Resolution Solutions from Our Girls!

Two Thousand and Fourteen. For the next 30 days (okay the next 60..) we'll be crossing out that 3 and replacing it with a 4. We'll be looking back at how great/miserable/awesome/terrible/miraculous the last year was, and yes, it was all of those things wasn't it? But we'll also set ourselves up to make the next 12 months the best they've ever been. We have hopes for our loved ones, dreams for ourselves, and vacations that involve both parties :) 

We asked our go-to girls - Therafit girls who are moms, who work in awesome professions, who blog - what they were resolving to achieve this year. We hope they inspire and motivate you like they did for us. 

 

Ellen Ross runs the blog Ask Away, where she writes about advice, fashion, and a variety of other topics. She lives in Pennsylvania with her 4 Chihuahuas and works full time for the state government.

2014 is my best year yet. I already know this because I believe in myself and anything I believe, I can make happen!

Last year I spent tons of time reading books and learning about how to be happier and love myself even more than I thought I could. I also learned about the power of positive thought and now I’m using those key elements to transform 2014 to be absolutely amazing!

By the end of this year I will have paid off over $10,000 in credit card debt! I’m doing everything I can to make extra cash here and there to put towards my debt. I keep track of every dollar I spend and make sure I stick to a budget. I am blogging about all of my progress so I can hold myself accountable and meet other people in my situation along the way.

I’m also doing my own little project where I give up one thing each month. It can be something I LOVE or something I don’t realize I do all the time, but could surely live without. This month is texting and driving, and some other months will be things such as gossip, buying clothes, and complaining!

I also will keep the 20 pounds I lost last year off by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and exercising more. I will be more disciplined, which I know is possible because I see the results from how serious I’ve been about being healthy. I can not wait for all this year shall bring.

 

Samantha Anderson, homeschool mom extradorinaire of As They Grow Up, lets us in on her and her family's ongoing lifestyle changes for 2014. 

As far as last year went, I haven’t accomplished everything. It’s still a work in progress to meet my fitness goals. I love setting mini-goals and once those are accomplished I mark them off my list. This year I am still on my journey to get in the best shape of my life. This is a lifestyle change and one that I work on daily. To help accomplish this goal our family has been cleaning up our diets big time. With myself and my son being gluten-free (we didn’t discover this until around October) we have done a complete overhaul in our diets. It was a slow process but now have completely going gluten-free for his health and mine. That is just a minor change for New Year! 

 

Lisa Sokolowski is a lifestyle blogger at Drugstore Divas and the wedding blog  A Bride on a Budget. She shares with us some honest insight into the power of seeing yourself as beautiful, regardless of what those numbers on the scale say. She will make a stunning bride come June. 

 Don't be a fat bride.

I repeated those words five words over and over when the thought of running one more minute on the treadmill was too much. It was January 7 and I was shocked that it was a week into the new year and I was still in the gym.

It was me on the treadmill, a man on the bike, a repeat of Bonanza on TV, and my mantra: Don't be a fat bride.

Fat is relative. If you look at me, you might not see the fifteen pounds that I want to lose by my June wedding. But what matters isn't what other people see. It's about what I see, what I want to work on, and what I achieve.

When I finished running two miles without collapsing on the ground, I was proud. If you looked at my time, you might have seen someone who could have picked up the pace. But what matters is what I saw. And I saw 2.01 miles. I saw I did it. I saw I didn't quit.

And that victory, that's what I want to carry with me into 2014.

I don't have resolutions for this year because, ultimately, nothing resolves. I have goals, stuff I hope to happen: for my blogs which I run full-time (Drugstore Divas and A Bride on a Budget) and to continue finding success, and for me continue finding happiness in small victories, to remember that numbers are just numbers (regardless of if you find them on a scale, on social media pages, in your paycheck) and numbers will never define you. What you see, not what everyone else sees, that's what defines you.

