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Many people look to the new year as a fresh start and may set a few New Year’s resolutions. This might happen in a small percentage of people these days, but an even smaller percentage will actually keep theirs. With 2017 just being a few days down, I’m sure there are already resolutions being broken. Here’s a post on how to keep your resolutions on track – by setting SMART goals instead.

SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. Common resolutions include “losing weight” or “getting fit”, but these will be nothing more than great ideas without an action plan in place to help achieve them.

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If possible, before you read ahead, grab a pen and some paper and write down a few goals you wish to accomplish. This will make them seem more real. Put them up somewhere so you can see them every day to help reinforce your motivation to change. Having them written down will also make achieving them a less overwhelming and a less frustrating process. Under each goal, have a plan laid out to accomplish it – this will help you stay focused, keep you on track and ensure success.

1. Be specific – the biggest mistake is to use broad statements as goals. A statement such as “I want to lose weight” won’t tell us anything about what you are going to do to lose weight. Goals will be more achievable if they are well-defined and focused.

2. Make it measurable – imagine watching a football game with no one keeping score. You won’t know what the outcome of the game is since there is no way to measure it. Measurable outcomes apply to goal setting as well. Attached numbers to your goal to have a concrete way to track your progress.

3. Make it attainable – I’m all about reaching for the stars but too often people set goals that are beyond their reach by expecting too much of themselves. A goal will be hard to attain if there is no schedule of steps in place. Maybe instead of your typical afternoon snack of chips and a coke or biscuits and tea, you’re going to swap it out for fresh apple slices with sugar free peanut butter and a glass of water. Whatever steps you are going to take, write them down as a part of your schedule.

4. Make it realistic – examples of unrealistic goals could be losing 8 kg’s in a week or become gluten-free overnight. This is surely setting yourself up for failure. This may be a good time to differentiate between short term and long term goals. If your long term goal is to be gluten-free then first analyze why you want to make this change and educate yourself on what it would entail. Remember to also be honest with yourself. If you know that you will never be able to give up regular bread and pasta, then perhaps gluten-free isn’t for you.

5. Time-bound – back to adding in some numbers. Give yourself a time-frame for achieving not only your long term goal, but each step along the way. Remember to be specific and realistic.

So what does a SMART goal look like?

“I am going to lose 10 kg’s with a goal of losing ½ to 1 kg per week for the next 3 months by remembering fruit and vegetables as my afternoon and evening snacks and exercising for 50 minutes after work on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.” You could probably go one step further and specify which fruit and veg you plan to eat as a snack.

Remember that change is a process and you are only human. Don’t beat yourself up over setbacks. Stay POSITIVE and try figure out why you slipped up and what you can do to stop it from happening again.

Be flexible – if you need to make a few tweaks to your plan it’s okay! As long as it is doable and achievable for you. Making big changes alone can be daunting – get someone else involved and have a support system in place.

Get the help of a registered dietitian to help achieve your health and nutrition goals. You can make a booking here

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