Happy Monday!
Monday mornings are bittersweet to me. I’m always sad to see a weekend end but I also look forward towards the new week on the horizon.
I’m currently working on losing weight and unfortunately weekends can really hinder this process. Monday mornings are a great time for me to reflect on my past actions and set new goals for myself.
Whether I was healthy and stayed on track over the weekend or I may have indulged these are the consistent goals I set for myself every Monday.
1. 10,000 Steps a day
If you didn’t already know this about me, I love my Fitbit. When you get a Fitbit it makes your default daily step goal 10,000 steps. Why 10,000 steps? 10,000 steps is roughly 5 miles which would take someone about 30 minutes to walk. By hitting this step goal you are also hitting a daily goal of 30 minutes of activity. Since I work at a desk job I noticed that it is not easy for me to hit 10,000 steps on an average day. Luckily my Fitbit reminds me to walk every hour if I’ve been sitting at my desk for too long so along with these hourly reminders, working out, and taking a daily walk with my co-workers hitting 10,000 steps a day becomes a much easier reality.
2. Drink 2,000 ml of water
This goal I set for myself due to the size of my water bottle. I currently use a 1,000 ml water bottle so it’s easy for me to track how much water I’ve had in one day. I aim to drink at least two of these a day but on days when I work out it’s easy for me to drink three! Staying hydrated is very important to your health which is something I overlooked for far too long. Hydrating your body helps aid in weight loss, clears up your skin, flushes out toxins in your body, and much more! The standard rule is to drink at least 64 ounces of water a day so start small and try working your way up to drinking more water in a day.
3. Eat Fresh Foods
When my fridge is full after a trip to the grocery store it’s easy for me to eat fresh produce for my meals and snacks. As the week goes on and my fridge begins to empty out so does my motivation to eat healthy foods. When my fridge is mostly empty by Friday morning it’s much easier to tell myself I’ll just go out for lunch instead of packing the leftover veggies in my fridge. These past few weeks I’ve been a lot better about ignoring this thought and sticking to my meal plan. Just last week I even convinced my boyfriend that we would not order Chinese food for dinner and instead we ate a plant based meal. Eating fresh foods is much better for your body and overtime can reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, etc.
4. Work out at least 5x a week
This is a goal I’ve personally set for myself since I am trying to lose weight but that doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone. Basically this goal just means try to get up and be active as much as you can! For me this means hitting the gym for a good sweat session since that is what my body is used to doing. If you haven’t been working out try combining this goal with the first goal I listed and just go for a walk to hit your daily step goal.
5. Take your vitamins
Here’s another goal I’ve been really good at lately but I wasn’t always.... Vitamins are an easy way for your body to receive all the nutrients it requires. Growing up my mom would always nag me to take my vitamins and I would take maybe two a week. Now I make sure to take one every night before bed. Along with my vitamin I throw in a biotin tablet to help my hair and nails grow strong as well. Just because I think I may be eating a healthy diet that doesn’t always mean I’m getting all the nutrients my body needs. Vitamins provide me with what my diet may be lacking.
6. Sleep 8 hours a night
I am way too guilty of rarely hitting this goal. Unfortunately I have not been good about getting to bed early enough to always get 8 hours of sleep. Getting enough sleep has numerous benefits but the ones I always like to keep in mind are: aids in weight loss, sharpens attention during the day, lowers your stress, and much more. If you don’t believe me just try researching it! Not everyone requires a full 8 hours of sleep to live a healthier lifestyle but I would definitely recommend trying to get at least 7 hours if you’re not even getting that much in one night.
So there you have it, my Monday motivation - or mantras - that I aim to hit every day of the upcoming week in order to live my healthiest life. I hope you set your own Monday goals and hit them like the star that you are!
