Planning is a huge key in seeing your goals come to life, no matter what they may be! Most people run into problems when goals are much too vague, aren't planned out, or when unexpected obstacles get in the way.
As a nutritionist at Simply For Life, I find most clients who sign up for our nutrition coaching are looking to lose weight, build muscle, or learn how to eat properly for their specific body. Don't get me wrong...these are great reasons to start a new journey! However, it's important to dig deeper into those goals. The beauty of using the SMART goal method is to further examine these goals and to make them stick, through good times and bad!
The SMART goal system was developed by George Doran in an article he wrote in 1981. It has since been used by hundreds of thousands of people across the globe! We will use "losing weight" as an example of how to apply the SMART acronym to this goal.
- Specific: The "S" means your goal must be specific. Why do you want to lose weight? To better manage a disease? To be able to do your first 5k run? Get specific!
- Measurable: "M" is for measurable - will you get blood work done to check on your health? Taking measurements/tracking weight metrics? This is a physical way to show progress.
- Attainable: Is it attainable? Sometimes certain weight goals are unhealthy for your body height, age, etc. Our nutritionists can help you with this!
- Realistic: Expecting to drop 60 pounds in a month, winning a running race in a week with no running experience, or expecting to build every healthy habit in a few days are unrealistic goals. Adjust time frames or expectations to be realistic.
- Time-related: When do you want to meet this goal? Again, take into consideration attainability+realism to calculate this.
Extra Hint: Discover probable obstacles! What obstacles do you think will pop up along the way in reaching your goal? For weight loss, this can be emotional (self-sabotaging tendencies), vacations, events, hitting weight loss plateaus, etc. Write down at least three and what you can plan in advance to combat them - it's much easier to plan ahead while you are presently motivated!
Make sure to WRITE out your SMART goal so you can keep yourself accountable along the way!
If part of your SMART goal this year is to find customized nutrition to meet your goal, book a FREE consult with our nutritionist team to get the ball rolling!
