Dear ones,
Welcome to the first Wellness Wednesday 2019. So glad that my friend Natalie at Natalie the Explorer has continued the Wellness Wednesday series for a second year. I so enjoyed participating in Wellness Wednesday with Natalie last year, and felt like I made some true gains toward a healthier me! Looking forward to continuing the work I did last year in the company of some of my dearest blogging buds.
Today we are sharing our 2019 wellness goals as we begin with a fresh start in the new year. Confession: this first week of January, I have been unwell (upper respiratory infection) moving most sloth-like and indulging in too many sweets. Haven’t darkened the door at the gym since last year (early last week!). Time to get my booty in gear.
Wellness Wednesday, 01.2019: Goals
The goals I set for myself last year were pretty much all encompassing; goals for exercising, diet, staying well in addition to mental, spiritual and relationship wellness. Did so well that I really don’t feel like shaking things up too much for 2019. So at the risk of being redundant, my 2019 wellness goals are going to be a continuation of the work I began in 2018.
Adapted from last year’s goals, here’s what I am striving for in 2019.
Physical Health
- Work back to running 5K (want to run more regularly again)
- Lift weights (at least 4x a week)
- Walk 7,200 steps a day and 3 stories (build walks back into my daily routine)
Nutritional Health
- Eat more veggies and fruit (and cook meals at home 4x a week)
- Drink 75 ounces of water a day (pretty good at this already)
- Alcohol and sweets on weekends (I’m looking at you cinnamon glazed almonds and white wine)
Spiritual Health
- Quiet time 5x a week (M-F, bonus points for the weekend)
- Attend church more regularly (at least once a month)
- Gratitude journal before bed (get a new journal and get started)
Mental Health
- Work puzzles and play word games, practice Spanish (Wordscapes, Word Classic, jigsaw puzzles, Brainscape/Duolingo)
- Weekly art date (do something creative or attend something artsy)
- Read 3 books a month (yikes) (in order to meet my Goodreads goal)
Relationship Health
- Unplug at 9:00 pm (already a minute late tonight)
- Date night 2x a month (bucket list activities)
- Skype with Brennyn/Cady & Lauren/Lucia (read books to my babies)
Maintaining Health
- Use sunscreen on my face daily (moisturizer with SPF)
- Floss (why do I hate doing this so much?)
- Take vitamins and minerals daily (multi, vitamin B, C, D – LMNOP – flaxseed oil, biotin)
****Financial Health (added this after reading my friend Dani’s post; meant to add it originally but forgot!)
- Save money for Christmas
- Pay off Amazon card
- Have money in my checking account at the end of the month
Wish me luck! If you want to see how I fared on last year’s goals, hop over here. Because life got crazy in December with my mother’s mental health then physical health issues, I didn’t get to write a year-end post. Hope this year will be better.
A Fresh Start
With the beginning of a new year, a new month, a new week and new day comes the opportunity for a fresh start. A clean slate. So, if 2018 wasn’t a banner year for wellness, we get to try again in 2019. And if we fell off the bandwagon today, we can try again tomorrow. Life is too short to beat ourselves up for missteps or having our cake and eating it, too (on occasion). My rule of thumb is everything in moderation. Oh, and treat others as you would like to be treated.
I looked for some articles with tips to help encourage me as I get back on track after a lazy first week of indulgences. Some of the suggestions include:
- getting a workout buddy (PC)
- hiding the scale (done!) temporarily til you are exercising and eat well again,
- going to bed early (heaven)
- packing your gym bag (or laying out your gym clothes)
- closing the kitchen (permanently?) at a set time each evening
- eating larger meals earlier in the day (can you say McDonald’s Big Breakfast)
Check out these articles for more information: 9 Simple Ways To Start Exercising Again After A Break, 9 Ways to Get Back on Track After the Holiday, How to Get Back on Track After the Holidays.
Your Turn
Now that I have shared my goals with you, it’s your turn. Won’t you share your wellness goals with me. Link-up your wellness blog post with us or share your goals in a comment below. Let’s do this thing together.
