Get In Shape Health Tips For Weight Loss

25 Goals That Will Transform Your Health

Last updated on June 19th, 2018 at 10:51 pm

Goals. 2016 was the first year I found out people actually set goals and don’t just live waiting & hoping for things to happen. Yes, I’m late for a lot of things.

Since then I read a lot of articles, listened to some audiobooks and watched A TON of youtube videos and TED talks about setting goals. And then I watched some more. And did nothing about my own goals.

I then made some vision boards, filled out planners and wrote never ending to do lists and lists with dreams and goals. Then I ripped them apart after I stared at them for 3 months.

SMART goals suck.

Now if you’re someone who’s super organized and can follow through with everything you want to achieve – 1. Tell me how you do it 2. Don’t waste your time reading how I decided to set goals from now on.

But if you’re someone who always sets goals, makes plans & has a hard time following through…especially goals for your health and happiness, then this might resonate with you and help you.

If you’re always putting off the things you really want to do then we’ve got something in common.

But first, why am I writing this out of nowhere?

Well I don’t know. I guess I wanted to get it off my chest really. My goals have changed so much & so often over time, that I can’t keep track. I wanted to summarize the things that worked for me and the things that didn’t work for me over the last couple of years. And maybe make everything more efficient. Plus I just came across a bullet journaling article and I’m pretty sure I’m starting a bullet journal tonight.

Now, a little introduction. My organizational skills are like those of a toddler. I have to do lists flying everywhere. Pretty much the same stuff are on each and every one of them. I have 10 different planners that I’m filling out with the same stuff I think I have to do.

I am pretty much a mess.

But the good thing is, even this mess (me), actually achieves most of her goals. Maybe not as quickly as possible, but she does it. Wow, I’m so self-important when I talk in 3rd person.

Now, I noticed something.

The difference between the goals I achieve and the goals I don’t achieve is whether they’re an action or not.

Let me attempt an explanation.

I often set goals like:

I will have ___ or I will be ___.

It’s always something I don’t have right now or someone completely different from what I am today. I say it, as if I’m not grateful for who I am and what I have right now and can’t wait to change my situation.

And that’s the completely wrong way to go about a goal. Because what’s the best way to change anything?

Start with what you already have.

That’s it. Work with what you have, because that’s all you’ve got. The rich lady you want to become isn’t going to take you out of the dirt. She’s too rich for that. And she dosn’t even exist. But you know who can do something about it? You.

**The Goals That You Can Achieve**

It’s a different story when the goal is a daily action you can take. Here, you can start doing something right now.

It’s not impossible, it’s not overwhelming.

All you have to do is: Just do.

For example, if I say:

I will lose 10 pounds this month by doing cardio, eating clean and doing intermittent fasting.

I actually put on weight.

But when I say:

I’ll do 2 weeks of intermittent fasting because I wake up feeling lighter in the morning.

I do it. And I might even lose some weight.

Losing weight is not an action. It’s a byproduct of a healthy lifestyle.

So the goal shouldn’t be I will lose 10 pounds in a month, but a specific action you can take. And then that action is the goal.

It goes like this.

You picture yourself doing this over and over again and you actually do it. And enjoy it.

*As I said, if you’re some sort of an expert on planning, organization, rainbows and goals, sorry if I’m rude, but go away. I’m trying to break this down for myself and others who are a mess and confused by all this information on goal setting.*

This action then becomes a part of your daily routine.

It’s tough in the beginning, but then it gets easier and then it becomes something you just do.

Then you say you want to add to this.

So for example after a week of intermittent fasting, you say I want to have a green smoothie every day. So you picture yourself making green smoothies, start collecting recipes and you actually start your mornings with a green smoothie.

**Set goals about what you want to do, not have or be.**

Setting goals you can achieve is all about exploring. Approaching things with curiosity.

What’s gonna happen if I do this for a week?

Trying out something new more often. Surprising yourself. A healthy lifestyle is not a boring lifestyle, it’s just different kind of exciting.

Think more like: “I want to do this” and not “I have to do this” or “I want to have”, “I will be…”.

Let’s face it, none of us is ever going to be Beyonce. (Unless you’re Beyonce & you’re reading my blog right now and I’m freaking out!)

To set the right types of goals, the ones that can actually help you take action, and not make you feel overwhelmed – you need to find out what’s stopping you from getting where you want to be. In this case being healthier.

Like what are you not doing that you know you should be doing and will make your life and your health WAYYY better?

Spoiler alert: That thing’s probably not that hard to do.

