Setting a 2017 Challenge

Setting a 2017 challenge for myself and a single resolution

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone!! What a beautiful time of year, full of energy, excitement, and...

Setting a 2017 challenge for myself and a single resolution

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone!! What a beautiful time of year, full of energy, excitement, and …. resolve!

Another year, another new chapter, another time to pause and set resolutions for the year.

This time, I’m doing things a little differently. I’m setting a couple resolutions and this year, I’m giving myself one big challenge.

But before we go through my resolutions for the year, let’s look at past years.

Take a look at 2014, 2015, and 2016. Now, let’s look at 2016 and see which resolutions I stuck to and which ones I didn’t:

  • Spend more time with my girlfriends. Definitely! Of all the things I did in 2016, spending more time with my friends was a top priority.
  • Become a morning person. Yes, I worked out a handful of times in the morning and started work by 8, but by no means did I accomplish this in full. That’s why it’s making a comeback in 2017.
  • Stop beating myself up for not making it to the gym. Yes, 100%! This was the most liberating NY resolution I ever set, and I am so thankful for it. No longer am I haunted by my lonely gym shoes! I ended up working out MORE, because I was less conscious of missing workouts.
  • Take more time for myself. I definitely took a few hooky days off work to do things for me, instead of scheduling them for after the work day. Prioritizing my health was key in 2016!
  • Finally find a cause to support long term. I didn’t do this at all in 2016, I’ll admit it! It’s going on the 2017 list!

This year, I’m taking a different approach to New Year’s resolutions. I’m setting one main “challenge” and then setting one single resolution.

My main challenge is this: do yoga once a week for all of 2017.

Now, this is a HUGE challenge for me, because I’ve only done yoga once in my life. Once. However, I lack flexibility, I’m not the most centered or mindful person, and I think yoga will help with all of this and I’m excited to see how yoga will shift my mindset, change my body, and nourish my mind. Stay tuned over on @getinspiralized to track me and perhaps, follow along! And send me all of your at-home yoga YouTubers, for those days when I can’t make it to a studio but still want to stay on top of my challenge.

As for my resolution, here it is: Become a morning person.

I’m approaching this resolution a bit differently this time. In times past, I looked at waking up early as only a means to an early morning workout. This time around, I’m going to wake up at 6:00am and start my day however I’m feeling.

If I’m feeling energized and ready for a workout, I’ll workout. If I’m not feeling it, I’ll just get up, have a coffee, get some work done, and THEN workout. I definitely want to make an effort to work out in the mornings in 2017, not to “get it out of the way” but more as an effort to set a healthy, clear-minded pace for the day. Waking up early and working out has so many physical and mental benefits, and I want to reap them!

And I work for myself, so I need to stop trying to fit into a 9 to 5 schedule. It’s okay if I work out 9 – 10am, especially if that’s what makes my work throughout the day more productive. This is something I’ve struggled with since the beginning – breaking that 9 to 5 mentality. I’m always at my desk between 7:45 – 8:15am, but it doesn’t need to be that way!

No more of guilt-tripping myself to a 9 to 5 schedule in 2017!

2017 will be the year of being more confident than I’ve ever been before, playing life by the rules I set, and executing, not just planning. I’m so happy and grateful to have you all along for the journey – you’re my support team, and I feel all kinds of #blessed.

Inspiralized Meal plans

I challenge you to eat Inspiralized for a week and see how you feel! To launch the year, I’ve created weekly meal plans (Vegan and Gluten-Free) that will take the guesswork out of lunch and dinner for the week. I encourage you to follow along with me – these are the types of weekly meal plans I made for myself when I was trying to lose weight – they’re full of vegetables, lean proteins, and you’ll feel like you’re eating something completely different every day.

Join me and thousands of others over on the Inspiralized Facebook Community and motivate one another to keep on track of the meal plan – share images of your food, ask questions, troubleshoot recipes, and get excited about eating #inspiralized! Meaghan and I moderate this community, so you’ll see us check in everyday!

Click the below images to learn more about the meal plans and purchase:

Spiralizer Meal Plans

 

