Alright, New Year's Resolution Time!

We all have big ideas, and things that we would love to change about ourselves. Many of us decide that our new year's resolution should be something health-related. However, the majority of those that make a resolution end up giving up by the 2nd week of January! Yes, this is true! It's crazy how one can be so motivated and driven, and then very soon after the hype and the excitement is gone and now it's back to the old ways we go. 

So, one of the reasons why so many give up on their resolutions is their goal setting (or lack there of). Either their goals are too far off and unrealistic, they don't even know where to start (kind of like saying you want to climb Mt. Everest and then starting by actually just going to climb Mt. Everest and having never tried mountain climbing ever before), or they didn't really set an actual, defined goal to begin with. 

Therefore, let's learn how to set some defined and realistic goals. They need to be SMART goals. This stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. 

Let me give you an example of a good goal.

Goal: To lose 10# in 3 months.

This is a good goal for the following reasons:

Specific: It's specific because it says how much weight one wants to lose. It doesn't just say "I want to lose weight". Being specific will help you to be able to gauge whether or not you've met that goal. 

Measurable: It's measurable because we can measure what 10# is by stepping on the scale.

Achievable: It's achievable because 10# in 3 months is less than losing 1# per week. This is very realistic, and will also help you to sustain the lifestyle changes (eating right and physical activity) for the long term and not just revert back to old, bad habits. Now, if the goal would have said, "Lose 10# in 1 day", now that would not be realistic. Unless you are removing limbs (arms, legs, etc.) or you're having liposuction, then is almost impossible to lose 10# in 1 day, and if you did it would probably be water-weight.

Realistic: One would have to decide if losing 10# is realistic for them, based on the achievable point above, this goal is realistic for those same reasons. 

Timely: It sets a time limit, 3 months. This is very important because, sometimes we hear people say that they want to lose 10#, and then 6 months later we hear them still saying they want to lose 10#. Ok, did they lose 10# and now they want to lose 10 more? Or did they lose the 10# and gain it back? Or maybe they didn't lose 10# at all and they still are where they started. If one sets a time frame it's easier to see if they have met that goal. 

I hope this helps and makes things a little clearer for your goal setting. If you need help and or have questions about anything, comment below and I'd be happy to chat! 

Thanks for reading :)