How to Stay on Track with Health Goals
It’s challenging to stay on track with health goals during your everyday routine. A lot of people fall short of meeting their health goals due to a lack of consistency, unrealistic goal setting, or a lack of clarity in how to get to where they need to be. It all comes down to foundation, goal setting, and accountability when building your plan. Let’s dive into how you can set yourself up for success this summer with building your own foundation.
Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals
It’s one thing to set goals because you think that it’s something you should do, but it’s a completely other thing to set the goals with the actual expectation and desire to complete them! When setting nutrition goals, you must take time to thoughtfully think of how and why you want to achieve this goal, as well as what will be required of you in order to come out successful. Think about what your WHY is. Your “why” can change over time. Here are some examples of some “why’s” that you might resonate with:
- Preventing diseases such as heart disease or cancer
- Managing diseases such as diabetes
- Reducing pain
- Having energy to play with your kids or grandkids
- Being able to focus and concentrate so you can be successful in your career
Whatever your “why” is, setting “SMART” goals is a helpful method that will hopefully increase the probabilities of you achieving your health goals.
The acronym stands for:
S- “specific”
M- “measurable”
A- “achievable”
R- “realistic”
T- “timely”
It’s a must to be specific when setting your nutrition goals in order to have a clear vision of what it is exactly that you want to become successful in. Make our goals SPECIFIC and narrow for effective planning ahead. A measurable goal is one in which your progress can be easily tracked. This could be tracking the servings of vegetables you consume each day or how many times a week you are able to complete a structured workout. It is necessary to be able to track your progress in order to observe if your behaviors are moving you closer or further to/from your goal. We want to set ourselves up for success during the process of meeting our goals. In order to give ourselves the best chance possible in becoming successful, we must make sure that we can reasonably accomplish our goals within a certain timeframe. They should eventually be attainable, or achievable, and not so far off that we’re only setting ourselves up for failure.
Our goals should also align with your “why.” Your “why” is the deeply rooted reason we mentioned earlier why you are wanting to see such results. What will you achieve by doing so? How will it make you feel? Your goals should align with your values and your long-term objectives. Based on this and what you’re hoping to achieve, you also need to choose a time-frame when setting goals. Setting an end-date or time frame helps to prioritize tasks and keep you on a structured plan to success. Choose a start and end time when you think the goal can be accomplished and work every day to inch closer and closer. When setting goals for yourself, setting S.M.A.R.T ones is the first step!
Get an accountability buddy
Most of us have experienced a lack of motivation when it comes to bringing ourselves to eat healthy or workout. Having a support system when going through the journey of meeting certain nutrition goals can make the process feel much more accessible. Having an accountability buddy is a great way to have a support system, feel more motivated, and gain insight/advice when struggling to stay on track.
Who can be an accountability partner?
- A friend
- A partner/ spouse
- An online friend/ community
- A mentor
- Anyone who shares similar goals and values as you
An accountability partner can really be anyone who is willing to work together as a team and encourage one another to achieve their goals. It would be helpful for your accountability partner to have a similar lifestyle as you as you both can relate more on the obstacles you might face as well as be comfortable with each other as setting and going through the journey of reaching health goals can be a vulnerable space for anyone. Keeping your partner accountable, as well as them keeping you accountable, will propel you both into the direction of your objectives.
But how do you FEEL?
When setting any goal, having a clear idea behind the “why” is crucial to your success and longevity in maintaining the goal. Having a clear “why” will create value in the effort you are putting in to achieve your goals and will increase the possibility that you will get there. When determining your why, you have to be in touch with the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that you experience along the journey and as you partake in activities surrounding your goals. Be mindful of how your body feels before, after, and during the eating process. Healthy eating is proven to have beneficial health.
Regardless of your “why,” tune in to it after reading this article. Try out new foods, experiment with new cooking techniques, and find a buddy to keep you accountable. If cooking isn’t your thing or you don’t have the time, let Pure Plates help. Pure Plates can help take some of the work off of your shoulders related to healthy eating. Pure Plates delivers fresh, wholesome meals straight to your door. That way, you don’t have to feel stressed, overwhelmed or confused about healthy eating.