Goal Setting + Things I Would Like to Accomplish Within 5 Years

Goals are important for a successful fulfilling life. Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. Setting goals takes me out of the everyday scramble and helps me look at the bigger picture in life. What do I really want to do?

Today's post is just a list of goals I would like to see myself accomplishing. I will add more as they come to me.

Here is my list (to complete in the next 5 years):

• Take an online on Herbal Course This looks like an affordable one 
• Train + Run a 5K, half-marathon & marathon
• Start growing a Garden (flower + herb + kitchen)
• Write + Illustrate + Publish a Children's Book already in the works!
• Make my own Organic Wine here might be a good way
• Lose 45 pounds 23 down, 22 more to go, but I'm halfway there
• Donate my old Stuffed Animals to a Children's Hospital or some other form of charity for children

That's a good start for now! Maybe you should think about some things you'd like to accomplish and write them down. More updates on this later.

Quick Morning Circuit Workouts

These are my morning workouts that I do at home in my living room before I get in the shower. Every month or two I go through them and increase the difficulty and switch them up a bit. I would like to note that originally I previously had exercises like jumping jacks and squats, but I have pretty bad knees, so these are exercises that don't cause me any knee problems.

These ones take around 15 minutes to complete + there's no need for a gym. If you have more time to work out &/or would like a harder workout, I would suggest repeating the workout two or three times... Enjoy!

Dealing with Depression Naturally + 7 Natural Remedies for Depression

You don't have to turn to drugs

In the traditional western medical model they turn to antidepressant drugs as a solution for depression, but there are ways to deal with depression other than drugs. Personally, I would not take a pill to feel "happy" when I know I'm not "happy". I believe the healthy thing to do is work through the pain, loss, hurt of whatever it is that is causing you to be down.

Why risk the chance of weight gain, sexual dysfunction, a HUGE risk of suicide, worsened memory, dry mouth? and this list goes on...We have an entire hormonal system to deal with trauma of all kinds.

Antidepressant drugs are one of the most prescribed drugs in the United States, doubling from 13.3 million in 1996 to 27 million in 2005. Despite this, more than one in 20 Americans are depressed according to the most recent statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

So why are so many people still depressed if these drugs are so greatly prescribed? Because they don't address the cause of depression.

Sometimes, if you go outside, walk barefoot on some grass and ground yourself to the earth, you can forget about everything for a moment and just exist in the present, where loss was yesterday, or tomorrow, but it's not now and it's not important.

Emotions are a blessing and a curse. We love, we hate, we lose, we hurt another and we grieve. But after tragedy, we move on and continue to exist in the now where we can take care of ourselves and our loved ones around us.

7 Natural Remedies for Depression

Sun

The sun is a free and vital source of Vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to depression according to the British Journal of Psychiatry. Now don't go and lay out in the sun for 2 hours, but 30 minutes outdoors everyday would be great. Try light therapy if you live in a place with out a lot of sun.

Exercise Regularly

No surprise here. You don't have to run 5 miles, just take a 15 minute walk through the park or your neighborhood and it will release endorphins in your brain which is another happy chemical.

Eat A Happy Diet

Believe it or not, some foods can help boost serotonin levels (which is what makes us happy). They include:

• Wild Caught Fish or Fish Oil, rich with Omega-3 fatty acids
• Grass Fed Beef (for tryptophan + omega-3s surprisingly!)
• Flaxseed (for trytophan + omega-3s)
• Healthy Fats like Coconut Oil + Avocado Oil
• Free Range Turkey (When you eat a protein source containing tryptophan, along with a small amount of carbohydrate, all of the amino acids except for tryptophan are cleared from the bloodstream leaving tryptophan free to cross the blood brain barrier and form serotonin.)
• Tart or Sour Cherries (for melatonin)
• High Quality Eggs (for omega-3s)
• Walnuts (for omega-3s)
• Bananas (for magnesium)
• Pumpkin Seeds (for healthy fats, magnesium + tryptophan)
• Dark Chocolate + Cocoa, try for 70% and higher cocoa chocolate (antioxidants + polyphenols)

Stay Away from Coffee

Many claim coffee to help depression, but it is really not a good mix. The concentrated caffeine will boost your mood quickly, but you will crash later and being exhausted but wired is not good for mood regulating chemicals. If you must have that boost, switch to green tea. It contains L-theanine which works harmoniously with caffeine to boost mood in such a way that you don’t get the same crash-effect.