And so we can both prepare for future WW posts, here’s a looks at what we will be discussing each month. Grab a pencil!
- January 9: A Fresh Start
- February 13: Healthy Heart
- March 13: Indoor or Outdoor Fitness
- April 10: Healthy Mind
- May 8: The B.E.S.T. Care (BEST is for Breasts, Eyes, Skin and Teeth)
- June 12: Mid-Year Review – How Am I Doing?
- July 10: Family
- August 14: Friends
- September 11: Sleep Hygiene
- October 9: Gratitude
- November 13: Healthy Holidays
- December 11: Year-End Review – What Went Well?
A big thank you to Natalie for hosting this series again in 2019. And thank YOU for encouraging me, supporting me and holding my hand while I lose those stubborn pounds and get back to exercising on a regular basis.
Family hugs,
Debs
I jumped on the scales on Jan 1 and very quickly jumped back off again! I had put on 4lbs since before Christmas – oh the shame. All those chocolates, all that prosecco, all that pastry. It has to stop! So I have been good, no alcohol has touched my lips, no chocolate has passed those same lips – and surprise surprise, 2lbs have already gone! It’s true “a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips!” Back to my exercise class tomorrow and in the meantime our dog is enjoying more frequent afternoon walks – I will get rid of those other 2lbs as soon as I can. A good idea to close the kitchen in the evening – all too often I raid the biscuit tin while I’m waiting for the kettle to boil when I have a coffee – this too must stop!
Natalie
Hi Leslie – We’re off to a great Fresh Start! Your wellness plan is wholesome. You’ll nail it like last year. I’m excited about the Wellness link up this year. Thank you for joining me.
Dara
Great goals! I especially like the mental health ones you chose. Starting today, I’m trying to drink 64 oz of water a day. I’m awful at it because I hate always having to run to the bathroom!
Juhlin
I really like how specific your goals are! Great ideas too.
Joanne Tracey
Some great goals there. I’m thinking of adding in a weekly artists date too, and need to commit to our date nights. We’ve been together for 30 years this year & there’s always the danger of taking each other for granted. As an aside, there’s a joke I heard the other day where this guy is sitting in the dentist’s chair & the dentist asks, ‘How long has it been since you last flossed?’
The man thinks and then replies, ‘I don’t know, but you were there!’ BOOM.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Ha!! Love your flossing joke. Why is it so hard for me to do that? It actually feels so much better after I have flossed! We do use those plastic picks for the teeth that have a bit of floss attached to them but my dentist cautions that they are not as effective as the real deal.
Come join me for the date night link-up. It will be the last Sunday of the month…so for January, that would be 01.27. I chose Sunday because there are so many other link-ups Mon-Saturday. Keep it in mind. Would love to have you join me.
Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond
Hi Leslie, sounds like you are rearing to go with your health and wellness for 2019. I’m so pleased that you and Natalie are continuing the series and I’ll be here each month to join you. It is easy to fall off the wagon but that isn’t a problem it happens. We just have to make sure we get back on and I know you will! Happy New Year and here’s to a fabulous 2019 xx
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Hey doll!! I am so glad that Natalie agreed to continue Wellness Wednesday and invited me to co-host. Glad to have you joining us. Your blog has taken off so beautifully in the past year and so many of your posts have a wonderful wellness theme to them. Hope you and the hubs and your adorable MIL are all well. Happy new year, dear friend!
Darlene
Hi, Leslie,
I just found your blog through Jennie’s of Pocketful of PolkaDots and thought I’d say hello.
I started my blog after “retiring” as an educator; although I’m still consulting and coaching, I felt I need a creative outlet, like blogging. Had NO idea it was so much work–yet so much fun!
Best wishes on your wellness plan. Looks great!
xx Darlene
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you for stopping by, Darlene. I enjoyed your Ethyl clothing post. They have such well made clothing. Hope they are making a go of their business.
I so enjoyed my 25 year career as a school librarian. I retired in order to have a second cervical spinal surgery in a year’s time. It was a very difficult time for me and blogging became my reason for getting up in the morning. I still miss the children and being in a library setting. Subbed for awhile but it was hard for me to put my all into a library and then have to leave after a few weeks or months, when the librarian returned. Were you a teacher or an administrator, counselor?
