It’s New Year’s Eve today. At midnight the clock strikes 2011. This new year signifies the the turning over of a new leaf.Today is the day when New Year resolutions are made and when motivation to make change is high. Why not make this year a healthy year for you and your family? A “healthy makeover” does not mean you need to overhaul your life overnight.
If you expect to run a marathon, lose 25 pounds and quit smoking tomorrow then that is not just overwhelming, it’s unrealistic . A healthy makeover means taking small steps towards a larger goal over time. What is the best way to approach goals? In the 90’s (yes : the dinosaur era and can you believe 0ver 20 year ago!) I remember giving a talk to patients on S.M.A.R.T goals. These goals are : small , measurable, attainable,realistic and tangible. Let’s break it down for example.
“I need to lose weight.” or “I will exercise every day.”, or “I want to quit smoking” are large goals.
Small: Think about a goal in parts- break it down into small pieces. “I woud like to lose a certain amount of weight this month.”
Measurable: “I would like to lose 1-2 pounds this week – that’s 4-8 pounds over the month.”
Attainable: ” I need to decrease my usual intake by 500 calories each day- I would like to replace the usual cookies after dinner with fruit 3 times this week.”
Realistic:” I don’t like fruit alone- it’s boring especially bananas and oranges but I like grapes, berries and apples.”
Tangible: “Maybe I can have a yogurt parfait with fruit one night then grapes and a low fat cheese stick another night and strawberries and 1/2C low fat frozen yogurt on another night.”
I suggest writing down 3 healthy goals this January 2011 Then break them down into SMART Goals!
MY HEALTHY GOALS FOR 2011:
1. Healthfully Blog 3x/week to Support, Network and Creatively Inspire Clients to “create a lifetime of healthy eating”
2. Continue to Exercise 4x/week. Gym: 2x weights and cardio and 1x yoga. Tennis 1x/week
3. Creatively Cook Healthy meals and catalogue recipes on website for family, friends and you!
Facebook Your SMART Goals!
