Over the past two years, I’ve started to keep track of my monthly goals that I’ve learned to set for myself. I’ve been setting New Years Resolutions for years, but before I started writing them down, it became easy to forget what my goals for the year even were. My weekly planning includes a goal setting section at the beginning of each month, which has been a fabulous place to keep me focused on what I’d like to accomplish each month. If you have been following with my monthly goals, you have learned a little bit more about what I’m currently working towards, one of which being the process of developing a healthy lifestyle.

I want to preface this by saying I am in no way an expert when it comes to eating healthy and workout out religiously. However, I started to make some changes in my diet and workout routine in the past year, and I love how much better I feel! Without getting too personal, I am still working towards my overall goal of learning to balance a healthy lifestyle so I thought I would share a couple of things I’ve learned with y’all.

1. Develop a Routine: I am all about a routine, but sometimes I need to switch it up. When I first attempted to start working out (relatively) consistently, I had to find a way to get myself excited about getting a workout it. I tried a couple of barre classes in Richmond, which I loved, but the closest studio to me now is 45 minutes away, which is just too far to go after work. I started biking, and once I started to notice how much better I felt when I got a workout in, it become easier to motivate myself to go to the gym. I even schedule workouts in my planner, which holds me accountable to go on the days that I would rather go home.
2. Only Eat When Hungry: It has taken me a long time to wrap my head around this one, especially as one who schedules so much of their life. But I’ve also noticed how much better I feel when I don’t force myself to eat if I’m not hungry. My go to is just a quick smoothie after a workout — just hits the spot!
3. Find Your Motivation: Luckily, right now, my motivation comes easy since we are getting close to our wedding date! However, when the date still seemed like a year away, it was sometimes hard to find the motivation I needed to push myself through a workout. I began to use my time while doing cardio to watch wedding videos (it becomes an even harder workout when you’re trying not to bawl on the elliptical!) and videos of our resort in Jamaica. I also have a playlist of songs that we plan to use at some point during our wedding day, so I usually listen to those when I am making my way through the weights. Not only does it keep me motivated through the workout, but energizes me with all that is to come.

That’s it! These small changes have helped me feel so much better, I’ve had a lot more success working towards my goals.What tips or tricks have you tried? I’d love to hear more ideas of how to balance a healthy lifestyle, especially when I don’t have a wedding to motivate me anymore!