting it out (if done right like I mentioned above, with the addition of plants). BUT if you don't experience any negative side effects from consuming gluten, there is no need to cut it from your diet. It won’t automatically make you healthier, especially if you are still consuming gluten free noodles, cookies, pancakes, and more.

I personally gravitate towards a gluten free diet because it helps me with my digestion issues and my anxiety. I even tried to incorporate some back into my diet as recently as last week (kodiak pancakes are a favorite of mine!) and starting feeling those similar symptoms return. For me, I have a clear reaction to consuming gluten, which is why I avoid it unless a food is absolutely worth it (and trust me, it rarely is worth it for me!) But just because I eat a gluten free diet does NOT automatically mean I am healthy. I eat a ton of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, lean protein, and gluten free grains from time to time, along with those occasional gluten free/paleo treats, and all of that contributes to a healthy diet.

I hope this helps you become more aware of your food choices too and learn to be a detective in the grocery store and not just fall for any marketing that is slapped on our food products nowadays. The more we know, the better we do. And if you all have any more questions, please send them in! I love answering these types of questions I get, so please don’t hesitate!

Have a great Thursday, everyone!

Friday Favorites & Updates

Hello friends! Long time no chat! It's been exactly a month since I've blogged. I've had every intention of keeping up with this place, but with being a working momma and Emma getting more mobile every day, it's been hard to carve out time to consistently blog. It's still such as passion of mine though, so I promise to be more consistent! Anything YOU all would like to see more of in this space? I'd appreciate any ideas in the comments below!

I thought I'd share a few of my favorite things that have been on my heart and mind this past month...starting with the best cake smash ever!

1. Emma's cake smash.

Emma thoroughly enjoyed her cake on her first birthday! It was a simple white cake with vanilla frosting and we let her go at it for a couple minutes and then swiftly took it away.

And yes, it was a full sugar, full flour, totally regular cake. I didn't make anything sugar-free or organic or anything like that because the truth of the matter is (from the research I've done and children I've worked with), when you restrict a child, they are even more likely to rebel and do things that you don't want them to do. She eats healthy vegetables, proteins, and whole grains 99% of the time and I want her to have a healthy relationship towards treats from the very beginning; starting with the fact that treats are "sometimes" foods, and not "everyday foods" and that it's ok to have a treat on your birthday, then move on with your life.

2. Birthday trip to Disneyland

We took Emma to Disneyland the Monday after her birthday and we had a BLAST! She slept for the first two hours which gave my hubby and I sweet time to walk around, grab coffee, and reminisce about our days at Disneyland when we were dating and just married. Disneyland holds a special place in my heart, and now it's even more special to be able to enjoy it with my little tribe!

3. Being Brave

I grabbed this book on a whim at Target and I am so glad I did. Almost every devotional, Bible verse, or motivational quote I've read lately has been on the concept of being brave. Think God is trying to tell me something? All that to say, I highly recommend this book!

4. Cauliflower gnocchi from Trader Joe's.

This stuff has been blowing up my Instagram feed for weeks, so I finally decided to give in and try it. Oh. My. Gosh. WE LOVED IT! Even my husband who needs meat with practically every meal, thoroughly enjoyed this. We used a pesto cream sauce (literally combined a 1/2 cup lite Alfredo with 1 tsp of pesto and mixed it well). Such a good meal and I'll be definitely grabbing a few bags next time I hit up TJ's!

5. Kodiak Cakes.

A box of these protein pancakes have been sitting in my pantry for a couple weeks. I finally made them and they were SO good! And all you do is mix the mix with water, so easy! I added a dash of cinnamon to the batter too, because cinnamon. These complemented my spinach scramble nicely and kept me full for quite a while! I highly recommend!

I hope you all have had a great week and can pick at least 5 things you are grateful for and are "favorites" in your life! It's always good to have a positive mindset and look for the joy and blessings in our life verses only focusing on what may be stressing us out! Have a great weekend and blessed Mother's Day to all you mommas out there! Not gonne lie, we are rockstars!

Focusing on the FEELING of Healthy Living

Many of us need to find a certain motivation to help us stick to healthy lifestyle. What helps some people is the scale, size of your jeans, an accountability buddy, or looking good for an upcoming event. But, I do believe one of the most powerful motivators is focusing on how you FEEL when you move your body and nourish yourself.

Numbers don't always tell us the whole truth. Sure, the scale is a pretty good indicator of your relationship with gravity (insert eye roll), but it doesn't tell you anything about how much muscle you've built, how many vegetables you've eaten, or how hard you've worked to get to a place where healthy living is your default.