The major things I struggle with are:

eating too late (like I’d actually eat right before I go to sleep)
overthinking
doing workouts sporadically
sitting for hours at time
spending too much time indoors
eating too much sugar lately
drinking more coffee than anything else
looking at my phone at night
waking up at different times every day

So for me this month, these are the things I want to achieve & get better at.

Intermittent fasting (last meal until 5pm). I sleep better and wake up feeling better in the morning when I don’t eat too late at night.

Blog 3 times a week. I want to keep things moving here and not just planning in my head. So far so good.

Exercise for 20 minutes every day. I’ll do pilates, barre, yoga and some HIIT. Might as well turn it into a challenge that I post here.

Go on a hike for 2-3 times/ week. Went already for 2 hikes this week and feeling great, more connected to nature.

Do something fun in the evening – DIY or actually go to a Zumba class.

Try new plant-based meals (2-3x/week). I do this most of the time, but lately been off track with eating really healthy, so I want to go back to plant based most days of the week at least.

Quit coffee and drink more water instead, see how you feel. No progress on this one yet.

Get into a healthy evening routine: some stretches, some reading + shower + candles 30 min before going to sleep. No phone/computer.

Wake up at 6am. Been waking up around 6am, but feeling tired. I want to go to bed earlier to get 7.5 hours of sleep.

To me the biggest changes here would be intermittent fasting and quitting coffee. The other things – I kinda do them anyway.

So here’s what I’ll do: I’ll start with the biggest struggles one at a time. I’ve tried to do everything at once in the past, but, sadly, it did not work. So now 2 weeks I’ll focus on intermittent fasting and then 2 weeks on quitting coffee and drinking water instead.

I want to get off coffee really bad. Like, I’ve never been addicted to anything, but coffee is taking over my life for a couple of years now. It’s a struggle. I go to sleep thinking about coffee, I wake up in the morning thinking about coffee. So, now I wanna be free finally.

Health & Fitness Goals To Get You To Take Action

Now here are some ideas for health and fitness goals you can set to improve your health, your fitness and the way you feel about yourself overall.

So, this week I will:

Eat plant-based 3 days of the week.
Cut my grain/carb consumption in 1/2 and eat nuts/ seeds instead. (related: 3 diet changes to reduce inflammation)
Go out for a hike.
Make 1/2 my plate vegetables
Have 3 healthy meals/day I really enjoy. And I won’t mindlessly snack on whatever’s in front of me
Eat carbs until lunch and then I’ll try some new low-carb recipes (here are 51)
Have a green smoothie every day and experiment combining different ingredients I love.
Try 3 new healthy recipes that seem delicious.
Do some stretching or yoga after I wake up (10 minutes are enough)
Actually have breakfast and not just coffee. (Here are 5 easy healthy breakfast ideas you can make in 5 minutes or less.)
Actually write every night for 10 minutes to reflect and relax.
Go out for a 30 minute walk every day. (Here are some ideas to help you walk more every day.)
Read every evening for 20 minutes.
Learn how to make the best overnight oats.
When in doubt, I’ll drink water first.
When I want ___, I will___ (for example for me: When I want coffee, I will drink water;)
Exercise every day for 20 minutes in the morning. (Here’s how you can make your own workout plan to get fit at home.)
Try different plank variations to strengthen my core and improve my posture.
Walk to work and back – it’s my time to set an intention or to reflect on the day.
Wake up at the same time and start my day at peace.
Go to bed at 10pm.
Try a different class at the gym.
Talk to one person I don’t know.
Find a simple way to improve my everyday environment (buy some candles, get some flowers, play relaxing music…).
Add some fun to my life (new DIY, meeting new people, going to fun events)

And if you do have any more ideas let me know, so I can add them to the list!

I don’t know if that was helpful for you or not (I hope it is!), but it’s been working for me. I don’t wanna walk around (or sit around!) feeling guilty that I’ve not lost weight just because I thought I was on a diet all the time. (ignoring the fact I ate candy and cupcakes). When I take action, I take action – that’s it. Results are coming.

6-Minute Core And Upper Body Workout For Great Posture

This core and upper body workout is short and sweet, energizing, strengthening and can be

Free 10-Day Workout Plan For Women & Challenge Update

This is the 10-Day workout plan for women I did during my morning exercise challenge last

9 Barre Workouts To Tone Everything At Home

Tone your entire body with these free at home barre workouts. They’re low-impact, but very efficient

30 Day Morning Workout Challenge

Let’s stop making excuses and start working out at the best time of the day - the morning!

Women’s Full-Body At Home Workout To Lose Fat & Get Stronger

You can do this full-body HIIT workout at home or anywhere you want in less than 20 minutes!