 

Our girl Deb, creator of Ezeebuxs,  writes

My goal is to manage my time better. I want to make more of an effort to squeeze in more exercise. I am not a speed walker. However, I do so enjoy a nice walk for clearing my head and get in a little bit of exercise too. I believe allowing myself to have some "me" time will make my responsibilites as a wife, mother and blogger more productive.

 

Dawn Wells is a social media consultant, project manager, blogger, and homeschools her four kids! - check her out on Blogging Mom of 4.

I want to get up and be more active in 2014. My kids are getting older and I want to spend as much time with them as I can. Which with 4 active kids, that means I need to be active too.

 

Stefanie Cornwall of Making of a Mom  is a stay at home mom of three children-  a seven year old daughter, four year old son and a 7 month old baby boy. She's been married for 10 years and her family recently moved to Kansas City, Missouri where they are getting adjusted. So far they love the area they're in and the people they've met! 

This year, for my blog and my family, it is about doing! My blog will focus on recipes, crafts, and projects for us to do together. My family will be traveling more and doing things together! I'm excited to get active this year!

 

Kristin Willis is the founder of the blog, Coupon Friendly. She's a wife and mother of 4 little ones, born in Springfield, Missouri (home of the Cashew Chicken and Brad Pitt - can we visit??). She loves spending time with her family, playing video games, blogging, and saving people money!! 
 

I cannot deny, I am overweight.
This is my sister in law (right) and me on New Years Eve.

I’ve always been self-conscious of my looks, even when my weight wasn’t an issue. I had never thought I was beautiful. I grew up seeing many negative situations. Often, when I was younger, I would notice my mom complain about the way she looked. She dolled herself up with makeup and curled her hair everyday to make herself feel pretty. Once I hit my teenage years, I did the exact same thing. I had never had any form of weight issue, until I got pregnant with my first child. After 4 kids, I’ve gained quite a bit of weight and haven’t felt the best about myself.

So for 2014, I’ve decided to work really hard to change my MINDSET and worry less about losing weight. I’m gonna start focusing on loving myself, than worrying about what I look like. Now, I REALLY wanna lose weight, but instead of dieting, I’ll eat better and become more active with my family.

 

And with kids comes GREAT Responsibility!
Our kids look up to us parents as role models. Whatever we do can affect them, positively or negatively. I feel if I want my kids loving themselves, then I need to show them that I love myself too. If I am constantly degrading myself in front of them, then they will expect that to be the norm. I have to practice what I preach. We must teach our kids to be good examples, serve others, love each other…and love themselves.

Focus less on “Losing Weight” and more on “Getting Fit”
You wanna lose weight fast? Stop eating….however, mind you, it’s extremely unhealthy, and I would NOT recommend it. Stop worrying about losing weight and how “overweight” you are. Focus more on getting active. Create family time, where you go outside and play in the back yard together, or even head on over to your local nature center or park. It’s not about losing weight, it’s about helping you feel better…inside AND out. I’ll be taking 2014 as an opportunity to better myself and my relationship with my husband and children.

and it’s going to be great!
What are some ways that help you feel good about yourself?

 

Bobbie Anne is a busy Texas mom of 2 boys who loves to work out and blog about family fitness tips on Blog With Mom. 

I look for 2014 to be a great year for my family and I. We all have great New Year's Resolutions that we are currently working towards achieving. My personal New Year's Resolution is to organize the house and keep it picked up on a normal basis. I have been working on this resolution by cleaning out closets, drawers and kitchen cabinets. In order to achieve this goal, I just have to find a home for everything, whether it be a donation center or a well organized cabinet. I am a pack-rat at heart and love my old stuff, but this year, I just have to make myself let go of some things in order to organize and tidy up my home.

 

Divine Careacle, blogger for Hot Fun Stuff, tells us how she's been expanding on her goals from last year. 

Last year was a great start for me to live a healthy lifestyle after having a major surgery. And I plan to push it more this 2014 and maintain it in the coming years because staying healthy and fit is a proof how much I love my family. I am also thankful to Therafit for being a partner in this challenging but rewarding journey.