Meditate

If there's one thing I encourage everyone to do, it is to meditate every night. It's hard to do but it truly helps balance you out and connect with your inner self... More on this later.

Talk to Someone

And if you don't have someone to talk to, don't be ashamed to see a therapist. They are hugely helpful and allows you to get some weight off your chest if need be.

Increase Vitamin B-12 Intake

Vitamin B-12 plays a huge role in producing serotonin, dopamine and epinephrime (which all impact your mood).  Either add more B vitamin rich foods into your diet or take a supplement (this is what I take).

Work Week Hustle

As a mom working full time, I have little time during the week to actually work out right now. I do however have some time early in the morning and late at night to fit some sort of exercise in... and then since I am sitting down at a computer while I work, I take about 5 different 20 minute breaks to do some walking and stair climbing.

To help remind and manage my work week, I sat down, listed everything I needed to do through out each day and came up with what I call my Work Week Hustle.

The Wholesome Folsom Work Week Hustle

I encourage everyone to do this! I typed this up, printed it out and placed it in areas that I am frequently at (refrigerator door and on my desk at work). It helps remind me to stay on top of my health and fitness goals.

My Three MUST-HAVES Every Morning

• Warm Water with Lemon always ALWAYS when I first get up (learn benefits here). 
• Morning circuit training workout varies every day of the week. View my workouts here
• Morning Juice freshly homemade with mostly vegetables. Makes the sun shine brighter and the flowers smell even better, I swear! View my juice recipes here

My Two MUST-HAVES Every Evening

• PM Workout almost always a 30 minute or 60 minute yoga video to help me wind down
• Detox Drink (stay tuned for more on my Evening Detox Drink)

You will notices other things like pea protein shake, stair climbs and walks, that I promise I will talk about later in upcoming posts, but not this one. This is about scheduling your day so you can stay on track of your goals. Feel free to print mine out and use it, but it's much more effective to make your own.

Hiking Adventures + Health Benefits

Superstition Mountains

Last weekend we all went on a hike in the Superstition Mountains and we even dared to take Ryder without our baby carrier (which was far worse for my husband than me) but it was fine actually. What a beautiful desert hike. All of the yellow wild flowers were in bloom, air was fresh, butterflies were fluttering and the views... Gorgeous!

Perfectly Captured Moment of Ryder + I

My Husband + Gorgeous Views

Superstition Mountain

Health Benefits

Hiking is not just a nice view with a good cardio workout. With hiking you can:

• strengthen your core, glutes, hamstrings, quads + more
• improve your balance
• lower your risk of heart disease
• improve your blood pressure & blood sugar levels
• all natural anti-depressant

Ideally, it would be nice to hike at least once a month if you have good weather. It was perfect here in Arizona (a low 80 degrees). So get out there and hike more with family, friends or go by yourself to clear your head and de-stress... yes

Weight Loss Goals

I would like to share that I am on the path to weight loss and health. 

I have Hypothyroidism (a thyroid disease, which I will share more about at a different time) that makes it hard for my to lose weight among many other negatives. During my pregnancy, I gained about 70 lbs. It was difficult... I had gone on a cruise to Italy and Spain (two of my favorite places) right when I was about 5 months along, couldn't drink all the lovely European wine obviously, so I said I'm in Italy... Pregnant... I'm going to enjoy all of this food because when else will I be in Italy again? (which I hope to I WILL go back to again) That will have to be a different post, but here is a picture of me pregnant in Italy.

5 Months Pregnant Me in a mask shop in Venice, Italy, May 2013

After I had my son, I was able to take off about 30 lbs in the first 6 months without trying too hard, but I was in "new mommy mode" and wasn't very focused on my weight. Skip forward to about 4 months ago and a girl I worked with asked how far along I was...... I was NOT pregnant... and this really opened my eyes that it was time to get healthy for myself AND my family.

Since 4 months ago, I've adopted the paleo diet, juicing, in home circuit training and taking frequent walks during the work day... Oh yes, I work full time as a Graphic Designer, a profession that has me sitting at my desk for the majority of the day. And also since then, I've lost 20 lbs and have so much more energy (which is really the best part). My goal is to lose at least 20 more lbs by July and eventually 15 more after. I will keep you posted on my journey!

I hope I can inspire others to take control of their health as well!