Choose Your S.M.A.R.T. Path
Choice is more than picking ‘x’ over ‘y.’ It is a responsibility to separate the meaningful and the uplifting from the trivial and the disheartening. It is the only tool we have that enables us to go from who we are today to who we want to be tomorrow. – Sheena Iyengar
Have you tried making changes to your nutrition or exercise plan only to falter after a few weeks or months? Maybe you had healthy habits in the past, but you can’t figure out how to get back into that routine. The lack of success isn’t coming from you, it’s your plan! The dreaded relationship woes between you and your plan come to light. “It’s not you, it’s me” becomes the demise of your relationship if your plan isn’t a good match.
Just as you fervently search for the perfect mate, you too should seek to reach your goals through the perfect plan. It is not a light choice when picking a life-changing significant other, why should you blindly choose a life-changing nutrition and exercise plan? Find what is meaningful to you as an individual when making choices, whether it’s a mate, a job, an exercise routine or what you put on your plate. When you bring meaning to your decisions, and have a S.M.A.R.T. plan, you can achieve any goals set forth!
What is a S.M.A.R.T. plan? The acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.
Specific – This is where meaning behind your goals will inspire you. Are you trying to fit into a smaller size wedding dress for the upcoming big day? Are you trying to beat your personal best in your upcoming race? Maybe what is meaningful to you is to be able to play with your grandchildren without getting winded, or to lower your cholesterol or blood sugar naturally to reduce your independence on medications.* The things that drive and inspire our lives are the things that will motivate us.
Specific - Specificity doesn’t just mean being specific about your motivations; be specific with your goals as well! Instead of saying to yourself “I’m going to start eating healthier,” be specific! For example:
“I am going to eat at least 4 fruits/vegetables a day”
“I am going to cut out two processed foods from my daily food”
“I am going to run 3 miles three times a week.”
“I am going to take the stairs instead of the elevator at work.”
Did you notice none of my examples were things like “I’m going to lose 10 inches”, “I’m going to run a 6mph pace on race day”, “I’m going to drop my blood pressure to 120/80”? That’s because outcome based goals are actually less motivating, and harder to stick to, than behavior based goals. These may be long term goals, and that’s ok! But if you don’t know the behaviors that will get you there, you are up a creek without a paddle.
Measurable – This goes hand in hand with the above; specificity translates into a measurable goal as well. You can count the number of fruits/vegetables you are now eating to ensure you eat 4. You recognize which foods you eat are processed in order to eliminate some. You can measure out a route for your three mile run.
Measuring your goal gives you something tangible to monitor. And seeing that you are sticking with your goals keeps you motivated!
Attainable – This just means easy to achieve. If your goal is “I am going to eat 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day” and you are barely eating 1-2 now, you may quickly feel overwhelmed and fail to meet your goal. Again, the relationship between you and your plan has to be a perfect match. The perfect match for you is what will easily fit into your current lifestyle.
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t work your way up to 9 servings a day! Just as you grow with your partner, so too will you and your goals grow together. Once 4 servings a day becomes routine, make your next goal 6!
Realistic – Just as Specific and Measurable go hand in hand, so do Attainable and Realistic. Be realistic about what goals you can achieve easily to guarantee success. Maybe you currently eat a lot of convenience foods and have no time to make everything from scratch. If so, instead of choosing to eliminate all processed foods, aim to start by eliminating any processed foods that have trans fat** in them.
I won’t digress into the evils of trans fat or the chemicals in processed foods! I will save that for another post. But, just as you make stepping stones to increase your produce intake, you can make incremental achievable steps towards reducing processed foods in your nutrition plan.
Timely – The last part of your plan is to make sure you set a deadline. Give yourself a time line of when you want to achieve your goal. For example, “By the end of the month I want to consistently be eating at least 4 fruits/vegetables a day.” This allows you room to make the transition to a healthier lifestyle, without getting stuck in the ‘someday I’ll eat healthier’ mantra.
Just as you did for your goal, make your timeline specific and realistic too. If you are walking once a week, changing to running three times a week will take time. Set a timeline you feel will be long enough to achieve your end goal, but short enough to avoid any slacking!
Remember, be inspired! Goals should be based on your passions! Sure you might not love eating vegetables now, but maybe you love cooking and entertaining. Find a new vegetable dish to present to your guests! And I know not everyone loves running, but maybe you love group settings. Sign up for a beginner running group or, better yet, enlist a friend to run with you and be a part of your journey!
Bringing meaning to your life and your goals brings more motivation than any preset nutrition or exercise plan ever could. Use that to determine a specific and measurable goal that is easily achieved within your set timeline and you are on the road to success!
*Do not stop taking any medications before discussing with your doctor and/or pharmacist.
**Even if some labels say ‘trans fat free’ still read the ingredient list. If ANY of the ingredients say “partially hydrogenated” there IS trans fat.