Health Goals for Success

Phew, it’s been a crazy busy June! Anyone else relate? End of year activities and parties added to our already busy schedules can make for a hectic month.

When we have extremely busy phases in our lives often our goal to keep our bodies healthy and strong goes on the back burner. However, I would argue that eating healthy (avoiding junk food) and moving our bodies is the PERFECT combo to help calm our stressed out busy bodies and minds.



For fitness, consistency is best. The key is setting goals. SMART goals. Now before you roll your eyes, please let me lay out an important scientific fact about goal setting I recently discovered.



76% of people who wrote down their goals and provided weekly progress to a friend or trainer achieved their goals. WOW! That is a huge percentage! This study shows the value of taking the time to write down your goals, create an action plan, and develop a system of support to hold yourself accountable for achieving your goals.



The goal needs to be:


• Specific

• 
Measurable


• Achievable

• Realistic

• Timebound



Think about your deepest desires in terms of your health: what do you picture in your mind when you think about your future healthier version of yourself?



The goal can be anything from increasing lean muscle mass to healing low back pain to losing weight.



Let’s work though an example: say you want to lose weight.

The goal needs to be SMART.



• Specific: I want to lose 10lbs

• 
Measurable: I will weight myself every week and write down on a chart. I will share the results will a friend or trainer for accountability


• Achievable : I want to lose 10lbs in 20 weeks


• Realistic: Even though I want to lose more than 10lbs, but I will start with 10lbs as it’s more realistic


• Timebound: I will lose 1/2 lb every week over the next 20 weeks



SMART: I plan to lose 10lbs over the next 20 weeks by completing my three action steps consistently (below).



Once you have your SMART goal, start to think about ways you can achieve that goal. Come up with three action steps for the next 4-5 weeks:



1. I will increase my protein intake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner so I will feel more full and snack less. I will aim for 30g of protein at every meal.

2. 
I will resistance train (Pilates equipment, weight train, barre, etc) three times a week, using enough resistance that bring the reps to near failure.


3. I will increase my cardio to three times a week, 30 minutes, at an intensity of 70-80% my heart rate max.



Now find a friend, family member, or trainer (me!) that you can check in weekly to share your progress.

After the first 4-5 weeks take a moment to evaluate how the progress has been and tweak your action steps as needed. 

Planning your success can be this simple!



Now PLEASE know that consistency is key to success NOT perfection. It’s okay to miss a workout once in a while. It’s okay to have a yummy 5-course birthday meal here and there. But if most days of the week you can stick to your plan, you will reach your SMART goal.

Resources:


https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/achieving_your_goals_an_evidence_based_approach