Some thoughts and discussions from me.
Healthy Intentions in 2014
Good morning – and happy New Year! 
Last night we rung in the new year with a surprise party for our friend, Greg (Lauren’s hubby.) With friends, laughs, staying up way past my bedtime, and champagne, it was quite the indulgent night. Most New Year’s Eves I usually throw caution to the wind, and just enjoy myself (from a food and drink stand point,) but then in the ultimate contrast, every January 1st (or 2nd,) I find myself thinking about how to live the year as healthily as I can.
I’ve never declared that I’m a resolutions sort of gal. In fact, I’ve repeatedly said on here that I never make New Year’s resolutions – but rather intentions. With that said, I have a list of ways on how I intend on living a healthy lifestyle in 2014.
The following post is sponsored by Fitfluential LLC on behalf of Designer Whey
1. Get serious about getting serious.
I love my workouts lately, but my goals are all over the place. I want to increase my chin ups, increase my deadlift, perfect my squat form, get better at get ups, and more. One intention for 2014 is to pick one major goal and do everything I can until I accomplish it. Then move on to the next goal.
2. Focus on solid nutrition surrounding my workouts. I’m old school – I still like to have a protein shake post-workout. Whichever kind I use, I like to make sure it’s a good quality protein, and made with all natural sweeteners and free of dyes. One of the protein powders I actually recommend to most clients is Designer Whey Vanilla protein powder, because it meets the aforementioned criteria, and it’s extremely inexpensive.
It stocks up at 100 calories per scoop, with 16 grams of protein, 8 grams of carbs, 5 grams of fiber, and only 1 gram of sugar.
You can also get it and brick and mortar stores, which is sometimes less intimidating for a client who’s new-to-exercise to walk into as opposed to a sports nutrition store. And, it’s super tasty! I also really like to bake (or un-bake, in most cases) with it, especially since I tend to have nighttime snack attacks. It’s a horrible habit, but every night a couple hours after dinner, I need a sweet snack before bed. This protein works great in my peanut butter protein fudge, no bake chocolate protein bars, and grain-free protein bars.
And to make #2 even longer, I’m also focusing on intra-workout nutrition. Right now I’d like to possibly take off a few couple of the pounds I’ve gained over the holidays. That means, I don’t need as many calories as I’ve been taking in lately. So, drinking BCAA’s instead of a full on protein shake after a workout will suffice in some cases for me. Those cases are when my meals surrounding my workouts are sound. Oh! and I’ve finally found an all natural branched chain amino acid powder:
A week or so ago, I walked into GNC and asked the kid working there that I was looking for an natural-ish BCAA powder – one with out artificial sweeteners. He very rudely scoffed, and said “good luck” …and I just looked at him. He proceeded to feed me some bull about protein drinks, thinking I didn’t know a thing about workout nutrition. I walked out, and thanked him for his good luck wishes. Well, lucky me, there’s this little natural food store called Richard’s in Sarasota, and I saw this on the shelf – an all natural BCAA drink! One without artificial dyes or artificial sweeteners. HA! GNC boy 
I admit it’s not as tasty as other BCAA powders, but I’ll take it.
3. Eat more vegetables.
I’ll be honest – I have to really think about getting my vegetables in. If I don’t take some time at the beginning of the week and prepare and cook veggies to grab and heat up for weekly meals, my rainbow of nutrients are somewhat slim. This year I intend to really beef up (ha!) my vegetable intake by chopping and cooking a batch of them a couple of times a week, as well as incorporating a greens drink into my diet.
I actually just bought this Greens + Advanced Muli yesterday, and it took me nearly 15 minutes to choke down all 8 ounces of my drink. I honestly don’t think any of the greens drinks can taste good, but for all of those veggies packed into one scoop – I’ll take it.
4. Re-prioritize my priorities. The other day I wrote out a list of my priorities, and then I made out a list of how I thought my time was split up between those priorities. I might make this a blog post on its own soon, but what I saw was very frightening. I love my job, and I love fitness, but if reading and researching fitness articles, studies, and blogs doubles the amount of time that is dedicated to phoning my closest friends? I need a priority shift. And this plays into having a healthy lifestyle by alleviating stress. When I talk to my loved ones, I feel loved, connected, and happier.
5. Take more action in active-recovery.
This means more foam rolling, more mobility work, more stretching, and perhaps a monthly massage. What you do on your off days from the gym is just as important as what’s going on during the workout itself!
What are your intentions for 2014?
I really like #4 — it is so easy to spend hours a day on meaningless (or just less meaningful) tasks. My resolutions for 2014 include something similar.
Katie H. recently posted…Top Ten Books I Read in 2013
What a great post. I love the focus that a New Year brings!
#1 is definitely one that I want to work on for 2014 as well. There are so many fitness goals that I want to achieve, but working on one will probably be more effective in the long run!
Hope you have a healthy and happy 2014, Paige!
Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves recently posted…WIAW: Melt in Your Mouth
love that you’re calling it healthy intentions. i wish i had called it that in my post today! love your list. eating more veggies is my #1 right now! good luck to you in this new year 🙂
christina recently posted…Happy Thanksgiving!
Love these! I’m not too much into resolutions but I set goals… attainable SMART goals!
Agreed…there’s too much pressure in the word resolution, to me.
I love the idea of setting “healthy intentions” rather than resolutions! I love #4 – I could use a little shift in my priorities this year. Setting some new fitness goals is one I need to figure out as well – there are so many things I want to work on!
Deb @ Dietitian Debbie Dishes recently posted…Coconut Apricot Cookies
That party looked like it had some delicious food! What a great New Years. I like the recovery intention- so important! My intentions are to run a new race (either a new distance or format (i.e. trail)), continue to donate blood every 8 weeks, and do something else donation wise…maybe something for kids.
I’m all about creating goals vs resolutions. Some may say there’s no difference but resolutions never seem to stick but when I set goals, I set out to achieve them! I love the one about shifting your priorities – I think that’s a MUST for so many of us!
Katie @ Talk Less, Say More recently posted…Talk Less, Say More 2.0
resolutions just feel so big and grand and…overwhelming. I like goals better, too 🙂 They seem more constant and continuous!
I need to do some more foam rolling as well! Happy New Year. This is a great list of intentions.
Julie recently posted…Tuesday Thoughts: Currently Treating Myself
Those are great! I’m definitely with you on #5. I already foam roll a lot, but I’m starting to incorporate yoga back into my routine and need to do more of the PT-type stretches and things I’ve been told to help with my injury-prone hips and IT bands. Then maybe I can actually run more, which will help with one of my goals of running a half marathon this year.
Happy New Year!
Courtney @ Don’t Blink. Just Run. recently posted…2014, I’m Coming For YOU!
right there with ya foam rolling 🙂
Happy New Years!
purelytwins recently posted…What is Purely Fit Life CLUB?
I like your intentions for 2014 a lot. I myself, also take BCAA’s after my workouts and protein shake as well with my oats. I’m also old school like that 🙂
Hope you have a fantastic 2014.
blackhuff recently posted…Hip flexors hurt with knee tucks
All of these Designer Whey posts are really making me want to try it out! I’ve tried whey protein powder in the past, but this one gets such great reviews!! One of my big goals for this year is to set aside at least ONE day a week to do strength training, instead of just solid running!
Sarah @ Sweet Miles recently posted…Easy Breakfast Quiche Recipe via PW
What great intentions (also, perfect word!) I feel like I do the same thing when I make fitness goals, I love your idea of trying them one at a time rather than all at once!
xx Kait
Kait @ ChickadeeSays recently posted…Yoga Poses for Stress Relief