Lately, what has been motivating me is focusing on how I feel after I choose a nourishing food vs. a not so nourishing food. Or even how I feel just eating one cookie vs. five cookies. Healthy living doesn't have to be all or nothing, but if most of your food choices are fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and good sources of protein, the rest falls into place. The occasional treats take care of themselves, and you will FEEL healthy, strong, and energetic.

So if you aren't seeing the progress you'd like to on the scale, or can't fit into that favorite pair of jeans quite yet, focus on how you FEEL after a day of healthy eating and moving your body. Write down what comes to your mind to remind yourself of how PROUD you are of your efforts. And let that be enough, because trust me, that feeling can carry you through the times when you want to go off the trails, and the way you feel BECAUSE of your healthy choices can help you go from one good decision to the next!

How to Meal Plan for Your Week

I've been getting a lot of messages and comments lately about how helpful it is to have meal ideas. It's hard to know how to put a meal together sometimes. Many of us go to the store, buy ingredients that look good, but then have NO idea how to combine them into filling and nutritious meals! Well, I'm here to help!

As a dietitian, I know what makes a meal balanced and which meals will keep me full verses ones that keep me wanting more. When I make my meal plans for clients (and myself!), I always try to balance out our meals throughout the day so that we are constantly fueled and energized. This also helps us to avoid the pitfalls of hunger which can lead to cravings and unhealthy food choices!

It is also equally important to have meals you look forward to eating, as well as meals that are nutritious. If you are dreading your meal, you will NOT enjoy it, so you'll be on the lookout for something to satisfy your appetite. That is why meals should not only provide you with nutrition, but also enjoyment, flavors, and satisfaction!

While I don't want to give away ALL of my meal planning secrets (after all, that is what my clients get access to and I don't want to interfere with my services!) here are a few of my tips to help you get starting meal planning for your family!

1. Take an inventory of what you have and write it all down. Write down a list of all your canned goods, frozen foods, fresh foods, and everything you have on hand. That way, you know what you already have that could possibly be transformed into a meal, and also know what you'll need from the store.

2. Make your meals a combination of protein, carbs, and fats, and make your snacks two out of those three macronutrients. Meaning, a snack can be a protein + carb, a carb + fat, or a fat + protein. Making your meals a combination of all three will give them staying power, and your snacks, when made up of the two out of three, will be more filling and power you through to your next meal!

3. Keep a TON of spices on hand. This way, even if you plan on having chicken all week long, you can season your chicken in different ways to make each meal different!

4. Cook in bulk for leftovers. Simply doubling a recipe can save you cooking the next day, or can give you leftovers for work instead of going out.

5. Try new recipes every week. If you feel that you are bored from your usual rotation of meals, Google or Pinterest some new recipes and try those out! You can even peruse my recipes for some new meal inspiration as well. We are creatures of habit and can often fall into a rut, but it is important to also enjoy your meals and add variety to your diet once in a while, so don't be afraid to try new flavors and dishes!

I hope these simple tips can help you as you plan out your meals for you and your family. And as always, if you need a bit more guidance or want to work on a meal plan together, feel free to check out the services I offer! We can help you get started with a program and plan that works best for you and your goals.

Benefits of Bone Broth

I’m sure you’ve heard about bone broth and how good it is for you by now. As a dietitian, I love reading up on the latest research and diet trends to see what holds up against science and what is just a bunch of bologna.  

And let me tell you, most of the time, it’s a bunch of bologna. BUT, bone broth is truly a nutritious power food and can be a warm, comforting way to get tons of vitamins, minerals, proteins and other health-promoting compounds.  

Here are some of the health benefits of bone broth. There are many many more, but I thought I'd focus on these three because they are where I have seen the most benefits personally. 

1. Bone broth can boost the immune system. The amino acids in bone broth such as arginine and glutamine have been seen to boost the immune system. And we could all use that this time of year, no? With the flu going around and everyone getting sick, this boost to our immune system may help protect us from the common cold, bronchitis, or even pneumonia. I even added some of this broth to Emma's baby food the other day (she has been getting so sick from day care germs!) and she absolutely loved it! I have also been drinking it because of COURSE I don't want to get sick and bring some germs home to the family! Needless to say, bone broth is becoming a necessity in our home to help ward off sicknesses. 

