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Starting a new year brings many emotions, especially hope and excitement.
Have you tried to set goals at the beginning of a year to realize that you did not achieve them at the end?
Maybe the problem is the way we set these goals. This article will share one of the methods I learned during my training to become a certified health coach with the National Society of Health Coaches (NSHC).
It won’t substitute the critical support a Certified Health Coach will offer (hello! I am here for you!). Still, if you are determined to do it yourself, it will help you.
The SMART goals.
SMART goals were first established by Peter Drucker (1986), a management consultant, educator, and author. This method was initially developed for the business world. It is still used in this setting and many others, including health. The five criteria to set goals will help you create short and long-term goals.
The importance of short-term goals:
Short-term goals are essential to help you achieve success in a shorter period, be motivated to continue, remain encouraged, fuel your discipline, and break down the work into smaller and more manageable steps.
The Five Criteria:
#1 Specific:
It is critical to be very specific with your goal or goals. A broad or vague goal may be a call for failure. Asking yourself the five “W” questions will help you:
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
An example of a specific goal would be:
“I want to lose 17 pounds and start following a low-carb nutrition to achieve a normal weight and improve my health. I will start tomorrow after I get the food I need”.
#2 Measurable:
It is essential to measure progress and what is accomplished. This will help you stay motivated and make necessary changes or adjustments to keep progressing.
Some of the questions you can ask yourself are:
How many?
How much?
How far?
How often?
A specific and measurable goal would be:
“I want to lose 17 pounds and start following a low-carb nutrition to achieve a normal weight and improve my health. I will do this by changing my food habits. I will follow a low-carb-friendly food list, track my carbs with the Carb Manager app on my phone, and measure my weight weekly. I will evaluate my overall progress every 3 months until I reach my goal”.
#3 Attainable:
You need to create a realistic goal. You should feel challenged by your plan but still be reasonable to achieve. Thinking about it can reveal obstacles in your way that you may need to overcome. If you know possible challenges, you can plan accordingly.
Some questions you can ask yourself are:
Is this goal genuinely attainable?
Is it realistic and healthy to lose 17 pounds?
How much weight should I lose each month?
Am I going to be able to follow this type of nutrition?
Should I set some short-term goals?
A specific, measurable, & attainable goal would be:
“I want to lose 17 pounds and start following a low-carb nutrition to achieve a normal weight and improve my health. I will do this by changing my food habits and losing a minimum of 1.25 pounds per month and a max of 0.5-1 lbs per week. I will follow a low-carb-friendly food list, track my carbs with the Carb Manager app on my phone, and measure my weight weekly. I will evaluate my overall progress every 3 months until I reach my goal”.
#4 Realistic:
It is essential to consider how realistic they are when setting health goals. Are these goals safe, reasonable, and obtainable?
We can include the term Relevant here: Be honest with yourself and think if achieving these goals is worthwhile. Is this aligned with your values? Is this a priority for you? If your answer is yes, you will have more chances of success.
Using our example, it is realistic, reasonable, and safe to:
“…I will do this by changing my food habits and losing a minimum of 1.25 pounds per month and a max of 0.5-1 lbs per week. ….and measure my weight weekly, paying attention to how my clothes fit and waist measurements. I will evaluate my overall progress every 3 months until I reach my goal”.
For our example, adding different ways to measure progress with weight loss and health is realistic because the number on the scale is not the only parameter of health improvement. In addition, the minimum and max weight loss in pounds is the safe way to go.
#5 Time-sensitive:
We need to establish a reasonable and specific time frame to reach the goal/s. A finish date gives you a point to look forward to. Without it, it is easy to procrastinate at the beginning or prolong the process too much.
How long do you think it will take?
End date?
Time limit?
Here you have to also be realistic and keep it attainable. In our example of losing weight, we must remember that losing weight too fast is unsafe and that every person responds differently to the process.
A final SMART goal would be:
“I want to lose 17 pounds and start following a low-carb nutrition to achieve a normal weight and improve my health by the end of this year. I will do this by changing my food habits and losing a minimum of 1.25 pounds per month and a max of 1-2 lbs per week, paying attention to how my clothes fit and waist measurements. I will follow a low-carb-friendly food list, track my carbs with the Carb Manager app on my phone, and measure my weight weekly. I will evaluate my overall progress every 3 months until I reach my goal”.
As a result, you have a specific goal or goals to achieve.
” A GOAL WITHOUT A PLAN IS JUST A WISH”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
A word about DISCIPLINE:
Social Media bombard us with pictures of BEFORE AND AFTER continuously. They are supposed to be motivational and inspirational. However, a few mention how hard they work to achieve the results, the up-and-downs, the plateaus, the bad days, etc.
Unfortunately, motivation and inspiration come and go. DISCIPLINE is the key to fueling yourself consistently over time. On the days you don’t feel motivated, the days after you lose track of your diet, or simply a bad day, you need to be consistent to keep going. This is DISCIPLINE and combined with hard work; it is the secret to achieving your goal.
