Health Goals 2014

Who doesn't love a new year and a fresh start?! Now that we are home from our amazing 5-week Australia vacation, I am ready to get back on track with my health. I think we did pretty good while we were away. We ate whatever we wanted but stayed really active and even worked out a little over the 5 weeks. We had an amazing time and as fun as it was to be free those 5 weeks, I am ready to get back into our routine. It is so much easier for me to be heathy in a routine! Learning about health is a continuous project for me. I am constantly reading about or hearing new things that challenge my ideas and shape the way I look at health. As such, I have created 3 goals for this year to help me enhance my healthy lifestyle journey.

1. Juice detox 3 times a year. 
The juice detox I did last November gave me an incredible insight to what detoxing can do for the body. I lost 5lbs doing that detox, which doesn't seem like a lot, but for me, this was 5lbs I had been struggling to lose for about 6 months. I was very happy with my weight, appearance, energy, etc, but I just had this number goal in my head that I really wanted to reach. That last 5lbs would not budge no matter how strict I was on my diet or how hard I worked out. After the detox I was happy to see I had lost the 5lbs, but didn't think much of it and assumed it was water weight that would quickly resurface within a week or two. As weeks then months went by the weight never came back. The crazy thing was I was not eating perfect either. It was smack in the middle of holiday season and I was happy to indulge where the occasion seemed fit. Even with more indulgences than usual that 5lbs still never came back. This is what detoxing does. It allows the cells in your body to let go of the toxins they are holding on to and as a result allows the body to function more efficiency.This in turn contributes to how well the body fights infection and decease, hormone regulation, emotional health, as well as energy, vitality, and longevity.

2. Buy 100% of our meat from grass-fed/organic/free-range farmers by the end of the year.
This goal came to me after coming home from Australia and eating American meat again. The quality of food between these countries is so different! And I'm not talking about organic versus normal (in fact very rarely do I buy organic) my comparisons are of the cheapest you can buy. All the food tastes better in Australia but I noticed the biggest difference between meats.  I've actually known for a long time what the meat is like in America, just chosen to ignore it. I've watched several documentaries and read many articles about it and I basically have accepted what the companies are doing in order to maximize their profits. This information never stopped me from buying those meats before. My lazy/cheap side overruled my healthy side and I would rather get what was cheap from my local grocery store rather than drive all the way to the organic store just so I could pay more. But it's not worth my money anymore and I feel more willing now to give my support to farmers who actually care about the quality of meat and better treatment of the animals. These ideas run parallel with my belief that our society eats way too much meat, but I'll save that in-depth discussion for another post. Knowing what I know, its quite sad I haven't attempted this goal before, but I guess sometimes it just takes time and baby steps to really make a change.Want more info on this subject? Watch Food, Inc or Forks Over Knives, two very eye-opening documentaries about health and the meat industry.

3. Exercise Consistently
No doubt this will always be a goal of mine every. single. year. Exercise has so many health benefits its not even funny! It does so much more than help you reach weight loss goals. It improves your immune system, burns off toxic cells, aids in digestion and simply makes you happy thanks to endorphins! And these are just a few of the benefits! I know without a doubt our bodies were meant to move and be active, however technology has made it way to easy for us to just sit back and relax, hence why we must organize time to get moving.

If you have time for Facebook or TV, you have time for exercise! It doesn't have to be hours of lifting heavy weights or running 5 miles, just a 10 minute stroll around the block can give massive benefits to the body. The hard part is being consistent, and consistency is the key to really reap the benefits. I find when I set small reachable goals throughout the year, it helps me stay focused and motivated. First small goal this year is to complete P90X-3!

What are your goals for 2014?