with love, Ali

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comments

  • Ali - thank you for this post. It is so helpful for me, especially today... We are leaving this morning on a wedding cruise for our niece. Food ship lol. And while I had to leave my beloved spiralizer at home ?, I go into this vacation with confidence in my ability to make healthy choices and have fun. You are inspirational and I admire not only your successes, but your willingness to be open and help others. It is so appreciated.
  • Wonderful goals! Here's to an awesome 2017. And if you're looking for a good YouTube yoga channel, I'd suggest Yoga By Candace. I'm kind of partial to her because she's a childhood friend and I contribute recipes to her website, haha; she is a wonderful and kind person and her yoga videos are incredible and understandable, even for a person like me that doesn't regularly do it. Def give her a try!
  • Great post and yes, no beating ourselves up! Let's be kind to ourselves every day. Ali, I love your black top!
  • Love your goals, Ali! I also love starting the New Year with new resolutions, reflecting about last year's list and setting new goals. Becoming a morning person and doing Yoga once a week was also on my list last year. One word of advice: The getting up early is so much easier if you start going to bed earlier! Happy New Year! Greetings from Germany, Corinna
  • Great post! If you are looking for some yoga on youtube there is Yoga with Adrienne. She has some beginner videos to work with as well as more advanced. She also has a website you can go to to find out more. My intentions for this year are fitness & healthy eating related. I do yoga & am going to try for a daily practice @ home & then when classes are available I will take those once a week as well as doing at home practice. My other exercise is walking & am aiming for atleast 7,000 steps a day & if possible I will do more. I am a 78 year young senior. Can't believe that! Happy New Year to you & your family.
  • Ali, It is possible to become a morning person. Both of my parents were night owls until they took a 3-week trip to South America and had to get up early to have fun. They decided that if they could do it on vacation--and they had a fabulous, amazing trip!--they could do it at home. I generally get up at 6am and enjoy spending the morning reading the newspaper before getting to work. And yoga is a great idea. I can't do it because of shoulder issues, but there are yoga poses I love. And there are lots of different types of yoga, including one type that is all about centering your mind. Can't remember what it is called. Hopefully, your studio offers different types of yoga classes so you can see the different styles. -- Jill
  • i love how you are focusing on being kind and compassionate to yourself. I'm taking your cue and making a resolution as well to get out of bed by 6 am on work days and 8 am on weekends. I have a problem with staying in bed until the last minute but by giving myself the gift of extra time in the morning I can accomplish other goals like working out, yoga, and making a homemade breakfast. Best of luck to you, me, and all the other commenters. Go 2017!
  • Yoga...I go once a week, when I can on Saturday...but I'm thinking about this, and you may want to think about this...there is a yoga monthly program you can subscribe to on your phone or Ipad. I've seen it advertised on Facebook. Just throw down that yoga mat Ali, barefoot in workout clothes and begin. You will feel longer, more flexible, relaxed. The program I am thinking of is called yoga on Gaia. Go check it out and see if it will work for you.
  • I love your approach to resolutions this year! And I have similar goals too. My boyfriend leaves for work at 5am and I try to get up then too, but I would always feel guilty if I didn't work out first thing. So this year I want to do what feels right, even if that's just drinking some water and stretching. And my mom and I plan to go to a yoga class every Thursday! I also see a lot more Inspiralized meals in my future ? Happy New Year, Ali! Hope you have an amazing start to 2017.
  • Best of luck with your resolution! Mornings are the perfect place to take care of your priorities. I am not a morning person (SO not a morning person!), but I get up 2 hours early so I can work on my book and do my dance practice. One thing that helped me was to build in some chill time. If I give myself a little time to wake up and relax (instead of rushing right to work), I don't feel so resentful about being up early. YMMV, obviously.
  • Love the yoga once per week!!! We should ALL try to do this. I'm doing a trial at corepoweryoga this month and am SO EXCITED. As you go along with this, if you find at-home yoga resources that you love I hope you share them either here or on your personal blog :)
  • Ali, I don't see my post from yesterday , but I had second thoughts about recommending an online yoga class for a beginner. Adriene is a fantastic teacher, but her Revolution series may not be the best for a beginner, and a new practitioner needs to get feedback on breathing and posture in order to be sure you are doing things correctly to get the full benefit. So, hopefully, you'll find a great teacher who encourages you as you become more flexible and strong. Also, it is not possible to become flexible if you stretch only once a week, so try to incorporate a few poses into your daily routine -- I like to do these for about ten minutes after my circuit training workout.
  • I take yoga private lessons through Skype! I found it was a great way to get one on one attention and instant correction and help, rather than hiding in the back of a studio and/or having someone not call me out when I'm trying to just do the bare minimum. I can connect you with my yoga Skype teacher if you're interested, but if not I just wanted to throw it out there as an option, because I know I probably would have given up yoga a while ago if I had just stuck to doing a traditional class. PS Love your resolution about getting up earlier.
  • Great goals, girl! I started yoga this time last year and haven't looked back. I'm currently taking a short break due to some tendinitis in my wrist, but hope that I can get back into it ASAP. Yoga in an of itself has taught me to be kinder to myself and love my body just as it is. You've got this!
  • Happy New Year Ali! You are such an inspiration: your health journey, business journey and how much you enjoy and love your life always makes me smile and want to achieve that freedom and energizing creativity you glow with! Re: the 9-5 mindset: I hear you! That's something I have a problem with: noone in my vicinity is an entrepreneur, everyone (my parents, grandparents, friends) work the 9-5 slot, just like I am. I'd love to make the switch some day but I fear trhe inknown not having seen anyone I know live/work the entrepreneur days, life. Thanks for the idea, I'll join your challenge of doing yoga once a week and trying to become a morning person: I think it would be the key to establishinga morning routine: workout, meditate, start the day on the right foot (and mindset), I'll have to force myself to go to bed earlier so I can get up easier in these gray winter mornings..
  • Great challenge and goal for 2017. I have taught Yoga, Pilates and Callanetics for over 25 years. If you are looking to gain flexibility, Callanetics is the way to go. Look for the studio in NYC. If not possible, get the DVD and do it at home so that you won't feel guilty. I promise you will be amazed at the flexibility that you will gain! Happy, Healthy 2017 to you and keep up your great work with Inspralize!! You are an inspiration!!
  • In my opinion I think don't learn things try to understand them
  • Hi Ali, Since your not a morning person I wanted to share a book called the Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. They have a big FB community as well. This book and movement has changed many lives. Good luck to you and Happy New Year!