2. Bone broth contains collagen and gelatin, which are great for your hair, skin, and nails! My skin has been clearer and my hair has been thicker and shiner since drinking bone broth, as well as adding these collagen peptides to my morning smoothies. Post-partum hairloss hit me HARD, but between the collagen peptides and the collagen and gelatin found in bone broth, I think I've found the perfect protector against further hair loss! These compounds are also good for joint health and can slow down general joint degradation, which is vital to keeping our bodies agile and healthy as we age!

3. Bone broth can promote gut health because of the glutamine, which protects the intestinal barrier and can prevent leaky gut. I've talked about leaky gut a bit on this site, but it happens when there are "holes" in your intestinal lining, and food particles and compounds can leak out into your body, where they don't belong. Food should very much STAY in the digestive tract, and whatever we need is absorbed, while whatever we don't need is excreted out. The digestive system must be protected against food particles so that inflammation doesn't occur from the compounds that leak out, and bone broth can do just that! 

I made this broth from the bones of a whole chicken in the instant pot! I added onions, carrots, garlic, rosemary, and some apple cider vinegar to leach out all the minerals from the bones. I cooked it on manual for 2 hours, and viola! Lovely, giggly bone broth! I've been enjoying a few frozen pucks (reheated on the stove) after work, and even made rice and soup with it! 

I'll definitely be making this over and over again, and one batch has lasted us SO long so far (we still have a huge container in the freezer along with the frozen pucks)! I hope this helps you decide if you want to start making bone broth for you and your family. I have personally found a huge health benefit in it, and I hope you do the same!

Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday! Stay healthy and happy! :) 

My Goals and Intentions for 2018

Happy New Year everyone!!!! I am so excited for this year and all the opportunities that are open to us. I hope you all set some goals or intentions for the year to go in the direction you want. Often times, we wonder why our lives feel like a mess, and while life IS messy, having some intentional goals set throughout the year can help us get from where we are to where we want to be. Which is why I set some goals that I would like to share with you all in the hopes of inspiring you to set your own!

If you saw my previous post, I am using Zig Ziglar's "Wheel of Life" method to set goals for different categories of my life. So, here we go!

1. Personal/social life: I started going to a new mommy group last year and have been on the sidelines for it. I get SO shy around new people and am a big introvert. But, I want to be more intentional and go to the monthly meetings with the hopes of making friends and being more open to what God brings to me! Also, another goal in this area of my life is monthly date nights with the hubby!! We are kicking off our first one tonight and I am so excited! :)

2. Blog: I want to be more consistent on this blog because I love to write. And guess what, you can help me with this! What would you like to see MORE of on my blog?? Daily eats? Workout motivation? Recipes? Mom life? Let me know! I also am working on a new site that I hope to launch later this month, so look out for that!

3. Family life: my husband and I want to do more things with our baby now that she is older and so much more interactive! We've discussed some family vacations we want to take, as well as just honoring our down time over the weekends and not stretching ourselves too thin with our obligations!

4. Spiritual life: I am determined to get back into my spiritual disciplines of quiet time, Bible reading, and prayer in the mornings! We also serve as the youth leaders at our church and my goal is to do more with the girls in our group now that Emma is older and I will (maybe) have more of my attention to give to the group on Friday nights. But as always, a baby is unpredictable, but I plan on doing my best!

5. Money: we want to SAVE more this year, and specifically save a certain amount every month to use on Christmas gifts next year. We love Christmas shopping but don't like our credit card statements the following month. We also want to be good stewards of the money and blessings that God has bestowed on us, so we are praying for constant wisdom on that as well!

6. Mindset/intellect: my goal is to read one personal development book and one fun book each month. I also want to read more REAL books vs. iBooks, because I love the smell of books and the feel of the pages between my fingers, and hate how glued I already am to my phone! I kicked off this goal with an amazon order of some books I've had on my wish list!

7. Health: my goal is to continue with my gluten free/paleo-ish lifestyle, do 80 day obsession starting January 15th, and keep up with my overall self care of working out and meal prepping and taking care of ME, so I can better care for my family. I've been feeling amazing and so energetic the past couple months, and I always want to feel this way. It's so true that good habits bring about more good habits, and once you start, you'll always want to feel great and treat your body with the respect it deserves!

Your turn! I would love to hear what some of your goals are for the coming year. Don't be afraid to set some big, scary ones too (I didn't share ALL of my goals with y'all, because boundaries!) but I hope you know that the bigger your goals, the more you'll grow and stretch. You were made for great things, my friends! Believe it and live it!