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The Three Ways I'm Focusing on My Health Right Now.

After three insane years of having babies, growing a business quickly, helping my husband start his own business and paying off over $40,000 worth of debt, I've paid the toll in my health.

Sitting at a computer all day is bad for your health. Go figure right? Eating brownies and chocolate more than apples and spinach is also bad for your health. Shocker.

So, 2016 is the year of health for me. It's my ultimate goal this year to make significant strides in my fitness level by the end of the year.

What does completing this goal look like to me?

• 35 Pound weight loss for the year.
• Being able to run 3 miles comfortably.
• Routinely eating nutritious food.
• Routinely exercising both in cardio and strength.

Four months into the year and I'm rocking it! I'm feeling better and seeing the smaller changes that will snowball into me meeting my goals.

It's exciting. And it's happening because I'm focusing on three things right now.

Get more sleep.

I'm a person that needs 8 hours a night and rarely gets it thanks to two kids that aren't known as the best sleepers. When I get less than 8 hours of sleep though, I find it hard to get motivated or excited about things and my willpower plummets.

I talked to my husband Jon, who is a total night owl and has a little more flexibility than I do in his morning schedule and he agreed to wake up with the kids at night and help them back to bed because he can sleep in longer in the mornings. Seriously.

So, he's been doing that and I've been walking around the house swooning over him all starry eyed like Bella in Twilight. Because there is nothing sexier than a man that takes the overnights so mama can sleep. Even vampires that sparkle.

Focus on fruits and veggies first.

Willpower against those darn brownies will be my toughest battle. I'm not a salad person. I'm a fried chicken and chocolate cake person.

So, I focus on small changes over time. I prepack meals and plan ahead, and be very concientious of saving calories on the things I don't care about (like 150 calories on a soda? No way! I'm saving those bad boys up for cheesecake at the end of the week!)

I always eat my fruits and vegetables first. Always. I count calories in myfitnesspal and I've noticed a significant decrease in the calories I eat in a day when I do this versus when I don't.

Make exercise fun.

I'm not a fan of most exercise. And for the longest time, I made exercise miserable and just tried to get through the things that I thought I should be doing. I spent almost 6 months experiencing with different types of exercise last year to figure out what I liked doing. Now, I make routines in my life to do those.

Fitbit.

I use a Fitbit to increase my general activity all day. I love being able to see charts of my progress and seeing how close I am to my step goals makes me more likely to increase my steps to hit that goal. Plus, my fitbit tracks my sleep which means I'm more likely to go to bed early.

Swimming.

As it turns out, I love swimming! I don't even think of it as exercise! There's nothing better than taking an hour out of a hectic day and slipping into the pool for silence and calm. It's a total body workout and I feel amazing after I swim.

5k Runs.

I love being able to get out and run 5k's with a group of friends. It makes running (or jogging in my case) exciting to me and encourages me to “train” for them (I'm using the “train” term loosely here). I just got back from the Fit Foodie Race weekend.

Despite the pouring rain, the place was swamped with people committed to good food and healthy active lifestyles. I love runs like this because it motives me to be surrounded by people that have the same goals as I do.

At the three-day John Hancock Hosts The Cooking Light & Health Fit Foodie Race Weekend, calories are both burned and earned. (No brownies, but we had some amazing organic munchies!

As host of the 2016 race series, John Hancock is sponsoring the John Hancock Vitality Village, the ultimate post-race experience that rewards a job well done and celebrates participants' hard work through delicious and healthy experiences (which means, more munchies).

Fitness without good nutrition is not nearly as impactful on your health as when you combine the two. That's why John Hancock has created John Hancock life insurance with Vitality, which rewards people for the healthy choices they make, like exercising, seeing the doctor, and now, purchasing healthy foods at the grocery store.

With John Hancock Vitality and the new HealthyFood program, not only can you save up to $600 a year on the nutritious foods you buy, but you can also significantly save on your life insurance premium and earn valuable rewards and everyday savings for those healthy food purchases.

Visit JHRewardsLife.com for more information on how you can be rewarded for the small steps you take towards a healthier life!

I received compensation in exchange for writing this review. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own

I received compensation in exchange for writing this review. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own.