Grilled Veggie Pita

My favorite things in this whole world come together in this grilled veggie pita:

Grilled veggies (duh!)
Pita (double duh!)
Hummus (now we’re talking)
Tahini sauce (oh)
Tomatoes and cucumbers (alright then)
How about some greens like, I don’t know – parsley? (Ok, fine…)

This is so so so delicious. I devoured it in like a nanosecond.

In Defence Of White Bread

I know people expect me to not eat white bread, but this one’s as white as my legs are right now. Yes, it’s summer and I’ve been avoiding the sun like the plague. This year I went to the beach once after 10am and I got sunburnt.

via giphy

My wrinkles are still thanking me. No more sun for this little vampire who eats garlic for breakfast.

#garlicforbreakfast

So, white bread.

I know it’s also not popular right now, but I crave white bread sometimes. Like every day. And when I got these pitas they were hot. As experience has thought me, you never say no to hot white bread, because it’s delicious.

This is not me after eating bread (via giphy)

How To Make The Grilled Vegetable Pitas

I actually used roasted vegetables. I know, I mislead you and now you hate me forever.

5 Refreshing Detox Water Ideas, Because Drinking Coke Is Just Sad

Here are some refreshing detox water ideas, because it’s hot outside and drinking coke is not an option anyone should consider.

I don’t know how it happened.

I fell down that coke hole and could’t get out. Last month for a few weeks in the afternoon, when it got like, inhumanely hot…I was getting cokes.

Now you might be like: OMG you write this blog about healthy lifestyle and you drink coke? What a jerk.

Well, define healthy lifestyle however you want.

To me it means eating more fruits and vegetables and not obsessing over small fall offs.

Except…

I realized coke can’t be a part of a healthy diet or lifestyle in NO WAY. I can’t make excuses for it, I just fell. And then I wanted more and more and more…It got crazy.

I had seen this infographic a million times and it meant nothing to me.

5 detox water ideas because drinking coke is just sad.

via The Renegade Pharmacist

The Mindset That Will Keep You Motivated To Eat Healthy and Exercise

Raise your hand if you’ve ever said you need to eat healthier and exercise to lose weight or change something else about the way you look.

Okay, I can’t type with one hand, but yeah me too.

This is true for my mother, my sister, my friends, every woman I know. Every woman I know has something about her body she doesn’t like and has tried to change with diet or exercise. I’m no exception.

We do what we can for a week, we eat healthy, we drag ourselves to the gym, we beat ourselves up when we can’t follow “the rules” and fall off that damn wagon, then we just continue with our lives until next time. While of course still blaming ourselves we’re not perfect and obviously unable to keep it all together.

Why doing it to lose those stupid 10 pounds in one month doesn’t work.

Losing weight, improving your skin, getting toned are not real reasons to eat healthier or to exercise every day. And unfortunately being healthy isn’t it either.

You know why?

Because there are “easier” options to achieve all of those things.

Why waste all that precious time and energy to achieve something, when you can do so without much effort and time invested?

It sounds easy enough to eat better for 3 weeks and drop 10 pounds. It’s not hard…but those 3 weeks, you’ve got to get through them, right?

You know what’s easier?

Not doing it.

The truth is, today, you can always look better or lose weight even if you don’t put in the effort or change anything about your lifestyle (at least for a brief moment). Here are some options:

plastic surgery
make up
diet pills
detox teas
go to a massage instead of doing exercise
body wraps
starve yourself instead of eating in moderation

Shortcuts don’t bring lasting change, but we try anyway

I remember, when I was a kid, my mom and dad even got some ab thing that would electrocute your abdominals, so you get abs…The infomercial showed a happy couple sitting there watching TV while getting their abdominals electrocuted. Then they smiled and showed their ripped bodies.

My mom: “I seriously can’t think of a reason how this would not work???? We obviously HAVE TO buy it.”

She didn’t put it this way, but they really got this ridiculous thing. And surprise: None of us got abs. Yes, I was 9 and I also tried it.

Trust your feelings and go for them, not for numbers.

Now, if not for weight loss or changing the way you look, why else would you want to eat healthier, exercise and live a healthier life? Here’s a reason:

To change the way you feel and the way you live your life. Every. Single. Day.

Not just the way you feel in a dress 5 months from now. But how you feel today.

I talked about this here and here, but eating healthy and working out have an immediate effect on the way you feel.

Appreciating the difference in how you feel is key to staying motivated.

