Loving the BITE: End-of-Year Cycling Health & Wellness Reflections & Goals

Cruising along the Green River on the White Rim. 2017 sounds like a good year from some cycling adventures!

This year, I’m gonna beat the ol’ New Year’s Resolution to the punch. That’s right, I’m pre-empting the traditional date for goal setting. We’re looking back, learning and looking ahead, ahead of time. Then, we’re gonna repeat at the end of every month rather than every year.

Yearly resolutions are often overwhelming, far-reaching, intangible, and unsupported. Our reflections, goals, and habits will be the opposite. This year, you can make small changes, with daily habits, to accomplish your goals. You can feel in control and adapt them as you needed throughout the year.

So, take the pressure off yourself and have fun. Motivate yourself with friends, adventures, and a positive outlook. A wonderful 2017 awaits!

Recipe of the week: 2016 Review & 2017 Resolutions

Ingredients:

• pen or pencil
• paper (a journal is great!)
• 20-30 minutes
• open mind, grateful heart, and adventurous spirit

Instructions: 

Using your 3 pieces of paper and a pen(cil), reflect on 2016 and look forward to 2017. On the first paper, you’ll write about the proud moments, and mistakes of 2016. On the 2nd paper, you’ll write the lessons learned and things you’re willing to let go of in 2017. On the 3rd paper, you’ll write yearly & quarterly goals for 2017 PLUS daily/weekly habits you’ll form to accomplish these goals. See full description below.

Comments:

This may not seem exactly like the type of recipe you’re looking for from Loving the Bite. But, believe it or not, I spend only ~50% of my time talking about actual food and training fuels with clients…the rest is about learning from mistakes, future goals, and most importantly, HABITS. Although it may seem cliche to do this now, at the end of one year and beginning of another (because that’s when everyone’s doing it!), I think it’s a great place to start. And, then, I believe the best plan is to repeat this process at the end of every month, so that you keep your goals and habits current, keep the malable and stay in control of the things you can change, and aren’t overwhelmed with the enormaty of an entire year. Here’s how to start:

Page One:

• Write down 1-3 things you accomplished in 2016 that you are proud of. There’s always something positive you can take away, so find it!
• Write down 1-3 mistakes you feel you made. It’s extremely important that you keep momentum here and don’t stay on this step. Be as objective and take the emotion out of this one as possible. We have to face mistakes in order to learn for them and not repeat them, but at the same time, it’s a dangerous place to stay. So, just 1-3, in objective terms, and then move on to page 2.

Page Two:

• Write down 1-3 things you learned from your proud moments and mistakes of page 1. This is the most imporant part of reflection. Life is about progress, not perfection, and the best way to progress is to keep learning. So, what did you learn.
• Next, write down 1-3 things you’re going to “let go of” moving forward. These can be tangible or intangible, but we all have things in our lives that we carry for no reason. Too much worry/anxiety, too much guilt, a demeaning “friend,” an unhealthy habit, or too many commitments.
• ***Now, you don’t really need page one anymore. You’ve gleaned from it. So, if you’d like to throw it away or burn it, do so. Or, you can tear it in half and keep the proud moments and just discard the mistakes portion. This act of letting go of the past things that hold you down is important. It’s symbolic. Learn from the past, but don’t live there.

Page Three: This is where it get’s exciting!

It’s time to set goals and more importantly, identify some habits that will allow you to accomplish them. These habits are what you commit to doing daily and weekly in order to obtain monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals and resolutions. Resolutions without the habits to support them are merely wishes destined to fail…this is where most people stay – don’t do it. Here are my tips for setting goals in the new year, so you can have a positive start, middle, and end to 2017.

1) First, write down some long-term year goals (sure, you can call this a resolution).  Remember, these aren’t set in stone and can be reworked, adjusted, accomplished, and re-set throughout the year – so take off some pressure! Set 3-5 year-long goals and 3-5 supporting quarterly goals. Make sure these goals are ones that are:

• Tangible & Measurable
• Have a deadline
• In Your Control (worry about yourself!)

Write them down & sign it like a contract.  Get excited…even a little fanatical.  If you need some help here, check out these Motivational Posters. And, of course, check out Darryl’s Make it Happen Mondays to get you going for the week!

2)      Next, for each quartly goal, write down the daily or weekly habits required to reach it.  These should be action statements that you can control.  “Lose a pound per day” is not an action you can control.  “Omit carbohydrates at dinner 5x/week” on the other hand, is…see the difference.

3)      Then, enlist accountability.  That’s what I’m here for!  Or, try using a food journal (if you’re not already) for self-accountability, or, a friend.  Usually, it works best if your accountability partner is NOT in your immediate family or household. You can also try out www.stickk.com or www.dietbet.com.

4)     Have fun!  I’ll be the first to tell you that whole-food, healthy eating is delicious and fun.  Riding your bike more and finding exercise/activity you love keeps you young and healthy. Make it enjoyable by trying new foods, joining a friend in healthy eating, finding riding buddies, and planning adventures.  Really work on your thoughts to see this as fun rather than drudgery…this can make all the difference. Need inspiration for adventures, check out Darryl’s Unusual Beautiful Cycling Destinations or my White Rim in a Day write-up (Moab, off-road double track).

5)      Reward your efforts (reward yourself with new gear, adventures, etc, NOT food) and when you reach your goal, celebrate for a moment, and then set new ones!:)

LAST STEP: Don’t wait until the end of December 2017 to do this again…let’s simmer it down a bit and review, adjust, and work on our goals montly, rather than yearly. So, bookmark this page, and come back to it at the end of every month this new y

Sound a bit fanatical? Well, it is.  And, while “resolutions” sound all sparkly and important, mundane habits are what get it done.  I’ll leave 2016 with this thought:

Good habits are worth being fanatical about. – John Irving

And, if you’d like help with setting up your habits, I can surely supply the help. To start, here are 2 downloadable programs I’ve created to help you learn to eat to meet your goals.

1. For athletes who want to eat well to meet weight goals using a full meal plan PLUS optimize training nutrition for their sport, take a look at Fuel Right Race Light here: Apex Nutrition Plans for Endurance Athletes(click to read details). You can later choose to upgrade to a Custom Nutrition Plan & Coaching OR  you can start with it from the beginning.
2. For anyone looking to lose fat through a healthy 3-day smoothie cleanse jumpstart, long-term meal plan, fat-burning in-home workout, and metabolism boosts, take a look at my Apex Nutrition Fit & StrongProgram. You can later choose to upgrade to a Custom Nutrition Plan or,  you can start with one from the beginning. You can later choose to upgrade to a Custom Nutrition Plan & Coaching OR  you can start with one from the beginning.

Special Coupon for Readers: As a LovingtheBike reader, you can claim a 15% discount on Instant Download Plans by using coupon code: lovingthebike. You’ll be on your way to meeting your goals in no time.

2016 is just about in the books. Finish Strong. Learn and then move onto better things in 2017!

Fuel Your Ride. Nourish Your Body.