5 Tips on Setting Goals

Goal setting is one of the most powerful things you can do to evolve your life in the direction you want. Here are some simple but effective ways to ensure your goals turn into results. So here’s to making awesome sh*t happen!


Find a quiet moment to visualize what you want to achieve. I recently found one of those moments looking out at the full moon from the window of a quiet plane, free from wifi and distractions.

Tip 1: Reflect on WHY you want to achieve the goal.
Saying “I want to lose 20 lbs” is a good for nothing. Why is that goal important? Why are you hungry for it? Finding your “why” will keep you motivated for the long haul. “To be healthy” isn’t enough. Be specific. Are you losing 20 lbs before you complete your first marathon in June? To get off of a particular medication? To fit into those high school jeans for your class reunion? To get back at an ex and feel vindicated? (Hey, whatever it takes!)

Tip 2: Write it down in the present tense, like you’ve already done it.

Our minds are incredibly powerful. When you speak in the present tense, your subconscious brain understands that you’ve already reached your goal. That creates certainty. It’s having that subconscious certainty that helps you activate your potential, overcome fear and take massive action. This stuff sounds hokey, but it works.

Tip 3: Make your goal quantifiable and specific
Instead of saying “I want to lose weight in 2014” or “I will pay down more debt”, say “I shed 20 lbs by June 2014” and “I pay $10,000 down on my debt by December 2014.” These last two statements are in the present tense, measurable and very specific. You’re setting yourself up for success this way!

Tip 4: Find a role model
Fear can be one helluva saboteur. Fear of failure is why most people fall off the resolution band wagon. Once you’ve decided on, and written down your amazing goals for the New Year, find an inspiring person to encourage and keep you on track. Reading the biographies of people who have struggled and persevered can also be an effective tool for staying motivated. Remember the power of the mind!

Tip 5: Take Massive Action
Progress means happiness. Don’t wait until January 1 to get started. Try something new. You become your daily rituals. Get that juicer, hit the gym, write that letter, start that savings account. Go, do it now. You are ready!

It’s going to be an awesome year!

“Mummy Tummy” Makeover

There’s been a recent slew of media attention devoted to so-called “fat shaming” fitness moms who have been posting online pictures of their lithe bodies soon after giving birth. It’s certainly controversial and (despite their “intent to inspire”) leaves many other women with feelings of jealousy, inadequacy and hopelessness. Promoting health and fitness is an honourable pursuit; scouring for external validation and public attention via social media is another.

The competition for women to give birth and then immediately erase any evidence from their bodies that they just created a child has become crazy. Another blogger called it obscene (I don’t entirely disagree). Ultimately we’ve become too obsessed with being skinny and hot and MUST shift focus back to promoting mothers’ HEALTH – physical and mental. STOP reading these magazines, IT IS ALL BS!!! kim-kardashian-on-star-magazine-cover

At some point the psychology of motherhood changed. What happened to women being celebrated as maternal life-creating goddesses? Give yourselves a damn break ladies! You just created a human being, are chronically sleep deprived and may not have the genetics of Heidi Klum (who walked the Victoria’s Secret runway 6 weeks after baby).

This kind of pressure to get rid of mummy tummy has postpartum women working too hard, too soon and doing the wrong type of exercise. This video of women peeing during Cross Fit absolutely horrifies me, not only because they are normalizing urinary incontinence – something that is NOT normal – but also because of the long term consequences of untreated UI (organ prolapse, hernias, bladder sling surgery… etc). What’s going to happen when you’re 65, 70?? FYI: second only to dementia, the leading cause of institutionalization – being put in nursing home – is due to incontinence.

This is not a bashing of intense Cross Fit style training. Cross Fit has its place. This is a plea to all women out there: please take the time to rehabilitate your inner core muscles after giving birth. You just popped out a human being, helloooo!
What’s the use in losing all your baby weight if your inner organs are dropping and you leak every time you sneeze? Learn to do proper kegels to reconnect your abdominal walls and strengthen the deepest layer of abs (transversus abdominis). My pelvic floor physio colleagues at Pelvienne Wellness have this helpful kegel how-to article.
diastasis-recti

To all moms, new and veteran: Get yourself checked for diastasis recti (abdominal wall separation seen above) which can still exist for years after giving birth. If you have a stubborn pooch, chances are it could be because of lingering diastasis. It can more often than not be repaired through proper exercise, and we can help.

Get rid of your mummy tummy from the inside out by restoring your inner core through mindful abdominal exercises (NOT traditional crunches). There’s no crash diet or crazy cardio bootcamp that will do it safely or effectively.

Whoever said it would be easy, lied. What they meant to say, is that it’d be worth it!