LETS TALK GOALS: AMENDED

You may recall my previous column discussing goal-setting. I still endorse that column; however, I think now is a good time to readdress goals, as I’ve acquired new information I believe needs to be shared.

Your goals can relate to anything in your life, but this column will be specifically about health and nutrition goals.

In my previous column, the initial step listed was to first, establish a goal. That is a fine tactic. But I now believe the first step is self-evaluation. Why do you want to set this goal? What are your current habits that you desire to change? Do you exercise daily? Weekly? Do you have nutrient deficiencies? Do you eat out, or cook at home? Are you over- or underweight? What is the healthy weight range for your height? Do you have access to being able to identify your fat vs. non-fat mass?

These are just some examples of questions you should ask yourself.

Once all of these questions have been answered, it is finally time to begin creating a game plan. At this point I will give an example to help with explanation.

Sally is 5 feet, 5 inches and weighs 180 pounds. Her goal is to lose weight, which must include both fat and lean tissue. The goal of losing weight is not good, as stated, because there is no specificity. Does Sally want to lose 20 pounds or 80 pounds? That will greatly affect her plan, and the quality of her goal.

Because Sally is 5 feet, 5 inches, she should not lose any more than 65 pounds to achieve a healthy weight. Goals should be specific and measurable. A measurable goal for Sally, then, might be “I want to lose 50 pounds in 10 weeks.”

The next key aspect is achieve-ability. Because healthy weight loss is, at its fastest, 2 pounds per week, Sally’s goal is not attainable. Sally alters her goal to be “I want to lose 50 pounds in 25 weeks.”

Sally then takes time to reconsider her goal, yet again. Is it realistic? Sally has an active social life, so she eats out a lot and doesn’t partake in regular exercise. While it might be easy for Sally to begin to exercise more, it would not be as easy to exercise more and cut down on friend time. This could hinder Sally’s weight loss, so she alters her goal again: “I want to lose 50 pounds in 50 weeks.”

Because of Sally’s lifestyle this goal is much more realistic, and therefore more attainable.

Lastly, Sally must set a time frame. Because 50 weeks is almost a year, Sally decides to begin setting healthy habits in October – such as being more calorie- and nutrition-conscious, and exercising three times a week – and to begin her weight loss push after New Year’s in January. She calculates that she should reach her final goal right before the next Christmas.

Sally has now set a SMART goal: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, with a Time-frame. Because Sally has assessed all of these qualities and is not just jumping into a crash diet, she is much more likely to achieve and maintain her success.

Big changes like these are lifestyle changes. Like I said last time, you can’t change your life overnight, and in this case, you can’t change your body in a day.