Learning Goal: You will be able to develop New Year’s Resolutions that you can keep for the rest of your life and that will effectively help you become more healthy.
Chances are if you are reading this article, this is not your first New Year or the first time you tried to make a resolution. How many of your past New Year’s Resolutions have you kept and are still keeping?
I am going to guess 0.
Don’t be ashamed. It is very common, and here you will find out why and how to make goals that will stick.
Why New Year’s Resolutions Often Fail
Most New Year’s Resolutions fail because they are not “SMART.”
“SMART” Goals are:
S – Specific
M– Measurable
A– Attainable
R – Realistic
T – Timely
Click here to get a worksheet to help you make you own goal SMART.
What exactly does all this mean? Below we will go through two very common health related goals and will edit them to make them SMART. By reading these examples and the example on the downloadable worksheet guide, and by working through the guide itself, you will be able to make goals that you can achieve.
Making Goals “SMART”.
“I want to exercise more”
This is a common goal that is often forgotten in a week because it is not SMART! Let’s make this goal SMARTer.
S-Specific: What does exercise mean and what is “more?” How much are you exercising now? I know that personally I want to do 30 minutes of cardio 5 times a week and 30 minutes of weights 3 times a week either through small group classes or using equipment in the gym.
M-Measurable: I can measure the time I workout by recording it physically or electronically in a journal or by using an app or fitness tracker like the Fitbit. I will write down the time I exercise and what I did to exercise each day.
A-Attainable: Do I have access to a gym? Do I have this time? Luckily I currently have both, so this goal is definitely physically possible for me. If you don’t have a gym, how can you obtain this goal? Do you have workout videos or equipment at home? Also, I can schedule the days you will work out so that I have no excuse for why I did not workout the number of times I stated in my goal.
R- Realistic: Ok I have the time and access, but will I actually workout 5 times a week? In the past I have made a similar goal and I often get mad at myself for not working out all 5 times. I think I am going to bump it down to doing cardio 4 times a week for 30 minutes, so that I know I can actually meet my goal, and maybe in the future, 5 times will not be so hard. Also, I know that I often succeed more when someone else holds me accountable, maybe I will make one of those workout sessions with a trainer to make sure someone keeps me honest.
T- Timely:We want our resolutions to become life-long habits, so why do the goals need to be timely if they are forever? People who keep resolutions for life also make smaller specific, measurable, and realistic goals and then they periodically (every 3 to 4 months0 reevaluate that goal to decide if the goal is still SMART and still beneficial.
I am going to keep this goal for 4 months, and then at the end of 4 months I am going to see if I can go from 4 times a week to 5 times a week. I also can evaluate if my goal was realistic and attainable, and if not readjust the goal; not throw out the idea all together.
Here is my new SMART goal:
In a gym, I will engage in cardio exercise for 30 minutes, 4 times a week (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Sun), and in weight training 3 times a week (Tues, Thurs, Sun) for 30 minutes, and one of those days of cardio/weight training will be with a trainer. I will record the days I will exercise on my calendar and I will track the times and type of exercises I did in my electronic journal, and I will use my Fitbit to help me keep track of the exact times and calories I will burn. Each day I will make sure I met the exercise goal for that day, and if something prevented me from working out I will make sure to make a plan to workout a different day that week. I will reevaluate my goal in 4 months with the hope of increasing the number of days I do cardio to 5 days, and to evaluate the amount of time that I workout during each session.
Notice it is not just a simple statement. It describes exactly how I am going to reach my goal, and how and when I am going to measure my progress and reevaluate my goal.
“I want to eat healthier”
Yet again another goal that often falls through the cracks once the next social event comes around. People will often mess up on this goal and give up. Let’s make this goal SMART!
S – Specific: This goal is super vague. What does eating healthier mean? How are you eating healthier? Are you drinking more water, eating more vegetables, eating less sugar? All of these things can be considered eating healthy, but if you assume that all these things are part of the goal, it is simply too much to do at once. Pick one. For example “I will eat less sugar.”
M – Measurable: Because your goal is so vague there is nothing to measure. How much sugar are you eating now? How much sugar do you want to eat? Let’s say you make your goal “I will eat no sugar.” You can measure this by looking at food labels and making sure that you eat nothing that has any grams of sugar. People who are successful in meeting goals often will measure their progress and will keep track of it. You can keep track of your sugar intake with a health app like MyFitnessPal or by keeping a physical or electronic journal.
A – Attainable: Is it possible to eat 0 grams of sugar a day? This goal is simply unattainable, because many foods naturally have sugar in it including fruits, grains, and dairy products. It is more attainable to change our goal to 0 grams of “added sugar,” or sugar that is added by the manufacturer and is not naturally occurring.
R – Realistic: Consuming 0 grams of sugar is an awesome goal for the future, but is it realistic to go from 88 grams (what the average adult consumes) to zero? It is always hard to stop cold turkey. What is something you can do tomorrow? Many health organizations suggest that you should not consume more than 24 grams of added sugar, that might be a good place to start, but even that is super difficult to start.
Further, although there is a bill for the FDA to require added sugar to be listed in grams separately from natural sugars, it is now currently difficult to measure only added sugar. Maybe you can start by recording your overall sugar intake from reading labels and cut that number in half. Or you can only count the grams of sugar when “sugar” is also in the ingredient label. To make it easier and more realistic in daily life you could make the goal “I will consume half the total sugar than the year before” or “I will only eat one food item that contains any form of sugar in its ingredient label, and that total sugar will not not be more than 44 grams.”
T – Timely: You may have decided that you will consume “half the total sugar than you did the year before,” but you originally had more lofty goals. How and when will you edit your SMART goal to get your original idea? How and when will you evaluate to make sure this goal is realistic and attainable?
Here is my final SMART Goal:
I want eat half (60 grams) the daily total sugar than I ate the year before (120 grams), by reading food labels and recording my total sugar intake in MyFitnessPal and journaling the food the items I ate that contained added sugar daily. In one month I will read my journals and MyFitnessPal and decide if my goal is still attainable and realistic, and In three months I will decide if I am able to reduce my total sugar intake further.
Again, I am describing exactly how I am going to reach my goal, and how and when I am going to measure my progress and reevaluate.
SMART Goal Worksheet and Journaling
As we can see successful goals are not simple one line phrases. They include specific action plans, your method for evaluating your progress, and a plan for reevaluating. They also ensure that you have all the tools you need to meet the goals and that the goal is realistic for your life.
Do need more help with creating your own SMART health goals? Download this New Year Resolution Guide to help you create your own smart goal. It also includes an example.
For more examples of SMART goals click here.
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