Hope you will come back again. Would enjoy doing a link-up with you! We do a bucket list series, Sentence a Day series, Wellness Wednesday once a month. On the last day of the month, I have a post called Stepping Outside my Comfort Zone where I write about trying some activity that is a real stretch beyond what I am normally comfortable doing. And this year, I want to share a date night post on the last Sunday of the month.
If any of these ideas pique your interest, let me know! Or if you have a pet project you would like to share with me, I’d love to hear all about it.
Thank you again for stopping by.
Leanne | www.crestingthehill.com.au
Hi Leslie – I really like how do-able your goals are. I never really set firm goals for myself like this because I’m too self-critical when I don’t meet them! Instead, I’m aiming for consistency this year – keeping up with my walking, blogging, working, reading, eating well etc. I’m still hoping to drop those pesky few kg’s that hang around my midrift but have yet to find the magic weapon to defeat them with – maybe this year? I’ll be following along with your progress x
Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond
Hi Leslie, I left you a comment but I can’t see it? Anyway, I’m so happy you have started up Wellness Wednesdays and also linked up with us at #MLSTL. I love your goals and am going to pinch a few. I’ve read some very inspiring health goals from you and Natalie and Jo Tracey so I’m going to take a little from each of you, if you don’t mind and use them myself. Happy New Year and another healthy and fit one!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Sue. So glad to link up with you gals for #MLSTL. Hoping to join you more often this year. Glad you found my wellness goals inspirational. Hoping to get back on track this weekend. XO
Cindi
I spent 2018 eating donuts, cakes, pies, canollis, cookies, candies, chocolates, ice creme…….the bad list just goes on and on and on and on. This was so unlike me. I just couldn’t figure out why I was doing this to myself. I knew it was wrong but I wanted a bit of dessert every day. Sometimes two helpings.
I don’t even want to tell you how many pounds I put on in the year.
Anyway, the other day I was thinking all about this and I had a lightbulb moment. I wasn’t eating any of the above and when I asked myself why, I blurted out that I was unhappy but now I’m happy and I had no more longing for those nasty desserts.
I was in shock.
I had no idea I was so unhappy.
AND I had no idea I was so happy now!
It’s been almost 3 weeks now with no more desserts, just my regular meals and I have slowly been losing weight BUT I am way overweight. I can’t believe what I did to myself. I must have been very very unhappy!!!! UGH is all I can say.
I’m living a more genuine, realistic life right now (in New York). Last year I must have been in la la land (in Florida). I’m very cognizant of my daily life right now. last year I must have been in a fog.
Anyway, it was very bizarre. I’m just glad I figured it out and I am back on track.
Thanks for listening.
And now you know my plans for 2019 going forward.
Shout out to Leslie!!! Mommy Hon
Janet Mary Cobb
Love these goals Leslie! Thanks for sharing – and the tips and hints are great. #MLSTL
Victoria
Leslie your goals are so good. I can’t get my head around doing much right now but I kee trying.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, sweet friend. I bite off more than I can chew a lot of times but last year I had was very successful with my wellness goals and program. Hoping to do as well this year. Thanks for cheering me on.
Danielle
Leslie those are great goals for 2019. I love the tidbit about putting the scale away. There are so many other indicators of health.
Also great minds think alike (financial wellness). Finances can cause so much stress in a persons life so it’s always a good place to be more conscience and aware and set goals for this.
Can’t wait to follow you in your journey.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I have always lived pay check to pay check. Not as much now, because all of joint bills (mortgage, utilities, insurance) are paid using our combined money from our joint bank account. But I tend to spend every extra penny in my account. Hoping to try to reel that in a bit this year. I don’t need a thing!!
Amber
You have a lot of fantastic goals, and I’m glad I am late in writing my post so i can borrow some of these great ideas! Wishing you much success this year!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Ha, you cutie!! Glad you could find something useful in my goals. Here’s to both of us being super successful. So glad you are doing Wellness Wednesday, too.