 

Lisa Bronson is a mom of 4 beautiful children with a degree in English and Cultural Studies! She loves anything art, literature, beauty, fashion, family, cuisine and everything in-between! A bit of a hippy at heart, she's eco-conscious and tries to be as sustainable as possible. The glass is always half full! She chronicles her adventures on her site Mom's Gone Bronson.

 

2014 is going to be the year of reconnecting and repair!

This time last year I was a mother of 3 and I had entered the New Year pregnant with my 4th child, who arrived in September 2013 to top off our family of [now] 3 boys and a girl!

Suffice to say, my body has taken a hit from being pregnant twice in the last 3.5 years and I look forward to spending 2014 getting my body back into a little shape! I am happy with my weight and body image but taking some time out to really get back to being the best that I can be for myself and my children could never be a bad thing!

2013 was no joy ride for our family and a lot of not-so-great things happened, which came to a head at the end of the year and which are now in the process of being repaired, picked up and pushed forward as we dust ourselves off and carry on in 2014 with hope and a cheeky little smile!

I endeavor to move our family out of our current apartment this year and to skip on over to pastures new after having been here for the last 5 years. It is definitely time for a change of scenery, which [as they say] is good as a rest - and I certainly look forward to the move, whenever it might come!

I would love to make 2014 the year of reconnecting and repairing some old friendships as well as debts and situations that have been over our head through 2013 and to really get down to getting organized, saving some money and looking towards a bright future!

2014, as it happens, has already gotten off to a great start since a very good friend of mine, and I, reconnected after a 7 year fall-out, which I had previously thought might never be repaired! Thankfully we are both the same, but wiser people now and it is wonderful to be back in touch and has really given me hope for a spectacular year to come!

Life is far too short to spend the year looking back and worrying about what might have been and so I also resolve to live in the here and now and to maintain a positive attitude! I would also love to finish a few books, learn something new and to see a little of the world - even if it is just a state or two over!

I am ready for whatever 2014 has to offer, so send it on over!

Just a city girl living the dream in a small town in rural Kansas. Diana loves animals, and has fours dogs, a cat and a lot of fish. She is an eco-conscious vegetarian, and has been watching her weight. She loves movies of all kinds from cartoons to horror, reads voraciously, weasr too much make-up, bakes a lot, loves being the first to try new products and more than anything adore spending time with my husband. She writes for My Empty Nest - definitely read up on her reviews!

I think the hardest part of getting started on my journey to healthier lifestyle, was actually getting started. I know a lot of people who struggle with those first steps, and the feeling can be overwhelming. A healthy lifestyle is a million different things to a million different people, and it can be hard to visualize where you fit in.

When I started out, I had an image in my head of a toned athlete, running marathons and doing aerobics but as I took the time to listen to my body and assess my needs, it turned out that image wasn’t ‘my fit.’ To make the first steps in your journey to find your own fit, you first need to be honest with yourself about where you want to go, and whether you are capable of getting there.

My health will never allow me to run or do aerobics, so by holding that idea in my head I was setting myself up for failure, and it was no wonder I had no idea where to start. Once I started to look at things openly, I found wonderful healthy things that were in my reach, my favorite of which are: short walks, lifting light weights, and yoga. The really important part is that I try to push myself, and when I do that I feel good.

Only you know your needs and ultimately your true limitations, and only you will know when you are on the right path to your fit. In starting your journey, I hope you too will find something suited to you that you can love, because that love of what you are doing is what will keep you doing it, for days, weeks and years to come.

My journey has taken me from 230 down to 160 and back up 175 as you can see from the photo and due to a recent medical drama back up to 185. My Therafit Deborah shoes have seen me through most of my journey and now I have my Therafit Renee walking shoes on and I am ready to get to my goal of 140 by the end of the year. I also have a goal of hitting 10k steps per day. I am glad to be a part of the Therafit family as I reach for my goals.

 

Resolve to Make Your Whole Body Happy this year -  embrace it, love it, accept it, and make you - all of you (body, mind, and spirit!) the best you can be yet, and let us help you! Let us know what your goals are - tweet us, facebook us, or comment below and tell  us how we can help YOU!