Change Your Life 2024 - January

Earlier this week I shared how I am approaching 2024. I want to make some significant changes, which will require me to create and break several little habits. Every month, I’ll choose a few habits to focus on building. For January, I have decided to kick things off with these habits:

• Weigh in every morning

• Drink at least 64oz of water

• At least 30 minutes of daily movement

• Create and implement an evening routine

• Track my meals

• Aim for 90g of protein, 30g of fiber, and 50g of fat each day

Changing My Lifestyle in 2024

Weigh in every morning

I’ve found this to be the best motivator for me and the best way to capture changes in my weight over time. For me, weighing in only every couple of days or once a week leads to discouragement because it seems like my body does so many random things. Being able to see how the numbers change from day to day can be tedious at first, but once the numbers start to change I love seeing how they can vary. It makes it feel a lot less daunting to see two days of loss followed by one day of gain knowing that I am making progress and I did not eat 3lbs worth of calories the day before. Weighing in daily helps me keep focused on my overall goal.

Drink at least 64oz of water

I know I feel my best when I drink more water, but it can be challenging for me to keep up with throughout the day. Tracking my water intake usually helps because it is more top of mind. The easiest way for me to keep up with my water intake is to make sure I fill up my water bottle first thing in the morning and make sure I do it again before noon and before afternoon daycare pickup. Having these little check-ins is helpful to know where I’m supposed to be and also gives me enough time to spend the evening focusing on water intake too, though I try to avoid this so I’m not up all night going to the bathroom.

At least 30 minutes of daily movement

I love getting outside and getting some movement in every day. I just really suck at prioritizing it. I recently read Tranquility by Tuesday and Vanderkam made the argument to get outside for a walk or whatever every day before 3pm. She talked about how important it is to give yourself mental breaks. As someone who works from home, I have a lot of flexibility in this area so I know I can do it. It’s just a matter of prioritizing it and doing it. To do so, I’m going to schedule this time on my calendar like a meeting to get it done!

Create and implement an evening routine

I’m planning on starting small here. I don’t need an elaborate evening routine - just something I do consistently. Here’s what I have in mind:

• Change into PJs

• Pick up toys

• Get the kids to bed

• Reset the kitchen

• Connect with my husband

• Vitamins and skincare

• Oral care

• Read in bed for at least 10 minutes

Most of this is stuff I already do every evening, it’s just a matter of doing it in the right order and making sure it gets done every day.

Track my meals

One critical component for me to lose weight is to track my meals. Being more conscious of what I’m eating and how much I’m eating is major. I’m not as much of a binge eater as I used to be, but I don’t always make the healthiest choices. And even worse when I don’t make the healthiest choices, it’s not just a one-time thing so there is little balance on those days. Tracking helps me keep an eye on everything and answer to myself about what I’m eating so I make healthier choices.

For tracking, I use the Lose It! app as I’ve found that I like it better than My Fitness Pal.

Aim for 90g of protein, 30g of fiber, and 50g of fat each day

Along with tracking my meals, tracking my macros is big too. It helps me ensure that I am eating the right types of foods and that I can feel satisfied. This ratio of macros is what I found that worked best for me. I don’t always hit the fiber goal but I do a pretty good job meeting protein and fat which I think is good enough for me. As long as I’m getting close to 30g of fiber, I’m happy with that.

This is my plan for January! To track my habits, I have created a Google Sheet so I can see progress over time and focus on filling in the info every day. How do you motivate yourself? Don’t forget to join us in the subscriber chat to share more about how you’re approaching 2024 and let’s kick the year off right together!

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