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Tuesday, February 07, 2017

Ring in the New Year with Goal Setting!

Ya, I know, goal setting is boring and often you don't really believe you can set a goal and achieve it. I am here to tell you, I used to feel the same way! Once I learned HOW to set a goal, though, I become more proficient at it.

The way to succeed at goal setting is to make realistic goals. Sounds simple, right? Let's explore some ways to do this.

First off, let's use the common goal of losing weight. Get a piece of paper. (Don't do this in your head.) Write down one goal you want to achieve at the top of the paper. For example:

"I want to lose weight"

Now break this goal down into smaller goals:

I want to lose weight
I want to lose (how many) pounds
I want to lose these pounds by a specific date
I will lose weight by:
     Eating more vegetables (how much more?)
     Eating less fast foods (how much less?)
     Eating fewer calories (how many fewer?)
     Eating healthy foods (what IS a healthy food?)
     Eating less sugar (how much less?)
     Eating less fat (how much less?)
     Counting calories
     Keeping a food journal
     Exercising more (how much more?)
          30 minutes a day cardio (every day? every other day? what type of cardio?))
          30 minutes a day strength training (how often? what kind?)

The more you break down your goals into smaller manageable parts, the easier it will be to actually achieve those goals!

After you've broken down your goals into smaller bite-sized chunks, (pun intended), organize them into a logical order. For example you might start with a food journal. You can even shrink the actual chore of keeping a food journal into even smaller goals.

You might start with just writing down what you ate. Do that for a week or two before adding portion sizes or calorie counting. In a month's time writing in your food journal, including portion sizes and calorie counting will become almost second nature. Perhaps break this down even further to logging your fat grams or carbs. Once that becomes a habit, add your exercise plans and goals, one at a time.

Exercises could be broken down into ten minute a day segments. The first month you do ten minutes of treadmill walking. The second month you add five or ten minutes until it becomes more a part of your normal daily routine.
By breaking down our goals into the smallest and most simple pieces, we can actually achieve those goals easier. They will also stick with us better because we are forming new habits; new lifestyles, to go along with our big goal of losing weight.

My first goal of this year was to walk a minimum of ten minutes a day for the whole year. I have done this before and I have done it every day so far this year! My second goal is to NOT have fried eggs for the month of February. See? Simple goals. If you make them simple you will feel successful as you accomplish each one and you will stay motivated to achieve your goals.

What simple goal plans can you make?

1 comment:

Crabby McSlacker said...

You are so right about making goals small and concrete and achievable! And I also agree about accountability in the form of journals (or the Dreaded My Fitness "Pal", which I have a love/hate relationship). Getting all numerical about it drives some people crazy, it's not for everyone, but for me it works. I don't do it all the time, but I know when I need to go back to it.

And congrats on being so consistent on the walking!