2012 Goals

It's 2012, and from the looks of things on Facebook and the blogosphere, this is going to be a year of change for so many people. I've seen countless posts and status updates sharing lists of New Year's Resolutions.  Like many people, I have things in my life that I want to work on, but instead of coming up with resolutions, I like the develop goals with a timeline and action plan to help me to achieve them.  Here is my list of health and beauty goals for 2012, along with ideas for behaviors that I can do to reach my goals:

Limit restaurant meals to 4x/month or less

• Plan a week’s worth of meals ahead 
• Have a cooking day (probably Sunday) where I prep foods for the week and cook enough meat for a couple of days worth of meals

·         Develop healthier eating habits

• Drink water 90% of the time instead of sodas and sugary juices 
• Swap my fave junk food (potato chips, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, brownies) for lower-calorie indulgences that I enjoy (homemade smoothies, yogurt, parfait, fruit) 
• Keep food diary via My Fitness Pal app

·         Work out 3x/wk

• Use breaks at work to power walk 
• Do something active w/ fiancé a few weekends out of the month 
• Develop hobby that is not sedentary (or involve shopping) 
• Workout first thing when I get home in the afternoon so I don’t have a chance to sit down and get comfortable 
• Track workouts using My Fitness Pal app on iPhone 
• Follow a different work out program each month to help w/ variety (Jillian Michael’s 30 day shred, Wii my fitness pal workout, couch to 5k, biggest loser bootcamp dvd plan).

·         Develop my health/wellness “glam squad” (family dr, dentist, poss dermatologist & masseuse)

·         Retain hair growth (4+ inches)

• Moisturize, seal & set my hair every night (if wearing hair loose) 
• Protective style at least 2 week of every month (mini twists, bun, or wig/clip-ins) 
• Deep condition weekly 
• Try henna to increase strength 
• Straighten no more than 4 times in 2012 
• Do scalp massage

Limit use of pain medicine to 4x/mo

• Natural methods for headaches, cramps, etc. 
• Try to get adequate sleep 
• Avoid activities that I know will cause headaches (ex. waiting too long to eat, using the computer for too long, reading in the dark)

In addition to these goals, I have other things that  I want to do to improve my quality of life.  I want to be a better person, a happier person, and live a life that is more in line with my values.  These aren't specific goals, but thoughts and actions that I will commit to doing to become the person I want to be.  

• Replace negative thoughts with positive one
• Stop Stressing the small things
• Leave work stress/thoughts at work.
• Consider motivations behind what others say/do instead of taking things personal
• Read 10+ books a year
• Give away 50 items that I no longer use, want, or need. 
• Read something life changing every day (quote, tips to improve life in some way, article, book chapter, etc) 
• Find my “passion”/”purpose” 
• Travel to a new city or state 
• Treat others as I want to be treated
• Limit gossip websites, reality shows, anything that promotes negativity.