New Year, New You... too cliche?

Everyone wants that magic reset on January 1st of each year. Resolutions of eating better, working out more, more time with family, less time at work... sound familiar? What if your New Year's Resolution wasn't a resolution at all, what if it was a way of redefining yourself to just figure out who you are and what works for you.

I have watched so many people in my life accept a challenge and they have been able to stick to it. Whether it is 30 days, 90 days, 120 days or 365 days they have found something that motivates them to keep going. If we are being honest, I am an IG type of girl. If I eat a salad for lunch, I expect to lose 3 lbs by dinner. This is a big part of the reason I have not "dieted" successfully. If you could just see the number of books on my shelf, it's embarrassing. Everything from paleo, south beach, weight watchers, caveman, fasting, whole 30, resets, fixes, cleanses... you name it, I have a book for it. There is one theme to all of these diets though... eat more vegetables, fruits, lean meats, fish and lay off the sugar, bread, pasta, donuts, pizza, take out, fast food, convenience store packaged stuff.

If we are REALLY being honest, there is no magic pill or magic diet. There is figuring out what works for you and doing your best to stick with it. I am looking at this as an opportunity in 2020 to figure out what will work best for me. I am not into forcing myself to eat things that don't taste good, I am not giving up a slice of pizza or glass of wine, but I am going to focus on nutritious food with the help of fitgirls.com and myfitnesspal.com in order to track calories and exercise and just be an overall better version of myself.

I have also joined a 20 miles in 20 days challenge hosted by my friend and sorority sister, Lacey benefitting Girls on the Run of NE Florida. We are committing to one mile each day for 20 days! Not to disappoint but this is not a made for tv movie of 'Carina Does a Triathlon'. This is just my journey that I am hoping with the help and inspiration of my readers will keep me going and staying on track to meet some short and long term goals. If you are interested in joining the 20/20 Activity Challenge Benefitting Girls on the Run, you can find the link on Facebook and request to join!

One of my favorite cardio exercises is Dance Trance! I LOVE to dance! My friend, Beth Handline, owns 2 Dance Trance locations in Jacksonville, one in Neptune Beach and one Downtown. It is a high cardio fitness dance workout that will have you sweating, smiling, and feeling amazing! Our #dancetrancetribe is filled with incredible people all at different points in there journey and just loving life and dancing together. It is a true no judgement, feel the music, amazing place to be. Check out www.dancetrancejacksonville.com for more information or you can go to the Mind Body app for class schedules too! Join me on the dance floor!

This is a big year of small goals for me, I am ready to crush them! Thank you Girls on the Run Northeast Florida, fitgirls.com, myfitnesspal.com and dancetrancejacksonville.com for helping me stay focused on this new journey in 2020! More to come...