So even if you don’t see changes right from the first day or week, you’ll feel different. Maybe nothing major, but if you pay attention, you’ll notice a difference. This difference in how you feel is key to staying motivated. Those feelings are going to pull you toward what you want. They will make you do what you have to do every day to get to your goal. And to stay there.

It’s frustrating when you’ve been putting in effort for a week and see just one sad pound go away. That’s why you’ve been working so hard?

Peach Smoothie – 3-Ingredients and Super Delicious

Last updated on August 15th, 2018 at 04:48 am

Got some peaches and don’t know what to do with them? Make this delicious peach smoothie!

I’m so excited for this recipe, guys! Like I actually think these pics look good and also this smoothie is taking over my life right now.

I’ve ignored peaches for a while now – I thought I’m allergic to them, plus didn’t really see the point in eating peaches when there’s watermelon right there.

Poor peaches have some competition when it’s their time to shine – strawberries, watermelon, melon, so so many delicious fruits during summer!

But this summer I found a place in my heart and mouth for peaches too – turns out I’m not allergic and they’re delicious!

Yogurt’s not cool anymore, but…

I know yogurt’s not cool anymore, but I used it to make this super simple tasty peach smoothie. And you know what? It’s my favorite smoothie right now.

If you can’t eat yogurt you can still make this smoothie with some coconut cream (top part of a coconut milk can) or coconut yogurt (other vegan/paleo type of your choice).

Have not tried this with cashews or nut butters, but might work as well.

Tomato Cucumber Salad – A Special Recipe

I don’t know how many tomato cucumber salads I’ve eaten in my life, but this one’s something special. It’s full of freshness and flavor, but also low-carb, vegan, paleo and gluten-free.

So, first of all, excuse this salad for the pictures, but it was dark while I was making it. My fault completely.

Second, don’t judge a book by it’s last page and don’t judge this salad by its terrible look.

Making a tomato and cucumber salad is pretty obvious right?

You chop tomatoes, cucumbers, some onion, add olive oil, vinegar and salt and you’re ready.

This one is different. It’s not your average tomato cucumber salad – it’s special. It’s spicy, it’s fresh and it’s flavorful.

Overnight Oats With Cherries, Banana & Nuts – Quick Vegan Breakfast

Make these easy overnight oats with cherries, banana and nuts tonight and wake up to a vegan breakfast that tastes like dessert tomorrow morning! This is the perfect on the go healthy breakfast recipe.

Been a while since I made overnight oats to be honest with you.

Probably because 2 years ago I couldn’t get enough of them. I was eating those soaked oats every single day and not just for breakfast!

No, no no.

Lunch, dessert, sometimes even a quick snack.

And I didn’t get sick of them. But then…

via Giphy

Winter came and all my overnight oats eating just stopped.

And the habit faded.

This summer, it came back and I’ve got a real easy and healthy overnight oats recipe to share.

It’s creamy overnight oats with banana, cherries, peanut butter and walnuts and it tastes like dessert. But it’s healthy. I love EVERYTHING about this recipe.

Oh the cherries… I’ve been having so many delicious sweet sweet cherries.

With peanut butter & banana this is definitely not the lightest recipe, but it’s healthy, high-fibre, high-protein and will keep you full longer.

It made me feel really satisfied and I didn’t need to eat that much later. Which, I’m trying to get fitter and control my overeating habit (especially while sitting at the desk!) – so this is BINGO.

Low-Carb Vegan Tacos Exist And Here’s The Recipe

Last updated on July 28th, 2018 at 07:55 pm

These are low-carb vegan lettuce “tacos” – soy-free, gluten-free and paleo. Yes, I created a monster. Super easy, but amazingly delicious!

Okay, everyone: relax, I’m alive.

That seagull scratch did not kill me. Try your luck somewhere else you crazy monster.

He did fly away with my pizza though. Up in the sky and left me embarrassed and paranoid to lick my wounds on the ground like an animal.

This is what I deserve? This is what I deserve after I’ve been feeding your whole family for years now?

Ungrateful jerk.

Now, back to the most important question in the history of the world:

Can you be vegan and low-carb at the same time?

via giphy

Friend, I don’t know about you, but these lettuce tacos certainly are.

And they’re so easy.

You basically put stuff into your food processor and pulse like crazy.

Or like a boss. (If I see another article about someone doing something like a boss I will vomit all over the internet)

So, these vegan wraps are ALMOST raw – no cooking and no heat.

I say almost because I used tomato paste and not sun-dried tomatoes for the nut-meat. I think soaking sun-dried tomatoes would cause me a lot of pain right now. Like when would I even think of soaking (or buying) sun-dried tomatoes?

I NEED FOOD AND I NEED IT NOW!