This Unfamiliar Road

I hope we have all been keeping up with January's fitness goal of drinking more water! It's a new month, which means adding in a new goal. Remember, the whole point of this series is to change habits little by little. So keep drinking that water, and now add February's goal of...

Eating Breakfast!


This one is easy for me because I've always been a breakfast eater. However, if you need some motivation, here are the top reasons why YOU should be eating breakfast:

 1. Weight Control. It's a common misconception that skipping breakfast=reducing calories. The truth is that people who skip breakfast make up those calories later in the day, usually because they are so hungry that they make poor food choices when snacking or eating other meals.

2. Energy Boost. Your body needs food for energy, so you can't expect it to go from dinnertime to lunch the next day with no fuel! Rather than relying on that 3rd cup of coffee to give you a morning boost, try eating something for breakfast. This also affects cognitive function and memory!

3. Nutrient Intake. To achieve the recommended daily intake of nutrients and vitamins, you should rely on breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a healthy snack. It would be very difficult to get the proper nutrients out of only 2 meals!

4. Immune Response. Your white blood cells, which are responsible for fighting infection, need some fuel too! Studies have shown that breakfast eaters have a decreased incidence of cold and flu.

So, what's the best thing to eat for breakfast? A variety of foods is ideal, to include fruits, veggies, whole grains, and a lean protein.
-Grab 'n Go options include:

• Whole wheat toast or English muffin with natural nut butter
• Whole wheat English muffin with egg white sandwhich
• Protein Shake or Smoothie (also ideal if you skip breakfast because you don't have a morning appetite!)
•  Hard boiled egg & fruit
• Low Fat Yogurt & fruit

My personal favorite for breakfast? My protein shakes that are a part of my nutritional rebalancing program. These shakes offer everything I need in a meal and they are delicious and fast! Just what I want to be sure that I stay on target to eat breakfast daily!

What are your favorite breakfast foods?

  Info source

We all know that it's difficult to get into a routine of being healthy. One of my goals for 2016 is to be more mindful of my health and fitness. Obviously this goal is not exactly measurable, so I decided to find a better way! Thankfully eHow has already put it out there for me!
I love how this article breaks things down into manageable sections-by month!

So...the fitness goal for January: Drink More Water!

1. How Much? Many factors affect your water requirements but on average men need 13 cups of fluid and women need 9 cups daily (per The Institute of Medicine).
-Consider other factors like weather conditions, exercise, illness, pregnancy, and breastfeeding!

2. What Counts? Foods like fruit and vegetables can offer the body trace amounts of water while caffeinated beverages can cause dehydration. The best bet? Good ole H2O!

 3. How To?  (Drink enough)

• Buy a pretty water bottle-preferably one that keeps up with your measurements!

• Use a straw
• Add fresh fruit or cucumbers
• Chug it! A nurse practitioner I work with says it's best to drink several ounces at once-like a "bolus" of water

Enjoy :)

Happy 2016 everyone!
In an effort to make this a great year, I have spent a lot of time working on my goals (note: I did not say resolutions). In the past, I have had ideas in my head of what I would like to achieve in the upcoming year, but no real plan to get there. It was no surprise that I didn't succeed.

I realized that I am always busy but not always productive. I feel like I bounce around from one thing to the next just to maintain sanity (i.e. tidy house, meals for family, work) while other things that mean a lot to me are being pushed to the back burner.

This year, I'm making goals and a plan to reach them!

Here's where I started: PUSH Goal Worksheet
There are some great things about this workbook, but what I really love:

1) It's free. Duh.
2) The first step is a self-assessment of different areas in your life (like physical health, environment, and romance). By assessing these areas, you really get an idea of areas that need improvement.
3) You focus on one PUSH goal at a time so it's more achievable!
4) There is a section for 10 minute tasks on the daily worksheet. This is really nice because most of the time, I don't have 45 minutes to complete a task from start to finish!
 

Of course, remember to be SMART about setting goals


Happy goal setting!

Wow, 2014 was a great year! It's pretty awesome to think back to January 2014, when we decided it was time to add another member to our family....and by the end of the year, our little Bean was in our arms!
Here are my favorite memories of the year:

I had fun playing with my new mixer: Making cookies with the cutest taste-tester there was!

Recipe here

We experienced some crazy winter weather and I was stuck at work for 4 days straight. Thankfully, the husband was able to stay at home and work....and enjoy P's first snow!


 We traveled to Nashville to celebrate a dear friend and to help her prepare for the arrival of baby Scarlett!

Guess what! There are 2 preggos in this picture :)

In March, we shared some exciting news. Oh, and Peyton got her first haircut. :)


A trip to Chattanooga to visit our buddies kicked off springtime!



We celebrated Mother's Day and watched the baby bump grow and grow!




We celebrated the marriage of dear friends. And Peyton enjoyed her first gig as flower girl!



In June, we celebrated our sweet Peyton's 2nd birthday, and partied Mickey Mouse style!



As the days grew hotter, the belly grew bigger! We attended our 10 year high school reunion and I accepted a job promotion and returned to night shift!





I blogged about my new favorite recipe


We got really brave and decided to potty-train Peyton! Using the 3-Day method made it easier, but it was still a lot of work!


 I celebrated my birthday and counted down the days until Bean's arrival! (Little did I know those days would turn in to weeks!)


We welcomed our sweet baby GIRL into the world and became a family of four!






Fall was a busy time with the fair, pumpkins,Halloween and Thanksgiving! Being on maternity leave allowed me to really enjoy this season at home with my family.





We enjoyed a visit from the Michigan parentals and Ben competed in his first BBQ competition and won FIRST place for sauce!


Christmas was a blast this year!




We celebrated Ben's 30th birthday, then I rang in the New Year with my work family!