Amp Up Your Health & Fitness Goals: How to Use the Wellness Planner

I've recently really enjoyed reading Darren Hardy's book "The Compound Effect." (So much so that I made my husband read it as well and he's also singing it's praises). The book was filled with little reminders on how to be successful in several areas of your life. It was a quick read, but I loved that it wasn't rocket science. In fact, Hardy's suggestions were things I already knew had worked for me in the past.

In particular, I was reminded of the importance of tracking. I'm a little embarassed to say that I haven't been using my habit tracker. Unfortunately, I think the last time I tracked anything was in February and I have to admit, my health and wellness has taken a beating because of it. I'm so much better when I track my actions each and every day.

Besides tracking, the biggest facor to my success is accountability. Holding yourself accountable to reach your goals ensures that you have a motive when you start to waver and lose interest.

It was this mindset that drove the design of EO Edit's most recent launch, The Wellness Planner . I wanted something that would help you track your goals, look stunning in your planner so you actually wanted to use it, and a place that kept you accountable to your goals.

Here are the steps I take to accomplish my fitness goals using The Wellness Planner. Let's go through it.

1. WHAT IS YOUR WHY?

The wellness planner starts with defining your reason why. Take some time to reflect and think about why you're doing all of this. Know your why and remind yourself of it whenever you need. Sometimes it's easy to know your why. The months before my wedding my "why" was to look my best on my wedding day. When my husband played hockey, his "why" was to be strong and compete at his best on the ice. Day to day life, however, can be harder to understand your why. Simply put, my "why" is to be healthier but that can be hard to measure accurately. Be specific with your goals, understand your motive, and write it down so you can remind yourself of it often.

2. PREPARE & PLAN

Like anything, preparation is the key to success. You can't set your goal and expect to wake up knowing exactly what to do. This is why I love the Wellness Planner. Before you even step foot in the gym, you can map out your workouts, determine your schedule, and have a game plan. Decide when, how, and where you'll workout. Mornings? Afternoon? Evening? What works best with your lifestyle? Sign up for classes and schedule them into your planner. Have everything ready to go. No excuses.

The Wellness Planner has space to map out each workout as well as plan out your work out schedule for the whole month.

3. SET SMALL GOALS

Like I said at the beginning, "being healthy" isn't a solid, measurable goal. It might be my long term goal but I have to set small actionable steps in order to get there. Smaller, more specific goals that you can easily manage week to week will help you to be healthier, see results faster, and keep you motivated. Each week (usually sunday) I think about how I want my life to look. Small goals might look something like this: workout 3 times, lift 5-10 extra pounds, no cheat meal this week, have a green smoothie for breakfast everyday this week, drink 48 oz. of water each day this week, etc. The weekly wellness pages from The Wellness Planner are great for tracking exercises, setting intentions, and visualizing your healthy habits that you want to focus on. Committing to smaller, healthy habits and making them a part of your lifestyle will not only be easier to achieve over time but also ensures you're making a lifestyle change that will be sustainable. After a while, you won't even have to actively think about doing these things, they'll just become second nature.

4. ACCOUNTABILITY BUDDIES

Whether you have a best friend, significant other, or social media community, having someone outside of yourself that will keep you in check and motivate you is a powerful thing. Exchange healthy recipes, send exercise tips, and check in with each other. They don't even have to say anything or work out with you. Just the thought of not only letting yourself down but someone else too is enough motivation to keep pushing through on those tough days.

It's this reason alone I'm sharing my 30 day yoga challenge on Instagram and because I want to share this journey with you and keep myself accountable...

The 30 day challenge insert is only $1.00 from June 14th to July 14th!

Grab it here.

Working out with friends and family can make an otherwise difficult work out really fun and social. Go for a walk together, schedule a class together, try something new, go hiking, whatever you can do to be active and healthy while getting some quality time in.

4. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS & REWARD YOURSELF!

Tracking your progress no matter how small it is, is hugely beneficial. You'll be able to look back and see areas where you struggled, learn more about yourself in the process, and celebrate your wins. And of course, reward yourself for all of the work you've put in! At least every week, define something you accomplished that is working towards your goal. No matter how small it is (maybe you turned down dessert one night, or your 30 min jog felt a little easier this week) get excited for your small victories.

5. DO IT YOUR WAY

When it's all said and done, The Wellness Planner is designed to be unique to you. Each insert is simple enough so that you can cater it to your lifestyle, goals, and style of exercising. That's the biggest takeaway. No matter what I say, all the tricks that works for me, all of this may not work for you. No matter how big or small your goals, you won't achieve them if you don't find a way to make them work for you. You have to find ways to make your goals fun and enjoyable. Eat the healthy foods you actually like, do exercies that you enjoy, will look forward to, and make you feel fulfilled. Learning what you like will make healthy habits much more sustainable long-term rather than forcing yourself to eat or do things you hate. Don't be afraid to expriment and discover what that is. Try new recipes and push yourself out of your comfort zone a bit. Make it exciting. It will be the most fun way to reach your goals.

So that's bascially how I go through The Wellness Planner and keep myself accountable. To sum it all up, know your why, plan plan plan, focus on the small goals, find ways to be accountable, track it and celebrate your wins, but most importantly, do it your way!

Let me know in the comments, what is your favorite exercise or work out right now? I'd love to know!

-Emilee