The New Years Resolution. This age-old tradition repeats yearly, and now seems to flood our social media feeds throughout the weeks surrounding our celebrations. Over the last few weeks I have heard resolutions from friends, coworkers, and clients, all hoping to drastically change their bodies by cutting out whatever food group is being demonized this month, or by vowing to miraculously up their weekly gym trips from 0 to 12.
The start of a new year is a great opportunity to begin practicing new healthy habits, and I would encourage all of you to think about how to best serve yourselves and do your bodies well in 2015. But what is the secret to making resolutions stick? You just need to be SMART.
Ok, I know, you’re totally intelligent. But that’s not what I meant. SMART is an acronym that will help you set goals for the upcoming year that are ACTUALLY achievable and lasting.
SMART stands for:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time Bound
For example, you look to the New Year and think “I will lose weight and get fit this year”. Now, ask yourself – is this specific? Can you truly measure this? How much weight will you lose? How will you know if you are “fit”? And when will you reach this goal?
See how this may be difficult to achieve, or to even know if you have achieved it?
Instead, a SMART goal might say “I will lose 1 lb per week for the next month,” after which you can re-evaluate, and continue from there. Or, your goals can be more behavior based. Maybe you want to increase your fruit and vegetable intake this year. Think about how much you consume now. Is it 1 serving a day? Sure, it would be great for us to all eat 5 servings per day, but be realistic. Up it to 2 servings per day. Once that is manageable, increase to 3, and so on. Before you know it, you’ll be seeing glowing skin and feeling balanced due to your small changes that add up to big results.
So, what SMART goal will best serve you in the New Year?
The start of a new year is a great opportunity to begin practicing new healthy habits, and I would encourage all of you to think about how to best serve yourselves and do your bodies well in 2015. But what is the secret to making resolutions stick? You just need to be SMART.
Ok, I know, you’re totally intelligent. But that’s not what I meant. SMART is an acronym that will help you set goals for the upcoming year that are ACTUALLY achievable and lasting.
SMART stands for:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time Bound
For example, you look to the New Year and think “I will lose weight and get fit this year”. Now, ask yourself – is this specific? Can you truly measure this? How much weight will you lose? How will you know if you are “fit”? And when will you reach this goal?
See how this may be difficult to achieve, or to even know if you have achieved it?
Instead, a SMART goal might say “I will lose 1 lb per week for the next month,” after which you can re-evaluate, and continue from there. Or, your goals can be more behavior based. Maybe you want to increase your fruit and vegetable intake this year. Think about how much you consume now. Is it 1 serving a day? Sure, it would be great for us to all eat 5 servings per day, but be realistic. Up it to 2 servings per day. Once that is manageable, increase to 3, and so on. Before you know it, you’ll be seeing glowing skin and feeling balanced due to your small changes that add up to big results.
So, what SMART goal will best serve you in the New Year?