Hey Nutrafam!

I’m super excited to be writing this blog post.  Not only are we on the cusp of a new adventure, but my favourite season(s) are coming! I know, I know. I’m that weirdo that LOVES being cold, so I’m generally outnumbered when I start talking about how excited I am to see summer leaving.

However, forget the seasons and forget the temperature dropping…

Let’s talk about goals.

I always find a new month is the perfect time to sit down and ask myself some questions to help me reflect. These questions come with a plan: something concrete, and more importantly, gentle. No one wants to start and overwhelm themselves. That’s counterproductive.  I have specific training from a previous job that comes in handy when it comes to self-evaluation, so I’d love to share my thought process with you all today.

Before I can begin my plan for the month ahead, I like to first remember what my goals were for the month ending.  I had set out to lose 13.4 lbs in August, and to spend more time with family despite my hectic schedule. Keep reading to see how I did!

I start by making a list of the questions I have for myself:

• Have I been actively working towards my goals every day?
• What did I do that was AWESOME last month?
• What could I have improved last month?
• What do I need to succeed this month?
• At the end of the month, what do I want to be proud of?

The next step is to take each question and break down what it really means. The more specific you get, the better.

• Have I been actively working towards my goals every day?
  • If not, what’s stopping me?
  • If yes, have I re-evaluated my goals lately?
• What did I do that was AWESOME last month?
  • It’s important to be specific here! Remember this is YOUR self-evaluation. It’s impossible to be wrong.
• What could I have improved last month?
  • What steps will I take to ensure next month?
  • What does implementation of these steps look like?
• What do I need to succeed this month?
  • Is it accountability? A fresh meal plan? A new water bottle? What do you think will make the difference this month and keep you inspired to work on being the best ‘you’ that you can envision?
• At the end of the month, what do I want to be proud of?
  • For this one, I choose a weight-based goal AND an emotional/mental goal as well.
    • My weight-based goal is usually the number I would like to see on the scale by the end of the month. It’s never an aggressive goal because I don’t want to set myself up for failure. I know that I can, if I behave well enough, average 2-3 lbs of weight loss a week (this varies from person to person) so I typically will set a goal to lose 7 lbs.
    • My emotional/mental goal is something that I know will benefit me spiritually. Either I set a goal to do a certain number of good deeds, or I set a goal to just be kinder to myself/be more positive.

Do I do this every month? No, I don’t. I should, though! I always find my month goes much smoother and according to my plan if I sit down and talk myself through these questions. 

Now that I’ve told you how I do it, I’m going to post my September plan!

August into September plan:

• Have I been actively working towards my goals every day?
  • I can actually say that August was a great month for me. For the first time in awhile I can confidently say I DID spend every day working towards my goal. I’ve lost, to date(with one more day to weigh in tomorrow), 7 pounds of the 13.4 I wanted to lose. I consider that a huge win even though I didn’t hit my planned goal.  I stayed focus throughout the entire month and not once did I have a cheat meal.  Was I perfect? No, of course not. But I was still focused every day on my healthy lifestyle. I also managed to get lots of quality family time in, and had a sleepover with my niece and nephew!
• What did I do AWESOME last month?
  • I photographed two weddings in August, and during both reception meals the low-carb options were not so great. One wedding had a buffet-style meal which was exciting for me because this included a salad bar! However, by the time my turn came around to get some food, the salad supplies had been so depleted there was only lettuce left.  Walking by the fresh corn-on-the-cob and baked potatoes was hard, but I sat down with my plate of lettuce & Caesar dressing with my chicken breast and enjoyed every bite.  I had already enjoyed my shake that day, and lots of water, so I was very proud of myself for sticking to my goals and not giving into my trigger foods. (I know what you're probably thinking, "Come on. It wouldn't have killed you to have some corn or potatoes!" However... it's not that easy for me. I can’t just have one piece of corn, or one baked potato. I would have been sent into a string of regrettable decisions). I also avoided the most delicious cupcakes for dessert but treated myself to an equally delicious Vanilla Nutralean mug cake when I got home!
• What could I have improved last month?
  • Aside from the forced exercise from photographing the weddings, my exercise levels were extremely minimal. I work a sedentary job during the day and then typically end up spending the evening in front of my home computer working on photos. I know how important it is for both mental and physical health to get moving more, and taking inspiration from Gillian’s blog posts… I plan on implementing more movement into my life going forward. The steps I'm taking to ensure I'm successful with my exercise is posting publicly that I plan on exercising once a week! The more people that know, the more accountability that I'll have!
• What do I need to succeed this month?
  • Continuing with my need for exercise accountability, I plan on hitting up a couple of good friends when the temperatures cool down and start doing weekly walks. I’m still fairly busy outside of work (and at work ha-ha) so my plan is to try and get up more and walk around until I can get outside and walk in the evenings.
• At the end of the month, what do I want to be proud of?
  • I want to be in a new bracket of numbers on the scale (aka out of the 300s!), and I want to be able to say that I exercised at least once a week. I’m not putting a lot of pressure on myself to exercise every day because I did that at the first of the year and by the end of the 100 days of exercise – I resented it.  I function much better and stick to my plan when I start easy and build up to a more concrete regime.

So, there we go! My plan is all laid out for the next 30 days, and I’m SO excited. I invite you to do the same and would LOVE to hear your answers.

I’ll even sweeten the deal… if you copy and paste the questions into an e-mail and send it to me, I’ll automatically reward you with 100 NutraPoints!

E-mail with the subject “September Plan” to tracy.stewart@nutracelle.com.

I’m SO excited for us to make September our best month yet.

Let’s do this.
Thanks for reading, everyone!
Tracy

Director of Customer Service
Nutracelle
1-877-229-1207

P.s I just bought a new jacket for fall, and I actually had to go back the next day and trade it in for a smaller size! Apparently it's a good idea to try things on before you buy, don't just assume to know your size... oopsies! 

Check out my latest before & after:

Left: October 2016, Right: August 2018. -107 lbs.