Healthy Change #52 – Plan, Start and Repeat

ne year, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8760 hours, 525,600 minutes or 31,536,000 seconds. No matter which way you slice it, we all get the same amount of time each year. What we do with that time is, in large part, determined by us. Sometimes I look at a year and think how long it seems, like when Christmas ends and it seems like forever until next Christmas…or I can look at my kids and realize another year of their life has flown by.

This past year we’ve taken 52 “baby steps” toward a healthier lifestyle. Our own family has had success, in large part, because of you! You may not realize the role ya’ll play in our lives, but we’re so thankful you’re here, and you hold us accountable to the changes we want to make. To recap our “First Year of Days” we wrote this post, if you missed it, please go check it out, we found looking back on all the changes made in the past year very helpful and motivating; perhaps it will encourage one or two of you!

Healthy Change #52: Plan & Start

I can’t believe I’m actually writing that, but yes, the last change in this series is finally here. And, funny enough, it’s probably best suited to be the first change, rather than the last. It’s something we’ve weaved throughout many of the changes, but you can’t change unless you plan and start.

Simple enough, right? Well, maybe not…if you’re anything like me, making a plan and starting is sometimes the hardest part. Putting on my shoes is the hardest part to each and every workout for me. The actual workout is easy because I’m already there, I’ve scheduled my day to make it fit, and I’m sticking to that plan = easy! But making sure I don’t plan something else during the kiddos rest time (aka, my workout time)? Not easy! Convincing myself a workout is a better choice than taking a nap? Not easy! (Side note: The same goes for the flipside…if I think my body needs rest, then I will plan to nap during my “workout time”, and not feeling guilty about that plan is sometimes just as hard!)

Many of these healthy changes will be successful with the same mindset. Plan, plan, plan…and then start! We purposefully made just 52 changes for the year. Why? Because implementing change takes time. Take Healthy Change #1 for example…you may read up on getting better sleep Tuesday, make a plan of how you’ll implement one or more of the changes Wednesday, then start the following Monday…totally fine! Some of you may read, plan and start the same day, awesome! There’s no magic formula and each family dynamic is different. But if you’re intent on making healthy changes for you and your family, these changes won’t disappoint.

Did You Miss Them?

Not sure what we’re talking about with these 52 Healthy Changes? Don’t fret, they can all be found here on our 52 Healthy Changes page. If you missed a few over the past year, go back and pick up where you left off. If you’re just joining us, then feel free to start at Change #1, or jump around and pick out the ones that seem most important to you.

Have you been with us since the start of 2016? We’d love to hear how you did on your journey! Did you implement any of the changes? Have you been able to stick with them? Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear which changes were your favorite, which were easiest and which you’re still struggling with. We’ve incorporated many of the changes from the past year ourselves, and some of them are still works in progress in our own home. But that’s the beauty of this whole thing, we’re starting another year in a few short days and we’d love you to join us.

Ready for a New Years Resolution?

If you feel like playing along with us again this year, we’ll continue to share these 52 Healthy Changes on social media, be sure to “like” and follow us on Facebook so you don’t miss out on the conversation. We’ll post one change each week and have some fun discussion on how the changes are going, if you’ve been successful with them, or if you need more encouragement. We’re in this together! We’ll be sharing our own struggles and our wins as well as any additional tips we’ve come up with in the past year.

What’s New for 2017?

We have some new exciting ideas for 2017. I threw a teaser out on facebook asking how many of ya’ll would like help getting organized, or finding a cleaning routine/schedule, or meal planning, etc. So, as a personal challenge, I’ll be writing a series on just that. How does one run a household, put food on the table, keep laundry up to date and have a clean bathroom…all while doting on their husband, homeschooling 3 kiddos, raising a toddler and not going insane? We’ll find out together in our new series called “CEO Mom”. It should provide plenty of laughs…and perhaps a few tears!